Apr 24, 2023 05:14 PM
(UK) New drivers under 25 could be banned from carrying young passengers
https://metro.co.uk/2023/04/24/new-drive...-18664177/
EXCERPTS: The government will review proposals to ban new drivers from carrying young passengers after first passing their test. Under the so-called ‘graduated driving licence’ scheme, those under 25 years old would not be allowed to carry passengers under that age for six to 12 months after passing their test.
[...] One of the strongest voices behind the new proposal is Sharron Huddleston, whose daughter Caitlin was killed in a 2017 crash.
Caitlin was in the front passenger seat of a car driven by a friend who’d passed their test four months prior, and who also died in the accident. A third teenager sat in the back of the vehicle also suffered serious injuries.
In written evidence submitted to parliament in favour of the new scheme, Mrs Huddleston previously said: 'Road deaths are the forgotten epidemic. They kill more young people in the UK than anything else'... (MORE - missing details)
(UK) More than a third of Generation Z want monarchy abolished
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family...c-poll-uk/
EXCERPTS: More than a third of Gen Z want the monarchy to be abolished, a new poll has revealed just a fortnight before the King’s Coronation.
A YouGov opinion poll commissioned by BBC Panorama found 38 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds would prefer to have an elected head of state instead, while just 32 per cent are supportive of the monarchy.
It comes after months of build-up to the nation’s first crowning of a monarch in 70 years, following the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II, a sovereign who united the country with her popularity and stability.
[...] It found that the majority of support for the monarchy remained largely in the older generations, with 67 per cent of 50 to 64-year-olds and over 78 per cent of over 65s saying it should continue.
The results of the online survey of 4,592 adults, carried out from April 14 to 17, suggested that indifference could be a factor for the younger age groups, as well as their perception of the wealth of the Royal family.
Almost 78 per cent of the younger generation said they were “not interested” in the monarchy while two fifths of the 18 to 24-year-olds polled believe the institution is bad value for money.
The Royal family’s wealth has come under greater scrutiny over the last year due to cost-of-living pressures around the country and the financial fallout from the pandemic... (MORE - missing details)
(UK) China threatens to prosecute jailed Jimmy Lai's UK lawyers
https://www.theepochtimes.com/china-thre...16570.html
INTRO: China has threatened the British-based lawyers of jailed journalist Jimmy Lai with prosecution, a leading human rights barrister has revealed.
Caoilfhionn Gallagher, KC said the move by Hong Kong authorities was part of a “deeply disturbing trend” of targeting the support networks of those persecuted by the Beijing regime.
The Irish-born lawyer—who works at London’s Doughty Street Chambers—said Lai’s son Sebastian had also received extra-territorial prosecution threats under China’s national security law.
Speaking at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy, Gallagher—a member of the Hong Kong jailed journalist’s legal team—said the “aggressive” tactics were an attempt to “shut down” criticism of the regime’s human rights abuses.
“We spoke addressing the United Nations in Geneva a number of weeks ago; Sebastian gave a powerful statement about the importance of human rights standards being applied and his father being freed,” the barrister said.
“And what we then got was a very aggressive statement from the authorities in Hong Kong, saying that Sebastian Lai, and the international legal team themselves, are committing offences.
“So by speaking out, Sebastian himself has been targeted, the international legal team has also been targeted.” (MORE - details)
https://metro.co.uk/2023/04/24/new-drive...-18664177/
EXCERPTS: The government will review proposals to ban new drivers from carrying young passengers after first passing their test. Under the so-called ‘graduated driving licence’ scheme, those under 25 years old would not be allowed to carry passengers under that age for six to 12 months after passing their test.
[...] One of the strongest voices behind the new proposal is Sharron Huddleston, whose daughter Caitlin was killed in a 2017 crash.
Caitlin was in the front passenger seat of a car driven by a friend who’d passed their test four months prior, and who also died in the accident. A third teenager sat in the back of the vehicle also suffered serious injuries.
In written evidence submitted to parliament in favour of the new scheme, Mrs Huddleston previously said: 'Road deaths are the forgotten epidemic. They kill more young people in the UK than anything else'... (MORE - missing details)
(UK) More than a third of Generation Z want monarchy abolished
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family...c-poll-uk/
EXCERPTS: More than a third of Gen Z want the monarchy to be abolished, a new poll has revealed just a fortnight before the King’s Coronation.
A YouGov opinion poll commissioned by BBC Panorama found 38 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds would prefer to have an elected head of state instead, while just 32 per cent are supportive of the monarchy.
It comes after months of build-up to the nation’s first crowning of a monarch in 70 years, following the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II, a sovereign who united the country with her popularity and stability.
[...] It found that the majority of support for the monarchy remained largely in the older generations, with 67 per cent of 50 to 64-year-olds and over 78 per cent of over 65s saying it should continue.
The results of the online survey of 4,592 adults, carried out from April 14 to 17, suggested that indifference could be a factor for the younger age groups, as well as their perception of the wealth of the Royal family.
Almost 78 per cent of the younger generation said they were “not interested” in the monarchy while two fifths of the 18 to 24-year-olds polled believe the institution is bad value for money.
The Royal family’s wealth has come under greater scrutiny over the last year due to cost-of-living pressures around the country and the financial fallout from the pandemic... (MORE - missing details)
(UK) China threatens to prosecute jailed Jimmy Lai's UK lawyers
https://www.theepochtimes.com/china-thre...16570.html
INTRO: China has threatened the British-based lawyers of jailed journalist Jimmy Lai with prosecution, a leading human rights barrister has revealed.
Caoilfhionn Gallagher, KC said the move by Hong Kong authorities was part of a “deeply disturbing trend” of targeting the support networks of those persecuted by the Beijing regime.
The Irish-born lawyer—who works at London’s Doughty Street Chambers—said Lai’s son Sebastian had also received extra-territorial prosecution threats under China’s national security law.
Speaking at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy, Gallagher—a member of the Hong Kong jailed journalist’s legal team—said the “aggressive” tactics were an attempt to “shut down” criticism of the regime’s human rights abuses.
“We spoke addressing the United Nations in Geneva a number of weeks ago; Sebastian gave a powerful statement about the importance of human rights standards being applied and his father being freed,” the barrister said.
“And what we then got was a very aggressive statement from the authorities in Hong Kong, saying that Sebastian Lai, and the international legal team themselves, are committing offences.
“So by speaking out, Sebastian himself has been targeted, the international legal team has also been targeted.” (MORE - details)