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Trump Calls On UK And Allies To Send Ships To Hormuz After Days Of Sulking

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Donald Trump has called on allies including the UK to send ships to the strait of Hormuz amid Iran’s attempts to effectively close the major shipping lane.

The waterway, which sits at the south of Iran, transports a fifth of the world’s oil supply.

Tehran has been targeting any ships which use Hormuz as its war against the US and Israel escalates, meaning the price of oil has started to skyrocket and the global economy is showing signs of strain.

Initially Trump said the hike in the price of oil was a “small price to pay”.

But in a new post on TruthSocial, he wrote: “Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK and others that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated.”

According to the UK Maritime Trade Operations, 16 British ships have been operating around Hormuz, the Arabia Gulf and the Gulf of Oman since the war began a fortnight ago.

Despite claiming the US has destroyed “100% of Iran’s military capability” in his post, Trump also suggested Tehran could easily still “send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close range missile”.

But Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei promised to continue obstructing the strait on Thursday and Israel claims to it have detected new attacks from Iran over the weekend.

The president’s request for help follows a turbulent period in relations with the UK.

Just six days ago, Trump accused Keir Starmer of seeking to “join wars after we’ve already won”.

He also claimed the US did not need Britain to send two aircraft carriers to the Middle East, after alleging that Downing Street was considering it.

The White House has been fuming over Starmer’s refusal to allow the US to use British military bases to initiate pre-emptive attacks against Iran.

Starmer has since allowed Trump to use UK military sites for “limited and defensive” strikes, but the president publicly criticised Downing Street for not granting his first request.

Trump’s full post reads:

Many Countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe. We have already destroyed 100% of Iran’s Military capability, but it’s easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close range missile somewhere along, or in, this Waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are. Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated. In the meantime, the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water. One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE! President DONALD J. TRUMP

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Think Crushed Eggshells Stop Slugs? Science Says You’re Probably Just Feeding Them

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If you’re a gardener, chances are you have a tense relationship with slugs.

Even though only nine of the 44 species in the UK actually eat your veggies. , and while they’re key to feeding our dwindling bird population, it can be hard to give unwanted visitors grace if they’re making your garden suffer.

Still, there are lots of reasons – like the fact that biodiverse gardens fare better – not to kill them. Some turn to repellants over pesticides, some of which are illegal in the UK anyway.

That can include placing “barriers,” like crushed eggshells, around your plants. But that might not work.

There’s not much evidence to suggest eggshells repel slugs

The idea is simple: when you place crushed eggshells on the ground, the theory goes, it makes an uncomfortable carpet for slugs.

So, they turn away from your budding blooms rather than face the sharp, stabbing sensations of crawling over broken shells.

But McGill University’s (MU) Office for Science and Society, as well as the staff at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) put that theory to the test, and both of them found the same thing.

The MU team placed crushed eggshells around some lettuce (which slugs love), and found it didn’t stop them at all.

And the RHS research, which took place over six weeks, found that plants “protected” by crushed eggshells didn’t fare any better than those with the smashed-up shells.

Side note – in the RHS investigation, no “barrier” methods, including copper tape, pine bark mulch, sharp horticultural grit, and wool pellets, worked.

So, how should I keep slugs away from my garden?

Speaking to HuffPost UK previously, the RHS’ senior wildlife specialist, Helen Bostock, said: “A vibrant garden ecosystem is one that requires [fewer] inputs from gardeners,” including sprays, because “natural predators” will help yo manage slugs, aphids, snails, and more.

So, trying to attract more birds to your garden can be a great first step.

And when you water your garden matters, too.

In one study, researchers found that watering your garden in the morning, rather than later on, is “as good as metaldehyde pellets” for keeping slugs away (metaldehyde pellets were banned in the UK in 2022).

Ferric phosphate pellets are still allowed, but, the RHS said, “slug pellets (even organic ones) have been shown to have negative effects on wildlife in the garden”.

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After A Week Of Outbursts And A Very Public U-Turn, Is Nigel Farage Starting To Crack Under Pressure?

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Nigel Farage has not had an easy few days.

Fresh from Reform’s loss to the Greens in the Gorton and Denton by-election, the party waded head-first into debates around the UK’s involvement – or lack thereof – in Donald Trump’s war against Iran.

The party leader initially insisted Britain should “do all we can” to support the operation, saying: “The gloves need to come off, we need to accept that we are part of this with the Americans and the Israelis.”

Some senior party members, like his deputy Richard Tice and Reform mayor of Greater Lincolnshire Andrea Jenkyns, quickly backed him.

But top Tory defector Robert Jenrick, now Reform’s Treasury spokesperson, said it was not necessary for Britain to join the bombing – exposing clear splits in the party’s position.

Then, in a major U-turn on Tuesday, Farage told reporters: “If we can’t even defend Cyprus, let’s not get ourselves involved in another foreign war.”

Farage’s sudden change of heart followed a spike in global oil prices, sparking fears of higher mortgage rates, petrol prices and inflation.

Polls indicated a majority (59%) of Brits did not support joining the war, either.

During the same press conference, Farage also hit out at Sky News’ Beth Rigby, after she pointed out that Reform councils have not delivered on their promise to cut council tax.

He angrily shouted: “Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! Never once in the county campaign, including here in Derbyshire, did I ever say we would cut council tax.”

Farage insisted that Reform’s “national literature” called for an overall cut to taxes, not to council taxes.

And on Friday, he adopted a more defeatist tone, saying he wished his party “hadn’t bothered” to take minority control of the bankrupt Worcestershire Council Council.

Reform had to hike council tax by almost 9% in the area, one of the largest increases in the area’s history, to balance the books.

To rub salt in the wound, just seven days ago, Labour beat Reform with its first council by-election gain in almost a year in Durham County Council.

Farage somehow found time to fight with pollsters, too.

He attacked YouGov after the company’s surveys suggested his party had lower public support compared to other polls.

He claimed it is “plainly deceptive” that more is not known about their methods and called for transparency around modelling assumptions.

It’s worth noting that YouGov’s latest poll put the party on 23%, still four percentage points above the Conservatives.

More In Common’s director Luke Tryl called the attacks on YouGov “unwarranted and unfair”.

Writing on X, he said: “They’re a gold standard in our business, have a great track record and the rest of the industry learns so much from them. Sometimes pollsters get different results from each other, that’s a good thing [and] shows we aren’t herding!”

When approached by HuffPost UK, Reform rebuffed claims this week has been stressful, pointing out they are polling at 30% nationally according to More In Common.

A source pointed out they had three sold out rallies this week with thousands of attendees and deployed the “lowest council tax rises in the country” with an average of 4.32%.

The party claimed it had managed to get greater transparency from YouGov, too.

But questions remain around the way Farage has reacted to scrutiny this week,

Savanta’s political director, Chris Hopkins, told HuffPost UK that Farage was reading off “the Trumpian playbook” by “reacting with hostility to scrutiny and blaming everyone but himself for his party’s fall in momentum in the opinion polls”.

The pollster added: “This week he’s even turned his ire directly towards us pollsters where, not for the first time, he publicly challenges polling figures that he doesn’t seem to like.”

Current predictions suggest Reform is on course to win the most seats when voters next head to the polls, though it is still expected to be shy of an overall majority.

Farage will therefore be under a microscope in the run-up to the next general election.

Hopkins said: “The longer Reform stay at the forefront of British politics, the greater the scrutiny on Farage will be, and if his temperament is being questioned now, years away from a general election, it’ll be interesting to see how he’ll react to supporter expectation and the bright lights of an election campaign.”

The pollster warned that there is also a “general sentiment” that Reform may have peaked after more than a year leading the polls.

“The major challenge for Farage and his party will be to still be sitting atop of the pile when the music stops, especially when so much can change so quickly in British politics,” he said.

A Labour insider said it was clear that “Farage can’t deal with the pressure”.

They added: “The wheels have well and truly fallen off the bandwagon this week, the cracks are beginning to show.”

A Green Party source also said: “Reform were able to play on easy mode, presenting themselves as outsiders to a failing Labour government but the mask has slipped.”

It took years for Farage to assert himself within mainstream politics.

He has managed to hold a confident lead in the polls for more than a year, winning over voters on his promise to offer something different from the “establishment” parties.

But, with a general election expected to still be three years away, can the Reform leader keep his cool – and hold his growing party together – in that time?

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Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Interview

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We spoke to the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man cast about the new film! Join Cillian Murphy, Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth and Steven Knight as they discuss Tommy Shelby’s legacy, how amazing the film set was and having input on the soundtrack.

By 

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Putin’s ‘Hidden Hand’ Likely Aiding Iran In Its War Against Donald Trump, UK Says

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Vladimir Putin’s “hidden hand” may be helping Iran respond to its ongoing war against Donald Trump and Israel, according to the UK’s defence secretary.

John Healey was speaking from the UK’s military headquarters in London hours after drones hit a base used by western forces in Iraq.

He said British officers told him drone pilots from Iran and Iranian proxies were adopting tactics “from the Russians”, and telling them how to fly them.

Iran has been supplying Russia with Shahed drones – long-range weapons Moscow has regularly deployed against Ukraine – for years.

The chief of joint operations, Lt Gen Nick Perry, told the defence secretary that it looked like Russia had advised its allies to fly the drones at a much lower height, making them more effective when hitting targets.

That had “proven problematic” according to Perry, because the drones were rapidly becoming Iran’s most effective weapon in its fight against the US and Israel.

Healey said: “I think no one will be surprised to believe that Putin’s hidden hand is behind some of the Iranian tactics and potentially, potentially some of their capabilities as well.”

He added: “The one world leader that is benefitting from sky-high oil prices at the moment is Putin because it helps him with a fresh supply of funds for his brutal war in Ukraine.”

A UK counter-drone team shot down two of the drones targeting a base in Erbil last night. No British casualties have been reported.

Meanwhile, Trump announced on Monday that he would “take sanctions off” some countries until the Strait of Hormuz is up and ready again.

While he did not specify which countries he was referring to, Trump’s declaration came shortly after he had a lengthy chat with the Russian autocrat – who has been trapped under heavy trade sanctions ever since invading Ukraine in 2022.

Tehran has effectively closed the strait of Hormuz, which carries a fifth of the world’s oil supply, by targeting ships on waterway.

Healey discussed the closure of the strait with the E5 of European defence ministers, and warned there were “clearer and clearer” reports that Iran was trying to mine the waterway.

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Planting New Grass? Try ‘Penguin Walking’ For Better Growth

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If your grass is looking a bit bare after the winter chill, you might be thinking of planting new seed now that the soil’s warmed up.

Indeed, according to Chris McIlroy, a lawn expert at The Grass People, “We’re approaching the ideal time to sow new grass seed and get lawns looking their best again”.

The Royal Horticultural Society added that spring and autumn provide ideal conditions for the task; it’s cheaper than buying new turf, and fairly easy.

Especially, McIlroy said, if you “penguin walk”.

What is “penguin walking”?

It’s a shuffling kind of walk you can do before you plant grass seeds to help get rid of any air pockets in the soil.

“New seedlings need mild, moist soil in order to germinate, so waiting until temperatures are consistently around 8-10°C is crucial. Also, check that there is no heavy rain forecast, as this can wash away seeds,” McIlroy said.

Start with a “clean slate”, too: banish moss, dead grass, and weeds before laying new seeds down.

Then, it’s time for the penguin walk.

“You need to tread the ground to get rid of air pockets. Take small steps over the surface to even out the soil, like a penguin shuffle. Do this in rows to make sure all the areas are covered,” the grass expert explained.

“Once the ground is prepared, spread the grass seed evenly across the soil at around 30-35g per square metre for a new lawn, or 15-20g per square metre when overseeding bare patches.”

To get really even coverage, divide the seed in half and walk along your lawn lengthways sprinkling the first section.

Then, spread the second load of seed walking widthways. That’ll form a kind of crosshatch pattern that’ll offer even coverage.

What should I do once the grass seeds have been planted?

“After sowing, lightly rake the area so the seeds sit just beneath the soil surface, then gently firm it down by walking over it or using a roller,” McIlroy added.

“This helps ensure good seed-to-soil contact, which is essential for germination. Finally, water lightly and keep the soil consistently moist while the grass establishes.”

Wait until it’s at least five centimetres tall before you give it its first mow. And when you do, use your mower blade’s highest setting.
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Exclusive: Survey Finds All UK Women Under 25 Feel Unsafe Travelling Alone

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Appetite for solo travel among women isn’t showing any signs of slowing – last year, tour operator Jules Verne said solo travellers accounted for 46% of bookings, with almost 70% of these bookings coming from women.

But while appetite is clearly there, that’s not to say women feel safe when they do travel alone. Far from it.

A new survey conducted by hospitality company The Social Hub, along with Opinion Matters, as part of their “Room For Her” campaign, has found that 100% of women aged 18-24 from the UK say they worry for their safety when travelling alone.

The study polled 2,000 women from eight countries in the UK and Europe.

What else did the survey find?

Their data also showed:

  • Only 12% of women aged 45-54 travelling for business said they felt “very safe”.
  • 40% of 18-24-year-old women say they “don’t feel safe at all” after it gets dark on their travels,
  • 29% of women surveyed reported being “followed or watched” while solo travelling (that figure rose to 41% for women age 18-24).
  • 16% of women surveyed said they’d experienced physical abuse or assault while solo travelling.
  • 57% of women said 24/7 hotel staff would make them feel safer.
  • 45% said better lighting would help.

These are “eye-opening” results

A 2024 National Police Chiefs’ Council report declared violence against women and girls a “national emergency” in England and Wales, with a possibly low estimate of about two million women and girls targeted a year.

Amber Westerborg, a director of sustainability and impact at The Social Hub, said she hopes the survey encourages the hospitality industry “to start talking and take action, ensuring safe travel for all”.

“The results are eye-opening and shine a light on a real problem across the industry,” she said.

“Women should not have to change their behaviour, limit their ambition or decline an opportunity because they don’t feel safe.”

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Humidity-Proof And Carry-On Friendly: The 7 Curl Products I Never Travel Without

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We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, HuffPost UK may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI – prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.

Travelling with a locked-in beauty routine is not for the weak, let me tell you.

When it comes to curl care, getting your perfect hair routine down pat is enough to make you feel like a Nobel-prize-worthy scientist.

It can take years of effort to get it right – trust me, mine did. And now, you’d have to pry my favourite products away from my cold, dead hands before I give them up.

So a little thing like baggage allowance isn’t going to stop me from bringing my essentials along with me.

Curious just what those essentials are? They’re worth their weight in gold to me, but don’t worry – I didn’t get into the business to gatekeep.

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Analysis: Mandelson Documents Leave Keir Starmer’s Reputation In Tatters

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So now we know.

Keir Starmer was given every excuse he needed not to make Peter Mandelson the UK’s ambassador to Washington, but did it anyway.

There are few fresh revelations contained within the 137 pages of documents released by the government about Mandelson’s appointment.

The biggest one – that the disgraced peer wanted a pay-off of more than half a million pounds for a job that he was sacked from – simply confirms what we already knew about his character.

In the end, he received £75,000 – a third of which was tax free.

However, it is the confirmation of what the prime minister was told by his own civil servants before appointing him which is most damning of all.

The Cabinet Office due diligence report presented to the PM on December 11, 2024, shortly before Mandelson’s appointment, is clear about the extent of his relationship with the convicted paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.

It shows that a report commissioned by JP Morgan in 2019 found that Epstein “appeared to maintain a particularly close relationship” with Mandelson and the now-equally disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Most shockingly, that report found that Epstein and Mandelson relationship continued between 2009 and 2011, after the billionaire financier’s conviction for procuring an underage girl in 2008.

Mandelson also stayed at Epstein’s house in New York when he was still in jail.

In addition, Mandelson went on to become a “founding citizen” of an ocean conservation group funded by Epstein and founded by his close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.

The document says that Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein represented a “general reputational risk” for the government.

What more evidence did the PM need that he should give Mandelson a very wide berth?

However, on the advice of his chief of staff, Mandelson ally Morgan McSweeney, Starmer opted to ignore this warning and appoint him anyway.

The political decision was taken that Mandelson’s ability to curry favour with Donald Trump was more important than standing with Epstein’s victims.

McSweeney ultimately paid for that calculation with his job.

For now at least, Starmer remains in place. But his reputation as a cautious politician who, for all his faults, at least does things by the book, is in tatters.

The vetting document prepared for the PM.
The vetting document prepared for the PM.

UK Government

By no means coincidentally, the Mandelson documents were not released until after prime minister’s questions, meaning Starmer could not be personally grilled about their contents.

Instead, chief secretary to the PM Darren Jones was sent out to face the music.

He claimed that the “due diligence process fell short of what is required”, which is undoubtedly true.

It is also the case that Mandelson was less than forthcoming about his links to Epstein when personally asked about them by the prime minister.

Nevertheless, this does not change the fact that the details which were already in the public domain should have been sufficient to bar him from the plum diplomatic role.

Jones told MPs that Epstein “was a despicable criminal who committed the most horrifying and disgusting crime that destroyed the lives of countless women and girls”.

And yet, knowing this, Starmer still opted to make his friend Mandelson the UK’s ambassador to Washington.

It is a decision which should haunt him for the remainder of his time in office, and beyond.

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Labour MP Attacks Plan To Scrap Most Jury Trials After Revealing She Was Raped

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A Labour MP has condemned David Lammy’s plan to scrap most jury trials after revealing for the first time that she had been raped.

Charlotte Nichols accused the justice secretary of using victims as a “cudgel” to force the controversial reforms through.

The government wants to get rid of juries in cases where the sentence is expected to be less than three years.

Ministers say the move is necessary to clear the huge backlog of court cases in England and Wales.

But critics say the planned reforms, contained in the Court and Tribunals Bill, will remove a fundamental right while not actually solving the problem.

During a Commons debate on the bill, Nichols said she had waited 1,088 days for her case to get to court.

The MP for Warrington North said: “Every single one of those days was agony, made worse by having a role in public life that meant that the mental health consequences of my trauma were played out in public, with the event that led to my eventual sectioning for my own safety still being something that I receive regular social media abuse from strangers about to this day.

“But here’s the kicker, in this debate, experiences like mine feel like they’ve been weaponised and are being used for rhetorical misdirection, for what this bill actually is.

“The violence against women and girls sector haven’t had the opportunity to come together to discuss it, and the government’s framing and narrative has been to pit survivors and defendants against each other in a way I think is deeply damaging.

“We have been told that if we have concerns about this bill, it is because we have not been raped or because we don’t care enough for rape victims.

“The opposite is true in my case, it is because I have been raped that I am as passionate as I am about what it means for a justice system to be truly victim focused.

“It is because I have endured every indignity that our broken criminal justice system could mete out that I care what kind of reform will actually deliver justice for survivors and victims of crime more widely.”

She added: “There is so much that we can be doing for rape victims that isn’t [David Lammy] using them as a cudgel to drive through reforms that aren’t directly relevant to them.”

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