Write to letters@thetimes.co.ukSir, Melanie Phillips rightly urges caution over lowering the voting age to 16 (“Keep children well away from the ballot box”, Apr 15). The danger stems not so much from children’s judgment but from further exposing them to nefarious influencers with extreme political views. Nonetheless, encouraging active citizenship in the young should be a priority in every democracy. Hence, children at 16 (or indeed younger) should have the chance to vote in a ballot held concurrent to general elections for representation in the form of a children’s minister who could champion their needs. This would allow them to practise their “obligations of a citizen” while also ensuring political parties took seriously the views of young people.

Urinary incontinence is not considered a life-or-death issue, but the reality is that it can lead to impaired quality of life, institutionalisation and even death (NHS England, 2018). The person with urinary incontinence may consider loss of bladder control to be shameful and embarrassing; they might become depressed and isolated. Urinary incontinence can affect their working life and relationships. We need to ensure that all staff are aware that urinary incontinence is not an inevitable consequence of ageing. We entered the profession to help and to heal, and continence care is a vital part of this.

PinnedJennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of the man mistakenly deported to El Salvador, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, speaking outside the courthouse in Greenbelt, Md., on Tuesday. Follow live updates on the Trump administration here. El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, sitting beside Mr. Trump, said he had no intention of releasing the man. During the hearing, Judge Xinis, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, clearly signaled that she wanted to get to the bottom of the administration’s obfuscations and delays. In her written order, Judge Xinis said that she would allow Mr. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers to make 15 requests for documents and depose as many as six administration officials.

Write to letters@thetimes.co.ukSir, As far back as 2001 the Auld report proposed a third tier of courts, comprising a district judge and two magistrates to deal with middle-range cases (“Legal experts back more trials without juries to cut backlog”, Apr 14). The court would give reasons for its decisions, unlike juries, whose reasoning can only be guessed at. This would have resulted in fewer and shorter trials, a reduction in delays and an enormous saving of public money. The idea was dropped as a result of resistance from magistrates and fear of the political consequences of interfering with the sacred cow of trial by jury. At last, has the time now come for this sensible reform to take place, even driven as

The body responsible for advising on NHS pay awards has handed its recommendations for 2025-26 to ministers, but the details are yet to be made public. The NHS Pay Review Body (PRB) sent its report to governments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on Friday last week, confirmed the Office for the Pay Review Bodies. She added: “Government needs to do the right thing – make an offer on pay that values NHS staff. They said: “The department has now received the NHS Pay Review Body recommendations for 2025-26 – regarding pay for Agenda for Change staff like nurses, paramedics and healthcare support workers. “We will carefully consider the recommendations before responding.”Similarly, a Welsh Government spokesperson confirmed it had received the NHS PRB report and would now “consider their recommendations before responding”.

Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan Bakyt Torobaev has held a high-level meeting with Shebn Alp, Regional Director of the UK Export Credit Agency (UKEF), seeking €2.7 billion in financial support to boost the country’s business sector. The meeting was held in accordance with instructions from Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, who has outlined economic modernization as a government priority. Torobaev emphasized the country’s strategic goals, which include revitalizing the agro-industrial sector, developing critical infrastructure, diversifying export markets, and enhancing Kyrgyzstan’s investment appeal. British representatives reportedly expressed interest in cooperation in the mining, construction, and infrastructure sectors, all of which are currently experiencing robust growth in Kyrgyzstan. Authorities are also investing in the mining sector, including recent efforts to rehabilitate rare earth element mines in Chui Oblast.

Read our Privacy noticeSarah Palin’s 8-year-old defamation claims against The New York Times were being heard anew Tuesday by a Manhattan jury after they were revived by an appeals court last year. Palin has asserted that the newspaper defamed her by falsely linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting. In his opening statement, attorney Shane Vogt told jurors that the newspaper had engaged in a “sickeningly familiar pattern” by targeting a popular Republican personality. In February 2022, Judge Jed S. Rakoff rejected Palin’s claims in a ruling issued while a jury deliberated. It also cited flaws in the trial, saying there was erroneous exclusion of evidence, an inaccurate jury instruction and a mistaken response to a question from the jury.

First minister John Swinney has been accused of politicising Grangemouth after calling the decision to national British Steel and not the Scottish oil refinery anti-Scottish. But, The Times points out, the Scottish government had not pushed for nationalisation of Grangemouth until this weekend, and Swinney conceded his government could not afford to take over the plant, reported to be losing £380,000 per day. Swinney has now insisted that if British Steel could be nationalised, Grangemouth should have been as well. He added: “It’s unfortunate that presumably for political reasons that position has suddenly changed after redundancies have been confirmed. I’d urge others to decide what they want their own role to be: political game-playing or the serious work to deliver a practical, deliverable future for Grangemouth.”

Vice President JD Vance predicted that President Trump would make a trade deal with Britain, a country “he really loves,” a comforting sign for a British government that was stung to be placed under a 10 percent tariff by Mr. Trump. It is a very important relationship,” Mr. Vance said in an interview published on Tuesday by a British news and opinion website, UnHerd, referring to King Charles III. Mr. Vance said the White House was working closely with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain and his government. Mr. Vance did not go into the details of a potential deal, which are complicated and politically charged in Britain. The country is one of many lining up for talks with the United States since Mr. Trump imposed across-the-board tariffs on dozens of countries, and much larger levies on China.

Universities should be mindful of sanctions imposed on the University of Sussex for its failure to uphold free speech, campaigners have warned. In a letter to The Times newspaper, more than two dozen free speech advocates welcomed the Office for Students’ (OfS) “clear and proportionate sanctions” over the university’s “serious failures to uphold the rights and liberties of staff”. Signatories to the letter include Lord Young of Acton, founder of the Free Speech Union, Julius Grower, Associate Professor of Law at Oxford University, and journalist and author Helen Joyce. ‘Censorship’The OfS recently fined Sussex University £585,000, ruling that the university’s transgender policy had given rise to a “chilling effect” on the expression of “certain lawful views” relating to biological reality. Welcoming the OfS’ findings, Stock explained that the university’s trans policy “set the tone” for everything that happened to her.

Conde claims she was “spoiling for a fight” and was armed with a police-style baton, something the woman denies. Conde stopped his attack when the woman began coughing up blood, the court heard. Unaware that she had been stabbed, the woman left Conde’s house whilst his family phoned for an ambulance. He said Conde had shown remorse immediately when he stopped the attack and asked family members to phone an ambulance. Recorder Collins KC, sentencing, told Conde: “You only stopped when she was coughing up blood and you thought she was having a fit.

Bosses at one of the UK’s biggest legal practices have ordered lawyers to avoid commenting on the Trump administration in any client briefing documents. In what one City observer described as the latest evidence that even large UK firms with US connections were “treading a delicate balance” with the American president, all fee-earners at Norton Rose Fulbright were issued with a “dos and don’ts” edict. An email from Peter Scott, the British-American firm’s London-based global managing partner, said lawyers should “AVOID” several pitfalls in correspondence with clients. Included in the list, which The Times has seen, were “mentioning the Trump administration in any way other than factual” and “using emotive language”. The revelation at Norton Rose Fulbright emerged after it was reported that one of

FAQs(You can now subscribe to our(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channelThe payment of certain state benefits to some households in the UK will be impacted due to the upcoming bank holidays on April 18, for Good Friday , and on April 21, for Easter Monday . It has been confirmed by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) that beneficiaries scheduled to receive Universal Credit on either of the two dates will receive an early check this time.The same applies to other DWP-managed benefits. Those claimants who were originally supposed to receive their DWP payment on April 18 or April 21, can now expect it on Thursday (April 17).HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC) has confirmed that it, too, will disburse benefits under its administration earlier than usual in light of the Good Friday and Easter Monday holidays. Also, it is important that you spend the benefits wisely as the payment dates will return to normal after Easter Monday.Easter Monday is falling on April 21 this year.No, the benefits will not be delayed. In fact, those beneficiaries who were originally set to receive their payments on April 18 or April 21, will now get the check on April 17.

"We simply cannot look away," the UK's foreign minister David Lammy said as he opened the talks among counterparts from around 15 countries, denouncing what he called "a lack of political will" to end the fighting. "There can be no military solution in Sudan, only an immediate, unconditional secession of hostilities," said the African Union's commissioner for political affairs, Bankole Adeoye. "This, we believe, must be followed by an all-inclusive dialogue to end the war. "How can we forget the world's largest humanitarian crisis?" Those fighters and the Gulf state deny the charges.In a statement Tuesday, the UAE issued "an urgent call for peace" and accused both sides of "committing atrocities".

Even if you think you know it like the back of your hand, chances are there are plenty of coastal spots you have yet to discover. We’ve rounded up seven of our favourite seaside villages here. While not necessarily undiscovered, they are at least a little off the beaten track — and perfect for visiting this spring, before the summer crowds descend. But little Coverack, on the Lizard’s east coast, is far enough from the county’s big-ticket sights that it stays relatively sleepy, even during the summer. The Bay Hotel in Coverack occupies a prime position on the harbourfront and offers smart, simple rooms with uninterrupted views of the Atlantic.