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Storm Bert causes travel disruptions, power outages in UK and Ireland

In southern England, a man in his 60s died after a tree fell on a car on the A34 highway, local police reported.

Waves crash over the breakwater on November 23 in Newhaven, England. (Photo: Getty Images)
Waves crash over the breakwater on November 23 in Newhaven, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

STORM Bert brought severe weather to the UK and Ireland on Saturday, causing travel disruptions, power outages, and at least one fatality.

The storm brought snow, heavy rain, and strong winds, closing railway lines, roads, and bridges in several areas.


In southern England, a man in his 60s died after a tree fell on a car on the A34 highway, local police reported.

In northeast England, flights at Newcastle Airport were briefly disrupted as snow covered the runway.

In Scotland, ScotRail announced that some train services were suspended due to the weather.

The Severn Bridge, connecting Wales and England, was also closed because of strong winds, according to the National Highways website.

Snow stranded vehicles and blocked roads in northern parts of the UK.

Met Office chief meteorologist Jason Kelly described Storm Bert as a "multi-hazard event," predicting snow, rain, and wind to affect Britain throughout the weekend.

In Ireland, heavy rainfall caused flooding in the west, with some roads becoming impassable.

The Irish Meteorological Service issued a "status red" rain warning, its highest alert level, for Cork and Galway counties on Friday night.

Floodwaters in the Donegal town of Killybegs rose to the tops of parked cars.

Power company ESB Networks reported that high winds caused outages affecting 60,000 homes, farms, and businesses, mainly in the west and northwest of Ireland.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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Black and mixed ethnicity children face systemic bias in UK youth justice system, says YJB chair

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Black and mixed ethnicity children face systemic bias in UK youth justice system, says YJB chair

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  • Black children 37.2 percentage points more likely to be assessed as high risk of reoffending than White children.
  • Black Caribbean pupils face permanent school exclusion rates three times higher than White British pupils.
  • 62 per cent of children remanded in custody do not go on to receive custodial sentences, disproportionately affecting ethnic minority children.

Black and Mixed ethnicity children continue to be over-represented at almost every stage of the youth justice system due to systemic biases and structural inequality, according to Youth Justice Board chair Keith Fraser.

Fraser highlighted the practice of "adultification", where Black children are viewed as older, less innocent and less vulnerable than their peers as a key factor driving disproportionality throughout the system.

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