How thieves could break into your car
I MAGINE MEETING a seasoned British car thief in 2013. They would probably have cut a sorry figure. Every year of their career, the grind had got harder. The tools of their trade, such as a coat hanger or 'slim jim' (a flat metal strip) for bypassing locks and strippers for manipulating ignition wires, had, slowly but surely, been rendered obsolete, thanks to improved security technology. Business had dried up.
Cars, phones, tractors: how high-end products are increasingly stolen to serve distant markets
The truth will catch up with you, but will readers want to hear it?
Football is becoming nerdier
The rise of the revolutionary retiree
Blame declining confidence, a lack of convenience and rising complacency
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Daily Mirror
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Methanol poisoning Brit, 23, blinded for life after accepting free hostel drinks
Calum Macdonald, 23, saw a 'kaleidoscopic, blinding light' in his eyes before losing his sight after a methanol poisoning in Laos last November that killed six - including Brit Simone White A young British man who was blinded after drinking bootleg whisky and vodka in Laos last year has shared the heartbreaking moment he realised he had lost his sight. Calum Macdonald, 23, was among the group of tourists suspected to have fallen victim to methanol poisoning at a hostel in Vang Vieng last November. Six people tragically died, including 28-year-old lawyer Simone White from Orpington, Kent. The tourists had been staying at the Nana Backpackers hostel and are believed to have consumed free alcoholic drinks laced with methanol. Simone's best friend, Bethany Clarke, spoke to the Mirror about the tragedy last month. READ MORE: Man crushed to death by wife after she 'stumbled and fell on top of him' Calum, who is now permanently blind, told BBC Breakfast that he had mixed the spirits with soft drinks and noticed something was wrong with his vision the next day. While on a bus with his friends crossing into Vietnam, he said he could not read any of the signs and saw a "kaleidoscopic, blinding light" in his eyes. "We thought it was food poisoning and the light I was seeing was some kind of sensitivity," he said. Things took a turn for the worse at the hotel, where Calum's vision had gone black. "We arrived in Hanoi, and at that point, the kind of white light in my eyes had diminished," he said. "It wasn't until we got to our hotel room and my friends and I were sitting in the room, and I said to my friends, why are we sitting in the dark here? Let's turn on a light. And they informed me that the light was, in fact, already on." Calum described how he struggled to breathe and speak as he was rushed to hospital. Initial tests did not reveal the cause, he told BBC Breakfast, but when he returned to England, results confirmed it was linked to something he had been drinking. Methanol is a toxic type of alcohol often found in cleaning products. Drinking methanol-laced alcohol can at first cause hangover-like symptoms, including dizziness, headaches and nausea. But within 12 to 48 hours, symptoms can progress to seizures, blurred vision and even blindness. As little as 30ml of methanol can be deadly, according to Médecins Sans Frontières - though treatment with dialysis within 10 to 30 hours can save lives. Calum wants young people, especially students planning gap years, to be aware of the dangers of methanol poisoning. He has also urged the Foreign Office to be clearer about the countries where the risk is greatest. He said: "I think I definitely feel a sense of responsibility as someone who's been lucky enough to survive this, to try and get the message out. "Because I know certainly, if I'd known about it, I wouldn't be in this situation. And I know I have a lot of friends that have also done similar sort of gap years in travelling around even that particular area. "If I was to put out a recommendation to people, although I'm certainly not an expert or a medical professional, I would probably say that if you did want to drink alcohol in some of the affected countries, probably just to avoid spirits entirely. "I think it would be nice, even if we could get some more information directly into universities, because I think that's the age of people that are really considering doing these kinds of trips, I think that would be a great thing." Two of the tourists who died - Danish friends Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Freja Sorensen, 21 - had met Calum on a night out. The other victims were American James Huston, 57, Australian women Holly Morton-Bowles and Bianca Jones, both 19, and Simone White, 28.
Rhyl Journal
2 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
Chris Evans' CarFest moving to Silverstone for 2026
The event, which usually takes place at Laverstoke Park Farm in Hampshire, was set up by Virgin Radio UK host Evans, 59, in the 2010s to showcase live music and motoring track shows. From next August, the event moves to Silverstone, the Northamptonshire motor racing circuit that is home to Formula One's British Grand Prix and where scenes from Brad Pitt's F1 movie were filmed. Evans said: 'This move opens up possibilities we've never had before, more space, more cars, more ways to surprise and delight our audience and most importantly, an opportunity to raise even more money for UK children's charities. A post shared by CarFest (@carfestevent) 'The heart of CarFest will always be the same, with charitable fundraising and entertainment, providing unforgettable experiences for all ages, at the core of our mission. As one of the UK's premier entertainment destinations, Silverstone gives us the perfect stage for the next chapter in our story.' He said: 'I wanted to share this incredibly exciting news today, so anyone who wants to join us and say farewell to the amazing home we have had at Laverstoke Park Farm has the opportunity to join us for one last amazing party there this coming weekend. 'Together, we can deliver an even bigger and better event while raising vital funds for charity.' This year's line-up includes music from rock band The Boomtown Rats and Scottish outfit Travis and talks with a number of chefs, wellness experts and more. Silverstone chief executive Stuart Pringle said: 'Silverstone has evolved into a year-round destination for world-class events, and we are thrilled to be working with CarFest for next year's event. 'For more than a decade, CarFest has inspired a devoted community of fans, becoming a true highlight of the British festival calendar. As the ultimate summer celebration, blending music, motors, food, family fun, and unforgettable experiences, CarFest is a perfect fit for Silverstone.' CarFest has run annually since 2012, with the exception of 2020, when it was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. The 2026 CarFest at Silverstone will take place over the August Bank Holiday weekend, August 27-30, with tickets and further details to be announced soon. CarFest 2025 is taking place between August 22 and August 24 at Laverstoke Park Farm.
The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
It's time to explode the Establishment myths against a wealth tax
This rebuttal largely goes unchallenged by the national media, yet it has at its heart a number of misleading premises. The first is that wealth creation ceases when the wealthy leave. This stems from the myth that the ruling class create wealth through their ingenuity and risk-taking, as opposed to all financial wealth originating from human labour. It would therefore take a mass exodus or nationwide risk to life for wealth creation in a country to cease – we need only look at the hit private profit would have taken during the pandemic had the state not stepped in to shore it up to see the primacy of human labour evidenced. Read more The second is that existing wealth itself is mobile and can "leave" with the wealthy. Some wealth is, of course, mobile, in the form of fine art, precious gems, other luxury items and the king of capital; cash, which is exactly why currency controls and export restrictions and limits exist. However, a significant proportion of wealth is in immobile assets like land, property and British-based businesses whose wealth is generated by, you guessed it, human labour. This wealth cannot up sticks and leave with an individual. The resources remain in the country and are subject to taxation. The third is the Laffer Curve itself which purports to visualise the relationship between tax rates and tax revenue, the idea being that there is an optimum rate of tax which raises the maximum revenue, above which revenue starts to decrease as taxpayers are deterred from remaining in the tax system. This theory, though influential, is unfounded. The concept of trickle-down economics, that tax cuts raise more revenue by encouraging investment and thus benefit society, has not been borne out in data. Tax cuts have not been found to reduce inequality. UK taxes are considerably lower than in most other western European countries, yet we face significant and persistent income and wealth inequalities. Research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that in the UK the top 10% own a staggering 57% of the wealth, while 2 in every 10 adults and 3 in every 10 children, are in poverty. So, if wealth creation doesn't stop when the already wealthy leave, if the super-rich can't take their British resource-dependent wealth with them, and if tax cuts have not been found to reduce inequality, why is the Establishment so opposed to taxing wealth? The other half of their argument is on what may happen in future. Their fear, they say, is that if we make the country less profitable for wealthy individuals, even slightly so through a modest wealth tax, they will leave, and private interest as a whole will be less likely to invest in our economy. How likely this is has been contested by organisations like Tax Justice UK and Patriotic Millionaires UK, so it seems likely that at least some of the millionaires will stay, but regardless the important question is: what do the rest of us stand to gain from any potential risk of flight? We know that waiting for wealth to trickle down has not worked, that inequality has remained high while the rich get richer. We know we won't lose wealth creation as long as we have a fit and able population to do the work. We know we won't lose all existing wealth as long as we have natural resources, built heritage and, yes, a fit and able population to do the work. In fact, the greatest risk to wealth is workforce shortages caused by a public health service on its knees, an undervalued public education system and a cost-of-living crisis deterring new parents. In short, the greatest risk to wealth is continuing to let it go untaxed. Inequality has remained high while the rich get richer (Image: Getty) Yes, we may lose some wealthy individuals who don't want to pay their fair share, we may see fewer corporate lobbyists on their payroll and fewer freebies for the politicians in their pockets – I'll shed no tears for them – but what we stand to gain is a fairer system. A system that addresses inequality and says clearly and proudly, if your private interest has benefitted from our public services: our health, our education, our labour (in every sense!), you will contribute a proportion of that benefit back into the system. There would be no wealth without us, all we are asking is that we all receive our fair share. A wealth tax is a modest policy whose time has well since come. So let there be no shame in calling for one and in doing so declaring that we will not reward greed and excess, we will build a society in which we all have enough. This Labour Government has an opportunity like no other: a mandate, a majority, and a moral imperative. It must embrace it. Mercedes Villalba is a Scottish Labour MSP for the North East Scotland Region.
