Unconscious cat saved by firefighters with oxygen mask after house fire
Firefighters used breathing equipment as they put out the fire at the property in the home in Nelson.Crews arrived at about 13:48 BST and were at the scene for about two hours.
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The Independent
a few seconds ago
- The Independent
Thousands of cancer patients could be undergoing unnecessary overtreatment
Up to 5,000 men in the UK could be undergoing unnecessary overtreatment for prostate cancer annually due to 'outdated' guidelines. Prostate Cancer UK warns that current National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, last updated in 2021, do not account for advances in testing and diagnosis, leading to overtreatment. Overtreatment of slow-growing prostate cancers can result in severe side effects such as erectile dysfunction and incontinence, which could often be avoided with active monitoring. Experts describe a "wild west" or "postcode lottery" in care, with overtreatment rates varying significantly across England and many hospitals developing their own inconsistent guidelines.
Daily Mail
a minute ago
- Daily Mail
Telling a female colleague they dress conservatively could get you fired for sexual harassment
Telling a female colleague that she dresses conservatively compared to her co-workers could be heard as a 'slur' and get you fired for sexual harassment, a tribunal has ruled. Describing a colleague as 'conservative' could be interpreted as 'frumpy' and a male employee who makes such a remark is guilty of 'objectifying' his co-worker, the employment judge explained. The ruling came in the case of Jessie Danquah, a business consultant at Shell, who told Naima Masud on a work night out that she was 'conservative compared to other woman at the social who have their boobs out'. Mr Danquah claimed that his comment was 'objectively true', however, employment Judge Adam Leith said the comment was 'objectively inappropriate' and likely to be a breach of workplace equality laws. Judge Leith told the tribunal in Croydon, London: 'It was objectively capable of having the effect of violating Ms Masud's dignity, and creating a degrading and humiliating environment for her. 'That was two-fold - firstly, his comments comparing Ms Masud to other colleagues suggested a degree of objectification of other female colleagues. 'And secondly, we consider that it would have been objectively reasonable for the recipient of the comment describing Ms Masud as 'conservative' and contrasting her with other female colleagues would hear that as a slur. 'When [he] used the word "conservative", that could, objectively speaking, be heard as "frumpy" or any number of other adjectives that could reasonably be regarded as somewhat less than complimentary. 'It does not matter that that was not what [he] intended, since the test for harassment looks at either purpose or effect.' Mr Danquah began working as a business consultant for FDM group, a business support services supplier in April 2022 and in August was sent on placement to Shell. The following month, he went to a work social organised by the oil and gas giant at Bar Elba, a cocktail bar in London. The hearing was told that during the evening he made a series of alleged comments to Ms Masud including telling her: 'I didn't expect people like you to be out that late'. 'When asked what he meant, he responded "Muslim girls",' the tribunal heard. Mr Danquah admitted the 'conservative' remark, telling the tribunal it was 'intending to affirm my belief that she carried herself modestly'. A few days after this incident, Ms Masud told Mr Danquah that she thought his behaviour had been 'unprofessional' and that his comments about her being conservative were 'inappropriate'. He denied acting unprofessionally, and responded 'You are conservative compared to other women at the social who have their boobs out'. Ms Masud reported the remarks to HR and when Mr Danquah found out he sent an email saying he would 'voluntarily suspend' his own work with Shell and FDM. Later that month he was suspended. In an investigation meeting Mr Danquah apologised for the 'conservative' remark but said 'It's objectively true on how someone dresses and it wasn't meant to demean her'. Bosses decided that he wouldn't return to his placement at Shell. Following this, he was found to have been 'aggressive' or even 'bullying' towards Ms Masud as he emailed her about his intention to sue her for defamation, copying in various other employees. He also 'indicated that if Ms Masud did not acknowledge receipt of his letter before claim within less than 24 hours, he would message all of her managers and colleagues with details of the investigation'. In November, he attended a disciplinary meeting in which it was found that this email was 'gross misconduct'. He was subsequently fired. Mr Danquah was separately told that his 'conservative' comment was a breach of the 'Bullying and Harassment policy and was associated with Ms Masud's sex, religion and belief'. He then sued FDM for race, sex and belief discrimination claiming that he held a 'philosophical belief in modesty'. Dismissing his claims, EJ Leith said: 'Based on the evidence before us, we are not satisfied that [Mr Danquah] genuinely held the belief he professed to believe at the relevant times. 'He may hold the belief now; the belief may even have developed as a result of his view of the events of September to December 2022. 'But there is simply no evidence before us on which we can be satisfied that he genuinely held a cogent philosophical belief at the relevant times.'
Daily Mail
a minute ago
- Daily Mail
Mother reveals 'unimaginable' loss after son, 30, died from 'smoking vape laced with opioid 20 times more powerful than fentanyl'
A mother has revealed her heart-wrenching loss after her son allegedly died from smoking a vape laced with an opioid. Freddy Ireland-Rose, 30, died last September following an accidental overdose of nitazenes, a drug thought to be around 20 times more powerful than fentanyl. He had been using a cannabis vape in a bid to withdraw from opiates and had been buying the liquid refills on the internet, an inquest in front of the Inner North London assistant coroner Sarah Bourke previously heard. After being found unresponsive at home with the device in his hand, paramedics succeeded in rescuscitating him but he did not regain consciousness and died in hospital a few days later. Now Ireland-Rose's mother has spoken out about her 'unimaginable' loss following the death of her son, as well as the potential reasons for his overdose, in an interview with the BBC. She said: 'Once you are mother, you can't un-mother yourself, even when the person is not there. He was such a vivid personality. And it's just a vast, bottomless hole really.' The heartbroken mother also revealed Ireland-Rose had been using the same vape for two or three weeks and had been receiving Jiffy bags from Amsterdam among other places. 'I don't think for one minute, and neither do any of his friends, that he took this intentionally. So, we can only assume it was in another illicit drug that he was taking, another opioid, or that it was the vape. 'And my question at the inquest was, is it possible that this contaminated the vapes and they came back with the answer, yes it was possible.' She suggested that the nitazenes had either entered her son's system by these means or through pills, and that people's lack of awareness of the opioids was alarming. In a Prevention of Future Deaths Report, Ms Bourke previously warned about cannabis vapes being contaminated by nitazenes, normally used as a synthetic pain reliever. She added that the risk of overdose was 'significant' because the amount ingested through inhalation could 'vary enormously'. The danger was greater given the lack of access to the antidote naloxone. Ms Bourke pointed out that nitazenes have entered into the UK heroin supply, but there was no evidence to suggest Ireland-Rose had taken street heroin before his overdose. Nitazenes were first created in the 1950s as opioid painkillers but were never approved for medical use. For 70 years, their existence was forgotten. Then, after Britain and America's withdrawal from Afghanistan - and the Taliban's subsequent narcotics ban - they re-emerged as a way to strengthen low-purity heroin in case opium supplies dwindled. Experts are united in their fear of the rising risk of nitazenes. Yet, while heroin users are still vulnerable, young people buying traditionally legal drugs such as Valium and Xanax as coping mechanisms are also at risk. In fact, MailOnline analysis of data from the UK's only drug testing facility Wedinos has revealed that two-thirds of samples that contained nitazenes were supposed to be legal medications that could be purchased legally. Two-thirds of that total were bought by people intending to buy Valium (diazepam). So far, the number of nitazene-related deaths only stands at 458 in the last two years, up to April 13. However, there was a 166 per cent increase from 2023 (125 deaths) to 2024 (333 deaths) - more than double in a single year, and even that total is expected to rise once toxicology and forensic testing improves and is finalised. Steve Rolles, a senior policy analyst at the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, told MailOnline: 'The number of deaths is rising at an alarming rate. It's the tip of the iceberg. 'What has happened in the US should be a warning to policymakers in the UK. We could be heading to a US-style overdose crisis. We are talking thousands or tens of thousands dying. 'All the indications are that is what is happening. I'm very wary of scaremongering about drugs but I'm deeply worried about the potential carnage opioids could do in the UK. 'We already have the highest overdose rate in Europe. Nitazenes could make it way, way worse. 'This is a very serious public health emergency that's not being taken seriously enough.' He added: 'I am scared. There's almost one person dying every day from nitazenes and most people haven't even heard of it. 'If it was anything else, there would be national panic. The government hasn't grasped the urgency of this.' Rolles is starting to see heroin mixed with nitazenes on the streets of Britain. He said: 'It does seem it's getting more [prevalent] as the heroin supply dries up.'
