logo
Rubbish piles at 'crisis point' amid bin strikes

Rubbish piles at 'crisis point' amid bin strikes

Yahoo12-03-2025

A Birmingham MP said rubbish piling up on the city's streets amid an ongoing bin strike had reached "crisis point".
In a letter to Birmingham City Council, Preet Gill said constituents had reported a increase in rats and cockroaches, and that she now feared a "public health emergency".
An indefinite all-out strike for bin workers in the city began on Tuesday involving about 350 members of the union Unite.
It follows a row over pay and conditions, particularly the loss of a job role.
The union claims some members could lose £8,000 from their salary, but the council said only a small number of workers stand to lose less than £6,000.
Labour MP Gill wrote: "Some roads in Edgbaston constituency are particularly badly affected where the volume of waste is obstructing passage along the pavements.
"Additionally, residents are reporting that the waste is driving a plague of rats and cockroaches."
She said with the warmer weather approaching, she feared the situation could get worse.
The all-out strikes officially started on Tuesday, however, collectors have been taking action on-and-off since January, following plans to downgrade some staff and reduce their pay.
In a statement, Birmingham City Council previously said the escalation would lead to "greater disruption to residents, despite the fair and reasonable offer that the council made to the union".
The letter said that the Labour-run council has "statutory duties" to protect the public from an environmental and public health perspective.
Gill said it must "take priority in this emergency situation".
She added: "I am formally requesting that you use the relevant statutory powers available to you to ensure that this emergency situation is addressed, ensuring that the streets are not running with vermin and the health of the population protected."
Gill told BBC Midlands Today the council had told her it would work with her to find a solution.
"It's really important that Unite and the council get back round the table because residents of Birmingham deserve so much better," she added.
"Hundreds of constituents are contacting me, sending me pictures, really worried, saying that there are areas where they've seen sights of rats, of cockroaches and of course foxes are coming out ripping those bags up.
"Of course as the weather starts getting warmer there's [an] awful stench and people are really worried about the public health element of this."
The issue was also raised during Prime Minister's Questions, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch attacking Labour, saying rubbish was "piling up" on the city's streets.
Birmingham City Council has been contacted for further comment.
Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Bin workers begin indefinite all-out strike
Birmingham City Council

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Democratic governors slam Trump's military deployment in California as ‘flagrant abuse of power'
Democratic governors slam Trump's military deployment in California as ‘flagrant abuse of power'

CNN

timean hour ago

  • CNN

Democratic governors slam Trump's military deployment in California as ‘flagrant abuse of power'

Democratic governors on Thursday slammed President Donald Trump's deployment of the National Guard and Marines to California amid protests over the administration's immigration enforcement policies. 'As we speak, an American city has been militarized over the objections of their governor,' New York Gov. Kathy Hochul began her testimony at a hearing on Capitol Hill. 'At the outset I just want to say that this is a flagrant abuse of power and nothing short of an assault on our American values.' The hearing is playing out against the backdrop of protests in Los Angeles and cities across the country against the Trump administration's immigration enforcement actions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has clashed with Trump over his decision to deploy National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles despite opposition from the state and city's Democratic leaders. Thursday's proceedings on Capitol Hill gave a high-profile platform to some of the Democratic Party's potential 2028 contenders to craft their response to the Trump administration's controversial immigration tactics, as the party seeks to calibrate its messaging on issues of crime and public safety. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called it wrong 'to deploy the National Guard and active duty Marines into an American city, over the objection of local law enforcement' and 'to tear children away from their homes and their mothers and fathers.' The Illinois governor condemned any violence, but he also delivered a warning to the Trump administration over potential plans to broaden the scope of the immigration crackdown, including the deployment of the National Guard in other states. 'We will not participate in abuses of power. We will not violate court orders. We will not ignore the Constitution. We will not defy the Supreme Court. We will not take away people's rights to peacefully protest,' Pritzker said. Hochul, Pritzker and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are testifying at a hearing focused on 'sanctuary state' policies. 'Sanctuary' jurisdictions is a broad term referring to jurisdictions with policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement actions, but the term is nebulously defined. Walz, who noted his state does not have so-called sanctuary legislation guiding enforcement policies, blasted the Trump administration's 'cruel and misguided policies.' 'We have a broken immigration system in this country. I think everyone in this room agrees with that. But nothing Minnesota has done to serve its own people stands in the way of the federal government managing border security and policies,' Walz said. And each governor laid the blame at Congress' feet for failing to adequately tackle comprehensive immigration reform. House Oversight Chair James Comer, meanwhile, criticized the Democratic governors' approach to immigration enforcement, saying in his opening remarks that 'Democrat-run sanctuary cities and states are siding with illegal aliens.' 'For today's Democrat Party, it seems unlimited illegal immigration isn't a failure of policy – it is the policy. And that agenda is being pushed at every level of government,' he continued. The Democratic governors explained the way their states cooperate with ICE on criminal enforcement, but Republicans have pushed for state and local officials to cooperate in all immigration enforcement matters. Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik clashed sharply with Hochul during the hearing, providing a potential preview of next year's gubernatorial race in the Empire State with the congresswoman eyed as a top possible GOP contender. New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, whose name is also in the mix as a potential GOP gubernatorial candidate, also briefly appeared at the hearing even though he does not sit on the committee. Stefanik also does not sit on the panel. The clash came as Stefanik questioned Hochul over New York's sanctuary policies for undocumented immigrants, pressing her repeatedly to recall details of what the congresswoman claimed were violent crimes committed by migrants in New York City during the governor's administration. 'Do you know who Sebastian Zapeta-Calil is?' Stefanik asked Hochul at one point. 'I'm sure you'll tell me,' Hochul said, when Stefanik cut in again. 'These are high-profile cases, New Yorkers know about them and you don't – so let's talk about Sebastian Zapeta-Calil. Do you know who that is?' she asked, referencing a high-profile case of subway violence from late last year in which an undocumented migrant was accused of setting fire to a woman who was asleep while riding a New York City train. 'I don't have the specific details at my disposal, no,' Hochul answered. After describing the case, Stefanik said, 'This is in Kathy Hochul's New York.' 'These crimes are horrific, I condemn them, and I would say – in all of these cases we would work with ICE to remove them,' Hochul said. CNN reported in January that Zapeta-Calil, 33, an undocumented migrant from Guatemala, pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the death of Debrina Kawam, 57. Zapeta-Calil repeatedly told detectives he had no memory of the attack. Then, investigators played surveillance video that allegedly caught him igniting the flames. 'Oh, damn, that's me,' Zapeta-Calil said during questioning with police that was transcribed and translated, according to court documents. 'I am very sorry. I didn't mean to. But I really don't know. I don't know what happened, but I'm very sorry for that woman,' Zapeta-Calil told police. Florida Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost asked each of the governors how they would handle potential arrests by the federal government, as he decried Trump having endorsed the idea of arresting California Gov. Gavin Newsom. 'If Tom Homan comes to Albany to arrest me, I'll say go for it. You can't intimidate a governor,' Hochul said, referring to the White House border czar. 'We're here on the frontlines every day, fighting to defend our rights, our values, and the public safety of our residents. And so, anything threatening our responsibility is an assault on our democracy, nothing short of that.' 'If Tom Homan were to come to try to arrest us, me, rather, I could say first of all that he can try,' Pritzker said. 'I can also tell you that I will stand in the way of Tom Homan going after people who don't deserve to be frightened in their communities, who don't deserve to be threatened, terrorized – I would rather that he came and arrested me than do that to the people of my state.' 'I didn't realize how much animosity there is here – we have a responsibility to the American public to work together. And I think threatening arrests on elected officials, congressman, it doesn't help any of us,' said Walz. 'And Gov. Pritzker is right – our citizens are scared and angry and it's not necessary. We can fix this with a bipartisan border bill, help us out.'

Rachel Reeves 'a gnat's whisker' from having to raise taxes, says IFS
Rachel Reeves 'a gnat's whisker' from having to raise taxes, says IFS

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Rachel Reeves 'a gnat's whisker' from having to raise taxes, says IFS

Rachel Reeves is a "gnat's whisker" away from having to raise taxes in the autumn budget, a leading economist has warned - despite the chancellor insisting her plans are "fully funded". Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said "any move in the wrong direction" for the economy before the next fiscal event would "almost certainly spark more tax rises". 'Sting in the tail' in chancellor's plans - politics latest Speaking the morning after she delivered her spending review, which sets government budgets until 2029, Ms Reeves told hiking taxes wasn't inevitable. "Everything I set out yesterday was fully costed and fully funded," she told Sky News Breakfast. Her plans - which include £29bn for day-to-day NHS spending, £39bn for affordable and social housing, and boosts for defence and transport - are based on what she set out in October's budget. That budget, her first as chancellor, included controversial tax hikes on employers and increased borrowing to help public services. Chancellor won't rule out tax rises The Labour government has long vowed not to raise taxes on "working people" - specifically income tax, national insurance for employees, and VAT. Ms Reeves refused to completely rule out tax rises in her next budget, saying the world is "very uncertain". The Conservatives have claimed she will almost certainly have to put taxes up, with shadow chancellor Mel Stride accusing her of mismanaging the economy. Taxes on businesses had "destroyed growth" and increased spending had been "inflationary", he told Sky News. New official figures showed the economy contracted in April by 0.3% - more than expected. It coincided with Donald Trump imposing tariffs across the world. Ms Reeves admitted the figures were "disappointing" but pointed to more positive figures from previous months. Read more: 'Sting in the tail' She is hoping Labour's plans will provide more jobs and boost growth, with major infrastructure projects "spread" across the country - from the Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk, to a rail line connecting Liverpool and Manchester. But the IFS said further contractions in the economy, and poor forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility, would likely require the chancellor to increase the national tax take once again. It said her spending review already accounted for a 5% rise in council tax to help local authorities, labelling it a "sting in the tail" after she told Sky's Beth Rigby that it wouldn't have to go up.

Hamas says it killed 12 Israeli-backed fighters. Israeli-supported group says they were aid workers
Hamas says it killed 12 Israeli-backed fighters. Israeli-supported group says they were aid workers

Los Angeles Times

timean hour ago

  • Los Angeles Times

Hamas says it killed 12 Israeli-backed fighters. Israeli-supported group says they were aid workers

CAIRO — A unit of Gaza's Hamas-run police force said it killed 12 members of an Israeli-backed Palestinian militia after detaining them early Thursday. An Israel-supported aid group, however, said the dead were its aid workers, eight of whom were killed when Hamas attacked its bus. It was not immediately possible to verify the competing claims or confirm the identities of those killed. The militia, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, said its fighters had attacked Hamas and killed five militants but made no mention of its own casualties. It also accused Hamas of detaining and killing aid workers. The deaths were the latest sign of turmoil surrounding the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private contractor that Israel says will replace the U.N. in distributing food to Gaza's more than 2 million people. The past two weeks, dozens of Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded in near daily shootings as they try to reach GHF centers, with witnesses saying Israeli troops nearby have repeatedly opened fire. On Wednesday, at least 13 people were killed and 170 wounded when Israeli forces fired toward a crowd of Palestinians near a GHF center in central Gaza, according to al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. The military said it fired warning shots overnight at a gathering that posed a threat, hundreds of meters (yards) from the aid site. Internet and phone lines, meanwhile, were down across Gaza, according to telecom provider Paltel and the Palestinian telecoms authority. They said a key line was severed during an Israeli operation and that the military would not allow technicians into the area to repair it. The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. The U.N. humanitarian office, known as OCHA, said emergency services were cut off because of the outage, and civilians cannot call ambulances. It said most U.N. agencies and aid groups could not reach their staff on the ground. Israel has barred international journalists from entering Gaza, making it difficult to confirm what happened in the killings early Wednesday near the southern city of Khan Younis. GHF said Hamas attacked a bus carrying more than two dozen of its Palestinian aid workers, killing at least eight and wounding others. It said it feared some had been abducted. 'We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms,' it said. 'These were aid workers. Humanitarians. Fathers, brothers, sons, and friends, who were risking their lives every day to help others.' The Israeli military circulated GHF's statement but declined to provide its own account of what happened. Rev. Johnnie Moore, a Christian evangelical advisor to President Trump who was recently appointed head of GHF, called the killings 'absolute evil.' The U.N.'s OCHA said it could not confirm the circumstances of the killings but said 'civilians must never be attacked, let alone those trying to access or provide food amid mass starvation.' GHF says its staff at the centers include unarmed Palestinian employees. Much of the staff are armed international contractors, mainly Americans, guarding the centers. The Abu Shabab group fighters are deployed inside the Israeli military zones that surround the GHF centers, according to witnesses. Earlier this week, witnesses said Abu Shabab militiamen had opened fire on people en route to a GHF aid hub, killing and wounding many. GHF says it does not work with the Abu Shabab group. Last week, Israel acknowledged it is supporting armed groups of Palestinians opposed to Hamas. Hamas has rejected the GHF system and threatened to kill any Palestinians who cooperate with the Israeli military. The Sahm police unit, which Hamas says it established to combat looting, released video footage showing several dead men lying in the street, saying they were Abu Shabab fighters who had been detained and killed for collaborating with Israel. It was not possible to verify the images or the claims around them. Mohammed Abu Amin, a Khan Younis resident who was at the scene, said a crowd celebrated the killings, shouting 'God is greatest' and condemning those killed as traitors. Ghassan Duhine, who identifies himself as deputy commander of the Abu Shabab group and a major in the Palestinian Authority's security forces, issued a statement saying Abu Shabab fighters had clashed with Sahm and killed five. He denied that the bodies in Sahm's images were the group's fighters. The Palestinian Authority, led by rivals of Hamas and based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has denied any connection to the Abu Shabab group. But many of the militiamen identify themselves as PA officers. Aid workers say Gaza is at risk of famine because of Israel's renewed military campaign and its two-and-a-half-month ban on imports of food, fuel and medicine to Gaza, which was slightly eased in mid-May. OCHA warned that fuel 'may very soon run out' at 67 of the 85 remaining partially functioning hospitals and health care centers in Gaza, meaning vital equipment would go dead. Despite the easing of the blockade, Israel has still not allowed fuel to enter. OCHA said the military gave it permission to retrieve fuel stored in northern Gaza after weeks of denials, but the team sent Wednesday had to turn back because of Israeli shelling in the area. The United Nations and major aid groups have rejected the GHF distribution system. They say it is unable to meet Gaza's needs and allows Israel to use food as a weapon to enact its military objectives, including plans to move Gaza's entire population to southern Gaza near the GHF hubs. Some fear this could be part of an Israeli plan to coerce Palestinians into leaving Gaza. Israel and the United States say the new system is needed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid from the long-standing U.N.-run system. U.N. officials deny there has been any systematic diversion of aid by Hamas. The Israeli military on Thursday released what it said were seized Hamas documents showing it takes aid. One document, apparently showing minutes from a meeting last year, included an item saying the Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, had previously taken 25% of the aid but had agreed to settle for 7%, with 4% going to the Hamas-run government and 4% to the political movement. It did not specify the source or quantity of the aid. Israel did not release the entire document. The documents also detailed Hamas' efforts to keep traders from hoarding goods and charging inflated prices for them. One of them appeared to acknowledge that some such traders had links to Hamas. The Associated Press could not confirm the documents' authenticity. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed over 55,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It does not say how many of those killed were civilians or combatants. The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage. They are still holding 53 captives, less than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Magdy and Chehayeb write for the Associated Press. Chehayeb reported from Beirut. AP writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv contributed to this report.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store