Latest news with #YahooNewsUK
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Should football fans be allowed to drink in the stands? Yahoo readers have their say
Yahoo UK's poll of the week lets you vote and indicate your strength of feeling on one of the week's hot topics. After the poll closes, we'll publish and analyse the results each Friday, giving readers the chance to see how polarising a topic has become and if their view chimes with other Yahoo UK readers. Beer and football fans are a common sight in stadiums in countries such as Germany, but a prohibition has been in place in English football for the past 40 years. And that is unlikely to change any time soon, after calls from the Conservatives to consult on the alcohol ban in football stands were rejected by the government. Shadow sport minister Louie French said the modern game now enjoys a "more family-friendly atmosphere" and criticised the current system that "sees fans rushing to drink their beer before kick-off and at half-time, this often leads to the fans being delayed entering the stadiums and overcrowding on the concourses." Sports minister Stephanie Peacock said moves to reverse the prohibition, which has been in place since 1985, do not fall within the scope of the Football Governance Bill, which is poised to become law. MPs voted by 346 to 167, majority 179, against a consultation on ending the stadium alcohol ban across the top five tiers of men's football in England. In our poll earlier this week, Yahoo News UK asked our readers: "Should football fans be allowed to drink in the stands?" It received 1,052 votes and showed a clear majority - 70% - are against it. The poll's Have Your Say feature attracted some passionate comments, with many readers focusing on the potential for trouble in the stands. Nicola H, from Devon, said: "Alcohol and football are a toxic mix." Similarly, Gareth M, from Neath, said: "Alcohol should be kept away from the field area. I am an ex-safety steward with Swansea City and I have seen what happens... when [fans are] drunk, the trouble can start." On the other hand, David B, from Portsmouth, wondered if a ban on drinking in the stands is futile, saying: "I do not think they should be allowed to drink inside the ground/stadium. But there is a very good chance of them getting tanked up before they enter, so which is the less of the two evils?" And David E, who lives in France, asked: "Will it also be prohibited at high-end horse race meetings and motor racing circuits?" There is a very good chance of fans getting tanked up before they enter, so which is the less of the two evils? Yahoo's poll is broadly similar to the findings of a 2022 YouGov survey, which asked 3,297 Britons the same question about drinking in the stands. In YouGov's poll, 63% opposed this, with 25% in favour of allowing it. Meanwhile, Yahoo News UK readers were also asked: "How much does the bad behaviour of football fans concern you?" This poll received 270 votes, with the most common vote being 10 and an average strength-of-feeling score of 6.68, showing a majority of readers consider football disorder an issue. Read more of Yahoo UK's Poll of the Week articles
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Yahoo
What caused Air India Flight AI171 to crash? The key information we know so far
The Indian government is reportedly looking at a number of factors that may explain why Air India flight AI 171 crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad Airport on Thursday, killing all but one of its 242 passengers. The London Gatwick-bound plane - which was carrying 53 British passengers, 169 Indian nationals, seven Portuguese and one Canadian - crashed into a medical college and erupted in a huge fireball on Thursday. The sole survivor was Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40. At least 24 more people on the ground died. One of two black boxes has reportedly been found in a bid to help piece together vital clues that could shed light on the cause of the accident. On Friday, it was reported that Air India and the Indian government were looking at several aspects of the crash, including issues with the jet's engine thrust, its flaps, and why its landing gear remained open. The government is also looking at whether Air India was at fault, including looking at maintenance issues, a source told Reuters. Experts have also raised questions about the plane's landing gear, which was down when it should have been up, as well as the wing flaps. Some have raised the possibility of a power failure or bird strike. Here, Yahoo News UK looks at what investigators are likely to be considering. The Reuters news agency has reported two police sources as saying one of two black boxes from the plane has been found. They did not say whether it was the flight data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder that had been recovered. The black boxes, which are coloured orange to make them easier to find in the event of a crash, will be critical in establishing what happened. There are normally two recorders: a Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) for pilot voices or cockpit sounds, and a separate Flight Data Recorder (FDR). They are mandatory on civil flights, but their aim is not to determine any wrongdoing or fault - they are designed to preserve clues from cockpit sounds and data to help prevent future accidents. According to Reuters, investigators say the FDR helps them analyse what happened, and the CVR can start to explain why, though no two investigations are the same. According to Airbus: "Flight recorders store data (aircraft parameters) and sound (pilot, copilot, radio communications and the cockpit ambient noise). The recording device is crash-protected up to a certain level. It is resistant to fire, explosion, impact and water immersion." Video of the plane before the crash has shown its landing gear was down. Usually, this folds back into the aircraft immediately after it becomes airborne. Former British Airways pilot Alastair Rosenschein told Sky News: "It's clearly got its [landing] gear down and that is not correct... it should have been up." Watch: Moment Air India flight crashes after take-off He added: "I cannot understand why the [landing] gear would have been down... [and] left down. That would suggest, perhaps, a hydraulic problem because it's hydraulics that raise the gear." However, he made clear this was speculation. US aerospace safety consultant Anthony Brickhouse also said of the landing gear being down: "If you didn't know what was happening, you would think that plane was on approach to a runway." Steve Scheibner, an American Airlines pilot, also suggested there were abnormalities with the plane's wing flaps and linked this to the landing gear being down. Pilot Sumeet Sabharwal and his co-pilot Clive Kundar cried 'mayday' as the plane lost altitude, saying the engine was 'losing power'. According to reports, Sabharwal, who had more than 8,000 hours of flying experience, said he had 'no thrust' and was 'unable to lift'. And the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources, that an investigation into the crash was focusing on "whether the aircraft had a loss or reduction in engine thrust". Dr Jason Knight, a senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth, told The Telegraph: 'It appears from the video there is a cloud of dust just after take-off. 'I'm not sure, but it appears as though the cloud of dust could be from the engines as they both fail.' A twin-engine failure is extremely rare. The BBC reported experts familiar with Ahmedabad Airport as saying it is "notorious for birds", which can cause engine failures. Dr Knight also said "the most likely [reason] is a bird strike in both engines". But Scheibner said he didn't think a bird strike is a "likely theory". "We don't see any birds in the picture. It would have to be a lot of birds to foul out both engines and we don't see any indications coming out of the back of the engine that that happened: you'd see flames, you'd see sparks." Who were the British victims of the Air India plane crash? (The Guardian) Heartbreaking final selfie of doctor's young family starting a new life in Britain (The Telegraph) 'She was a ray of sunshine': First British victims of Air India plane crash named after 241 killed (The Independent)
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
What caused Air India Flight AI171 to crash? The key information we know so far
The Indian government is reportedly looking at a number of factors that may explain why Air India flight AI 171 crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad Airport on Thursday, killing all but one of its 242 passengers. The London Gatwick-bound plane - which was carrying 53 British passengers, 169 Indian nationals, seven Portuguese and one Canadian - crashed into a medical college and erupted in a huge fireball on Thursday. The sole survivor was Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40. At least 24 more people on the ground died. One of two black boxes has reportedly been found in a bid to help piece together vital clues that could shed light on the cause of the accident. On Friday, it was reported Air India and the Indian government are looking at several aspects of the crash, including issues with the jet's engine thrust, its flaps, and why its landing gear remained open. The government is also looking at whether Air India was at fault, including over maintenance issues, a source told Reuters. Experts have also raised questions about the plane's landing gear, which was down when it should have been up, as well as the wing flaps. Some have raised the possibility of a power failure or bird strike. Here, Yahoo News UK looks at what investigators are likely to be considering. The Reuters news agency has reported two police sources as saying one of two black boxes from the plane has been found. They did not say whether it was the flight data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder that had been recovered. The black boxes, which are actually coloured orange to make them easier to find in the event of a crash, will be critical in establishing what actually happened. There are normally two recorders: a Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) for pilot voices or cockpit sounds, and a separate Flight Data Recorder (FDR), They are mandatory on civil flights but their aim is not to determine any wrongdoing or fault - they are designed is to preserve clues from cockpit sounds and data to help prevent future accidents. According to Reuters, investigators say the FDR helps them analyse what happened and the CVR can start to explain why - though no two investigations are the same. According to Airbus: "Flight recorders store data (aircraft parameters) and sound (pilot, copilot, radio communications and the cockpit ambient noise). The recording device is crash-protected up to a certain level. It is resistant to fire, explosion, impact and water immersion." Video of the plane before the crash has shown its landing gear was down. Usually, this folds back into the aircraft immediately after it becomes airborne. Former British Airways pilot Alastair Rosenschein told Sky News: "It's clearly got its [landing] gear down and that is not correct... it should have been up." Watch: Moment Air India flight crashes after take-off He added: "I cannot understand why the [landing] gear would have been down... [and] left down. That would suggest, perhaps, a hydraulic problem because it's hydraulics that raise the gear." However, he made clear this was speculation. US aerospace safety consultant Anthony Brickhouse also said of the landing gear being down: "If you didn't know what was happening, you would think that plane was on approach to a runway." Steve Scheibner, an American Airlines pilot, also suggested there were abnormalities with the plane's wing flaps and linked this to the landing gear being down. He said it te fl Air India and the Indian government are reportedly looking at several aspects of the crash, including issues with the jet's engine thrust, its flaps, and why its landing gear remained open. Pilot Sumeet Sabharwal and his co-pilot Clive Kundar cried 'mayday' as the plane lost altitude, saying the engine was 'losing power'. According to reports, Sabharwal, who had more than 8,000 hours of flying experience, said he had 'no thrust' and was 'unable to lift'. And the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources, that an investigation into the crash was focusing on "whether the aircraft had a loss or reduction in engine thrust". Dr Jason Knight, a senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth, told The Telegraph: 'It appears from the video there is a cloud of dust just after take-off. 'I'm not sure, but it appears as though the cloud of dust could be from the engines as they both fail.' A twin engine failure is extremely rare. The BBC reported experts familiar with Ahmedabad Airport as saying it is "notorious for birds", which can cause engine failures. Dr Knight also said "the most likely [reason] is a bird strike in both engines". But Scheibner said he didn't think a bird strike is a "likely theory". "We don't see any birds in the picture. It would have to be a lot of birds to foul out both engines and we don't see any indications coming out of the back of the engine that that happened: you'd see flames, you'd see sparks." Who were the British victims of the Air India plane crash? (The Guardian) Heartbreaking final selfie of doctor's young family starting a new life in Britain (The Telegraph) 'She was a ray of sunshine': First British victims of Air India plane crash named after 241 killed (The Independent)
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
When and where Saharan dust storm and 'blood rain' could hit the UK this week
The UK's topsy-turvy weather is set to continue this week, with forecasters hinting at the possibility of 'blood rain' heading to UK shores. A brief blast of heat is expected for much of the country later in the coming days - only to quickly be replaced by torrential rain. And, what's more, it is predicted the downpours will bring with it some Saharan dust. Here, Yahoo News UK looks at exactly what Saharan dust is and what it could mean for the coming days. It's a mixture of sand, detritus and dust from the Sahara Desert that have been blown thousands of miles by strong winds in the upper part of the atmosphere as far north as British shores. However, for it to end up on the ground, it needs to be carried there by a meteorological vehicle, such as rain. According to the Met Office, Britain's official forecaster: "As raindrops fall, they collect particles of dust on the way down. Then when the raindrops land on something and eventually evaporate, they leave behind a layer of dust." This is sometimes referred to as 'blood rain'. According to Met Office forecasters, there are currently "hints of a little bit of Saharan dust in the atmosphere on Thursday and perhaps Friday". Thunderstorms forecast for later in the week will "potentially wash any sand out of the atmosphere". Heavy rain is currently expected to start in Northern Ireland, western Wales and south west England on Wednesday night, before moving north and east over Thursday. This is then predicted to be followed by a second band of rain following the same pattern over Friday and Saturday. However, downpours are also expected to be preceded by high temperatures, reaching almost 30C in parts of southern and central England. Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Mike Silverstone, said: 'After largely benign weather early in the week, some intense, thundery showers will move in on Wednesday evening. "These thunderstorms are being triggered by some warm, humid air that is moving into the UK from the south. The intense rainfall could see 20-40mm accumulating over just a few hours, which could cause some disruption. "While there are no severe weather warnings issued at the moment, it is possible thunderstorm warnings may be issued this week.' The most obvious impact most will see from 'blood rain' is a reddish residue left on cars, pavements and garden furniture. In 2022, Saharan dust left a red tinge to snow at ski resorts in the French Pyrenees, while staff at Legoland in Germany had to deploy jet washers to hose down attractions before visitors arrived. BBC weather presenter Carol Kirkwood advised the public to keep an eye out for "impressive sunrise/sets" as a result of the phenomenon. However, it can also have more serious consequences, particularly for people with respiratory conditions, such as asthma, COPD or bronchitis. 'If there's a lot of air pollution in the air [and] if you have a pre-existing lung condition, those fine particles can get into your airway and irritate airways that may already be inflamed," said Karen Spillett, deputy head of health advice at Asthma and Lung UK. "If you're out and about and you have a reliever inhaler, make sure you've got that reliever inhaler with you.' She added: 'If you do start to get symptoms — that might be coughing, wheezing, tightness across your chest, feeling a bit more breathless — you can take that reliever inhaler and that can hopefully help with your symptoms.' One of the last widespread instances of Saharan dust affecting Europe was in March 2022, when parts of Germany, Spain and France all found themselves blanketed with a layer of red debris. But it has also struck more recently, such as last month, when the phenomenon left a brown haze hanging over Athens, the Greek capital. And last year, dust clouds over Italy saw temperatures in June approach 40C. Closer to the dust's starting point, in Africa, a dust storm in Senegalese capital Dakar shortly before Christmas reduced visibility to less than 500 metres.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
When and where Saharan dust storm and 'blood rain' could hit the UK this week
The UK's topsy-turvy weather is set to continue this week, with forecasters hinting at the possibility of 'blood rain' heading to UK shores. A brief blast of heat is expected for much of the country later in the coming days - only to quickly be replaced by torrential rain. And, what's more, it is predicted the downpours will bring with it some Saharan dust. Here, Yahoo News UK looks at exactly what Saharan dust is and what it could mean for the coming days. It's a mixture of sand, detritus and dust from the Sahara Desert that have been blown thousands of miles by strong winds in the upper part of the atmosphere as far north as British shores. However, for it to end up on the ground, it needs to be carried there by a meteorological vehicle, such as rain. According to the Met Office, Britain's official forecaster: "As raindrops fall, they collect particles of dust on the way down. Then when the raindrops land on something and eventually evaporate, they leave behind a layer of dust." This is sometimes referred to as 'blood rain'. According to Met Office forecasters, there are currently "hints of a little bit of Saharan dust in the atmosphere on Thursday and perhaps Friday". Thunderstorms forecast for later in the week will "potentially wash any sand out of the atmosphere". Heavy rain is currently expected to start in Northern Ireland, western Wales and south west England on Wednesday night, before moving north and east over Thursday. This is then predicted to be followed by a second band of rain following the same pattern over Friday and Saturday. However, downpours are also expected to be preceded by high temperatures, reaching almost 30C in parts of southern and central England. Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Mike Silverstone, said: 'After largely benign weather early in the week, some intense, thundery showers will move in on Wednesday evening. "These thunderstorms are being triggered by some warm, humid air that is moving into the UK from the south. The intense rainfall could see 20-40mm accumulating over just a few hours, which could cause some disruption. "While there are no severe weather warnings issued at the moment, it is possible thunderstorm warnings may be issued this week.' The most obvious impact most will see from 'blood rain' is a reddish residue left on cars, pavements and garden furniture. In 2022, Saharan dust left a red tinge to snow at ski resorts in the French Pyrenees, while staff at Legoland in Germany had to deploy jet washers to hose down attractions before visitors arrived. BBC weather presenter Carol Kirkwood advised the public to keep an eye out for "impressive sunrise/sets" as a result of the phenomenon. As the southerly flow develops this week, there will be some Saharan dust pushing widely across the UK from later on Wednesday to Friday. You may notice this on your car! And where there are clear skies there is also the chance of some impressive sunrise/sets.@BBCBreakfast xx — Carol Kirkwood (@carolkirkwood) June 9, 2025 However, it can also have more serious consequences, particularly for people with respiratory conditions, such as asthma, COPD or bronchitis. 'If there's a lot of air pollution in the air [and] if you have a pre-existing lung condition, those fine particles can get into your airway and irritate airways that may already be inflamed," said Karen Spillett, deputy head of health advice at Asthma and Lung UK. "If you're out and about and you have a reliever inhaler, make sure you've got that reliever inhaler with you.' She added: 'If you do start to get symptoms — that might be coughing, wheezing, tightness across your chest, feeling a bit more breathless — you can take that reliever inhaler and that can hopefully help with your symptoms.' One of the last widespread instances of Saharan dust affecting Europe was in March 2022, when parts of Germany, Spain and France all found themselves blanketed with a layer of red debris. But it has also struck more recently, such as last month, when the phenomenon left a brown haze hanging over Athens, the Greek capital. And last year, dust clouds over Italy saw temperatures in June approach 40C. Closer to the dust's starting point, in Africa, a dust storm in Senegalese capital Dakar shortly before Christmas reduced visibility to less than 500 metres.
