IPOH: The chairman of an association was charged at the Magistrate’s Court here for using an unrecognised ‘Datuk Seri’ title. Saiful Sharma Abdullah, 52, pleaded not guilty to the charge that was read out before Magistrate S. Punitha. Based on the charge sheet, the man had allegedly used an unrecognised ‘Datuk Seri’ title in the letter when seeking permission to organise the 9th anniversary celebration of the Persatuan Pasukan Keselamatan Rakyat Setia Berjasa Sukarela Negeri Perak. The offence w

Hundreds more daily train services are being cut in response to pandemic-related staff shortages. Avanti West Coast, c2c, East Midlands Railway and South Western Railway are introducing emergency timetables from Monday to reduce short-notice cancellations. Several other operators have taken the same measure in recent weeks due to the impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant.It was estimated earlier this month that around 10 per cent of rail staff were absent from work. South Western Railway’s e

Sky News presenter Trevor Phillips held back tears recalling his daughter’s death in lockdown as he quizzed asenior Conservative MP about “ partygate ”.... We all stuck to the spirit and the letter of the rules.“ At dinner, I get a call, ” he went on to say.... “ My daughter’s collapsed, and as you will know, for months she’d been isolated, she was ill.” “ By the following morning she had died, ” he added....

Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair has said he could “ understand how ” rule-breaking parties in No 10 could happen, but that they were still inexcusable. Sir Tony, who occupied Downing Street for a decade, said he did not want to “ get into questions of resignation or not ” when asked whether Boris Johnson should resign over the partygate allegations. The former Labour leader told Times Radio he could “ understand people feeling enraged and very angry ” about the claims of lockdown-contraveni

UK counter-terrorism officers are working with authorities in the US after a British hostage-taker was shot dead after an hours-long stand-off at a synagogue. The man has been identified as 44-year-old Malik Faisal Akram, orginally fromBlackburn in Lancashire.He was killed in a “ shooting incident ” after the FBI entered the building at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas on Saturday. All four hostages were unharmed in the incident which President Joe Biden described as “ an act of te