PLANS to allow water firms to increase bills yet again, despite decades of mismanagement and ongoing pollution, were condemned by campaigners today.
Five firms are set to raise charges by up to 5 per cent above the limits initially set by regulator Ofwat.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed that Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, South East Water, Southern Water and Wessex Water have been permitted to hike their tariffs following an appeal.
The firms argued that Ofwat’s original decision left them unable to meet the regulatory requirements set out for them.
It follows a ruling in December, in which Southern had already been allowed to increase bills by 53 per cent over the next five years.
…
Kirstin Baker, who chaired the independent group of experts appointed by the CMA to consider the price controls, said that the request for significant bill increases were “largely unjustified.”
River Action CEO James Wallace said: “Once again, water bill payers are forced to shoulder the cost of decades of failure.
“Millions of households in England face higher bills while rivers continue to suffer from mismanagement by privatised water companies.
April 2023 Surfers Against Sewage and Extinction Rebellion protests in St Agnes, Perranporth, Truro and Charlestown which unveiled spoof Blue Plaques to the MPs and Conservative Government who allowed raw sewage to be dumped in the sea (Image: Surfers Against Sewage)
Boris Johnson refused to answer specific questions posed by the watchdog or provide factual denials to allegations of rule-breaking. Photograph: Imageplotter/Alamy
Johnson found to have breached rules after refusing to answer specific questions about allegations published by the Guardian
Boris Johnson breached rules designed to stop the abuse of contacts and access made in public office, an ethics watchdog has found.
Last month the Guardian published revelations about Johnson’s conduct since leaving office. The Boris Files, a trove of documents from the former prime minister’s private office seen by the Guardian, suggested he repeatedly broke rules forbidding him from exploiting for private gain contacts made in office.
After the Guardian’s stories were published, the Whitehall watchdog, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), wrote to Johnson asking him to explain what he had done for the companies.
Johnson refused to answer specific questions or to provide factual denials to allegations of rule-breaking, while insisting all the rules had been followed at all times. His responses led Acoba’s chair, Isabel Doverty, to find him in breach of the rules.
Federal law enforcement agents stand guard as they are confronted by community members and activists for reportedly shooting a woman in the Brighton Park neighborhood on October 4, 2025 in Broadview, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
WGN says it “is aware of this situation, and we are actively gathering the facts related to it.”
A longtime TV news producer at Chicago-based station WGN on Friday was forcefully pinned to the ground and then hauled off in an unmarked van by masked federal agents.
As reported by the Chicago Tribune, WGN producer Debbie Brockman was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a law enforcement action in the city’s Lincoln Square neighborhood on Friday morning, purportedly on the grounds that she was obstructing their work.
Video of the arrest taken by an onlooker showed ICE agents handcuffing Brockman after they forced her to lie on her stomach. As the agents were detaining her, Brockman told the onlooker her name and asked him to let her employer, WGN, know what had happened to her.
She was then placed into an unmarked silver van and taken away to an unknown location, according to the Tribune.
BREAKING: Masked Border Patrol agents aggressively arrested WGN video producer Debbie Brockman in Lincoln Square Friday morning, supposedly for "obstructing justice." (Video via Josh Thomas on Facebook) pic.twitter.com/oirNviFCww
In a statement given to the Tribune, WGN said that it “is aware of this situation, and we are actively gathering the facts related to it.”
Josh Thomas, a local resident who witnessed the arrest, told the Tribune that he walked out of the door of his condominium and saw Brockman “laying on the ground in the street and they’re wrestling with her, trying to get her hands behind her back.”
“They said they were detaining her for obstruction,” Thomas added. “She said, ‘I didn’t obstruct.‘”
The arrest of Brockman comes one day after a judge responded to ICE agents’ recent violence in suburban Broadview by barring all federal officials in the Northern District of Illinois from using riot weapons “on members of the press, protestors, or religious practitioners who are not posing an immediate threat to the safety of a law enforcement officer or others.”
Federal immigration officials have been employing increasingly aggressive and violent tactics in the Chicago area in recent weeks, including attacking a journalist and a protesting priest with pepper balls outside the Broadview ICE facility; slamming a congressional candidate to the ground; dragging US citizens, including children, out of their homes during a raid in the middle of the night; and fatally shooting a man during a traffic stop.
Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R) meets with US President Donald Trump’s Special Representative for the Middle East Steve Witkoff (2nd L) and Trump’s son-in-law and former advisor Jared Kushner (L) in West Jerusalem on October 9, 2025. [Ma’ayan Toaf / GPO – Anadolu Agency]
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced early on Friday that the government had officially approved a proposal by US President Donald Trump to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of captives.
The PM office said the government had “approved the framework for the release of all hostages.”
Before the announcement, Netanyahu stated that his government continued to work towards achieving the goals of the war, with the main objective being the return of all those held captive.
Netanyahu added that “Israel is in the midst of a decisive development,” stressing that such progress would not have been possible without the “exceptional assistance” provided by President Donald Trump and his team.
He extended special thanks to Trump’s envoys to the region, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, noting that they had “worked tirelessly for many hours and did their utmost to make this happen.”
Netanyahu concluded that “these efforts serve the interests of Israel and the United States, as well as honourable people everywhere, with the aim of reuniting families with their loved ones.”
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that his active support and that of UK’s air force has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide.Vote Labour for Genocide.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Aid trucks loaded with humanitarian supplies remain stranded at the Rafah Border Crossing on the Egyptian side due to Israeli attacks and closed border crossings, the delivery of aid is limited and delayed in Rafah, Egypt on August 6, 2025. [Mohamed Elshahed – Anadolu Agency]
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Thursday that around 170,000 tons of humanitarian aid are waiting to enter the Gaza Strip, pending approval from the Israeli occupying authorities that control all border crossings.
Speaking after the announcement of the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war on Gaza, an OCHA spokesperson said the aid—comprising medicines, tents, and other critical supplies—could reach nearly two million Palestinians facing severe shortages of food and basic necessities once access is granted.
OCHA reported earlier this week that Israel has blocked the entry of 45 per cent of registered aid convoys since the genocide began in October 2023, severely limiting relief efforts. The spokesperson emphasised that effective delivery requires open crossings, security guarantees for aid workers and civilians, visas for international staff, and unrestricted entry of supplies. He also underlined the need to revive Gaza’s private sector to restore minimum living conditions.
At dawn Thursday, Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first stage of his proposed peace plan, which includes a prisoner exchange and an Israeli withdrawal to the so-called “Yellow Line” as an initial step.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Vote Labour for Genocide.
A water bill from Southern Water
