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  An online portal has opened to help 900,000 more households across England, Scotland and Wales to access the £400 support from the Government to help with energy bills. Households without a direct relationship to an electricity supplier, such as those living in park homes and care homes, can now apply on the online portal to receive the support as a one-off, non-repayable lump sum under the “alternative funding” route of the Government’s Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS AF). A dedicated customer helpline is available to assist eligible customers without online access. The payment will be paid directly into people’s bank accounts. The exact date that an eligible household will receive support will depend on when the application is made and when the payment can be processed by the relevant local authority. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said more than £7.2 billion has been provided so far to 97% of households across England, Scotland and Wales t...

  Rishi Sunak promises 'beginning of a new chapter' as he unveils 'Windsor Framework' deal on Brexit Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has outlined details of the "new Windsor Framework" agreed with the European Union to overcome trade barriers in Northern Ireland following Brexit. The prime minister said the agreement was a "historic" and a "decisive breakthrough" that "delivers smooth-flowing trade within the whole of the United Kingdom, protects Northern Ireland's place in our union and safeguards sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland". The new deal includes: Green and red lane trade routes - where goods staying in the UK will use a green lane to avoid customs bureaucracy, while goods moving to the EU will use a red lane UK VAT and excise changes will apply in Northern Ireland - British products such as food and drink, trees, plants and seed potatoes will be available in Northern Ireland and pet travel requirements have b...

  Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Party, APC is leading in Seven of Eight Local Government Areas in Saturday’s presidential election results were announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission Lagos State Collation Centre on Sunday. However, the former governor lost his Local Government, Ikeja to Peter Obi of the Labour Party. Election results have continued to filter in from some states as INEC declared Tinubu, the winner in Ekiti. See the results below: Ikorodu: APC-50,353 LP-28,951 PDP-4,508 NNPP-400 Ikeja LGA: APC-21,276, LP-30,004 PDP-2280 NNPP- 337 Badagry: APC:31,903 LP- 10,956 PDP- 6024 Agege: APC- 29,568 LP-13,270 PDP-4,498 NNPP- 1,513 Lagos Mainland: APC-20,030 LP-18,698 PDP-3,005 NNPP-257 EPE- APC- 19,867 LP- 3,497 PDP- 5,221 NNPP-76 Lagos Island: APC- 27,760 LP- 3,058 PDP- 2,521 NNPP- 79 Ibeju-Lekki APC- 14,685 LP- 10,410 PDP-2,329 NNPP- 104  

  The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission stormed the polling unit of Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the morning of the presidential and National Assembly Elections. The team who arrived Tinubu’s unit at PU 085, Ward 3, Sunday Adigun, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos State, were seen parading the polling centre although they never disclosed what prompted the visit to reporters.

  THE hopes of Nigerians and all lovers of democracy around the world for credible, hitch-free elections in Nigeria were dashed on Saturday when the odious fractures that have persistently marred voting in the country resurfaced. Logistics glitches, violence, intimidation of voters, corruption and incompetence, ballot box-snatching, and impunity conflated with security failures to prevent a smooth exercise nationwide. Despite some improvements over previous elections, Saturday’s polling proved that despite 24 years of trying, officials still cannot organise seamless national elections devoid of hitches and violence. INEC, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), the Nigeria Police, the military and other security and paramilitary forces deployed in the field, despite marked improvement on past performance, disappointed in several areas. Many find this more painful because the elections come at a time of deep economic and social adversity, and a general resolve by the ...

  Second Test, Wellington, (day two of five) England 435-8 dec : Brook 186, Root 153*; Henry 4-100 New Zealand 138-7:  Latham 35; Anderson 3-37, Leach 3-45 New Zealand are 297 runs behind Scorecard England's dominance of New Zealand was only halted by rain on day two of the second Test in Wellington. Three wickets each for James Anderson and Jack Leach reduced the home side to 138-7, 297 runs behind. England's relentless bowling and sharp catching - bat-pad man Ollie Pope claimed two superb grabs off Leach - had raised the prospect of the tourists being able to enforce the follow-on. That decision will have to wait for Sunday after rain arrived to wipe out almost two hours of play in the evening session. England had earlier moved from their overnight 315-3 to 435-8 declared, crashing 120 runs in less than two hours. Harry Brook was out to the seventh ball he faced for 186, but Joe Root continued on to make 153 not out. Play on day three will once again begin at the earlier tim...

  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he plans to meet China's leader Xi Jinping to discuss Beijing's proposals on ending the war in Ukraine. Speaking on the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, he said the proposal signalled that China was involved in the search for peace. "I really want to believe that China will not supply weapons to Russia," he said. China's plan calls for peace talks and respect for national sovereignty. However, the 12-point document does not specifically say that Russia must withdraw its troops from Ukraine, and it also condemns the usage of "unilateral sanctions", in what is seen as a veiled criticism of Ukraine's allies in the West. The Chinese authorities have so far not publicly responded to Mr Zelensky's call for a summit with Mr Xi. Meanwhile, Russia hailed the Chinese peace proposals. "We share Beijing's views," the foreign ministry in Moscow said in a statement. Earlier t...