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  One of Greece's worst-ever rail disasters, which claimed at least 43 lives, was due to "tragic human error", the country's prime minister has said. PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke after visiting the site of Tuesday night's head-on collision between a passenger service and a freight train. The local stationmaster has been charged with manslaughter. The Greek transport minister has resigned. Rescue teams are continuing to search for survivors. The accident happened just before midnight on Tuesday. The passenger train carrying some 350 people collided with a freight train as it emerged from a tunnel after leaving the town of Larissa. It is still unclear why the two services were running on the same track. The stationmaster, who is in charge of signalling, denies wrongdoing and has blamed the accident on a possible technical failure. Survivors describe 'nightmarish seconds' Greece train crash: What we know so far Pictures of devastation as dozens killed After v...

The leaders of China and Belarus have expressed their "extreme interest" in a peaceful resolution in Ukraine. Chinese President and Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russia's Vladimir Putin, issued the statement after talks in Beijing. Mr Lukashenko said his country "fully supports" a Beijing plan for ending the war in Ukraine. China  announced a plan for peace talks last week , calling for the respect of national sovereignty. The visit comes days after China sent its top diplomat  Wang Yi to meet Mr Putin . Mr Lukashenko and Mr Xi's meeting also coincided with a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Central Asian nations to discuss the Ukraine war. On Wednesday, China and Belarus "expressed deep concern" about the conflict and "extreme interest in the soonest possible establishment of peace in Ukraine", the Belarus state-run news agency Belta reported. Mr Lukashenko has aided the Russian leader in his war in...

  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 ...