Sebastian Mann
Evening Standard
United Kingdom
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Past articles by Sebastian:
UK weather: Temperatures set to plunge below freezing as first frost of winter hits
Temperatures could fall as low as -2C this weekend as the first widespread frost of winter sweeps across the UK. The mercury is forecast to plunge just weeks after Britain experienced its second warmest October day in six years with 23.5C in Kent 10 days ago. A low of -2C is expected in Scotland on Sunday night, with Londoners unlikely to see temperatures much above 2C, the Met Office said. In a… → Read More
Scottish women to be allowed to take abortion pill at home
Women in Scotland are set to become the first in the UK to be allowed to take the abortion pill at home. Campaign groups welcomed a move they said offered “clear potential advantages”. It means women will no longer have to travel to clinics to terminate pregnancies. Scotland's Chief Medical Officer Dr Catherine Calderwood wrote to health boards to say that the pill, misoprostol, can be taken by… → Read More
Louis Theroux records ‘serious’ message after spoof bot's tweet goes viral
Award-winning filmmaker Louis Theroux has indulged fans with a brilliantly straight-faced recording of a parody Twitter account’s viral tweet. The broadcaster, known for his sometimes bizarre documentaries, shared a video of him saying: “I'm in Amsterdam to meet Hannah, a former IT expert turned cybergoth who believes Hull is a portal to Hell.” It came after an automated Twitter account that… → Read More
‘Not great after the PM visit’: British officials expressed alarm at Donald Trump’s travel ban, internal files reveal
British officials worried about the “not great” timing of Donald Trump’s announcement of a Muslim travel ban just hours after Theresa May met him in the Oval Office, internal Foreign Office documents reveal. Newly released emails show how officials struggled to cope with the blizzard of announcements issuing from the White House in the days after Mr Trump took office. → Read More
Catalonia independence: President Carles Puigdemont rules out calling snap election
Spain's worst political crisis in decades deepened as Catalan president Carles Puigdemont ruled out calling a snap election in the region. The premier accused Madrid of failing to give sufficient guarantees that it would not still enforce direct rule on Catalonia if he announced a fresh poll for December, as many had expected he would. Mr Puigdemont said: "I was ready to call an election if… → Read More
Catalonia independence: Uncertainty as Catalan president cancels ‘election announcement’ speech
Uncertainty over the future of Catalonia continued today as the region’s president cancelled a speech in which he was expected to call fresh elections. Carles Puigdemont was reportedly set to dissolve parliament and announce Catalans would be going to the polls in December in a bid to break the deadlock in Spain’s biggest political crisis in decades. → Read More
Harrow flooding: Streets in north-west London plunged underwater by burst water main
Scores of office workers were forced to flee as a burst water pipe plunged several roads in north-west London under water. Emergency services gave piggybacks to children escaping the deluge in Harrow after the 24-inch mains pipe spilled gallons of water into the street on Tuesday morning. The London Fire Brigade said floodwaters reached depths of up to 1.5 metres and did not recede until the… → Read More
Jared O'Mara: Labour MP under investigation over 'calling woman ugly b****' just weeks before he was elected
A Labour MP is under investigation by his party after claims emerged that he made a string of sexist and homophobic remarks including calling a constituent an “ugly b****” in March. Senior Labour figures have branded Jared O'Mara's alleged comments "unacceptable" and party leader Jeremy Corbyn faced calls to remove the whip from the MP. Sheffield bar worker Sophie Evans, 25, earlier told BBC… → Read More
Pensioner turns £13.5k bungalow into glorious ‘Venetian palace’ four miles from Heathrow
An octogenarian has transformed his drab bungalow into a magnificent seven-bedroom mansion replete with Renaissance-style frescoes, grand fireplaces and a replica of Tintern Abbey. Property developer Trevor Wynne-Jones embarked on his epic labour-of-love 30 years ago when he demolished the £13,500 property he’d bought several years earlier. Now the renovated home, in the village of Wraysbury… → Read More
Snapped: ‘Idiotic’ men pictured swimming in baited crocodile trap
A group of men have been labelled contenders for “idiots of the century” after they splashed about in a baited crocodile trap. Four swimmers were pictured frolicking in the floating snare near the scene of a fatal crocodile attack in Queensland, Australia earlier this month. Their rash antics sparked sweeping condemnation. Julia Leu, the mayor of Douglas Shire, said of the incident at the Port… → Read More
'Are you going to blow us up?' Woman wearing Islamic outfit for TV documentary My Week as a Muslim subjected to vile abuse outside her local pub
A former “ban the burka” campaigner who posed as a Muslim for a TV documentary was showered with Islamophobic abuse outside her local pub. Drinkers hurled vile comments at Katie Freeman as she walked through her hometown of Manchester in one-off Channel 4 show My Week as a Muslim. One asked her if she planned to “blow them up”, during filming that took place in the same week as the Manchester… → Read More
Shocking photos show scale of devastation left by deadly Typhoon Lan in Japan
Four people have died and tens of thousands were ordered to flee their homes as Typhoon Lan ploughed into Japan. Hundreds of flights were cancelled and trains were also disrupted as the tropical cyclone hit the country and caused landslides. Among the dead was a man killed after being hit by falling scaffolding amid high winds. A fisherman tending to his boat also died and a woman was killed… → Read More
Widow of US soldier killed on duty says Donald Trump forgot dead husband’s name in phonecall
The widow of a US Army sergeant killed in Niger has claimed Donald Trump struggled to recall her husband’s name in a phone call of condolence. Myeshia Johnson said the upsetting oversight intensified her grief for her lost 25-year-old spouse, who died with three other soldiers after being attacked by Islamic State militants in the west African nation earlier this month. → Read More
Woman shares graphic photo of bloodied face after sex attack to raise awareness for #MeToo viral campaign
A photojournalist has told how she was pinned down and beaten in the back of a cab during a shocking sexual assault that left her with a swollen and bloodied face. Rena Effendi, a photographer based in Istanbul, posted a graphic portrait of her facial injuries as part of the viral #MeToo social media campaign, which hundreds of thousands of women have used to detail allegations of sexual… → Read More
British diver makes terrifying three-hour swim for his life after losing his boat and finding himself being hunted by a Tiger shark
A British diver has told how he was hunted by a shark for hours in a nerve-shredding ordeal after becoming stranded at sea. John Craig, 34, was stalked by a four-metre long tiger shark off the west coast of Australia after losing sight of his boat during a spear-fishing trip, reports said. He told the BBC: "It was extremely close and curious and kept approaching me from different angles. It was… → Read More
Man who tried to break up gang fight 'stabbed and beaten with glass tube'
A young man was stabbed in the chest and beaten with a glass tube after stepping in to break up a fight, police said. Attackers left the 23-year-old peacemaker with a lacerated lung and broken rib as they set on him inside a newsagent in central London. He had intervened after spotting his attackers arguing in the street with another group of people, the Metropolitan Police said. Detective… → Read More
Abdifatah Sheikhey murder: Drug dealers face life in prison after killing teenager in revenge attack
Three drug dealers were today found guilty of murdering a teenager shot dead with a semi-automatic pistol in a revenge killing. Abdifatah Sheikhey, 19, was blasted in the chest and stomach as he sat in the passenger seat of a black Mercedes car following an earlier armed confrontation in a chicken shop. Sami Omar, 21, shouted “F*** off, I didn’t do nothing” as he was taken down after an Old… → Read More
Spanish military jet crashes near Madrid killing pilot
The pilot of a Spanish military plane has died after crashing during take-off at an airbase outside Madrid. Spain's defence ministry said the accident happened in Torrejón about 15 miles east of the Spanish capital at about 11am local time. It tweeted: "An F-18 of the Air Force's 12th wing has suffered an accident during a take-off manoeuvre on the Torrejón air base. "As a result of the disaster… → Read More
Storm Ophelia 2017 path: Storm sweeps through UK after killing three in Ireland
Three people have died after Storm Ophelia barreled across the British Isles and wreaked havoc in northern parts of the UK. Road and rail services in Scotland were thrown into turmoil as the deadly former hurricane continued its destructive path after hitting Ireland on Monday. One woman was killed in the south of the country when a tree fell on her car in the storm. → Read More
Piccadilly Circus billboard lights switched back on after nine-month upgrade
The iconic electronic billboards of Piccadilly Circus were switched back on this morning in a test run after nine months of upgrade works. Renovation work has converted six illuminated advertising boards into one ultra-high definition curved screen. The screens went dark in January, marking the start of the longest blackout of the Piccadilly lights since the Blitz. It was the first time they… → Read More