Girl, six, in ‘very serious' condition after tree collapse

Yahoo11 hours ago

A six-year-old girl is in a 'very serious' condition after being caught beneath a tree which collapsed in an Essex park.
A seven-year-old girl was killed and three more children sustained minor injuries and received hospital treatment after the tree fell in Chalkwell Park, Southend-on-Sea, shortly before 3pm on Saturday.
Police are investigating what happened and an area has been set up for the laying of flowers and tributes.
Assistant Chief Constable Lucy Morris of Essex Police said: 'Updates will be provided on the condition of the little girl who remains in hospital.
'I know many will be thinking of her today and she is in the right place, receiving urgent and around-the-clock care surrounded by her family.
'Sadly, her condition is still very serious at this time.'
Dozens saw the incident and rushed to try and lift the tree, a witness said.
Accountant Ishan Madan, 39, from Westcliff-on-Sea, was playing in a cricket match nearby when he heard a 'horrendous, screeching scream'.
He said: 'Everyone ran towards the clubhouse, where the tree is.
'The tree had snapped and I think there were four children, the fifth one was slightly further away, I think she'd been hit by a branch.
'Two of them were under a smaller branch, they were rescued easily, and unfortunately, the other two girls, they were stuck under this massive tree.
'So we got bystanders to help, it must have been 40 to 50 people who then tried to lift the fallen tree up and to our horror, these two little girls, poor girls, were stuck underneath it.
'Their mother was on the corner.
'It was horrendous.'
Mr Madan said that he had heard the children were walking on a path when the tree fell.
He continued: 'You'd never think something like this could happen and there were a lot of people at our club that were shocked, including myself.
'It was horrendous.
'It was like a nightmare that you'd sort of wake up from and then someone would tell you it wasn't true.
'You couldn't imagine kids walking in the park and something like this happening.'
Chief Superintendent Leighton Hammett said that those who rushed to help 'showed the best of Southend'.

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UK police assess footage of Glastonbury acts over anti-Israel chants

Yahoo

an hour ago

Yahoo

UK police assess footage of Glastonbury acts over anti-Israel chants

British police say they are reviewing comments made on stage by rap punk duo Bob Vylan and hip hop trio Kneecap at this year's Glastonbury Festival. Rapper Bobby Vylan took to the festival's third-biggest West Holts Stage on Saturday shouting 'Free, free Palestine,' before leading crowds to chants against the Israeli military. Video showed the rapper shouting into the mic, 'Alright, but have you heard this one though? Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defense Forces).' The artist also performed in front of a screen that displayed a message which read: 'United Nations have called it a genocide. The BBC calls it a 'conflict,'' referring to the UK's public broadcaster that has been showing the festival live. The Israeli Embassy in the UK said it was 'deeply disturbed' by what it called 'inflammatory and hateful' rhetoric at the festival. It said that when chants such as 'Death to the IDF' are said in front of tens of thousands of festivalgoers, 'it raises serious concerns about the normalisation of extremist language and the glorification of violence.' 'We call on Glastonbury Festival organisers, artists, and public leaders in the UK to denounce this rhetoric and reject of all forms of hatred,' it added. Glastonbury Festival said in a statement that it was 'appalled' by Vylan's remarks. 'Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence,' organizers said. Ahead of the five-day music festival, all eyes were on Irish-language hip hop trio Kneecap after band member Liam O'Hanna – who performs under the stage name Mo Chara – was charged last month with a terrorism offense following an investigation by London's Metropolitan Police. The charge, which he has denied, relates to a London gig in November 2024 where he allegedly displayed a flag of Hezbollah – a proscribed terrorist organization banned under UK law. Ahead of the festival at Worthy Farm, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it was not 'appropriate' for the group to perform. Kneecap have been vocal critics of Israel's war in Gaza but have previously said it has never supported Hamas or Hezbollah. During the set, Mo Chara told the crowds that recent events had been 'stressful' but that it was nothing in comparison to 'what the Palestinian people are going through.' Kneecap rapper Naoise O Caireallain, who goes by the stage name Móglaí Bap, hit back at Starmer's comment during Saturday's set: 'The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play, so f**k Keir Starmer.' In reference to his bandmate's forthcoming court date, O Caireallain also said they would 'start a riot outside the courts,' before adding: 'I don't want anybody to start a riot. No riots just love and support, and more importantly support for Palestine.' Police in Somerset, where the festival is held, said the force was 'aware of the comments made by acts' and that 'video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.' UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting slammed the performance as 'appalling' in an interview with Sky News on Sunday morning. He said that the BBC, which broadcast the set live, and Glastonbury 'have got questions to answer.' A BBC spokesperson said that some of the comments made during Vylan's performance were 'deeply offensive,' and added it had no plans to make the performance available on demand through its iPlayer streaming platform.