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So sudden Flybe collapses
By Peter McLarenKennedy
A SPOKESPERSON told the BBC on Saturday, January 28 that the wife of the Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford had died suddenly and unexpectedly.
No details were provided at the time, although it is known that Drakeford had said during the pandemic that both his wife, Claire and her mother were “vulnerable.” A spokesperson for Drakeford said: “The thoughts of everyone in the Welsh government are with the family at this time and we ask that their privacy is respected.”
Politicians from across the divide took to social media to express their condolences for the Drakefords who got married in 1977. The couple had three children together.
By Peter McLarenKennedy
THE British airline, Flybe, based in Birmingham announced via Twitter that it had collapsed and that all scheduled flights had been cancelled.
The tweet on Saturday, January 28 said that administrators had been appointed adding that: “We are sad to announce that Flybe has been placed into administration. All Flybe flights from and to the UK are cancelled and will not be rescheduled.”
Flybe had been placed into administration in March 2020 as a result of the collapse in the travel market caused by the pandemic. But it resumed trading in April following the acquisition of its business and assets by Thyme Opco.
The US hedge fund linked company was then renamed Flybe. Prior to its collapse Flybe was the largest airline outside of London that travelled within UK borders operating over 500 flights per week across 23 routes.
At its peak it serviced Belfast City, Birmingham, East Midlands, Glasgow, Heathrow and Leeds Bradford.
Paul Smith, the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s Consumer Director said: “It is always sad to see an airline enter administration and we know that Flybe’s decision to stop trading will be distressing for all of its employees and customers.”
UKRAINIAN officials have issued a statement suggesting that the country could boycott the Olympics in Paris in 2024 if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to participate.
The Ukrainian Minister for Sport, Vadim Guttsait made the comments on Friday, January 27 after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that they would “explore a pathway” for athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in the global sporting event as neutral athletes, in spite of their countries’ actions.
Guttsait made his country’s position clear in a Facebook post writing that while there is a “war in Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be allowed in international competitions.” He added “If we are not listened to, I do not rule out the possibility that we will refuse and boycott participating in the Olympics.”
Belarus is one of Russia’s biggest allies and has supported the country in the invasion of Ukraine, crucially hosting troops and weapons on Belarusian land.
The inclusion of athletes in international competitions is a contentious point with the IOC’s official line being “No athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport.”
AUTHORITIES in Austria have said they found six British born children all under the age of five living in an abandoned wine cellar.
A UK news source announced on Saturday, January 28 that they were being detained in an illegal hideout owned by a 54 year old man and his 40 year old wife in the village of Orbitz.
