United Kingdom

/u201cThis passport is all about helping people working in this industry to make informed decisions about their jobs and future,\u201d says Offshore Energy UK\u2019s director of supply chain and people, Katy Heidenreich. Oil and gas will still be needed in the UK \u201cfor decades to come,\u201d she claims.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8952710,8780282\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2025//01//06//breakneck-speed-renewables-reached-60-per-cent-of-germanys-power-mix-last-year/">/u2018Breakneck speed\u2019: Renewables reached 60 per cent of Germany\u2019s power mix last year<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2024//10//09//renewables-revolution-the-good-and-the-bad-news-from-the-ieas-latest-wind-and-solar-stockt/">Renewables revolution: The good and the bad news from the IEA\u2019s latest wind and solar stocktake<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2>UK industrial heartlands get green jobs funding too<\/h2><p>As part of its plan to make Britain a \u2018<a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2024//07//05//our-work-is-urgent-will-the-uks-new-labour-government-prioritise-the-climate-crisis/">clean energy superpower<\/strong><\/a>\u2019 - generating at least 95 per cent of its power from low carbon sources by 2030 - the government is also rolling out regional skills investments.<\/p>\n<p>Aberdeen, Cheshire, Lincolnshire and Pembrokeshire will each receive around \u00a31 million (\u20ac1.2m) of funding for relevant projects from the Office for Clean Energy Jobs, which sits within the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).<\/p>\n<p>They have all been identified as key growth regions for clean energy, with flourishing offshore wind, solar and nuclear industries, the government says.<\/p>\n<p>Funding could go towards new training centres, courses or career advisers - supporting local people to get jobs in welding, electrical engineering, and construction, for example. Local partners will decide how the money can be best spent to equip their workforce.<\/p>\n<p>Cheshire West and Chester, North and North East Lincolnshire and Pembrokeshire will benefit first, the government explains, as significant work to identify skills has already been done for Aberdeen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is excellent news for Pembrokeshire and the surrounding area,\u201d says Rebecca Evans, <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2023//10//31//peatland-plastic-and-phasing-out-coal-heres-why-wales-is-our-green-country-of-the-month/">Welsh Government<\/strong><\/a> Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is huge potential for economic growth in Wales, fuelled by clean energy technology like floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea,\u201d adds Secretary of State for <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//travel//2024//11//26//wales-wants-tourist-tax-to-create-favourable-conditions-for-welsh-language-to-thrive/">Wales Jo Stevens.<\/p>\n<p>In Cheshire, funding is likely to train more people for the area\u2019s <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2024//04//01//europe-is-divided-on-nuclear-power-which-countries-are-for-and-against-it/">nuclear fuel<\/strong><\/a> cluster.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8955126,8151252\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2025//01//02//the-uk-has-the-fewest-heat-pumps-in-europe-can-new-planning-rules-change-this/">The UK has the fewest heat pumps in Europe, but the government hopes myth-dispelling can change that<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2025//01//07//uk-scraps-plan-to-ban-gas-boilers-by-2035-can-the-government-boost-heat-pump-uptake/">UK scraps plan to ban gas boilers by 2035: Can the government boost heat pump uptake?<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2>Does the UK government\u2019s upskilling effort go far enough?<\/h2><p>Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, National Officer at Britain\u2019s general trade union (GMB), described the initiatives as a \u201cwelcome first step\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But union leaders are wary too, pushing for further investment from the government. The skills passport has been three years in the making and was originally meant to launch in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>\"We know our oil and gas workers have transferable skills and experience that are vital across the energy sector,\u201d Roz Foyer, General Secretary of <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2024//01//29//enormous-potential-inside-scotlands-green-strategy-to-power-the-nation-solely-with-renewab/">Scotland/u2019s Trade Union Centre (STUC), told Scottish tabloid the Daily Record. \u201cIt\u2019s correct that government have recognised this, and the skills passport will provide an important platform to build on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut this cannot be the end if we are to realise a just transition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2024//11//15//cop29-is-net-zero-just-a-dream-or-an-attainable-goal/">net-zero transition could, if managed well, result in up to 725,000 new net jobs in low-carbon sectors by 2030 compared to 2019, according to independent government advisor, the Climate Change Committee.<\/p>\n<p>There are many more jobs to be filled outside of energy generation, such as retrofitting buildings, low-carbon heating installation and the manufacture of electric vehicles, it notes.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1738065362,"updatedAt":1738078152,"publishedAt":1738078082,"firstPublishedAt":1738081922,"lastPublishedAt":1738078151,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/01\/01\/30\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_d8624040-3056-5518-87c5-06cd13651a14-9010130.jpg","altText":"The UK government wants to help the workforce transition into clean energy careers.","caption":"The UK government wants to help the workforce transition into clean energy careers.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Gustavo Fring\/Pexels","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":3120,"height":1755}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":2280,"urlSafeValue":"limb","title":"Lottie Limb","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":6657,"slug":"jobs","urlSafeValue":"jobs","title":"Jobs","titleRaw":"Jobs"},{"id":25986,"slug":"clean-energy","urlSafeValue":"clean-energy","title":"clean energy","titleRaw":"clean energy"},{"id":7800,"slug":"united-kingdom","urlSafeValue":"united-kingdom","title":"United Kingdom","titleRaw":"United Kingdom"},{"id":25988,"slug":"renewable-energy","urlSafeValue":"renewable-energy","title":"renewable energy","titleRaw":"renewable energy"},{"id":7990,"slug":"scotland","urlSafeValue":"scotland","title":"Scotland","titleRaw":"Scotland"},{"id":10117,"slug":"wales","urlSafeValue":"wales","title":"Wales","titleRaw":"Wales"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":3}],"related":[{"id":2539806},{"id":2541128},{"id":2741174}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"green-news","urlSafeValue":"green-news","title":"Green News","online":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/green\/green-news\/green-news"},"vertical":"green","verticals":[{"id":8,"slug":"green","urlSafeValue":"green","title":"Green"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":8,"slug":"green","urlSafeValue":"green","title":"Green"},"themes":[{"id":"green-news","urlSafeValue":"green-news","title":"Green News","url":"\/green\/green-news"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":35,"urlSafeValue":"green-news","title":"Green News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":291,"urlSafeValue":"united-kingdom","title":"United Kingdom","url":"\/news\/europe\/united-kingdom"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":["84031001","84032006","84032009","84041001","84042007","84111001","84112005","84211001","84212001","84251001","84252015","84252028"],"slugs":["business","business_construction","business_green_solutions","careers","careers_job_search","law_gov_t_and_politics_legal_politics","law_government_and_politics","society","society_general","travel","travel_europe","travel_united_kingdom"]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/green\/2025\/01\/28\/skills-passport-uk-government-green-energy-jobs","lastModified":1738078151},{"id":2741300,"cid":9010952,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"250128_HLWB_57621068","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"HEALTH: MENTAL HEALTH ADMISSIONS","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Hospital admissions for mental health increase by 65% in a decade among young people","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Mental health hospital admissions for young people rise by 65%","titleListing2":"Hospital admissions for eating disorders and those among girls aged 11 to 15 had particularly steep increases. ","leadin":"Hospital admissions for eating disorders and those among girls aged 11 to 15 had particularly steep increases.","summary":"Hospital admissions for eating disorders and those among girls aged 11 to 15 had particularly steep increases.","keySentence":"","url":"hospital-admissions-for-mental-health-increase-by-65-in-a-decade-among-young-people","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/health\/2025\/01\/28\/hospital-admissions-for-mental-health-increase-by-65-in-a-decade-among-young-people","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Hospital admissions related to young people's mental health have increased by 65 per cent in a decade in England, a new study found.\n\nThe number of young people aged between five and 18 admitted went from roughly 24,000 in 2012 to just under 40,000 in 2022, according to the findings published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.\n\nOver half of the admissions for mental health were due to self-harm, the study found.\n\nBy comparison, all-cause admissions to medical wards increased by ten per cent.\n\n\u201cThe increased intensity [in mental health admissions] is presenting real challenges for acute wards, both for patients and their families and the staff supporting them,\u201d Dr Lee Hudson from the University College London (UCL) and the study\u2019s senior author, said in a statement.\n\n\u201cThey may not be set up with an appropriate ward environment for this care, and sometimes staff working there need more training and support with relevant skills,\u201d he added.\n\nThe increased admission rate isn\u2019t just related to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the authors who said they were doing further research to understand the reasons behind the rise.\n\n\u201cIt is of course crucial to understand the factors driving these presentations to better support the mental health of young patients,\u201d he said.\n\nThe increase in admissions was particularly high for girls aged between 11 and 15, which more than doubled in a decade, and for young people suffering from eating disorders whose admissions increased by 514.6 per cent.\u00a0\n\nUrgent need for \u2018prevention strategy\u2019\n\n\u201cThe best way to tackle mental ill health is by intervening to reduce the risk of problems developing in the first place,\u201d Eamon McCrory, a professor of developmental neuroscience and psychopathology at UCL who did not take part in the study, said in a statement.\n\n\u201cThese important findings highlight further the pressing need for a comprehensive, cross-government mental health prevention strategy,\u201d he added.\n\nThis worsening of young people's mental health is a global issue with a recent study finding that the rate of mental health visits, hospitalisations, and prescriptions for medicines like antidepressants and others increased \u2018significantly\u2019 among France\u2019s youth.\n\nOverall, one in seven people aged between 10 and 19 in the world experiences a mental disorder, according to World Health Organization (WHO) data, with anxiety, depression, and behavioural disorders among the most common conditions.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Hospital admissions related to young people's mental health have increased by 65 per cent in a decade in England, a new study found.<\/p>\n<p>The number of young people aged between five and 18 admitted went from roughly 24,000 in 2012 to just under 40,000 in 2022, according to the findings published in <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.thelancet.com//journals//lanchi//article//PIIS2352-4642(24)00333-X//fulltext/">The Lancet Child &amp; Adolescent Health.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Over half of the admissions for mental health were due to self-harm, the study found.<\/p>\n<p>By comparison, all-cause admissions to medical wards increased by ten per cent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe increased intensity [in mental health admissions] is presenting real challenges for acute wards, both for patients and their families and the staff supporting them,\u201d Dr Lee Hudson from the University College London (UCL) and the study\u2019s senior author, <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.ucl.ac.uk//news//2025//jan//significant-rise-mental-health-admissions-young-people-last-decade/">said in a statement<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey may not be set up with an appropriate ward environment for this care, and sometimes staff working there need more training and support with relevant skills,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>The increased admission rate isn\u2019t just related to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the authors who said they were doing further research to understand the reasons behind the rise.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8957828\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2025//01//09//frances-youth-mental-health-crisis-has-gotten-worse-since-the-pandemic-study-shows/">France's youth mental health crisis has gotten worse since the pandemic, study shows<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt is of course crucial to understand the factors driving these presentations to better support the mental health of young patients,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The increase in admissions was particularly high for girls aged between 11 and 15, which more than doubled in a decade, and for young people suffering from eating disorders whose admissions increased by 514.6 per cent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Urgent need for \u2018prevention strategy\u2019<\/h2><p>\u201cThe best way to tackle mental ill health is by intervening to reduce the risk of problems developing in the first place,\u201d Eamon McCrory, a professor of developmental neuroscience and psychopathology at UCL who did not take part in the study, <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.sciencemediacentre.org//expert-reaction-to-study-on-mental-health-admissions-for-young-people-to-acute-medical-wards-in-last-decade-in-england///">said in a statement<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese important findings highlight further the pressing need for a comprehensive, cross-government mental health prevention strategy,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>This worsening of young people's mental health is a global issue with a<a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2025//01//09//frances-youth-mental-health-crisis-has-gotten-worse-since-the-pandemic-study-shows/"> <strong>recent study<\/strong><\/a> finding that the rate of mental health visits, hospitalisations, and prescriptions for medicines like antidepressants and others increased \u2018significantly\u2019 among France\u2019s youth.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, one in seven people aged between 10 and 19 in the world experiences a mental disorder, according to World Health Organization (WHO) data, with anxiety, depression, and behavioural disorders among the most common conditions.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1738074654,"updatedAt":1738076056,"publishedAt":1738075240,"firstPublishedAt":1738075240,"lastPublishedAt":1738075240,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/01\/09\/52\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_56e77278-4ea3-5f11-812b-d215beea6613-9010952.jpg","altText":"Hospital admissions for eating disorders and those among girls aged 11 to 15 had particularly steep increases. ","caption":"Hospital admissions for eating disorders and those among girls aged 11 to 15 had particularly steep increases. ","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Canva","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1600,"height":900}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":2316,"urlSafeValue":"duboust","title":"Oceane Duboust","twitter":"@Oceane_Duboust"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":14104,"slug":"mental-health","urlSafeValue":"mental-health","title":"Mental health","titleRaw":"Mental health"},{"id":12073,"slug":"children","urlSafeValue":"children","title":"Children","titleRaw":"Children"},{"id":15712,"slug":"public-health","urlSafeValue":"public-health","title":"Public health","titleRaw":"Public health"},{"id":13522,"slug":"depression","urlSafeValue":"depression","title":"Depression","titleRaw":"Depression"},{"id":28714,"slug":"anxiety","urlSafeValue":"anxiety","title":"anxiety","titleRaw":"anxiety"},{"id":23064,"slug":"teenager","urlSafeValue":"teenager","title":"teenager","titleRaw":"teenager"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2722806},{"id":2707066},{"id":2687398}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"health-news","urlSafeValue":"health-news","title":"Health News","online":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/health\/health-news\/health-news"},"vertical":"health","verticals":[{"id":12,"slug":"health","urlSafeValue":"health","title":"Health"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":12,"slug":"health","urlSafeValue":"health","title":"Health"},"themes":[{"id":"health-news","urlSafeValue":"health-news","title":"Health news","url":"\/health\/health-news"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":43,"urlSafeValue":"health-news","title":"Health news"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":291,"urlSafeValue":"united-kingdom","title":"United Kingdom","url":"\/news\/europe\/united-kingdom"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":["84021001","84022001","84091001","84092030"],"slugs":["automotive","automotive_general","hobbies_and_interests","hobbies_and_interests_social_networking"]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet-web","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/health\/2025\/01\/28\/hospital-admissions-for-mental-health-increase-by-65-in-a-decade-among-young-people","lastModified":1738075240},{"id":2741228,"cid":9010602,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"250128_NWSU_57620488","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"OMAGH BOMBING INQUIRY","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"The Omagh bombing inquiry begins \u2014 what happened and what is at stake","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"The Omagh bombing inquiry begins \u2014 what happened and what is at stake","titleListing2":"The Omagh bombing inquiry begins \u2014 what happened and what is at stake","leadin":"In the single deadliest event of the Troubles, 29 people were killed by a car bomb in Northern Ireland's County Tyrone on 15 August 1998.","summary":"In the single deadliest event of the Troubles, 29 people were killed by a car bomb in Northern Ireland's County Tyrone on 15 August 1998.","keySentence":"","url":"the-omagh-bombing-inquiry-begins-what-happened-and-what-is-at-stake","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/01\/28\/the-omagh-bombing-inquiry-begins-what-happened-and-what-is-at-stake","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The Omagh bombing inquiry has started, more than 26 years after a bomb ripped through a busy street in a Northern Irish town, killing 29 people and injuring more than 200 others. \n\nThe deadliest single attack during the Troubles took place in Omagh, County Tyrone, on 15 August 1998, four months after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement brought hopes of an end to more than three decades of sectarian violence. \n\nA woman pregnant with twins was among the victims, as were nine children, including a baby. \n\nThe car bombing was claimed by the Real IRA (RIRA), a dissident republican group who thought that the Provisional IRA was wrong to agree to a ceasefire.\n\nAlthough people have been charged in connection with the bombing, no one has ever been convicted of the crime by a criminal court. \n\nFamilies of the victims have long campaigned for an inquiry into whether the tragedy could have been prevented. \n\nSome say there might have been a different outcome had British security agents shared intelligence with the Northern Irish police about the RIRA, who had carried out a wave of attacks prior to the Omagh bombing.\n\nIn 2021, Britain\u2019s High Court ruled that it was plausible the Omagh bombing could have been stopped.\n\nTwo years later, the UK\u2019s then-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris announced an inquiry. \n\n\u201cHaving carefully considered the judgment of the High Court, I believe that an independent statutory inquiry is the most appropriate form of further investigation,\u201d he said. \n\nHow will the inquiry work? \n\nLord Turnbull, who is leading the inquiry, has said its purpose is \"to determine whether there were steps which could reasonably have been taken by the United Kingdom state authorities to prevent the bombing.\"\n\n\"The responsibility for all that occurred on the day lies squarely with those terrorists who made, transported and planted the bomb,\" he added. \n\nLord Turnbull has said the inquiry, which does not have the power to determine any individual\u2019s criminal liability, could take some time. \n\nHe has also warned that the inquiry might have to look at some sensitive information behind closed doors. \n\nThe inquiry opened at the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh on Tuesday, with the names of all the victims read aloud. \n\nDuring its first phase, which will last approximately a month, the inquiry will commemorate the victims of the bombing. It will also hear personal statements from those injured in or directly affected by the blast. \n\nOn Tuesday morning, Lord Turnbull said those watching the hearings would \u201cbe shocked at the level of grief imposed on ordinary, decent members of society doing nothing other than living their daily lives.\u201d \n\nPaul Greaney KC, senior counsel to the inquiry, said: \u201cUnderstanding the impact of the bombing is critical to the investigation of the issue of preventability and for that reason we will not shy away from shining a bright light on the terrible consequences of that day.\u201c\n\nTwo Spanish victims are being commemorated on the first day of the hearings. Fernando Blasco Baselga, 12, and Rocio Abad Ramos, 23, were killed while visiting the country as part of a language exchange programme. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>The Omagh bombing inquiry has started, more than 26 years after a bomb ripped through a busy street in a Northern Irish town, killing 29 people and injuring more than 200 others. <\/p>\n<p>The deadliest single attack during the Troubles took place in Omagh, County Tyrone, on 15 August 1998, four months after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement brought hopes of an end to more than three decades of sectarian violence. <\/p>\n<p>A woman pregnant with twins was among the victims, as were nine children, including a baby. <\/p>\n<p>The car bombing was claimed by the Real IRA (RIRA), a dissident republican group who thought that the Provisional IRA was wrong to agree to a ceasefire.<\/p>\n<p>Although people have been charged in connection with the bombing, no one has ever been convicted of the crime by a criminal court. <\/p>\n<p>Families of the victims have long campaigned for an inquiry into whether the tragedy could have been prevented. <\/p>\n<p>Some say there might have been a different outcome had British security agents shared intelligence with the Northern Irish police about the RIRA, who had carried out a wave of attacks prior to the Omagh bombing.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, Britain\u2019s High Court ruled that it was plausible the Omagh bombing could have been stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Two years later, the UK\u2019s then-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris announced an inquiry. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHaving carefully considered the judgment of the High Court, I believe that an independent statutory inquiry is the most appropriate form of further investigation,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<h2>How will the inquiry work?<\/h2><p>Lord Turnbull, who is leading the inquiry, has said its purpose is \"to determine whether there were steps which could reasonably have been taken by the United Kingdom state authorities to prevent the bombing.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"The responsibility for all that occurred on the day lies squarely with those terrorists who made, transported and planted the bomb,\" he added. <\/p>\n<p>Lord Turnbull has said the inquiry, which does not have the power to determine any individual\u2019s criminal liability, could take some time. <\/p>\n<p>He has also warned that the inquiry might have to look at some sensitive information behind closed doors. <\/p>\n<p>The inquiry opened at the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh on Tuesday, with the names of all the victims read aloud. <\/p>\n<p>During its first phase, which will last approximately a month, the inquiry will commemorate the victims of the bombing. It will also hear personal statements from those injured in or directly affected by the blast. <\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday morning, Lord Turnbull said those watching the hearings would \u201cbe shocked at the level of grief imposed on ordinary, decent members of society doing nothing other than living their daily lives.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Paul Greaney KC, senior counsel to the inquiry, said: \u201cUnderstanding the impact of the bombing is critical to the investigation of the issue of preventability and for that reason we will not shy away from shining a bright light on the terrible consequences of that day.\u201c<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"5909722\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2021//07//23//northern-ireland-1998-omagh-bombing-that-killed-29-people-could-have-been-prevented-says-u/">Northern Ireland: 1998 Omagh bombing that killed 29 people could have been prevented, says UK court<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Two Spanish victims are being commemorated on the first day of the hearings. Fernando Blasco Baselga, 12, and Rocio Abad Ramos, 23, were killed while visiting the country as part of a language exchange programme. <\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1738071528,"updatedAt":1738073035,"publishedAt":1738073031,"firstPublishedAt":1738073031,"lastPublishedAt":1738073031,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/01\/06\/02\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_01579a0b-53ab-5503-943c-b9495b22494a-9010602.jpg","altText":"The Omagh bombing happened on 15 August, 1998, in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.","caption":"The Omagh bombing happened on 15 August, 1998, in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1606,"height":903}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":3272,"urlSafeValue":"sullivan","title":"Rory Sullivan","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":4170,"slug":"northern-ireland","urlSafeValue":"northern-ireland","title":"Northern Ireland","titleRaw":"Northern Ireland"},{"id":9941,"slug":"car-bomb","urlSafeValue":"car-bomb","title":"Car bomb","titleRaw":"Car bomb"},{"id":7800,"slug":"united-kingdom","urlSafeValue":"united-kingdom","title":"United Kingdom","titleRaw":"United Kingdom"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2627646},{"id":2576364},{"id":2488960}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":291,"urlSafeValue":"united-kingdom","title":"United Kingdom","url":"\/news\/europe\/united-kingdom"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/2025\/01\/28\/the-omagh-bombing-inquiry-begins-what-happened-and-what-is-at-stake","lastModified":1738073031},{"id":2740996,"cid":9009894,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"250128_NWSU_57619113","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"ABRAMOVICH YACHTS TAX EVASION","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Abramovich accused of dodging millions in tax through yacht scheme ","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Abramovich accused of dodging millions in tax through yacht scheme ","titleListing2":"Abramovich accused of dodging millions in tax through yacht scheme ","leadin":"The Russian billionaire denied knowledge of the arrangement, saying he was not personally responsible or liable for the alleged tax evasion.","summary":"The Russian billionaire denied knowledge of the arrangement, saying he was not personally responsible or liable for the alleged tax evasion.","keySentence":"","url":"abramovich-accused-of-dodging-millions-in-tax-through-yacht-scheme","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/business\/2025\/01\/28\/abramovich-accused-of-dodging-millions-in-tax-through-yacht-scheme","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich saved millions of euros through a scheme which falsely classified five of his superyachts as commercial vessels, an investigation has found. \n\nThe strategy devised by his network allowed the billionaire to avoid paying VAT in European countries where his boats received services like refuelling.\n\nPrivate vessels are subject to the sales tax, which is typically levied at around 20% by EU members. \n\nHowever, five of Abramovich\u2019s superyachts \u2014 including The Eclipse, which was, at one stage, the world\u2019s largest \u2014 got around the requirement between 2005 and 2012 by claiming that they were being chartered out to customers. \n\nA joint investigation by the BBC, the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism revealed that this did not actually happen. \n\nThe boats were leased and managed by Blue Ocean Yacht Management, a Cyprus-based company controlled by Abramovich. This firm then rented them out to \u201ccustomers\u201d.\n\nLeaked files from Cyprus show that all the clients were British Virgin Islands-registered companies owned by Abramovich himself. \n\nIn a statement, the Russian billionaire\u2019s lawyers said he had always sought and acted in accordance with expert tax and legal advice. \n\nThey added that their client was unaware of the scheme and denied personal responsibility. \n\nThe arrangement was laid out explicitly in an email sent in 2005 by Blue Ocean director Jonathan Holloway, who recently told the BBC that he could not be expected to remember the \u201cindividual circumstances of every vessel I have ever managed\u201d. \n\nIn the memo, Holloway wrote: \u201cWe want to avoid paying VAT on the purchase price of the yachts and where possible to avoid paying VAT on goods and services provided to the yachts.\n\n\u201cOur structure must as clearly as possible separate the different parties so that an investigator checking on our operation would see it as a legitimate structure. But we all have to recognise that a determined investigator could eventually discover this is an in-house structure with the possible consequences that would entail.\u201d\n\nEuropean authorities had taken action against Blue Ocean in the past, but they did not seem fully aware of the yacht scheme. \n\nIn 2015, prosecutors in the Italian port of Trieste tried to recoup \u20ac500,000 from Blue Ocean in allegedly unpaid refuelling duties. \n\nThe case was dropped after Abramovich\u2019s associates claimed its yachts were being used for commercial purposes. \n\nIn 2012, authorities in Cyprus disputed the firm\u2019s claim to VAT exemption, arguing that it owed more than \u20ac14m in unpaid tax between December 2005 and August 2010. \n\nLawyers for the company contested this, but the Cypriot supreme court dismissed their appeal last March. Four months later, Blue Ocean was dissolved. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich saved millions of euros through a scheme which falsely classified five of his superyachts as commercial vessels, an investigation has found. <\/p>\n<p>The strategy devised by his network allowed the billionaire to avoid paying VAT in European countries where his boats received services like refuelling.<\/p>\n<p>Private vessels are subject to the sales tax, which is typically levied at around 20% by EU members. <\/p>\n<p>However, five of Abramovich\u2019s superyachts \u2014 including The Eclipse, which was, at one stage, the world\u2019s largest \u2014 got around the requirement between 2005 and 2012 by claiming that they were being chartered out to customers. <\/p>\n<p>A joint investigation by the BBC, the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism revealed that this did not actually happen. <\/p>\n<p>The boats were leased and managed by Blue Ocean Yacht Management, a Cyprus-based company controlled by Abramovich. This firm then rented them out to \u201ccustomers\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Leaked files from Cyprus show that all the clients were British Virgin Islands-registered companies owned by Abramovich himself. <\/p>\n<p>In a statement, the Russian billionaire\u2019s lawyers said he had always sought and acted in accordance with expert tax and legal advice. <\/p>\n<p>They added that their client was unaware of the scheme and denied personal responsibility. <\/p>\n<p>The arrangement was laid out explicitly in an email sent in 2005 by Blue Ocean director Jonathan Holloway, who recently told the BBC that he could not be expected to remember the \u201cindividual circumstances of every vessel I have ever managed\u201d. <\/p>\n<p>In the memo, Holloway wrote: \u201cWe want to avoid paying VAT on the purchase price of the yachts and where possible to avoid paying VAT on goods and services provided to the yachts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur structure must as clearly as possible separate the different parties so that an investigator checking on our operation would see it as a legitimate structure. But we all have to recognise that a determined investigator could eventually discover this is an in-house structure with the possible consequences that would entail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>European authorities had taken action against Blue Ocean in the past, but they did not seem fully aware of the yacht scheme. <\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8359546\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//04//08//abramovich-re-appeals-ukraine-linked-eu-sanctions/">Abramovich re-appeals Ukraine-linked EU sanctions<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>In 2015, prosecutors in the Italian port of Trieste tried to recoup \u20ac500,000 from Blue Ocean in allegedly unpaid refuelling duties. <\/p>\n<p>The case was dropped after Abramovich\u2019s associates claimed its yachts were being used for commercial purposes. <\/p>\n<p>In 2012, authorities in Cyprus disputed the firm\u2019s claim to VAT exemption, arguing that it owed more than \u20ac14m in unpaid tax between December 2005 and August 2010. <\/p>\n<p>Lawyers for the company contested this, but the Cypriot supreme court dismissed their appeal last March. Four months later, Blue Ocean was dissolved. <\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1738062929,"updatedAt":1738069185,"publishedAt":1738069065,"firstPublishedAt":1738069065,"lastPublishedAt":1738069065,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/00\/98\/94\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_f889a32d-c783-502f-9b4c-c37e526587cc-9009894.jpg","altText":"Roman Abramovich's yacht 'Eclipse' is seen in the bay of Villefranche sur Mer, southeast France, on 6 July 2013","caption":"Roman Abramovich's yacht 'Eclipse' is seen in the bay of Villefranche sur Mer, southeast France, on 6 July 2013","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":4267,"height":2400}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":3272,"urlSafeValue":"sullivan","title":"Rory Sullivan","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":15256,"slug":"roman-abramovich","urlSafeValue":"roman-abramovich","title":"Roman Abramovich","titleRaw":"Roman Abramovich"},{"id":16954,"slug":"yachts","urlSafeValue":"yachts","title":"Yachts","titleRaw":"Yachts"},{"id":7956,"slug":"tax-evasion","urlSafeValue":"tax-evasion","title":"Tax evasion","titleRaw":"Tax evasion"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2706394},{"id":2539594}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"business","urlSafeValue":"business","title":"Business","online":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/business\/business\/business"},"vertical":"business","verticals":[{"id":11,"slug":"business","urlSafeValue":"business","title":"Business"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":11,"slug":"business","urlSafeValue":"business","title":"Business"},"themes":[{"id":"business","urlSafeValue":"business","title":"Business","url":"\/business\/business"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":7,"urlSafeValue":"business","title":"Business"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":291,"urlSafeValue":"united-kingdom","title":"United Kingdom","url":"\/news\/europe\/united-kingdom"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":["80022004","80023001","84021001","84022014","84121001","84122001","84211001","84212001","84221001","84222001","84251001","84252015","84252017","84252020","84252028"],"slugs":["aggregated_all_moderate_content","automotive","automotive_luxury","celebrity_gossip","news","news_general","society","society_general","sports","sports_general","travel","travel_europe","travel_greece","travel_italy","travel_united_kingdom"]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/business\/2025\/01\/28\/abramovich-accused-of-dodging-millions-in-tax-through-yacht-scheme","lastModified":1738069065},{"id":2740350,"cid":9008256,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"HEALTH GLASGOW DRUG INJECTION SITE","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"\u2018Missing piece of the jigsaw\u2019: Glasgow hopes safe injection site will curb overdose deaths","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Glasgow hopes new safe injection site will curb drug overdose deaths","titleListing2":"\u2018Missing piece of the jigsaw\u2019: Glasgow hopes safe injection site will curb overdose deaths","leadin":"More countries in Europe have opened sites where people can use illegal drugs. But not everyone is in favour of the practice.","summary":"More countries in Europe have opened sites where people can use illegal drugs. But not everyone is in favour of the practice.","keySentence":"","url":"missing-piece-of-the-jigsaw-glasgow-hopes-safe-injection-site-will-curb-overdose-deaths","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/health\/2025\/01\/28\/missing-piece-of-the-jigsaw-glasgow-hopes-safe-injection-site-will-curb-overdose-deaths","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Glasgow became the first city in the United Kingdom to open a facility where people can openly use illegal drugs earlier this month, in Scotland\u2019s latest effort to cast off its title as Europe\u2019s drug death capital.\n\nOther European cities have been experimenting with so-called drug consumption rooms for decades, but they\u2019ve picked up steam in recent years as policymakers adopt a harm reduction approach to drug abuse despite ongoing controversy over the best way to tackle addiction.\n\nGlasgow\u2019s new safe injection site has been years in the making, after an HIV outbreak galvanised the public amid reports that an estimated 400 to 500 people were regularly injecting drugs in the city centre, with discarded needles and other paraphernalia often left in the street.\n\nAlong with Dundee, Glasgow is the epicentre of Scotland\u2019s drug crisis.\n\nGlasgow became the first city in the United Kingdom to open a facility where people can openly use illegal drugs earlier this month, in Scotland\u2019s latest effort to cast off its title as Europe\u2019s \n\nThe country saw 833 suspected drug deaths in the first nine months of 2024, compared with 900 in the same period a year earlier.\n\nBut the planned drug consumption room was embroiled in years of legal and political debate before the city council approved it in 2023, with the goal of reducing the spread of infectious diseases and the number of drug overdoses.\n\nAt the new facility, known as the Thistle, people can bring in drugs like heroin and cocaine and use them in a quiet space with healthcare personnel nearby in case of an emergency.\u00a0\n\nThey can also get treatment for wounds caused by drug use, testing for bloodborne viruses, and receive other medical care, as well as housing support and even access to laundry machines.\n\nThe Scottish government will allocate \u00a32.3 million (\u20ac2.8 million) annually for the three-year pilot project, which had 131 visits in its first week in January.\n\n\u201cIt's been the biggest missing piece of the jigsaw, because the folk who are going to be using the safe injecting facility are those folk who are hardest to reach,\u201d Allan Casey, a Glasgow city council member who backed the plan, told Euronews Health.\n\n\u201cIf we can get them through this kind of low-threshold facility, I think it's a gateway into other forms of treatment, if indeed that's what they want\u201d.\n\nThe Thistle is one of more than 100 \u2013 and counting \u2013 safe injection sites that have opened across Europe since the 1980s.\n\nThey\u2019ve been gaining traction in recent years, with Ireland and Brussels opening their first centres last year.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s not yet entirely mainstream,\u201d Alexis Goosdeel, executive director of the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA), told Euronews Health.\n\n\u201cBut there is a growing number of countries that are deciding to open drug consumption rooms\u201d.\n\nCritics of drug consumption rooms say they enable drug abuse and divert resources from prevention and recovery. But supporters say they curb overdose deaths, help connect people to treatment, and reduce the number of dirty needles left on the streets.\n\nDrug consumption room impacts\n\nInjection sites across Europe see an average of 81 people per day, but some have reported as many as 700 daily visits.\n\nIn cities where they have been launched, research indicates drug-related hospitalisations and high-risk self-injecting practices have fallen, while drug treatment uptake is higher and violent crime has not increased near the consumption rooms.\n\nAfter a facility opened in Vancouver, Canada, for example, fatal overdoses fell by 35 per cent in the 500 surrounding metres.\n\nThat\u2019s the outcome Casey is hoping for in Glasgow, where they will be tracking whether the site impacts the number of fatal overdoses, emergency room visits, discarded needles and other drug-related litter, and crime reports.\n\nHe also wants to open additional drug consumption rooms in other parts of Glasgow and said he\u2019s been in talks with advocates in other UK cities who want to open their own sites.\n\nHarm reduction versus recovery\n\nEven if Casey and other advocates clear the UK\u2019s legal hurdles to open more sites, there\u2019s no guarantee that the public \u2013 or the broader addiction and recovery community \u2013 will be on board.\n\nFor example, Annemarie Ward, who leads the charity Faces & Voices of Recovery UK, would rather the government prioritise addiction prevention and recovery programmes, such as school- and community-based education, early intervention for people showing signs of addiction, detox programmes, peer support, and a \u201csubstantial investment\u201d in inpatient rehabilitation services.\n\n\u201cThe disproportionate focus on harm reduction, which is important for managing immediate risks, has created a massive gap in recovery-oriented services,\u201d Ward told Euronews Health, adding that harm reduction efforts \u201cfail to address the root causes of addiction\u201d.\n\nThe Scottish government aims to have 650 beds available in rehab facilities by 2026, which would be a 50 per cent increase from 2021.\n\nBut given the scope of Scotland\u2019s drug problem \u2013 and the ongoing nature of addiction recovery \u2013 that isn\u2019t anywhere near enough, Ward said.\n\n\u201cWe are effectively condemning people to a life of dependency, unable to escape the cycle, because there\u2019s simply not enough support available,\u201d she said.\n\n\u2018Not a silver bullet\u2019\n\nMarie Jauffret-Roustide, a sociologist and research fellow at the French National Institute of Health & Medical Research (Inserm), has evaluated drug consumption rooms in Paris and Strasbourg.\n\nShe told Euronews Health that in order for the public to accept having an injection site nearby, it should be in an area where there is already an open drug scene.\n\nPeople who inject drugs on the street will not travel far out of their way to go to a safe consumption room, she said.\n\n\u201cSome neighbours think that when the drug consumption room opens, people who inject drugs will disappear, but \u2026 they will be in the area still,\u201d she said.\n\nMost of the visitors to the sites she evaluated were older men, and many were homeless.\n\n\u201cWe need to find a way to improve the lives of people who attend the drug consumption room, to make sure that people will not be too vocal, for example, or have violent episodes\u201d nearby.\n\nJauffret-Roustide and other advocates say drug consumption rooms are not a silver bullet solution to the drug crisis and say they should be paired with broader efforts to support people with addiction, such as housing and mental health programmes.\n\nThe programmes should also be tailored to the \u201clocal diagnosis,\u201d Goosdeel said, for example by setting up the facility to cater to the drugs of choice in a particular area.\n\nMeanwhile, Ward said Scotland needs a \u201cholistic, balanced approach, one that invests not just in keeping people alive but in helping them rebuild their lives\u201d.\n\nElsewhere in Europe, some cities have closed their drug consumption rooms after launching other programmes to tackle addiction.\n\nIn the Netherlands, for example, a housing initiative reduced the need for a public injecting site, and in Switzerland and Spain, visitors to the rooms dwindled as heroin use fell, according to an EUDA report.\n\nBack in Glasgow, Casey said the Thistle\u2019s leadership will meet regularly with local residents to ensure the injection site doesn\u2019t negatively affect the surrounding area \u2013 and that people who come to the rooms get the right support when they leave.\n\n\u201cThis is the start of the journey,\u201d Casey said.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Glasgow became the first city in the United Kingdom to open a facility where people can openly use illegal drugs earlier this month, in Scotland\u2019s latest effort to cast off its title as Europe\u2019s drug death capital.<\/p>\n<p>Other European cities have been experimenting with so-called drug consumption rooms for decades, but they\u2019ve picked up steam in recent years as policymakers adopt a harm reduction approach to drug abuse despite ongoing controversy over the best way to tackle addiction.<\/p>\n<p>Glasgow\u2019s new safe injection site has been years in the making, after an <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.bbc.com//news//articles//c23vxgmn83eo/">HIV outbreak<\/strong><\/a> galvanised the public amid <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.stor.scot.nhs.uk//entities//publication//f5720c3f-0641-4873-a0b5-5df48c2b50fd/">reports that<\/strong><\/a> an estimated 400 to 500 people were regularly injecting drugs in the city centre, with discarded needles and other paraphernalia often left in the street.<\/p>\n<p>Along with Dundee, Glasgow is the epicentre of <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2023//08//22//drug-deaths-in-scotland-remain-highest-in-europe-despite-fall-in-latest-figures/">Scotland/u2019s drug crisis.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"9000032\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2025//01//25//what-the-eu-drugs-agency-chief-is-most-worried-about-in-2025/">What the EU drugs agency chief is most worried about in 2025<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The country saw 833 suspected drug deaths in the first nine months of 2024, compared with 900 in the same period a year earlier.<\/p>\n<p>But the planned drug consumption room was embroiled in years of legal and political debate before the city council <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2023//09//29//why-scotland-is-opening-a-safe-consumption-room-for-illegal-drugs/">approved it in 2023<\/strong><\/a>, with the goal of reducing the spread of infectious diseases and the number of drug overdoses.<\/p>\n<p>At the new facility, known as the Thistle, people can bring in drugs like heroin and cocaine and use them in a quiet space with healthcare personnel nearby in case of an emergency.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They can also get treatment for wounds caused by drug use, testing for bloodborne viruses, and receive other medical care, as well as housing support and even access to laundry machines.<\/p>\n<p>The Scottish government will allocate \u00a32.3 million (\u20ac2.8 million) annually for the three-year pilot project, which had 131 visits in its first week in January.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8921936\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2024//12//28//a-third-of-europeans-have-tried-illegal-drugs-which-countries-have-the-worst-drug-habit/">A third of Europeans have tried illegal drugs. Which countries have the worst drug habit?<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt's been the biggest missing piece of the jigsaw, because the folk who are going to be using the safe injecting facility are those folk who are hardest to reach,\u201d Allan Casey, a Glasgow city council member who backed the plan, told Euronews Health.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we can get them through this kind of low-threshold facility, I think it's a gateway into other forms of treatment, if indeed that's what they want\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The Thistle is one of <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////correlation-net.org//wp-content//uploads//2024//07//2023_DCR-Census.pdf/">more than 100<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 and counting \u2013 safe injection sites that have opened across Europe since the 1980s.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019ve been gaining traction in recent years, with Ireland and <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//09//13//brussels-first-consumption-centre-aims-to-keep-drugs-off-streets-of-eu-capital/">Brussels opening their first centres last year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not yet entirely mainstream,\u201d Alexis Goosdeel, executive director of the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA), told Euronews Health.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"1917866\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2013//11//06//what-is-harm-reduction/">What is harm reduction?<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut there is a growing number of countries that are deciding to open drug consumption rooms\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Critics of drug consumption rooms say they enable drug abuse and divert resources from prevention and recovery. But supporters say they curb overdose deaths, help connect people to treatment, and reduce the number of dirty needles left on the streets.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Drug consumption room impacts<\/strong><\/h2><p>Injection sites across Europe see an average of 81 people per day, but some have reported as many as <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////ssir.org//articles//entry//Wary_of_an_Opioid_Epidemic_Europe_Pushes_Safe_Sites_for_Drug_Use/">700 daily visits<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com//articles//10.1186//s12954-022-00679-5/">cities where they have<\/strong><\/a> been launched, research indicates drug-related hospitalisations and <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.thelancet.com//journals//lanpub//article//PIIS2468-2667(22)00038-X//fulltext/">high-risk self-injecting practices<\/strong><\/a> have fallen, while drug treatment uptake is higher and violent crime has not increased near the consumption rooms.<\/p>\n<p>After a facility opened in Vancouver, Canada, for example, <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.thelancet.com//journals//lancet//article//PIIS0140-6736(10)62353-7//abstract/">fatal overdoses fell<\/strong><\/a> by 35 per cent in the 500 surrounding metres.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the outcome Casey is hoping for in Glasgow, where they will be tracking whether the site impacts the number of fatal overdoses, emergency room visits, discarded needles and other drug-related litter, and crime reports.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"7608386\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2023//05//18//fentanyl-has-killed-tens-of-thousands-of-americans-why-are-europeans-being-spared/">Fentanyl has killed tens of thousands of Americans. Why are Europeans being spared?<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>He also wants to open additional drug consumption rooms in other parts of Glasgow and said he\u2019s been in talks with advocates in other UK cities who want to open their own sites.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Harm reduction versus recovery<\/strong><\/h2><p>Even if Casey and other advocates clear the UK\u2019s legal hurdles to open more sites, there\u2019s no guarantee that the public \u2013 or the broader addiction and recovery community \u2013 will be on board.<\/p>\n<p>For example, Annemarie Ward, who leads the charity Faces &amp; Voices of Recovery UK, would rather the government prioritise addiction prevention and recovery programmes, such as school- and community-based education, early intervention for people showing signs of addiction, detox programmes, peer support, and a \u201csubstantial investment\u201d in inpatient rehabilitation services.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe disproportionate focus on harm reduction, which is important for managing immediate risks, has created a massive gap in recovery-oriented services,\u201d Ward told Euronews Health, adding that harm reduction efforts \u201cfail to address the root causes of addiction\u201d.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"7705418\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2023//06//26//un-report-more-people-take-drugs-globally-than-previous-ten-years/">'It's getting cheaper,' addicts say as new UN report shows drug use disorders increasing globally<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The Scottish government aims to have <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////publichealthscotland.scot//media//25112//v2_rr-evaluation-executive-summary.pdf/">650 beds<\/strong><\/a> available in rehab facilities by 2026, which would be a 50 per cent increase from 2021.<\/p>\n<p>But given the scope of Scotland\u2019s drug problem \u2013 and the ongoing nature of addiction recovery \u2013 that isn\u2019t anywhere near enough, Ward said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are effectively condemning people to a life of dependency, unable to escape the cycle, because there\u2019s simply not enough support available,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>\u2018Not a silver bullet\u2019<\/strong><\/h2><p>Marie Jauffret-Roustide, a sociologist and research fellow at the French National Institute of Health &amp; Medical Research (Inserm), has evaluated drug consumption rooms in Paris and Strasbourg.<\/p>\n<p>She told Euronews Health that in order for the public to accept having an injection site nearby, it should be in an area where there is already an open drug scene.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8988114\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2025//01//20//blockbuster-weight-loss-drugs-linked-to-lower-risk-of-addiction-schizophrenia-dementia-and/">Blockbuster weight-loss drugs linked to lower risk of addiction, schizophrenia, dementia, and more<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>People who inject drugs on the street will not travel far out of their way to go to a safe consumption room, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome neighbours think that when the drug consumption room opens, people who inject drugs will disappear, but \u2026 they will be in the area still,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Most of the visitors to the sites she evaluated were older men, and many were homeless.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to find a way to improve the lives of people who attend the drug consumption room, to make sure that people will not be too vocal, for example, or have violent episodes\u201d nearby.<\/p>\n<p>Jauffret-Roustide and other advocates say drug consumption rooms are not a silver bullet solution to the drug crisis and say they should be paired with broader efforts to support people with addiction, such as housing and mental health programmes.<\/p>\n<p>The programmes should also be tailored to the \u201clocal diagnosis,\u201d Goosdeel said, for example by setting up the facility to cater to the drugs of choice in a particular area.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8497732\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2024//06//12//drugs-are-everywhere-everyone-in-europe-agency-warns-in-report/">Drugs are 'everywhere' in Europe, agency warns in report<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, Ward said Scotland needs a \u201cholistic, balanced approach, one that invests not just in keeping people alive but in helping them rebuild their lives\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere in Europe, some cities have closed their drug consumption rooms after launching other programmes to tackle addiction.<\/p>\n<p>In the Netherlands, for example, a housing initiative reduced the need for a public injecting site, and in Switzerland and Spain, visitors to the rooms dwindled as heroin use fell, <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euda.europa.eu//system//files//publications//2734//POD_Drug consumption rooms.pdf/">according to an EUDA report.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Back in Glasgow, Casey said the Thistle\u2019s leadership will meet regularly with local residents to ensure the injection site doesn\u2019t negatively affect the surrounding area \u2013 and that people who come to the rooms get the right support when they leave.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the start of the journey,\u201d Casey said.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1737995156,"updatedAt":1738044078,"publishedAt":1738044049,"firstPublishedAt":1738044049,"lastPublishedAt":1738044077,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/00\/82\/56\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_373baf2a-4c5a-5fb8-ba37-69626bb69f34-9008256.jpg","altText":"A used syringe is shown on a US sidewalk in this 2018 file photo.","caption":"A used syringe is shown on a US sidewalk in this 2018 file photo.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Jeff Chiu\/AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":3547,"height":2268}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":3108,"urlSafeValue":"galvin","title":"Gabriela Galvin","twitter":"@mg_galvin"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":15722,"slug":"addiction","urlSafeValue":"addiction","title":"addiction","titleRaw":"addiction"},{"id":13574,"slug":"drugs","urlSafeValue":"drugs","title":"Drugs","titleRaw":"Drugs"},{"id":15712,"slug":"public-health","urlSafeValue":"public-health","title":"Public health","titleRaw":"Public health"},{"id":15280,"slug":"heroin","urlSafeValue":"heroin","title":"heroin","titleRaw":"heroin"},{"id":7990,"slug":"scotland","urlSafeValue":"scotland","title":"Scotland","titleRaw":"Scotland"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":7}],"related":[{"id":2739932},{"id":2733424},{"id":2737786}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"healthcare","urlSafeValue":"healthcare","title":"Healthcare","online":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/health\/healthcare\/healthcare"},"vertical":"health","verticals":[{"id":12,"slug":"health","urlSafeValue":"health","title":"Health"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":12,"slug":"health","urlSafeValue":"health","title":"Health"},"themes":[{"id":"healthcare","urlSafeValue":"healthcare","title":"Healthcare","url":"\/health\/healthcare"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":78,"urlSafeValue":"healthcare","title":"Healthcare"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":291,"urlSafeValue":"united-kingdom","title":"United Kingdom","url":"\/news\/europe\/united-kingdom"},"town":{"id":1858,"urlSafeValue":"glasgow","title":"Glasgow"},"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":["80023001","80122002","80122022","80222002","84081001","84091001","84092006","84111001","84112001","84191001","84192001","84211001","84212001"],"slugs":["aggregated_all_moderate_content","death_and_injury_low_risk","drug_abuse_high_and_medium_risk","drug_abuse_high_medium_and_low_risk","health_and_fitness","hobbies_and_interests","hobbies_and_interests_board_games_puzzles","law_government_and_politics","law_government_and_politics_general","science","science_general","society","society_general"]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/health\/2025\/01\/28\/missing-piece-of-the-jigsaw-glasgow-hopes-safe-injection-site-will-curb-overdose-deaths","lastModified":1738044077},{"id":2740330,"cid":9008158,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"HEALTH BIRD FLU HUMAN UK","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Human case of bird flu detected in UK","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Human case of bird flu detected in UK","titleListing2":"Human case of bird flu detected in UK","leadin":"The risk to the general public remains low, authorities said, after someone was infected with bird flu while in close contact with birds.","summary":"The risk to the general public remains low, authorities said, after someone was infected with bird flu while in close contact with birds.","keySentence":"","url":"human-case-of-bird-flu-detected-in-uk","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/health\/2025\/01\/27\/human-case-of-bird-flu-detected-in-uk","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"A person in the United Kingdom has been infected with avian influenza, in what health authorities described as a \u201crare\u201d case of transmission from birds to people.\n\nNotably, the patient was infected with the DI.2 genotype, which is currently circulating in birds in the UK.\n\nIt is different from the strain of bird flu that jumped from animals to people in the United States last year, worrying health experts.\n\nThe patient was infected after \u201cclose and prolonged contact with a large number of infected birds\u201d on a farm in the West Midlands, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).\n\nIt does not appear that the patient spread the bird flu to anyone else, and the risk to the general public remains low, the agency said.\n\n\u201cWhile avian influenza is highly contagious in birds, this is a very rare event and is very specific to the circumstances on this premises,\u201d Christine Middlemiss, the UK\u2019s chief veterinary officer, said in a statement.\n\nFears over bird flu threat\n\nThe bird flu has health experts on edge because cases have been elevated in wild birds worldwide.\n\nThere are concerns that the virus could jump from birds to humans, become transmissible among people, and cause a pandemic.\n\nThat possibility is \u201cone of the most feared infectious disease threats we face,\u201d said Andrew Preston, who researches pathogens at the University of Bath.\n\nIt is of particular concern in the US, where a bird flu outbreak among poultry and dairy cows has led to 67 confirmed human cases and one death.\n\nNotably, no person-to-person spread has been detected in the US.\n\nFor the virus to spread between people, it would need to undergo genetic mutations that have also not been detected in the UK.\n\nEven so, the UK government said last month that it was stockpiling five million bird flu vaccines for humans because the pathogen has pandemic potential.\n\nOver the weekend, it extended biosecurity requirements for bird keepers to the entirety of England.\n\n\u201cThere is always the risk that the virus can evolve and become better adapted to spread amongst humans,\u201d said Jonathan Ball, a professor of molecular virology at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s important to be vigilant, to ensure good wild fowl and poultry surveillance, and when human cases do occur, to isolate the patient to remove the risk of onward transmission,\u201d Ball said.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>A person in the United Kingdom has been infected with avian influenza, in what health authorities described as a \u201crare\u201d case of transmission from birds to people.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, the patient was infected with the DI.2 genotype, which is currently circulating in birds in the UK.<\/p>\n<p>It is different from the strain of bird flu that jumped from animals to people in the United States last year, worrying health experts.<\/p>\n<p>The patient was infected after \u201cclose and prolonged contact with a large number of infected birds\u201d on a farm in the West Midlands, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8839120\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//11//08//austrias-health-ministry-declares-whole-country-an-avian-influenza-high-risk-area/">Austria's Health Ministry declares whole country an avian influenza high risk area<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>It does not appear that the patient spread the bird flu to anyone else, and the risk to the general public remains low, the agency said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile avian influenza is highly contagious in birds, this is a very rare event and is very specific to the circumstances on this premises,\u201d Christine Middlemiss, the UK\u2019s chief veterinary officer, said in a statement.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Fears over bird flu threat<\/strong><\/h2><p>The bird flu has health experts on edge because cases have been elevated in wild birds worldwide.<\/p>\n<p>There are concerns that the virus could jump from birds to humans, become transmissible among people, and <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2025//01//07//who-says-risk-of-bird-flu-still-low-after-us-reports-its-first-human-death/">cause a pandemic.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8878166\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2024//11//28//bird-flu-why-unusual-changes-in-a-human-case-in-canada-are-raising-concerns/">Bird flu: Why \u2018unusual changes\u2019 in a human case in Canada are raising concerns<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>That possibility is \u201cone of the most feared infectious disease threats we face,\u201d said Andrew Preston, who researches pathogens at the University of Bath.<\/p>\n<p>It is of particular concern in the US, where a bird flu outbreak among poultry and dairy cows has led to 67 confirmed human cases <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2025//01//07//bird-flu-us-reports-first-human-death-from-h5n1-amid-dairy-cattle-outbreak/">and one death.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Notably, no person-to-person spread has been detected in the US.<\/p>\n<p>For the virus to spread between people, it would need to undergo genetic mutations that have also not been detected in the UK.<\/p>\n<p>Even so, the UK government said last month that it was <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2024//12//03//uk-purchases-5-million-bird-flu-vaccine-doses-to-prepare-for-possible-pandemic/">stockpiling five million<\/strong><\/a> bird flu vaccines for humans because the pathogen has pandemic potential.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8933954\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2024//12//26//bird-flu-whats-the-latest-on-us-outbreak-as-dairy-cattle-cases-continue-to-spread/">Bird flu: What's the latest on US outbreak as dairy cattle cases continue to spread?<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.gov.uk//government//news//bird-flu-avian-influenza-latest-situation-in-england#cases\"><strong>Over the weekend,<\/strong><\/a> it extended biosecurity requirements for bird keepers to the entirety of England.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is always the risk that the virus can evolve and become better adapted to spread amongst humans,\u201d said Jonathan Ball, a professor of molecular virology at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s important to be vigilant, to ensure good wild fowl and <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2024//07//09//eu-agencies-call-for-increased-vigilance-on-bird-flu/">poultry surveillance<\/strong><\/a>, and when human cases do occur, to isolate the patient to remove the risk of onward transmission,\u201d Ball said.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1737994106,"updatedAt":1737995364,"publishedAt":1737994997,"firstPublishedAt":1737994997,"lastPublishedAt":1737994997,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/00\/81\/58\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_a03c294d-08e7-52af-afc9-7b79b2092b9b-9008158.jpg","altText":"Chickens roost in their coop in the US in 2023.","caption":"Chickens roost in their coop in the US in 2023.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Erin Hooley\/AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":3108,"urlSafeValue":"galvin","title":"Gabriela Galvin","twitter":"@mg_galvin"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":348,"slug":"bird-flu","urlSafeValue":"bird-flu","title":"Bird flu","titleRaw":"Bird flu"},{"id":15712,"slug":"public-health","urlSafeValue":"public-health","title":"Public health","titleRaw":"Public health"},{"id":7666,"slug":"infection","urlSafeValue":"infection","title":"Infection","titleRaw":"Infection"},{"id":22604,"slug":"contagious-disease","urlSafeValue":"contagious-disease","title":"Contagious disease","titleRaw":"Contagious disease"},{"id":12537,"slug":"outbreak","urlSafeValue":"outbreak","title":"outbreak","titleRaw":"outbreak"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":3}],"related":[{"id":2739932},{"id":2738988},{"id":2733424}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"health-news","urlSafeValue":"health-news","title":"Health News","online":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/health\/health-news\/health-news"},"vertical":"health","verticals":[{"id":12,"slug":"health","urlSafeValue":"health","title":"Health"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":12,"slug":"health","urlSafeValue":"health","title":"Health"},"themes":[{"id":"health-news","urlSafeValue":"health-news","title":"Health news","url":"\/health\/health-news"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":43,"urlSafeValue":"health-news","title":"Health news"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":291,"urlSafeValue":"united-kingdom","title":"United Kingdom","url":"\/news\/europe\/united-kingdom"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":["84081001","84082015","84141001","84142008","84191001","84192001"],"slugs":["health_and_fitness","health_and_fitness_cold_and_flu","pets","pets_veterinary_medicine","science","science_general"]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/health\/2025\/01\/27\/human-case-of-bird-flu-detected-in-uk","lastModified":1737994997},{"id":2739932,"cid":9006332,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"250127_HESU_57611475","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"HEALTH WEIGHT LOSS DRUG SALES","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Amid weight loss drug boom, UK pharmacies urge tougher rules for online sales","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"UK pharmacies urge tougher rules for online sales of weight loss drugs","titleListing2":"Amid weight loss drug boom, UK pharmacies urge tougher rules for online sales","leadin":"The pharmacy association said it was worried some patients were accessing the drugs inappropriately amid a surge in demand.","summary":"The pharmacy association said it was worried some patients were accessing the drugs inappropriately amid a surge in demand.","keySentence":"","url":"amid-weight-loss-drug-boom-uk-pharmacies-urge-tougher-rules-for-online-sales","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/health\/2025\/01\/27\/amid-weight-loss-drug-boom-uk-pharmacies-urge-tougher-rules-for-online-sales","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The United Kingdom\u2019s pharmacies are calling for tougher restrictions on online sales of blockbuster weight loss drugs amid concerns that they are being inappropriately prescribed.\n\nThe UK\u2019s National Pharmacy Association (NPA), which represents independent community pharmacies, said regulators should require prescribers to have more consultation with patients, such as to discuss their medical history and potential risks, before dispensing the weight loss jabs and other higher-risk medicines.\n\nThat could mean a phone call or face-to-face discussion rather than relying on an online questionnaire, NPA said.\n\n\u201cWe are concerned that the current regulations allow some patients to inappropriately access weight loss injections without proper consultation or examination of historical medical records,\u201d NPA chair Nick Kaye said in a statement.\n\nThe group also said high-need patients, such as those with type 2 diabetes, should get priority access to the drugs.\n\nThe United Kingdom\u2019s pharmacies are calling for tougher restrictions on online sales of blockbuster weight loss drugs amid concerns that they are being inappropriately prescribed.\n\nThe warning comes amid a rise in popularity for weight loss medications such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, which the UK government is rolling out in phases.\n\nThe drugs, called GLP-1 receptor agonists, are prescribed to treat obesity or type 2 diabetes and work by suppressing people\u2019s appetites.\n\nLast week, a major analysis found the medicines can lower the risk of a slew of other health problems, including addiction, schizophrenia, blood clotting, chronic kidney disease, respiratory problems, and neurocognitive disorders such as Alzheimer\u2019s disease.\n\nBut they are also associated with a higher risk of gastrointestinal problems, low blood pressure, fainting, arthritis, kidney stones, a form of kidney disease, and drug-induced pancreatitis, the analysis found.\n\nLast year, the UK government and the European Union\u2019s medicines regulator warned people against buying weight loss drugs from unlicensed sellers online, for example on social media or fake pharmacy websites as they could be counterfeit drugs.\n\nKaye said that while online pharmacy services aren\u2019t a problem overall, \u201cmedicines are not like ordinary goods for sale\u201d and \u201cmust be handled with great care\u201d.\n\nSome patients have been prescribed weight loss drugs inappropriately, the NPA added, including people with a history of eating disorders and people with lower body mass indexes (BMI), \u201cputting them at greater risk of severe adverse effects\u201d.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>The United Kingdom\u2019s pharmacies are calling for tougher restrictions on online sales of blockbuster weight loss drugs amid concerns that they are being inappropriately prescribed.<\/p>\n<p>The UK\u2019s National Pharmacy Association (NPA), which represents independent community pharmacies, said regulators should require prescribers to have more consultation with patients, such as to discuss their medical history and potential risks, before dispensing the weight loss jabs and other higher-risk medicines.<\/p>\n<p>That could mean a phone call or face-to-face discussion rather than relying on an online questionnaire, NPA said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are concerned that the current regulations allow some patients to inappropriately access weight loss injections without proper consultation or examination of historical medical records,\u201d NPA chair Nick Kaye said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>The group also said high-need patients, such as those with type 2 diabetes, should get priority access to the drugs.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8521374\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2024//06//21//ozempic-global-health-authorities-issue-warning-about-falsified-injection-pens/">Ozempic: Global health authorities issue warning about falsified injection pens<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The warning comes amid a rise in popularity for weight loss medications such as <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2023//09//04//wegovy-weight-loss-drug-uks-national-health-service-gets-limited-supply/">Wegovy and Mounjaro, which the UK government is <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2024//12//05//england-to-roll-out-anti-obesity-drug-mounjaro-but-access-will-be-limited-to-high-need-pat/">rolling out in phases.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The drugs, called GLP-1 receptor agonists, are prescribed to treat obesity or type 2 diabetes and work by suppressing people\u2019s appetites.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2025//01//20//blockbuster-weight-loss-drugs-linked-to-lower-risk-of-addiction-schizophrenia-dementia-and/">a major analysis<\/strong><\/a> found the medicines can lower the risk of a slew of other health problems, including addiction, schizophrenia, blood clotting, chronic kidney disease, respiratory problems, and neurocognitive disorders such as Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<p>But they are also associated with a higher risk of gastrointestinal problems, low blood pressure, fainting, arthritis, kidney stones, a form of kidney disease, and drug-induced pancreatitis, the analysis found.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"9005348\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//business//2025//01//27//novo-nordisk-shares-surge-on-results-of-new-obesity-drug-trial/">Novo Nordisk shares surge on results of new obesity drug trial <\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Last year, the UK government and the European Union\u2019s medicines regulator warned people against buying weight loss drugs from <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2024//08//05//weight-loss-drugs-new-study-sheds-light-on-illegal-online-pharmacies-selling-wegovy-and-oz/">unlicensed sellers online<\/strong><\/a>, for example on social media or fake pharmacy websites as they could be counterfeit drugs.<\/p>\n<p>Kaye said that while online pharmacy services aren\u2019t a problem overall, \u201cmedicines are not like ordinary goods for sale\u201d and \u201cmust be handled with great care\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Some patients have been prescribed weight loss drugs inappropriately, the NPA added, including people with a history of eating disorders and people with lower body mass indexes (BMI), \u201cputting them at greater risk of severe adverse effects\u201d.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1737976781,"updatedAt":1737977608,"publishedAt":1737977605,"firstPublishedAt":1737977605,"lastPublishedAt":1737977605,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/00\/63\/32\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_7f23ea66-1255-586c-9e64-e7ffcf127ddb-9006332.jpg","altText":"A patient holds a bag of Wegovy pens in December 2024.","caption":"A patient holds a bag of Wegovy pens in December 2024.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Kathleen Batten\/AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1600,"height":900}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":3108,"urlSafeValue":"galvin","title":"Gabriela Galvin","twitter":"@mg_galvin"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":29498,"slug":"weight-loss","urlSafeValue":"weight-loss","title":"weight loss","titleRaw":"weight loss"},{"id":12449,"slug":"medicine","urlSafeValue":"medicine","title":"Medicine","titleRaw":"Medicine"},{"id":4442,"slug":"obesity","urlSafeValue":"obesity","title":"Obesity","titleRaw":"Obesity"},{"id":17080,"slug":"seker-hastal-g-","urlSafeValue":"seker-hastal-g-","title":"diabetes ","titleRaw":"diabetes "},{"id":26058,"slug":"pharmacy","urlSafeValue":"pharmacy","title":"pharmacy","titleRaw":"pharmacy"},{"id":30126,"slug":"pharmaceuticals","urlSafeValue":"pharmaceuticals","title":"pharmaceuticals","titleRaw":"pharmaceuticals"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":2}],"related":[{"id":2738988},{"id":2733424},{"id":2737786}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"healthcare","urlSafeValue":"healthcare","title":"Healthcare","online":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/health\/healthcare\/healthcare"},"vertical":"health","verticals":[{"id":12,"slug":"health","urlSafeValue":"health","title":"Health"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":12,"slug":"health","urlSafeValue":"health","title":"Health"},"themes":[{"id":"healthcare","urlSafeValue":"healthcare","title":"Healthcare","url":"\/health\/healthcare"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":78,"urlSafeValue":"healthcare","title":"Healthcare"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":291,"urlSafeValue":"united-kingdom","title":"United Kingdom","url":"\/news\/europe\/united-kingdom"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":["84011001","84012001","84091001","84092030","84181001","84182004"],"slugs":["arts_and_entertainment","arts_and_entertainment_general","hobbies_and_interests","hobbies_and_interests_social_networking","religion_and_spirituality","religion_and_spirituality_buddhism"]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/health\/2025\/01\/27\/amid-weight-loss-drug-boom-uk-pharmacies-urge-tougher-rules-for-online-sales","lastModified":1737977605},{"id":2730870,"cid":8980820,"versionId":2,"archive":0,"housenumber":"250117_BZSU_57536955","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"NEXT underwater habitat","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Humans could one day live in bases on the ocean floor using these underwater pods","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Humans could one day live on the ocean floor in these underwater pods","titleListing2":"This UK company wants to create underwater habitats for long-term human sea exploration","leadin":"The UK company that designed the modular underwater habitats says they could be used for everything from marine studies and tourism to security.","summary":"The UK company that designed the modular underwater habitats says they could be used for everything from marine studies and tourism to security.","keySentence":"","url":"these-underwater-pods-could-one-day-help-humans-to-live-and-explore-the-bottom-of-the-ocea","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/2025\/01\/26\/these-underwater-pods-could-one-day-help-humans-to-live-and-explore-the-bottom-of-the-ocea","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Imagine living underwater, not just for a few hours on a dive, but for days, weeks, or even months.\n\nOne UK-based company is working on creating underwater habitats for long-term human sea exploration.\n\n\"We took a step back and recognised that the ocean, and particularly beneath the surface of the ocean was one of the last remaining blind spots for humanity,\" said Sean Wolpert, the president of DEEP.\n\n\"We can see deep into space, we can see near space, and we can observe anything in our airspace, on land and on the surface of the ocean, but the one area where we felt there was a large disconnect, not only in that kind of tangible way, but also in a personal way, was between humanity and the ocean,\" he added.\n\nThe oceanic exploration and tech company plans to launch its first habitat, Vanguard, by the end of 2025.\n\nMeasuring 12 m long and 7.5 m wide, Vanguard will accommodate up to three individuals at depths of 100 m and is designed as a testbed for Sentinel, a larger and more advanced habitat slated for deployment in 2027.\n\nWhile Vanguard is better suited for short-term missions involving professional divers, Sentinel will serve as a long-term platform for research, housing up to six occupants for extended missions of up to 28 days at depths of 200 m, according to DEEP.\n\nSentinel will include wet and dry labs and a moon pool \u2013 a structure that allows divers to travel seamlessly between the ocean and the habitat.\n\nThis would allow researchers to collect and analyse samples from the seabed in real time, reducing the need to come to the surface.\n\nMaking the ocean 'sexy'\n\nDEEP says the company is \"what SpaceX is to the space agencies to global navies and oceanographic research groups\".\n\nThe company believes global navies monitoring critical undersea infrastructure will benefit from the undersea habitats.\n\n\"Naturally, you're going to have an interest from global navies. One of the hotly contested areas is critical undersea infrastructure. A large majority of the data that we consume goes through subsea cables,\" Wolpert said.\n\nSubmarine cables, which transmit over 95 per cent of global internet traffic, according to NATO, and pipelines carrying oil and gas are vulnerable to sabotage.\u00a0\n\nIn recent years, Europe has seen multiple incidents, such as the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in 2022, the Balticconnector gas pipeline incident in 2023, and undersea cable damage in the Baltic Sea in 2024.\n\n\"You look at critical transport of oil, of gas. There's a very large chunk of that that goes through subsea pipes. So understanding and protecting and observing and being able to maintain that critical infrastructure is of paramount importance to global navies, whether they're in the West, the East, the South or the North,\" Wolpert said.\n\nSentinel could also serve as an underwater research station for biologists studying deep-sea ecosystems, while also functioning as a tourist attraction such as an immersive aquarium.\n\n\"What we want to do is have the same impact that SpaceX had on making space sexy once again,\" Wolpert said.\n\n\"What we're looking to use this for, and I'm saying very humbly, is to replicate that [Space X] experience, provide that platform and that capability to attract the best minds that want to go and make a difference and innovate in the sea,\" he added.\n\nBuilt by 3D printing robots\n\nAccording to DEEP, Sentinel is being built using a technique called wire-arc additive manufacturing by six 3.5 m tall robots.\n\nThis method is like a giant 3D printer, but instead of plastic, it uses metal wire to build the structure layer-by-layer to make sure the habitat can withstand the immense pressure of the deep ocean.\n\n\"We are manufacturing in a smarter way. Rather than breaking down and conventional manufacturing techniques, we're building up much less wasteful,\" Wolpert said.\n\nDEEP says the underwater habitats can be reassembled and redeployed like Legos as they are modular and transportable.\n\n\"You can have your bunks on the top deck in one and then the next one that's connected. You can reconfigure that top deck and turn it into an entire laboratory, providing you that connectivity up to your colleagues in the bricks and mortar lab,\" Wolpert said.\u00a0\n\nWhile Vanguard\u2019s first deployment location is yet to be determined, DEEP is in discussions with potential clients across Europe, the Middle East, and North America.\n\nFor more on this story, watch the video in the media player above.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Imagine living underwater, not just for a few hours on a dive, but for days, weeks, or even months.<\/p>\n<p>One UK-based company is working on creating underwater habitats for long-term human sea exploration.<\/p>\n<p>\"We took a step back and recognised that the ocean, and particularly beneath the surface of the ocean was one of the last remaining blind spots for humanity,\" said Sean Wolpert, the president of DEEP.<\/p>\n<p>\"We can see deep into space, we can see near space, and we can observe anything in our airspace, on land and on the surface of the ocean, but the one area where we felt there was a large disconnect, not only in that kind of tangible way, but also in a personal way, was between humanity and the ocean,\" he added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"7017446\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2024//06//27//fehmarn-belt-link-are-the-benefits-of-the-worlds-longest-underwater-rail-tunnel-worth-the-/">Fehmarn Belt Link: Do the benefits of the world's longest underwater tunnel outweigh the damage?<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The oceanic exploration and tech company plans to launch its first habitat, Vanguard, by the end of 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Measuring 12 m long and 7.5 m wide, Vanguard will accommodate up to three individuals at depths of 100 m and is designed as a testbed for Sentinel, a larger and more advanced habitat slated for deployment in 2027.<\/p>\n<p>While Vanguard is better suited for short-term missions involving professional divers, Sentinel will serve as a long-term platform for research, housing up to six occupants for extended missions of up to 28 days at depths of 200 m, according to DEEP.<\/p>\n<p>Sentinel will include wet and dry labs and a moon pool \u2013 a structure that allows divers to travel seamlessly between the ocean and the habitat.<\/p>\n<p>This would allow researchers to collect and analyse samples from the seabed in real time, reducing the need to come to the surface.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"7481522\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2023//03//23//first-3d-printed-rocket-finally-launches-but-fails-to-reach-orbit-relativity-space-terran/">World's first 3D-printed rocket finally launches but fails to reach orbit<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2>Making the ocean 'sexy'<\/h2><p>DEEP says the company is \"what SpaceX is to the space agencies to global navies and oceanographic research groups\".<\/p>\n<p>The company believes global navies monitoring critical undersea infrastructure will benefit from the undersea habitats.<\/p>\n<p>\"Naturally, you're going to have an interest from global navies. One of the hotly contested areas is critical undersea infrastructure. A large majority of the data that we consume goes through subsea cables,\" Wolpert said.<\/p>\n<p>Submarine cables, which transmit over 95 per cent of global internet traffic, according to NATO, and pipelines carrying oil and gas are vulnerable to sabotage.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, Europe has seen multiple incidents, such as the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in 2022, the Balticconnector gas pipeline incident in 2023, and undersea cable damage in the Baltic Sea in 2024.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8736196\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2024//09//21//officials-are-warning-about-the-vulnerability-of-underwater-cables-how-protected-are-they/">Officials are worried about Internet blackouts. How vulnerable are underwater cables to attacks?<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\"You look at critical transport of oil, of gas. There's a very large chunk of that that goes through subsea pipes. So understanding and protecting and observing and being able to maintain that critical infrastructure is of paramount importance to global navies, whether they're in the West, the East, the South or the North,\" Wolpert said.<\/p>\n<p>Sentinel could also serve as an underwater research station for biologists studying deep-sea ecosystems, while also functioning as a tourist attraction such as an immersive aquarium.<\/p>\n<p>\"What we want to do is have the same impact that SpaceX had on making space sexy once again,\" Wolpert said.<\/p>\n<p>\"What we're looking to use this for, and I'm saying very humbly, is to replicate that [Space X] experience, provide that platform and that capability to attract the best minds that want to go and make a difference and innovate in the sea,\" he added.<\/p>\n<h2>Built by 3D printing robots<\/h2><p>According to DEEP, Sentinel is being built using a technique called wire-arc additive manufacturing by six 3.5 m tall robots.<\/p>\n<p>This method is like a giant 3D printer, but instead of plastic, it uses metal wire to build the structure layer-by-layer to make sure the habitat can withstand the immense pressure of the deep ocean.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"8269980\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2024//02//28//this-3d-printed-hydrogel-material-could-be-used-to-build-homes-one-day/">This 3D-printed hydrogel material could be used to build homes one day<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\"We are manufacturing in a smarter way. Rather than breaking down and conventional manufacturing techniques, we're building up much less wasteful,\" Wolpert said.<\/p>\n<p>DEEP says the underwater habitats can be reassembled and redeployed like Legos as they are modular and transportable.<\/p>\n<p>\"You can have your bunks on the top deck in one and then the next one that's connected. You can reconfigure that top deck and turn it into an entire laboratory, providing you that connectivity up to your colleagues in the bricks and mortar lab,\" Wolpert said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While Vanguard\u2019s first deployment location is yet to be determined, DEEP is in discussions with potential clients across Europe, the Middle East, and North America.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For more on this story, watch the video in the media player above.<\/strong><\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1737114853,"updatedAt":1737892851,"publishedAt":1737892816,"firstPublishedAt":1737527416,"lastPublishedAt":1737892851,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"DEEP R&D Ltd. All rights reserved.","altText":"Mockup of DEEP's flagship underwater habitat Sentinel","callToActionText":null,"width":5000,"caption":"Mockup of DEEP's flagship underwater habitat Sentinel","url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/98\/08\/20\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_3cb5b7f1-e738-54f0-acc4-8fd6aa227f4d-8980820.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":2809}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"min","twitter":"@MinRoselyne","id":2612,"title":"Roselyne Min"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[{"urlSafeValue":"min","twitter":"@MinRoselyne","id":2612,"title":"Roselyne Min"}]},"keywords":[{"urlSafeValue":"undersea-cable","titleRaw":"undersea cable","id":29770,"title":"undersea cable","slug":"undersea-cable"},{"urlSafeValue":"underwater","titleRaw":"underwater","id":23488,"title":"underwater","slug":"underwater"},{"urlSafeValue":"submarine","titleRaw":"submarine","id":12910,"title":"submarine","slug":"submarine"},{"urlSafeValue":"space-technology","titleRaw":"Space technology","id":9689,"title":"Space technology","slug":"space-technology"},{"urlSafeValue":"technology","titleRaw":"Technology","id":389,"title":"Technology","slug":"technology"}],"widgets":[{"count":4,"slug":"related"}],"related":[{"id":2736422}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"kDEWa-q_-SI","dailymotionId":"x9cspww"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"duration":177120,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":22467923,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/med\/EN\/BZ\/SU\/25\/01\/17\/en\/250117_BZSU_57536955_57537471_177120_181911_en.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"md"},{"duration":177120,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":33187667,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/EN\/BZ\/SU\/25\/01\/17\/en\/250117_BZSU_57536955_57537471_177120_181911_en.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"hd"}],"liveStream":[{"endDate":0,"startDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"home","urlSafeValue":"home","title":"Home","online":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/home\/home"},"vertical":"next","verticals":[{"urlSafeValue":"next","id":9,"title":"Next","slug":"next"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":9,"slug":"next","urlSafeValue":"next","title":"Next"},"themes":[{"urlSafeValue":"home","id":"home","title":"Home","url":"\/next\/home"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":44,"urlSafeValue":"home","title":"Home"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":291,"urlSafeValue":"united-kingdom","title":"United Kingdom","url":"\/news\/europe\/united-kingdom"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":["84031001","84032006","84191001","84192010","84251001","84252015"],"slugs":["business","business_construction","science","science_space_astronomy","travel","travel_europe"]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/next\/2025\/01\/26\/these-underwater-pods-could-one-day-help-humans-to-live-and-explore-the-bottom-of-the-ocea","lastModified":1737892851}]" data-api-url="">

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