Avanti bosses earn £600 a day as train managers, says RMT’s Mick Lynch

As around 80,000 Avanti West Coast passengers are hit by the second walk-out in a five-month series of strikes, the boss of the RMT union has claimed senior managers are paying themselves “double what our members would earn” for acting as train managers.

Three-quarters of intercity trains on the West Coast main line – connecting London Euston with the West Midlands, northwest England, North Wales and southern Scotland – have been cancelled as train managers walk out.

One train per hour is running linking the capital with:

No trains are running through to Glasgow, though a shuttle service is connecting Preston with the Scottish city.

North Wales, Blackpool, Wigan, Warrington and Edinburgh have no Avanti West Coast service.

Strikes are planned to continue on 12 January and every Sunday through to 25 May.

Mick Lynch, the general secretary of the RMT, told BBC Breakfast that his members would earn only £250 for working an 11-hour shift on their rest days at the rate proposed by Avanti West Coast.

He said that the company’s managers, when working as “management train managers”, earn between £500 and £600– as much as 140 per cent more than regular staff members.

“Instead of paying our people a premium rate for working on their rest days, they have decided to pay their management grades much more than our members – up to double what our members can earn,” Mr Lynch said.

“Our members are meant to be doing that work.

“They pay themselves, in effect, as managers, double what our members would earn on those shifts.

“The taxpayer and the fare payer are being ripped off by management grades working at twice the rate for the job that our members receive.

“We would like managers to stop doing members’ work at twice the rate.

“We simply want an agreement on that so we can get an incentive for our people to come in on those days when they’re meant to be at home with their families.”

An Avanti West Coast spokesperson said: “When necessary we use or contingent managers to keep our customers moving.”

Train drivers working for the rail firm earn a flat £600 for working on a day off.

Ahead of the strike, Kathryn O’Brien, executive director of Customer Experience at Avanti West Coast, said: “We’re disappointed by the RMT calling strike action on 31 December and 2 January.

“Our customers will face significantly disrupted journeys as a result, and I would like to thank them for their patience and understanding.

“On the two strike days we’ll have a significantly reduced service, so customers with tickets for 31 December or 2 January are strongly advised to travel on alternative dates or claim a full fee-free refund. We remain open to working with the RMT to resolve the dispute.”

The transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, has urged “the leadership of Avanti West Coast, which is currently a privately owned train operating company, to get back round the table with the RMT”.

Jeju Air and Muan airport raided over fatal South Korea plane crash

South Korean police raided Jeju Air and the operator of the Muan airport as they ramped up their investigation into Sunday’s catastrophic plane crash that claimed 179 lives, marking the worst aviation disaster in the country’s recent history.

A Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crashlanded after failing to deploy its landing gear, skidded off the runway at the Muan airport and rammed into a concrete embankment.

The plane burst into flames, killing all but two of its 181 passengers and crew. The survivors, crew members seated at the rear, suffered injuries but were rescued.

Investigators searched the offices of the airport operator and the transport ministry’s aviation authority in the southwestern county of Muan as the well as office of Jeju Air in Seoul, the South Jeolla provincial police said in a statement.

They planned to seize documents and materials related to the operation and maintenance of the aircraft as well as the operation of airport facilities, a police official told Reuters.

Jeju Air was cooperating with police, a director at the airline, Song Kyeong Hoon, said. The airport operator was yet to issue a comment.

Authorities also banned the chief executive of Jeju Air from leaving South Korea. “The investigation team imposed a travel ban on two individuals, including Jeju Air CEO Kim E Bae,” police said.

In the wake of the crash, aviation safety experts expressed concerns about the embankment the plane rammed into, questioning the design of the structure designed to support navigation equipment.

“This rigid structure proved catastrophic when the skidding aircraft made impact,” Najmedin Meshkati, engineering professor at the University of Southern California, said.

Such installations should use lighter materials such as metal towers to minimise damage during collisions, he said.

Investigators were also examining whether the embankment should have been constructed from lighter materials to reduce its potential danger.

The incident was also under investigation by the US National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, and Boeing, in collaboration with South Korean authorities.

Preliminary analysis indicated the aircraft encountered multiple issues, including a bird strike and an engine problem, before the crash.

A video of the crash showed the aircraft belly-landing at speed and bursting into flames after hitting the concrete wall. The pilot had declared an emergency after warning of a bird strike but reportedly attempted a second landing without success.

Black boxes found in the wreckage were being analysed. The conversion of data from the cockpit voice recorder to audio files, which could provide critical information about the final minutes of the flight, was completed on Thursday, deputy transport minister for civil aviation Joo Jong Wan said.

Transport ministry officials said the audio files might not be publicly released due to the sensitivity of the investigation.

Acting president Choi Sang Mok, meanwhile, ordered immediate inspections of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft in South Korea. “Given the public concern, thorough reviews of operation, maintenance, and training procedures must be prioritised,” Mr Choi said during a disaster management meeting.

The tragedy sparked a week of national mourning. Save for two Thai citizens, the victims of the crash were all South Koreans, many of them returning home from holidays in Bangkok.

Bereaved relatives held a memorial service at the site of the crash on New Year’s Day, laying white flowers and offering traditional rice cake soup in tribute to their loved ones.

Common blood pressure drug could cure rare brain tumour

Chinese scientists have found a common hypertension drug could prove potent in treating a rare but highly invasive brain tumour.

Although craniopharyngioma is a benign tumour, it can cause complications due to its growth along the critical nerve structures of the brain close to the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland.

Given its location, the tumour can cause hormone dysfunction and metabolic disorders, like obesity, diabetes and hypothyroidism.

The main treatment option currently is surgery, which carries high risks, including the recurrence of the tumour.

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Scientists found that a common blood pressure medicine, amlodipine besylate, has potent effects on the tumour.

In their study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the scientists developed two mouse models to replicate craniopharyngioma.

The models mimicked the pathological progression of the tumour, allowing the scientists to study the connections between the nerve cells of the hypothalamus and the craniopharyngioma cells. They found that activating some neurons accelerated tumour growth while reducing nerve cell activity inhibited it.

The researchers screened some 3,000 compounds for potential antitumor effects and identified 74 that showed promise. They found amlodipine besylate, a calcium channel blocker commonly prescribed for hypertension, especially potent in suppressing tumour growth.

The drug’s established safety profile and widespread use could make it a key candidate for tackling the tumour, the scientists say.

They suspect the drug acts by blocking calcium signals that are key for communication between nerve cells of the hypothalamus and the tumour cells.

“Through close cooperation with neurosurgeons, neurologists, endocrinologists and oncologists, we will promote the clinical transformation of this drug to meet patient needs,” study lead Wu Qingfeng told the South China Morning Post.

The researchers say further verification of the drug’s effects on the human brain is needed, including an assessment of its potential side effects like headaches and palpitations.

“The therapeutic effects were associated with dampened calcium transients implicated in neuron-tumor cell interactions and with neuroendocrine neuronal activity,” the study notes.

“These findings deepen our understanding of suprasellar tumour biology and offer promising avenues for clinical exploration of effective chemotherapies.”

Influencer dies after accepting £700 whiskey-drinking challenge

A 21-year-old Thai social media influencer died after being hired to chug whiskey at a party for £700.

Thanakarn Kanthee, popularly known as Bank Leicester, was a garland seller who gained popularity after the rap songs that he improvised to entice buyers made their way online.

He had previously been seen in videos accepting similar challenges, consuming alcohol, as well as hand sanitiser and wasabi, in exchange for money.

Kanthee was hired for a birthday party on 25 December in the Tha Mai district of Chanthaburi, according to Bangkok Post. He arrived at 11pm.

He was dared to drink Regency whiskey and offered 10,000 baht (£233) for every 350ml bottle he gulped.

Kanthee was reportedly paid 30,000 baht (£700) for the challenge after apparently drinking three bottles.

Social media videos showed him gulping down at least two bottles within 20 minutes. Thai media reports said he appeared sick after completing the challenge, vomited and lost consciousness.

Kanthee was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3.40am.

The autopsy revealed acute heart failure as the cause of death, The Nation noted.

On Saturday, police arrested two influencers from Chanthaburi and Pathum Thani provinces in connection with Kanthee’s death. One of them, Ekachart “Em” Meephrom, admitted to daring Kanthee to take up the challenge but denied knowing him personally or hiring him.

Mr Meephrom was charged with negligence resulting in death. He was denied bail after the local court he was presented in ruled that Mr Meephrom had exhibited reckless behaviour, The Nation reported.

According to Thai law, Negligence causing death could result in a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to 20,000 baht (£465).

The second suspect was identified as Theerawat Srirot from Pathum.

Videos of the partygoers cheering Kanthee on as he drank went viral on social media after his death, drawing wide condemnation.

Social media users dug up Kanthee’s old posts in which the influencer said he performed such risky challenges to support his family.

“I am willing to be bullied and insulted to just get scraps of money from the rich people in order to provide for my family,” one of his posts read.

Kanthee lived with his 80-year-old grandmother, who had raised him.

“Currently, I live in this house with my son and Thanakarn, just the three of us. Thanakarn took care of everything for me. Now that he’s gone, I have no idea how I will continue to manage,” she told The Nation.

Kanthee had gone away promising to return with 60,000 baht (£1,396) they needed to settle overdue payments, the grandmother added.

Virgin crew allegedly raped and robbed in Fiji on New Year’s Day

Police in Fiji are investigating an allegation that two Australian airline crew members were sexually assaulted and robbed during New Year’s Day celebrations.

The Virgin Australia crew members, a man and a woman, were celebrating at a tourist spot in Fiji during their layover in the early hours of 1 January, acting commissioner of police Juki Fong Chew said. They had gone to the Bar One nightclub in Nadi and were attacked on the way back to their hotel.

Virgin Australia said it was aware of the incident and had sent a team to provide support to the crew members.

“Our focus is on the wellbeing of our team members affected,” it said, but did not provide details of the incident.

“Unfortunately, two of the crew members were victims of an alleged theft and rape after exiting the nightclub trying to find their way back to the hotel,” Mr Chew said, adding the investigation was ongoing.

The man was robbed and the woman was assaulted, assistant police commissioner Mesake Waqa said. The man was treated for facial injuries.

A spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that they were aware of the incident but could not comment further due to privacy obligations.

The crew members remained holed up in their hotel rooms in Nadi until further notice, the Fiji Sun reported.

Teri O’Toole, federal secretary of the Flight Attendants’ Association of Australia, said they were waiting for official approaches for assistance.

“I believe these crew were on what we would call an overnight, so they would get to Fiji, wait, and their flight would leave the next day,” she told AAP.

There was a lot of guesswork about what had happened, she said and urged people not to make assumptions and respect the crew members’ privacy.

“This is not a very common thing but it’s not something that’s never happened before either,” she said, adding that it was disturbing for the families and colleagues of the crew members.

The incident could further hit Fiji’s tourism industry which was rocked when seven people, including four Australian tourists, were hospitalised after drinking alcohol at a resort bar on 14 December.

The cause of the poisoning was still under investigation as toxicology tests showed “no methanol or illicit substances” in the drinks, authorities said.

Ishaan Khatter on crafting his own path: ‘As good as your last work’

When one is born into a family with celebrated ties to Bollywood, the world can safely assume their path to stardom would be paved with marquee roles and big-budget blockbusters. Ishaan Khatter’s rise, in that context, stands out as a departure.

Born into a family of cinematic luminaries — his mother Neelima Azeem is an acclaimed actress and half-brother Shahid Kapoor one of Bollywood’s leading men — Khatter had every reason to take the easier route.

“Mine wasn’t a family that would make a call and get you a job,” he tells The Independent. “It was always about earning your stripes.”

Khatter debuted in 2017, not with a massive Bollywood launch but with Iranian director Majid Majidi’s Beyond the Clouds, a low-budget, realistic drama about two impoverished siblings trying to survive within the complex web of the Mumbai underworld.

“It kind of set the foundation for me as an actor,” Khatter recalls. “Majidi sir was like a father figure to me. A taskmaster, but also a master of his craft. He pressed the right buttons with me, and it reinforced the kind of actor I wanted to be — always pushing myself, always growing.

“At the time, working with him felt a little surreal, like some sort of miracle, but ultimately, it was a really beautiful, reassuring thing. Beyond the Clouds gave me a lot of energy going forward, like I was allowed to be ambitious for the kind of career I wanted, the kind of roles I wanted to play. Before it, it all felt a bit out of reach.”

From there, Khatter’s journey has been anything but predictable.

Despite his Bollywood pedigree, Khatter points out that his childhood was more about immersion in the arts than building a pipeline to the film industry.

“Growing up with my mom and seeing her dedication to her craft, I was naturally drawn to this world,” he says. “But nothing was handed to me. It was about finding my own voice.

“I will say that the advantage that I have and acknowledge, is that it was maybe easier for me to chase my passion for the arts because my family understood it, having done it themselves.”

“My mother definitely has, and I want to credit her for instilling certain things in me that make me want to be capable on my own, find myself, and be independent.”

This ethos has shaped every career move Khatter has made. Following Beyond the Clouds, he embraced the romance genre in Dhadak, a commercial success that brought him closer to a more mainstream audience. But instead of resting on that success, Khatter pivoted again, choosing the challenging role of Maan Kapoor in the BBC adaptation of Vikram Seth’s 1993 novel A Suitable Boy.

His Hollywood debut came soon after, on Netflix’s The Perfect Couple, where he played Shooter Dival, a character layered with charm and mystery.

“It’s unlike anything I’ve experienced before,” he says. “The setup was amazing, and the response has been incredible. Within the screen time I had, I’m thrilled people enjoyed Shooter and the curiosity around him.”

But how did he land the role, alongside Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman and Emmy-nominated Liev Schreiber? Khatter recalls the audition, telling The Independent it all started with a tape he sent after recording it by himself.

“An agent reached out to me after I did Beyond the Clouds, and suggested I try working in the West. He let me know what I needed to do, and it was literally just one tape. I ran the lines off of myself because I didn’t have anyone to help me that day. And I got a callback, so I was definitely lucky there,” he says.

One could argue that The Perfect Couple isn’t his first Hollywood work, considering he appears in a fun cameo in Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up.

“That was actually my audition tape!” he laughs. “I sent in a self-taped video, and got a call from a producer who told me Adam loved it and said, ‘This works; we don’t even need to shoot.’ But it was super cool to have been in it.”

Speaking of “cool things” that Khatter has been a part of, the internet loved The Perfect Couple’s opening credits sequence which sees the entire cast perform a synchronised dance to Meghan Trainor song “Criminals”.

However, as it turns out, no one in the cast wanted to do it and even attempted a mutiny to get director Susanne Bier to change her mind.

“Yeah, I think we were all a little thrown off and it was the last thing we shot. And it wasn’t on the script, so we couldn’t figure out if it was a joke or if it was serious. All of us are going, ‘What’s going on? Are we really supposed to do this?’” he says.

“And then we saw the dance, and it was so unserious. It’s probably the first murder mystery that starts with a musical number. It really throws off the audience, and you don’t know what to expect. So I think everybody’s hesitation came from the fact that we just didn’t understand it at first.”

Did he have to rehearse?

“Well no, not really, it was just a good bit of fun. It was a little surreal to see actors like Nicole Kidman and Isabella Adjani doing a TikTok-esque dance, but the entire cast went in with the idea that if we’re doing this, let’s just do it and not take it seriously. By the end of it, everyone was having a ball, and I think the energy translated on to the screen,” he recalls.

“A funny story about that dance number, when I was at the afterparty in LA after the premiere the showrunner told me that the reason they did that was because they saw my dancing!”

Despite all of the attention, Khatter keeps himself grounded. “Success and failure are two sides of the same coin,” he reflects. “You’ve got to keep a larger perspective. It’s my passion for the craft that drives me. The stakes are always high, and you can’t sleepwalk through anything.”

As he speaks about his journey, one thing becomes clear: Khatter remains committed to his craft, yet equally resolute to staying authentic. “You’re only as good as your last piece of work,” he says. “It’s a great exercise in being present.”

Pupils may reveal memories you are reliving during sleep

A contracted pupil during sleep may be an indication the brain is replaying new memories while a dilated one may hint at older memories being relived, a new study suggests.

The study, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, says that pupil size is key to understanding how, and when, the brain forms strong, long-lasting memories.

Researchers at Cornell University in the US attached electrodes to mice brains and followed the rodents with eye-tracking cameras.

They found new memories replayed and consolidated when the pupil was contracted during a substage of sleep. When the pupil was dilated, the brain appeared to replay older memories.

The brain’s ability to separate these two sleep substages is crucial in preventing “catastrophic forgetting”, or the consolidation of one memory at the expense of another, researchers say.

Researchers taught the mice involved in the study a variety of tasks such as collecting water or cookie rewards in a maze. They fitted the rodents with brain electrodes and tiny cameras that hung in front of their eyes to track their pupil changes.

As a mouse learned a new task and fell asleep, the electrodes captured its brain activity and the camera recorded pupil changes.

Scientists found that memory consolidation takes place during non-REM sleep, when the eyes do not move rapidly. Non-REM sleep is when we dream.

“These moments are very, very short periods of time undetectable by humans, like 100 milliseconds,” study co-author Azahara Oliva explained.

The study helps researchers understand how the brain distributes its screenings of memory, which are fast and short throughout sleep.

It also provides an insight into how the brain separates new knowledge such that it doesn’t interfere with old information already in the mind.

The latest findings suggest the structure of sleeping in mice is more varied and more similar to the stages observed in humans than previously thought.

Researchers could better understand the process by interrupting the mice’s sleep at different moments and later testing how well they recalled their learned tasks.

When a mouse entered a substage of non-REM sleep, its pupil was found to shrink and the brain seemed to replay recently learned tasks, or new memories.

“Conversely, older memories are replayed and integrated when the pupil is dilated,” the study notes.

“It’s like new learning, old knowledge, new learning, old knowledge, and that is fluctuating slowly throughout the sleep,” Dr Oliva said.

The findings point to an inbuilt mechanism in the brian operating at a very short timescale that separates new learning from old knowledge.

Researchers hope the study will lead to better memory enhancement techniques for humans and help train artificial intelligence.

What are H-1B visas and what has Trump said about them in the past?

The H-1B visa is at the center of a feud that has engulfed supporters of President-elect Donald Trump.

While many on the far-right, such as activist Laura Loomer and former Trump adviser Steven Bannon, are fiercely anti-immigrant, Silicon Valley tech figures, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, have come out in support of the visas, which are for highly skilled immigrants typically working in tech, healthcare, engineering and finance.

Trump has supported Musk and Ramaswamy, who want better legal immigration routes such as the H-1B program to fill skills gaps in key sectors such as engineering, science, and technology.

The president-elect told the New York Post that he has “always been in favor of the visas,” but previously said they are “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers.

The popular visa, created in 1990, allows U.S. employers to temporarily offer work to foreign nationals who have “theoretical and practical application” of highly specialized knowledge. Applicants must have a bachelor’s or higher degree in a specific specialty subject, or equivalent, as a minimum to enter the U.S., according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Typically, the visa is valid for three years with the possibility of extending for a maximum of six years. The visa can cost employers approximately $5,000 per applicant.

It does not automatically grant permanent residency.

The visas are highly sought after in healthcare, engineering, tech, finance and higher education. A company will employ an H-1B worker on the basis that the specialty cannot be filled by the U.S. workforce.

The majority of H-1B visa applicants come from India, whose citizens account for more than seven in 10 recipients, according to a USCIS report. One in 10 comes from China, with the remainder coming from other nations including Mexico, Canada, the Philippines, Taiwan and Korea.

Each year, 65,000 H-1B visas are approved by the Department of Homeland Security, with an additional 20,000 available for applicants who graduate with a master’s degree or doctorate from a U.S. institution.

Applicants are chosen by a lottery system for review, which means that some are denied due to chance even if they are eligible.

The application process can generally take between two to eight months, according to a number of immigration law firms. Premium processing is available for a fee, which can reduce the wait time.

During Trump’s first administration, the H-1B visa program was restricted in 2020 over concerns it allowed employers to replace American workers with lower-paid foreign workers.

Now, he appears to have backtracked on that sentiment after coming out in support of Musk and Ramaswamy, who will lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency. Ramaswamy argued that America does “not produce the best engineers,” while Musk said that there is “a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent” in the U.S.

Speaking by phone with The New York Post on Saturday, the president-elect agreed. “I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” he said.

In a 2016 primary debate, however, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers.

“First of all, I think and I know the H-1B very well. And it’s something that I frankly use and I shouldn’t be allowed to use it. We shouldn’t have it,” he said. “Second of all, I think it’s very important to say, well, I’m a businessman and I have to do what I have to do.”

Three months after taking office in 2020, Trump issued his “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, which directed Cabinet members to suggest reforms to ensure that H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers, the Associated Press reported.

In June 2022, in conflict with the president-elect’s previous views on the visa, Trump Media & Technology Group which owns Truth Social, filed an application for an H-1B visa for an employee with a $65,000 salary, according to AP. The company said it did not hire the worker and the application “was made under prior management.”