- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
UK blood scandal victims to receive payouts this year: govt
Victims of a decades-long contaminated blood scandal that has killed about 3,000 people in Britain will start receiving final compensation payments this year, the government announced on Tuesday.
More than 30,000 people, including children, were infected with viruses such as HIV and hepatitis after being given the tainted blood between the 1970s and early 1990s.
Victims are still dying from what has been described as the biggest treatment disaster in the eight-decade history of the state-run National Health Service (NHS).
It follows similar scandals including the wrongful prosecution for fraud of hundreds of UK Post Office workers because of faulty software, and the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which falsely blamed football fans for the tragedy that killed 97.
A bombshell report released Monday found the tainted blood affair was covered up by successive governments and health officials, and largely could have been avoided.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak issued a "wholehearted and unequivocal" apology and promised compensation for everyone affected.
Updating parliament on those plans Tuesday, government minister John Glen said victims would receive interim payments of £210,000 ($267,000) within 90 days, before the final scheme becomes operational.
"Our expectation is that final payments will start before the end of the year," he added.
Glen said there was "no restriction" on the total cost of the package, which according to media reports could total more than £10 billion.
Friends, family members and carers of those infected will also be eligible for compensation, he announced.
Compensation will be paid to the estate of any person who has died from the scandal and money will be distributed either in a lump sum or via regular payments, Glen added.
- Rebalance -
Victims included those needing blood transfusions for accidents and in surgery, and those suffering from blood disorders such as haemophilia who were treated with donated blood plasma products, as well as the partners of those infected.
Judge Brian Langstaff's report, running to more than 2,500 pages, found a "catalogue of failures" with "catastrophic" consequences for victims and their loved ones.
It concluded that blood donors were not screened properly, the risk of AIDS was downplayed and too many transfusions were also given when they were not necessarily needed.
In some instances, children with bleeding disorders were treated as "objects for research".
When victims were told the truth, sometimes years later, this was sometimes done in "insensitive" and "inappropriate" ways, the report said.
There were even attempts to conceal the scandal, including evidence that officials in the health department destroyed documents in 1993, according to the report.
Sunak's official spokesman told reporters on Tuesday: "We must fundamentally rebalance the system so that we finally address this pattern so familiar from other inquiries like Hillsborough where innocent victims have to fight for decades just to be believed and heard.
"We will work together across government, our health services and civil society to ensure that nothing like this can ever happen in our country again."
S.F.Warren--AMWN