In the headlines
Today is the biggest day of industrial action in over a decade. More than 150,000 teachers are on strike, leaving 85% of state schools in England and Wales at least partially shut, along with 100,000 civil servants, 70,000 university lecturers and 12,500 train drivers. Britain and the EU have struck a customs deal that would avoid the need for checks on European products destined for Northern Ireland, according to The Times. Officials in Brussels have also reportedly conceded that the European Court of Justice can rule on issues relating to the province only if a case is referred by the Northern Irish courts – a “critical step towards ending the impasse” over the protocol. A pea-sized radioactive capsule that went missing in Western Australia has been found. Emergency services armed with radiation detectors located the gamma-gushing gadget by scouring a road 870 miles long – roughly the distance between John O’Groats and Land’s End.