Diana Ashmore often goes to bed at 6pm simply to stay warm

A pensioner claims she’s been left “deflated and depressed” after shelling out £150 weekly on electricity just to keep her modest two-bedroom flat warm during winter. Diana Ashmore, 70, believes a mix of inadequate insulation, costly energy rates and her housing estate’s pricey heating infrastructure is driving her bills through the roof.

Diane, who funnels nearly her entire pension into utility expenses, has been urging authorities to address insulation issues at her Doncaster housing estate. However, she maintains the primary culprit behind her enormous bills is the steep electricity tariff for the building’s district heating network, coupled with the two-bedroom flat’s single-brick construction and draughty windows.

Ms Ashmore revealed she allocates virtually all of her £460-a-fortnight pension towards heating costs. Between December 1, 2024, and March 1, 2025, she stated she had spent an eye-watering £3,500 maintaining warmth in the flat.

She said: “When I get up in the morning, my clothes feel damp because they’re that cold. It’s terrible and shocking that you should have to live life like this in the 21st century.”

Diane says she has been left “deflated and depressed” by eye-watering heating bills

Ms Ashmore explained that whilst the estate features a gas-fired boiler house situated across the road, the warmth arrives at her flat via electric pumps and prepayment meters, which means she iss charged for electricity to pump the hot water around. She explained the tariff stands at 28.9p per kWh, above the UK average of 26p for electricity.

Her housing block, Chevet House, is managed by St Leger Homes of Doncaster (SLHD), which she claims has ignored repeated requests for insulation upgrades.

Ms Ashmore said: “We’ve got single brick with no insulation, and we’re all getting drafts through our windows because they’re old. I’ve been fighting to get it fixed, but it’s like pulling teeth.

“They can’t give you an answer, it’s always they have to ‘write a report’ and then send it to this department or that department. I said to them last year that we need to get this sorted before next winter. But here we are again.”

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Ms Ashmore explained that Chevet House contains seven flats across three storeys, all facing identical problems. She added: “Some won’t put the heating on because it’s too expensive to run.

“Because of the draft coming through, I have to sit with a cover around my ankles when I’m watching TV. I take myself to bed at 6pm to keep warm. I’m putting all my money on the heating, so I’ve got no social life anymore.”

Diane also says she can’t get the winter fuel allowance. She says she has worked throughout her life, always paid full rent, and now battles to afford food, electricity, water, and rent from her modest pension.

Ms Ashmore said: “I can’t remember when I last bought myself some new clothes.”

Chevet House

Despite the situation, she has no desire to leave her flat where she has resided for 14 years, especially given its convenient location and her pending back operation. However, the steep charges and inadequate insulation have left Ms Ashmore feeling “deflated and depressed”, she confessed.

She further expressed her frustration, saying: “It has just knocked the stuffing out of me. It shouldn’t have to come to this, but no one is listening to me.”

Diane Ashmore says her flat becomes so cold she is forced to get into bed to simply keep warm

SLHD, in a previous statement, mentioned: “We have recently carried out surveys at Chevet House and we are reviewing the findings to determine what work may be recommended.”

They reaffirmed their commitment to their residents, stating: “We remain committed to supporting our customers and will continue to liaise directly with them and address any concerns.”

The housing provider was contacted for additional comments.

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With more than a thousand troops being killed or wounded every day, there’s no sign that Donald Trump’s push to end Russia’s war in Ukraine is reducing the battles on the ground.

Quite the opposite.

Ukraine‘s military chief says Vladimir Putin is instead using the US president‘s focus on peace negotiations as “cover” while Russian soldiers attempt to seize more land.

That means much greater pressure on the Ukrainian frontline, even as Russian and American, or American and Ukrainian, or Ukrainian and European, leaders shake hands and smile for cameras before retreating behind closed doors in Moscow, Alaska, and London.

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3:05

This was not an upbeat meeting of Ukraine and its allies

Putin’s not counting on peace

The lack of any indicators that the Kremlin is looking to slow its military machine down also makes the risk of war spreading beyond Ukraine’s borders increasingly likely.

It takes a huge amount of effort, time, and money to put a country on a war footing as Putin has done, partially mobilising his population, allocating huge portions of government spending to the military and realigning Russia’s vast industrial base to produce weapons and ammunition.

Image:
Putin has been in India to shore up support from Narendra Modi. Pic: Reuters

But when the fighting stops, it requires almost as much focus and energy to switch a society back to a peace time rhythm.

Deliberately choosing not to dial defence down once the battles cease means a nation will continue to grow its armed forces and weapons stockpiles – a sure sign that it has no intention of being peaceful and is merely having a pause before going on the attack again.

The absence of any preparations by Moscow to slow the tempo of its military operations in Ukraine – where it has more than 710,000 troops deployed along a 780-mile frontline – is perhaps an indicator that Putin is anticipating more not less war.

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3:07

What is Putin trying to achieve in India?

How could the war end?

What happens next in Europe will depend on the content of any peace deal on Ukraine.

An all-out Russian defeat is all but impossible to conceive without a significant change of heart by the Trump White House and a massive increase in weapons and support.

The next best result for Ukraine would be a settlement that seeks to strike a fair balance between the warring sides and their conflicting objectives.

This could be done by pausing the fighting along the current line of contact before substantive peace talks then take place, with Ukraine’s sovereignty supported by solid security guarantees from Europe and the US.

But such a move would require Europe’s NATO allies, led by the UK, France and Germany, genuinely to switch their respective militaries and populations back to a wartime footing, with a credible readiness to go to war should Moscow attempt to test their support of Ukraine.

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6:47

Why Ukraine’s allies may welcome Trump walking away

Will Starmer level with the public?

That does not just mean increased spending on defence at a much faster rate – in the UK at least – than is currently planned. It is also about the mindset of a country and its willingness to take some pain.

France is already openly saying that parents may have to lose their children in a war with Russia, while Germany is requiring all 18-year-old men to undergo medical checks for possible national service.

No such tough but frank conversation is being attempted by Sir Keir Starmer with the British public.

The furthest his military chief has gone is to say “warfighting readiness” is his top priority.

But that is meaningless jargon for most of the public. Being ready for war is about so much more than what the professional armed forces can do.

Armies fight battles. Countries fight wars.

Read more:
UK unveils undersea tech
Navy chief offers chilling warning
Does Britain’s threat to Russia ring hollow?

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1:46

New UK military technology unveiled

Worst case scenario?

The other alternative when it comes to Ukraine is a scenario that sees a sidelined Europe unable to influence the outcome of the negotiations and Kyiv forced to agree to terms that favour Moscow.

This would include the surrender of land in the Donbas that is still under Ukrainian control.

Such a deal – even if tolerated by Ukraine, which is unimaginable without serious unrest – would likely only mean a temporary halt in hostilities until Putin or whoever succeeds him decides to try again to take the rest of Ukraine, or maybe even test NATO’s borders by moving against the Baltic States.

With Trump’s new national security strategy making clear the US would only intervene to defend Europe if such a move is in America’s interests, it is no longer certain that the guarantees contained in NATO’s founding Article 5 principle – that an attack on one member state is an attack on all – can be relied upon.

To have a sense of how a war with Russia might play out without the US on NATO’s side, Sky News and Tortoise ran a wargame that simulates a Russian attack on the UK.

In the scenario, Washington does not come to Britain’s defences, which leaves the British side with very few options to respond short of a nuclear strike.

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The Trump administration has accused ICEBlock of making federal agents vulnerable to attack and called for its removal.

Published On 9 Dec 20259 Dec 2025

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The developer of a popular app used to monitor and share alerts about immigration enforcement activities has sued the administration of United States President Donald Trump for pressuring Apple to remove it.

ICEBlock, whose name refers to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), had one million users before it was dropped from Apple’s app store, according to a lawsuit filed on Monday.

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Developer Joshua Aaron alleged in the complaint that the Trump administration’s campaign against the tracking app amounted to a violation of free speech.

“When we see our government doing something wrong, it’s our duty as citizens of this nation to hold them accountable, and that is exactly what we’re doing with this lawsuit,” Aaron said in the lawsuit.

The suit calls on the district court system to protect the Texas-based software company from “unlawful threats” under the Trump administration.

It also names as defendants some of Trump’s highest-level officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE’s acting director, Todd Lyons.

First released in April, ICEBlock quickly became a widely used tool across the US as communities sought ways to share information about immigration raids.

Since returning to office for a second term, Trump has pushed a campaign of mass deportation, targeting a wide range of immigrants, many of whom are in the country legally.

Those raids, many carried out by heavily armed immigration agents in military-style attire, have also faced repeated accusations of human rights abuses.

Critics have questioned the violence used in some arrests, as well as the ICE officers’ use of face masks and plainclothes to conceal their identities.

There have also been reports of inhumane conditions once immigrants are in custody, including overcrowding, a lack of sanitation and faeces-smeared walls.

Human rights advocates have also questioned the speed with which deportations are being carried out, claiming the immigrants arrested have no opportunity to exercise their due process rights and are often prevented from contacting lawyers.

Even US citizens have been accidentally detained in the immigration sweeps. Some immigrants have been deported despite court orders mandating that they remain in the US.

The Trump administration has faced fierce criticism and judicial rebukes for its tactics.

But it maintains that software like ICEBlock puts federal immigration agents in danger of retaliation.

“ICEBlock is designed to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs, and violence against law enforcement is an intolerable red line,” Attorney General Bondi has said.

In October, ICEBlock was pulled from Apple’s app store, a popular platform for downloading mobile software. The Justice Department confirmed that it had contacted Apple to push for the removal.

The lawsuit states that the tech company told Aaron the app had been removed following “information provided to Apple by law enforcement”.

Aaron has countered that the app is an exercise of essential free speech rights and is meant to help protect people from overbearing government activity.

“We’re basically asking the court to set a precedent and affirm that ICEBlock is, in fact, First Amendment-protected speech and that I did nothing wrong by creating it,” Aaron told The Associated Press news agency in an interview.

“I mean, these are people that are wearing masks — which is the antithesis of everything about this country — and they are not identifying themselves, and they’re zip-tying children, and they’re throwing women into vans.”

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US President Donald Trump has unveiled a $12bn (£9bn) farm aid package aimed at helping farmers impacted by low crop prices and the administration’s ongoing trade wars.

Most of the money – $11bn – is earmarked for one-time payments to farmers for row crops as part of the agriculture department’s Farmer Bridge Assistance programme, with another billion reserved for crops not covered by the programme.

While farmers have broadly supported Trump, the agriculture sector has been disrupted by trade disputes during his second term, particularly with China.

Also on Monday, Trump threatened to hit Mexico with an additional 5% tariff in a row over water supplies to US farmers.

The White House says the aid package will help farmers suffering from “years of unjustified trade actions” and accumulated inflation.

Trump made the announcement during an event at the White House, alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

Members of Congress and corn, cotton, sorghum, soybean, rice, cattle, wheat and potato farmers were also in attendance.

“Maximising domestic farm production is a big part of how we will make America affordable again and bring down grocery prices,” Trump said.

Sorghum and soybean farmers have been hit hard by the Trump administration’s trade dispute with China, the greatest importer of their crops.

According to a White House official, the payments are intended to help farmers market this year’s harvest and plan for next year’s crops, as well as act as a bridge until the administration’s policies “deliver a better market environment”.

Rollins said the last $1bn would be held back to help officials understand the state of “specialty crops” and ensure that the government is “making every forward moving position that we need to”.

When asked if further farm aid packages were planned, Trump said “it depends” on how the market develops.

“The farmers don’t want aid,” he said. “They want to have a level playing field.”

The announcement comes as polls suggest Americans are increasingly concerned about rising costs – an issue which Trump has at times characterised as a “hoax” and a “con job” perpetrated by Democrats.

It also followed complaints from US farmers after they lost access to customers in China as a result of Trump’s trade policies.

For example, China is the world’s biggest market for soybeans and has in recent decades been a major buyer from the US.

But Beijing effectively shut the door on American soybean imports for months after Trump hit Chinese goods with new levies earlier this year.

Later on Monday, Trump threatened to impose a new 5% tariff on Mexico, accusing it of violating an agreement that gives American farmers access to water.

“It is very unfair to our US Farmers who deserve this much needed water,” he posted on social media.

Trump was referring to a more than 80-year-old treaty that grants the US water from Rio Grande tributaries.

For decades the US has accused Mexico of not meeting the terms of the agreement.

Mark Legan, a livestock, corn and soybean farmer in Putnam County, Indiana, told the BBC that the government aid would “help our bottom line”

As crop prices have fallen and profitability has plummeted, he could use the funds to help replace tractors and other machinery – investments he has put on hold.

During his first administration, Trump also provided aid packages to farmers, including $22bn in 2019 and another $46bn in a 2020 package that also included relief from the Covid pandemic.

Mr Legan said he believed the new package would be similar to what he received during the first Trump term, in that it would not resolve persistent cost pressures and shrinking export markets, he said.

“The problem is still that we have high costs of production,” Mr Legan said, pointing to record high prices for crop protection chemicals and seeds.

“While some markets have opened up, we’re still not back to exporting as much ag products as we have in the past,” he added.

Another Illinois farmer, Brad Smith, heard news of the $12bn package while at the Illinois Farm Bureau State Convention in Chicago.

“None of us really love it, but we’re not in a position where we can be turning it down,” he said. “We hope we can reduce the need for anything like this going forward.”

If he does receive funds from the government, the money will likely be in his hands for three days, he said, before spending it to clear outstanding bills and hopefully buy seeds, chemicals and fertilisers for next year’s crop.

Mr Smith said that distributing government aid to farmers who need it the most, rather than to larger farms, has been a challenge in the past.

Following an October meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea, the White House said China had committed to buying at least 12 million metric tonnes of US soybeans by the end of 2025, followed by 25 million metric tonnes annually for the next three years.

So far, China has only purchased approximately one-quarter of that amount.

Those purchases, however, have accelerated, and Bessent told CBS, the BBC’s US partner, that China is likely to meet the goal by the end of February.

Asked why a farm aid package was necessary, Bessent said “the Chinese actually used our soybean farmers as pawns in the trade negotiations”.

“We are going to create this bridge because… agriculture is all about the future,” he said. “You’ve got to start financing for planning next year when things will be very good.”

On Saturday, he signed an executive order creating food supply chain security “task forces” and assessing “anti-competitive behaviour” in the agricultural sector.

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An extensive organ-harvesting ring has been uncovered in Nigeria after weeks of covert surveillance, local officials have said.

In a statement shared on X, the Imo State Police Command said their investigation was launched after reports of a worrying spate of kidnappings near a hotel and mortuary in Ngor Okpala.

According to police, intelligence-led investigations went on to identify a man called High Chief Stanley Oparaugo, also known as “Morocco,” as the suspected leader of the criminal network and who is now on the run and wanted, per reports.

52 CATHOLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NIGERIA KIDNAPPED BY GUNMEN IN LATEST ATTACK: REPORT

A man described as High Chief Stanley Oparaugo from the Jessy Best Hotel is now wanted.

Oparaugo is alleged to own Jessy Best Hotel in Ihitte Okwe and the nearby mortuary known as Ugwudi.

Police said victims were said to have been lured into the hotel before being robbed and abducted, with families also forced to pay ransom. 

Authorities said some people who paid never saw their loved ones again.

The Command said abducted victims were then taken from the hotel to the mortuary, where they were allegedly killed and their organs harvested for sale.

GUNMEN ATTACK CHURCH IN NIGERIA, KILLING TWO AND KIDNAPPING OTHERS

Local Nigerian officials said a suspected secret organ-harvesting ring has been uncovered in Nigera following weeks of covert surveillance. (Imo State Command.)

When officers raided the Jessy Best Hotel, it was abandoned, but at the mortuary they found decomposed and mutilated corpses.

Police spokesperson Henry Okoye said more than 100 bodies had been found.

“A hotel and a private mortuary owned by the suspect, allegedly used by kidnappers and violent criminals, were inspected,” he said in a statement.

TRUMP ADMIN TARGETS ANTI-CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE WITH NEW VISA CRACKDOWN POLICY FOLLOWING NIGERIA ATTACKS

Victims were allegedly lured to hotel before being killed at nearby mortuary for organ sales.

“At the mortuary, decomposed and mutilated corpses were discovered in unhygienic conditions, raising suspicions of illegal organ-harvesting activities.”

He added that the suspect’s residence was also searched and “crucial exhibits” were recovered, with forensic teams documenting evidence for the ongoing investigation.

“Maximum security has been deployed along the Owerri–Aba Expressway. The Command assures travelers during the holidays of its commitment to their safety,” he added.

Nigeria has seen a rising amount of crime with kidnappings and abductions. 

As reported by Fox News Digital, the government of Nigeria also secured the release of the 100 schoolchildren who were abducted, according to local media.

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Those children were taken from St. Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger state, on Nov. 21. 

The news came as Christians face ongoing persecution in Nigeria, leading President Donald Trump to declare the West African nation a “country of particular concern.”

Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture. 

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On Monday, the Archdiocese of New York announced plans to establish a $300 million fund to compensate victims of sexual abuse who have filed lawsuits against the church.

In a statement, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said the fund would be financed through budget cuts and the sale of assets, including the completion of the sale of the archdiocese’s former Manhattan headquarters. The goal, he said, is for the fund to be “set aside to provide compensation to survivors of sexual abuse.”

The archdiocese has also appointed retired Judge Daniel J. Buckley as a mediator to facilitate settlements with victims. Buckley previously played a similar role in negotiations between the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and more than 1,000 claimants there.

A spokesperson for the archdiocese said church officials hope the fund would cover settlements for most, if not all the roughly 1,300 outstanding claims against the archdiocese. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Archive)

A spokesperson for the archdiocese said church officials hope the fund would cover settlements for most, if not all the roughly 1,300 outstanding claims against the archdiocese.

The announcement came as a federal judge on Monday approved a settlement for the New Orleans Archdiocese to pay $230 million to hundreds of victims of clergy sexual abuse. The New Orleans Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2020 to avoid handling each of the abuse claims separately.

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NEED TO KNOW

• Kris Jenner gave her seal of approval to Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner’s relationship
• Kris suited up in a Marty Supreme hoodie in a photo posted a photo to her Instagram Stories on Monday, Dec. 8
• The actor stars in the upcoming film, in theaters on Christmas Day

Kris Jenner knows the power of a good outfit.

On Monday, Dec. 8, the 70-year-old mom of Kylie Jenner, 28, gave her seal of approval to her daughter’s relationship with Timothée Chalamet by wearing merch for his upcoming film, Marty Supreme, in theaters on Christmas Day.

In a photo posted to her Instagram Stories, the Kardashian-Jenner family matriarch could be seen standing in front of a Christmas tree, extending her arms, while wearing a blue Marty Supreme bomber jacket over a red dress. 

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Kris Jenner.

Kris Jenner/Instagram

“MARTY SUPREME Christmas Day!!!!!!” she wrote over the photo.

The Josh Safdie-directed film follows Chalamet, 29, as “Marty Mauser, a young man with a dream no one respects, goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness,” per an A24 synopsis.

The statement piece matches one in her 28-year-old daughter’s closet, as Kylie wore it while attending the Yankees-Jays game with her beau on Wednesday, Oct. 8.

Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner during game four of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs between the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Kylie Cosmetics founder opted for a more casual look, styling the jacket over a coordinating hoodie.

Chalamet wore the same jacket during a promotional video for the film that he shared on Instagram on Tuesday, Oct. 7. 

The jacket was also seen on Tom Brady in an Instagram post shared by the actor on Wednesday, Nov. 19. Earlier in December, Chalamet revealed in a hilarious Instagram post that his mom even wanted her own Marty Supreme jacket.

Timothee Chalamet in Marty Supreme.

A24

He and Kylie have been dating since spring 2023, and made their red carpet debut in May at the 70th David Di Donatello Awards in Rome.

In early November, multiple sources addressed breakup rumors and confirmed to PEOPLE that they are not only together but are doing “great.”

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“Timothée talked about Kylie all the time while filming Marty Supreme,” one insider told PEOPLE exclusively, adding that “she even flew out to visit him on set in N.Y.C. They also met up in London while he was shooting Dune. They’re really in love.”

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Train services between Surrey and London were disrupted by an emergency incident and all power to the track needed to be switched off in the affected area, causing major delays.



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Surat, India – In 2018, Alpesh Bhai enrolled his three-year-old daughter in an English-language private school in Surat. This was something he never imagined possible while growing up in his village in the Indian state of Gujarat, where his family survived on small fields of fennel, castor and cumin, with their earnings barely enough to cover basic needs.

He had studied in a public school, where, he recalled, “teachers were a rarity, and English almost didn’t exist”.

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“Maybe if I knew English, I would have been some government worker. Who knows?”, he said, referring to the dream of a majority of Indians, as government jobs come with tenure and benefits.

His finances improved once he joined the diamond cutting industry in Surat, a city perched along India’s Arabian Sea coast, where nearly 80 percent of the world’s diamonds are cut and polished. Monthly earnings of 35,000 rupees ($390) for the first time brought Alpesh a sense of stability, and with it, the means to give his children the education he never had.

“I was determined that at least my children would get the kind of private education I was deprived of,” he said.

But that dream did not last. The first disruption to business came with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The sanctions on Russia hurt supply chains, as India sourced at least a third of its raw diamonds from Russia, leading to layoffs.

Alpesh’s earnings fell to 18,000 rupees ($200) a month, then to 20,000 rupees ($222). Soon, the 25,000 rupees ($280) annual school fee became unmanageable. By the time his older daughter reached grade three, just as his younger child started school, the pressure became impossible.

Earlier this year, he pulled both children out of private school and enrolled them in a nearby public one. A few months later, when new United States tariffs deepened the crisis as demand slumped further, his polishing unit laid off 60 percent of its workers, Alpesh among them.

“Seems like I’ve come back to where I started,” he said.

Surat, India’s diamond hub, employs more than 600,000 workers, and hosts 15 large polishing units with annual sales exceeding $100m. For decades, Surat’s diamond‑polishing industry has offered migrant workers from rural Gujarat, many with little or no education, higher incomes, in some cases up to 100,000 rupees ($1,112) a month, and a path out of agrarian hardship.

But recent shocks have exposed the fragility of that ladder, with close to 400,000 workers having faced layoffs, pay cuts, or reduced hours.

Even before Russia’s war on Ukraine began in February 2022, Surat’s diamond industry faced multiple challenges: disrupted supplies from African mines, weakening demand in key Western markets, and inconsistent exports to China, the second-largest customer. With the onset of the war, India’s exports of cut and polished diamonds in the financial year ending on March 31, 2024, fell by 27.6 percent, with sharp declines in its top markets – the US, China, and the United Arab Emirates.

The 50 percent tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump have worsened the downturn.

Alpesh now works loading and unloading textile consignments for about 12,000 rupees ($133) a month, barely enough to cover food and rent.

“If I had kept them in the private school, I don’t know how I would have survived,” Alpesh said. “People here have killed themselves over debts and school fees. When you don’t have enough to eat, how will you think of teaching your children well?”

His daughters are still adjusting. “They sometimes tell me, ‘Pupa, the studies aren’t as good now’. I tell them we’ll put them back in the private school soon, but I don’t know when that will happen.”

‘An exodus’

Some workers have returned to their villages, as many migrant families in Surat can no longer afford rent or find alternative work.

Shyam Patel, 35, was among them. When exports slowed and US tariffs hit in August, the polishing unit where he worked shut down. With no other work available, he returned to his village in the Banaskantha district the following month.

“What other option was there?” he said. “In the city, there’s rent to pay even when there’s no work.”

He now works as a daily-wage labourer in cotton fields in his village. His son, who was in the final year of high school, dropped out after four months of the new academic session.

“We’ll put him back in school next year,” Shyam said. “The government school said they can’t take new students in the middle of the term. Till then, he helps me in the fields.”

Across the city, the disruption is evident in government data. More than 600 students left school mid-session last year as their parents lost work or returned to their villages, mostly in Saurashtra and north Gujarat.

“Most migrants come to Surat to settle – the city has entire [neighbourhoods] and housing clusters built for diamond workers,” said Bhavesh Tank, vice president of the Diamond Workers Union Gujarat. “An exodus in the middle of the year is unprecedented, and the drop in school enrolment suggests many are not coming back soon.”

The union estimates that about 50,000 workers have left Surat over the past 12 to 14 months.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a Hindu nationalist group allied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been closely observing the diamond industry crisis in Surat.

“The number of dropouts has reached a point where even government schools are struggling to take in new students, said Purvesh Togadia, a VHP representative in the city. “The poor quality of education is making the transition even more disheartening for families.”

The poor quality of education in public schools is well established. In 2024, only 23.4 percent of grade three students could read at a grade two level, compared with 35.5 percent in private schools. By grade 5, the gap persisted – 44.8 percent in government schools versus 59.3 percent in private ones.

Kishor Bhamre, director at Pratham, an organisation working on children’s rights across education and labour, said the setback is not just academic but psychological.

“Children moving from private to government schools lose the environment they grew up in – their friends, familiar teachers, and a sense of community. For many, it also means shifting from an urban to a rural setting, which makes the adjustment even harder and affects their learning,” he said.

Al Jazeera reached out to the Surat Municipal Corporation and the state’s education minister for comment, but did not receive a response.

Limited help

The Diamond Workers Union has repeatedly appealed to the state government to provide an economic relief package and revise salaries in line with inflation. The union has also urged authorities to address the equally pressing situation of the growing number of school dropouts among workers’ children.

The Gujarat government in May introduced a special assistance package for affected diamond workers – a rare move in the industry.

Under the scheme, the state government committed to paying for one year of school fees for diamond polishers’ children, up to 13,500 rupees ($150) annually. To qualify, workers must have been unemployed for the past year and have at least three years of experience in a diamond factory. The fees will be paid directly to the schools.

The government received nearly 90,000 requests from diamond workers across Gujarat, including about 74,000 from Surat alone.  After a slow start – it had provided assistance to only 170 children by July – officials reported disbursing 82.8 million rupees ($921,000) towards school fees for 6,368 children of jobless diamond workers in Surat by mid-September.

But about 26,000 applicants were rejected, reportedly due to “improper details mentioned” in the forms, leading to frustration and anger among workers. In the past few days, nearly 1,000 diamond polishers have filed applications with the local government, demanding to know who rejected their forms and on what grounds, and alleging opacity in the process.

The scheme’s rigid eligibility criteria have also excluded workers.

“The scheme only covers those who have completely lost their jobs, but it leaves out many who are facing partial cuts or reduced work,” said Tank. “They’re struggling just as much and need support equally.”

Tank added that education remains one of the most common concerns among workers reaching out to the union’s suicide prevention helpline, which was set up by the Diamond Workers Union after Surat had already recorded at least 71 suicides among diamond workers by November 2024. It has received more than 5,000 calls so far.

Divyaben Makwana, 40, lost her 22-year-old son, Kewalbhai, who had been working as a diamond polisher for three years. On June 14, he died by suicide.

Kewalbhai had been under immense mental stress after losing his job in the diamond market, his mother told Al Jazeera.

“He was earning around 20,000 rupees ($220) a month, and when even that collapsed,” he took his life, she said. “We took him to the hospital and did everything we could. I borrowed 500,000 rupees ($5,560) from relatives and friends, but we couldn’t save him. Now, I don’t have a son – only a loan.”

She lives in Surat with her husband, who has been unable to work due to prolonged illness, and their younger son, Karmdeep, 18. With no means to return to their village in Saurashtra, Divyaben has begun working as a domestic worker to make ends meet. Karmdeep dropped out after grade 11, and now attends a local coaching centre, where he is learning diamond faceting while looking for work.

“Education has become so expensive,” Divyaben said. “At least with coaching, he’ll learn a skill. By the time the market recovers, if he’s trained as a craftsman, maybe we’ll be able to repay some of our debts.”

She paused, her voice low. “I don’t know if education, whether taken on loan or given free, can really change our fate. Our only hope is still the diamond.”

If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide, these organisations may be able to help.

You can access the Diamond Workers Union helpline at +91-92395 00009.

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Arson squad and forensic officers are investigating the cause of a bushfire that destroyed 16 homes on the New South Wales Central Coast on the weekend.

Fanned by high temperatures and strong winds, the out-of-control blaze swept across Koolewong on Saturday afternoon, with the flames at one point jumping a stretch of water 1km wide.

On Tuesday morning, NSW police confirmed crime scenes had been established at houses and dwellings on Nimbin Avenue, Glenrock Parade and John Street in Koolewong.

The Rural Fire Services (RFS) commissioner, Trent Curtin, said it was still unclear how the Koolewong fire started.

“We don’t want to speculate at this stage as to what the cause might be. There are many things that it may be,” Curtin said on ABC radio.

The national broadcaster reported an officer was photographed at the scene carrying a clear plastic evidence bag containing a red jerry can.

NSW police said investigations at the “active crime scenes” had been suspended due to “safety concerns” with structural engineers now engaged.

“Investigations are anticipated to recommence once the area has been declared safe by authorities,” a spokesperson said.

“As investigations remain ongoing, the NSW police force, Fire and Rescue NSW and NSW Rural Fire Service will continue operations in the area for the foreseeable future.”

Central Coast council said it was unable to comment, given the police investigation was ongoing.

Another four homes were destroyed in a bushfire at Bulahdelah on the mid-north coast on the weekend. In Tasmania, 19 homes were lost in Dolphin Sands.

The Tasmania Fire Service issued fresh “watch and act” advice for Dolphin Sands on Tuesday before midday.

“Although there is no immediate danger from bushfire, residents need to monitor conditions and be alert for any changes,” the service stated.

Firefighters in NSW were continuing to contain the bushfire south of Buladelah on both sides of the Pacific Highway that had burned more than 4,600 hectares.

The blaze, at advice level, was burning in the Myall Lakes national park between Crawford River and Nerong.

Smoke blankets the town of Nerong. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

The RFS had urged the small community of Nerong to prepare to evacuate on Monday evening but back-burning overnight was successful.

On Tuesday morning, the RFS was working to put out spot fires in the area, assisted by water-bombing helicopters.

Tracy, who owns a holiday home opposite the national park in Nerong, was up until 2am watching for embers on her property. She arrived in town four days ago to prepare.

“We had bins set out the front full of water, with buckets on them, because if we lost power, we had no way of protecting our homes,” she said on Tuesday.

“Fire and rescue were here all the way along the street [last night] and the brigades were all through the bush.

“I was definitely feeling nervous yesterday, but as soon as all the crews turned up … they took over, and we just watched for embers on our houses.”

With hot and dry conditions expected for the rest of the day, the RFS was urging communities at Bombah Point Road, Crawford River and the Branch to monitor conditions.

Firefighters battle a bushfire off the Pacific Highway near Nerong. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

Bushfire smoke had impacted air quality down through the Central Coast to Sydney.

On Tuesday morning, air quality in the Lower Hunter, Lake Macquarie and Central Coast regions was poor, according to government monitoring. Air quality in both western Sydney and the eastern suburbs was fair.

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