Life & Society

Published: 18 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Twenty women underwent mastectomies that were later found to have been unnecessary while receiving breast cancer care at an NHS trust in north-east England, according to findings from an ongoing review into the service. The cases form part of a much wider investigation that has identified hundreds of patients who suffered harm during treatment at County Durham and...

Published: 18 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Disabled people who depend on personal assistants for round-the-clock support are facing renewed calls for clearer national rules governing the use of NHS-funded care when travelling overseas. MPs, peers and disability rights campaigners say people who require substantial assistance should not face different opportunities to travel simply because they live in different parts of the country. The issue...

Published: 18 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has warned that anyone who breaks the law during protests around contested asylum accommodation sites will face legal action, while stressing that legitimate concerns raised by local residents must be distinguished from extremist activity. Mahmood made the comments as tensions continued over plans to accommodate male asylum seekers at a former defence site near...

Published: 18 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. A year after National Guard troops began patrolling the streets of Memphis as part of a federal effort to tackle violent crime, growing questions are emerging over the effectiveness, purpose and wider consequences of the deployment. The debate has intensified following several fatal shootings involving federal agents and amid evidence that crime had already been falling substantially before...

Published: 18 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. The Trump administration’s decision to direct a growing share of unaccompanied migrant children with active immigration cases toward Texas has triggered concern among immigration lawyers, child advocates and Democratic lawmakers, who fear the transfers could make vulnerable children more exposed to detention and deportation while limiting their access to legal assistance. Analysis cited by researchers at immigration data...

Published: 18 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. A 15-year-old Palestinian boy was killed in northern Gaza City after rushing towards an injured man following an Israeli strike, in an incident that witnesses and weapons experts said raises questions about the circumstances surrounding a second attack at the same location. Mohammad Abdul Zinati had been walking home from school through the heavily damaged Salah Khalaf Street...

Published: 17 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online US Representative Ilhan Omar is introducing legislation that would seek to redirect nearly $140 billion allocated to federal immigration enforcement towards communities, businesses and organisations affected by the Trump administration's intensified immigration operations. The proposed 'Make ICE Pay' Act would target funding designated for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) under President Donald...

Published: 17 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Artificial intelligence has become one of the defining technological and social debates of the 2020s, but following that debate can sometimes feel like moving between two extremes. One moment, AI companies are announcing enormous investments, new products and rapidly expanding computing infrastructure. The next, researchers, technology workers and critics are warning that increasingly powerful systems could create serious...

Published: 17 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Children receiving treatment in English hospitals are facing a serious shortage of specialist play support, with new figures indicating that the number of health play professionals available to help young patients cope with illness and medical procedures remains far below recommended levels. The findings have renewed concern about how hospitals support children emotionally as well as clinically. Health...

Published: 17 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online For Keith Townsend, the death of former Catholic priest Ronald Paquin has brought a complicated mixture of reflection, grief and hope for closure. Townsend, who was abused by Paquin as a child, spent years pursuing justice after learning that the former priest had been released from prison. Paquin died in custody in Maine on 11 September at the...