Met Office Issues Weather Alerts As Snow Could ‘Cut Off’ Some Areas
Further weather warnings are in place for snow around the UK, with the Met Office warning that some people could be “cut off” by the drifts.

Amber “be prepared” warnings are in place for snow for the east and west Midlands, East of England, London and the South East, North West England, Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber.

These are in place between 4am and 6pm on Sunday.

A number of warnings are in force across the UK including strong winds for southern areas on Sunday – gusts could approach 70 mph in places – stay #weatheraware pic.twitter.com/f6wIsvOpIt

December 9, 2017
The Met Office said: “A spell of heavy snow is likely over parts of Wales, the Midlands and parts of Northern and Eastern England on Sunday.

“Road, rail and air travel delays are likely, as well as stranding of vehicles and public transport cancellations.

“There is a good chance that some rural communities could become cut off.”

Yellow “be aware” alerts are in place for wind, snow and ice in other areas (full details can be found here).

Forecasters say 10-20 cm is possible for some locations and the worst areas affected mainly in northern Scotland.

At 8pm on Saturday evening, temperatures had already plummeted to -9C in Dalwhinnie in Scotland.

After school closures and power cuts in Scotland on Friday, the heaviest and most frequent snow showers are predicted in the north east of the country during Saturday.

Around 18,000 homes across Scotland were affected by power cuts due to the weather, according to Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, with power returned to the majority of affected homes by Friday evening.

However, further cuts are expected with more snowfall.

Highways England advised road users intending to travel through the West Midlands and the northwest of England to check the forecast and road conditions before they travel, with the threat of disruption throughout the weekend.

Council gritting teams are on standby to cover roads across the country with fleets of vehicles out overnight into Saturday morning.

Birmingham Airport have warned passengers travelling on Sunday morning to allow more time for their journey as a result, while Manchester Airport advised passengers to check before travelling.

Arriva Trains Wales and Scotrail also issued warnings.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/uk-weather-forecast-alerts_uk_5a2c284be4b073789f6a4d81

Iraq Declares Victory Over Islamic State But Theresa May Warns Fight Isn’t Over
Iraq’s prime minister has declared victory in the fight against the so-called Islamic State – but Theresa May has warned the extremist group is “not yet defeated”.

Haider al-Abadi declared final victory over IS on Saturday after Iraqi forces drove its last remnants from the country, three years after the militant group captured about a third of Iraq’s territory, Reuters reported.

The announcement comes two days after the Russian military announced the defeat of the militants in neighbouring Syria, where Moscow is backing Syrian government forces.

Iraqi forces recaptured the last areas still under Islamic State control along the border with Syria, the military said.

He said in a televised address: “Honourable Iraqis: your land has been completely liberated. The dream of liberation is now a reality.

“We have accomplished a very difficult mission. Our heroes have reached the final strongholds of Daesh and purified it. The Iraqi flag flies high today over all Iraqi lands.”

Several squadrons of Iraqi helicopters flew over Baghdad carrying Iraqi flags at noon, in an apparent rehearsal for a victory parade that Iraq is planning to hold in coming days.

The government said the declaration meant Iraqi forces had secured the western desert and the entire Iraq-Syria border, and marked the end of the war against Islamic State.

Abadi declared 10 December a national holiday to be celebrated every year. State television aired celebratory songs praising government forces and militias, and showed scenes of celebration on the streets of Baghdad and other provinces.

Theresa May congratulated Abadi on a “historic” moment, adding “Daesh no longer hold significant territory in Iraq or Syria. This signals a new chapter towards a more peaceful, prosperous country”.

However she said that the fight against IS was not yet over.

The US-led coalition that has been supporting the Iraqi forces against Islamic State welcomed the news, as did Brett McGurk, the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy to the coalition.

“We congratulate the Prime Minister and all the Iraqi people on this significant achievement, which many thought impossible,” he said in a series of tweets.

“We honour the sacrifices of the Iraqi people, its security forces, and the Kurdish Peshmerga, and admire the unity in their ranks that had made this day possible.”

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/iraq-victory-islamic-state_uk_5a2c42fae4b0a290f0513f39

What former “Biggest Loser” contestant Sam Rouen looks like now is literally unbelievable
“With a bit of hard work and persistence, you can turn it around and fulfill your dreams.”

www.queerty.com/former-biggest-loser-contestant-sam-rouen-looks-like-now-literally-unbelievable-20171209?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Starving Polar Bear Captured On Camera In Heartbreaking Footage

Heartbreaking footage has emerged of an emaciated polar bear in Canada’s Arctic.

The video, captured by conservation group Sea Legacy on Baffin Island, was shared by photographer Paul Nicklen.

The animal can be seen struggling to walk and foraging in vain in a metal drum for food.

He explained: “This is what starvation looks like. The muscles atrophy. No energy. It’s a slow, painful death.

“When scientists say polar bears will be extinct in the next 100 years, I think of the global population of 25,000 bears dying in this manner.

“There is no band aid solution. There was no saving this individual bear. People think that we can put platforms in the ocean or we can feed the odd starving bear.

male bear was not old, and he certainly died within hours or days of this moment.

“But there are solutions. We must reduce our carbon footprint, eat the right food, stop cutting down our forests, and begin putting the Earth—our home—first.”

He told National Geographic that he filmed the heart-rending sight because he didn’t want the animal to die in vain. He said he wanted to help send out a wider message about the consequences of global warming.

The footage left many on social media horrified…

Polar bears are particularly under threat from climate change because they rely heavily on ice for travelling, hunting, mating and resting.

The National Snow and Ice Data Centre has regularly noted record lows in sea ice coverage in its annual review of sea ice cover.

This is an issue which is predicted to worsen further in coming years.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/starving-polar-bear_uk_5a2c1df3e4b069ec48add285

Pietro Boselli’s day off, Ryan Phillippe’s new tattoo, & Jack Laugher’s sausage dogs
Instagram + studs = Instastuds

www.queerty.com/pietro-bosellis-day-off-ryan-phillippes-new-tattoo-jack-laughers-sausage-dogs-20171209?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Oscar Isaac Says He’s Open to a Gay ‘Star Wars’ Romance for Poe and Finn: WATCH

Oscar Isaac was asked about Star Wars fans who see the opportunity for a romance to bud between Poe and John Boyega’s character Finn in an upcoming episode, and Collider asks him what that means to him.

Said Isaac: “What it means to me is that people can see themselves in a hero like this, in a movie like this, which I love. Not only LGBT, but Latinos. That there’s a representation out there for that.”

As to specifics, Isaac isn’t giviing much up: “As to actually seeing how that manifests itself in Poe in this film, that isn’t necessarily going to be a clear story point in this one. But as an actor, I’m very open to those possible storylines and I don’t think it needs to be nailed down in any traditional way.”

Fans can keep hoping.

Watch:

Boyega spoke about the possibility earlier this year: “I think that Oscar is always looking at me with love in his eyes, and I guess that the fans saw it. And then they realized that either he needs to chill or come out….We’ve talked about it, but I think you’re not going to see it in The Last Jedi. In the next six or eight months, we will have some meetings about the stories that we will develop next.”

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Oscar Isaac Says He’s Open to a Gay ‘Star Wars’ Romance for Poe and Finn: WATCH