information

News Desk

Refugee’s inspiring journey from child asylum seeker to owner of ‘Eggoland’

A refugee who came to the UK in a lorry is now preparing to open an egg-based restaurant called ‘Eggoland’.

Sohail Ahmad arrived in Kent at the tender age of 12 after travelling all the way from Afghanistan on a truck.

He was taken in by Ashford county council social services and soon started to thrive at the Swattenden Centre in Cranbrook, which housed young asylum seekers until 2012.

Now aged 32, Sohail is preparing to open Eggoland in central London this summer, KentLive[1] reports.

He told KentLive: “Kent was my first home when I came to the UK, the first step I took on UK soil was in Ashford.

“Kent social services played an incredible part in my life in terms of settling me into the country and integrating me into the system.”

Sohail was a keen amateur boxer when he arrived in England
Sohail became a keen amateur boxer in England (Image: Posh Cockney)

Sign up to our newsletter to get the day’s biggest news straight to your inbox

The Mirror’s newsletter brings you the latest news, exciting showbiz and TV stories, sport updates and essential political information.

The newsletter is emailed out first thing every morning, at 12noon and every evening.

Never miss a moment by signing up to our newsletter here[2].

Sohail described his time at the Swattenden Centre as a crucial period in his life.

He added: “They had incredible programmes and routines for kids like books and libraries, and people who came to educate the kids, teaching them English, and integrating them into society.”

He looks back fondly on his memories of his time in Cranbrook, particularly the day trips to Brighton, Gillingham and Maidstone, where he was given swimming lessons.

Sohail speaks highly of his social worker Gill Martin and the resident translator who the young boys called Uncle Harshim.

In 2008, after leaving the Swattenden Centre and moving to London, Sohail began his career as an amateur boxer.

He started boxing after being bullied at school
He started boxing after being bullied at school (Image: Posh Cockney)

It started as a way of protecting himself when he was bullied at school but in 2015 he turned professional, dominating the ring and winning all of his fights bar one so far.

But his latest venture is a pet-friendly, Halal restaurant in Fitzrovia.

His love of food arose whilst he was cleaning dishes in restaurants to earn some money shortly after he arrived in the UK, and the egg-based concept comes from his frustration at never being able to order eggs the way he likes them.

Eggoland will serve a variety of egg-based dishes from egg sandwiches through to vegan options and spicy alternatives, at a reasonable price.

Sohail said: “Coming from an under-privileged background you don’t have the money to be in a high-end restaurant.

“I wanted to make something tasty and trendy, but good value for money.

“Money is a big factor in everything.”

He hopes success of the Fitzrovia branch will bring him international success in the future.

Alongside boxing and opening restaurants Sohail supports the homeless, visiting train stations near his home in West London to provide them with food.

He has also started a foundation in Afghanistan providing families in need with food rations and other necessities.

He said: “If anyone is reading this with the same background I have, I would love to come and share my story with them and inspire them, motivate them, or give them hope that if you work hard and stay disciplined you can achieve anything.”

References

  1. ^ KentLive (www.kentlive.news)
  2. ^ here (www.mirror.co.uk)

News Desk

Bridge collapses as 120-tonne section falls onto road below in terrifying scenes

A truck has been smashed by a huge section of bridge during demolition works.

The incident happened in Regent Street near Leeds City College’s Quarry Hill campus as workmen tried to move the section of the bridge from a crane, with the 120 tonne debris landing on a truck.

Images from the scene have been shared online following the incident and appear show the road has been severely damaged from the incident.

An eyewitness told LeedsLive[1]: “120 tonne section of the A64 bridge replacement has just collapsed on the truck from the crane.”

Regent Street, Leeds, A64 bridge collapse
The A64 bridge replacement fell from a crane onto a truck below

The A64 is currently closed due to long-term construction work to upgrade the Regent Street flyover in the city centre.

This weekend is the first of four consecutive weekends when the road was due to be closed for the construction works to take place.

Regent Street at the Inner Ring Road was closed at 8pm on Friday night for the bridge demolition works and was due to reopen at at 5.30am on Monday, May 17.

Regent Street, Leeds, A64 bridge collapse
Images from the scene have been shared online following the incident

Yorkshire Ambulance Service confirmed to the Daily Star that they had not been called to the scene and that there were no casualties.

West Yorkshire Police also confirmed that police had not been called to the incident.

Workmen at the site told LeedsLive the lorry had simply broken down after the bridge was lifted onto the back of the truck and that it did not collapse.

Leeds City Council also contested the claims and says the concrete section of the demolished bridge was lifted “safely” onto the lorry however there was a “failure of the trailer”.

A statement from the council reads: “Essential work to demolish and rebuild the northern section of Regent Street Flyover is currently ongoing.

“Last night, a concrete section of the demolished bridge was being lifted onto a specialist trailer to be disposed of and recycled away from site.

Regent Street, Leeds, A64 bridge collapse
The bridge collapsed overnight

“It was safely placed onto the heavy load vehicle however there was failure of the trailer, causing the piece of bridge to shift from its resting position.

“It is now being broken up for safe removal and will be cleared from the site by lunchtime today.

“There were no accidents or injuries as a consequence of the trailer system failing and work will continue to demolish the bridge over the coming days.”

Daily Star has contacted West Yorkshire Combined Authority for further information.

The Regent Street Flyover was built in the late 1960s and carries the A64 Inner Ring Road over the A61 Regent Street, and is normally used by 70,000 vehicles per day.

The construction work is expected to take up to two years with completion set for spring 2022.

References

  1. ^ LeedsLive (www.leeds-live.co.uk)

News Desk

Ivory Coast PM Patrick Achi returns home after medical treatment in France

Ivory Coast’s Prime Minister Patrick Achi returned home on Friday after receiving medical treatment in France, a source close to his office said.

No information was given on the 65-year-old’s state of health after his four days in France[1], and the Ivorian[2] authorities declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

On Thursday political sources said Achi was receiving medical treatment in France after suffering intestinal bleeding.

Achi, a veteran government figure close to President Alassane Ouattara[3], is the West African country’s third prime minister in the past year after his two predecessors died.

He was confirmed in late March, replacing Hamed Bakayoko, 56, who had been flown to Germany with cancer and died two days later.

Bakayoko had taken office in July 2020 after Amadou Gon Coulibaly died aged 61 following heart problems.

The former French colony is still recovering from a violence-torn presidential election last October that claimed nearly 100 lives.

(AFP)

References

  1. ^ France (www.france24.com)
  2. ^ Ivorian (www.france24.com)
  3. ^ Alassane Ouattara (www.france24.com)

European Union

Britain launched two warships against French fishermen

Seventeen fishing boats ran aground on Britain and France, but the London government also sent two warships to the Channel at dawn on Thursday.

The conflict has been exacerbated by two interpretations of the Brexit rules. Since Britain left the EU, there have been a number of complex methods for calculating where and to what extent European fishermen have access to the British Ocean. Although fisheries provide a very small part of the economies of the countries concerned, they also play a key political role in France, Belgium, Denmark and the United Kingdom, along with their strong unions, spectacular demonstrations and symbolic industries.

One of the ships sent by the British to the scene was the HMS Severn.Photo: GLYN KIRK / AFP

Now the heated debate began with the management of the island of Jersey in the Channel, which is owned by Britain, but is closer to the French coast one by one, and which French fishing vessel has the right to fish off the island again this year? .

In order to obtain a license, French ships had to prove that they had a “historic right” to fish – their vessel had been fishing for at least ten days in a 12-month period over the past three years. Anyone who proves this will be given a beacon identification system to place on fishing vessels longer than 12 meters, after which the British will leave them alone.

Of the applicants, 41 vessels were licensed in the current season, but 17 vessels were rejected. According to Jersey officials, exactly, according to French fishermen, unfair.

Port of St. Helier, Jersey.Photo: OLI SCARFF / AFP

Since then, the situation has escalated:

French fishermen announced on Thursday that they would be marching a hundred boats from the port of Jersey in front of St. Helier.

The Jersey leadership fears the march will be a siege and fishermen want to isolate the island from the outside world, so the island’s prime minister, John Le Fondre, has warned the London government.

Aid arrived immediately, two small warships were sent to the island, and HMS. Severn and HMS Tamar has been guarding the Jersey coast since Thursday.

The French government’s Minister of Maritime Affairs also got into the debate: Annie Gordin said the island would be without electricity if Jersey fishermen were treated unfairly. They can do this because they get electricity from France via three submarine cables from Jersey.

In response, a local oil mill was placed on standby on the island of Jersey so that electricity would be available even if the French closed them down. It will be more expensive and polluting than the current system, but it will not darken the island, local leaders promise.

The independent Hungarian press had never done such hard work during epidemics.

The government does not allow journalists near health facilities and does not share the most basic information about the epidemic with the public. The public media and other propaganda channels do everything they can to cover up the real situation.

In 444 we can show how the epidemic is in Hungary and in the world, despite the obstacles in front of us.

Millions get information from our maps and infographics that provide accurate numbers and current trends.
[1]

Our epidemiological data page, which collects these, has in recent months accepted the role of public service media. By doing so, we not only inform our readers, but also help them stay healthy and keep their loved ones healthy.

“Amateur coffee fan. Travel guru. Subtly charming zombie maven. Incurable reader. Web fanatic.”

News Desk

Tesla in fatal California crash ‘was on autopilot’

A Tesla involved in a fatal crash on a southern California freeway last week was operating on autopilot at the time, authorities said.

The May 5 crash in Fontana, a city 50 miles east of Los Angeles, is under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The probe is the 29th case involving a Tesla that the agency has responded to.

Tesla Model 3
A Tesla Model 3 (Tesla)

A 35-year-old man was killed when his Tesla Model 3 struck an overturned lorry on a freeway at about 2:30am.

The victim’s name has not yet been made public. Another man was seriously injured when the electric vehicle hit him as he was helping the lorry driver out of the wreck.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) announced on Thursday that the car had been operating Tesla’s partially automated driving system called Autopilot, which has been involved in multiple crashes.

The Fontana crash marks at least the fourth US death involving Autopilot.

“While the CHP does not normally comment on on-going investigations, the Department recognizes the high-level of interest centred around crashes involving Tesla vehicles,” the agency said in a statement.

“We felt this information provides an opportunity to remind the public that driving is a complex task that requires a driver’s full attention.”

The federal safety investigation comes just after the CHP arrested another man who authorities have said was in the back seat of a Tesla that was driving this week on Interstate 80 near Oakland with no-one behind the wheel.

CHP has not said if officials have determined whether the Tesla in the I-80 incident was operating on Autopilot, which can keep a car centred in its lane and a safe distance behind vehicles in front of it.

But it is likely that either Autopilot or “Full Self-Driving” were in operation for the driver to be in the back seat. Tesla is allowing a limited number of owners to test its self-driving system.