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Royal Navy sailors came to the aid of four women who have taken up jobs at an isolated Antarctic scientific base – after heavy snowfall buried some of the buildings.

Clare Ballantyne, Mairi Hilton, Natalie Corbett and Lucy Bruzzone beat a record number of applicants to become the team responsible for managing historic site Port Lockroy on Goudier Island – home to the world’s most remote post office.

The team, who share the island with a colony of gentoo penguins, had been setting up the base, assisted by three other staff who are leaving shortly, ahead of the austral summer, when the bad weather struck.

EMBARGOED TO 2230 SATURDAY DECEMBER 3 Undated handout photo issued by Ministry of Defence of HMS Protector's Ship's Company and UKAHT team work together in Port Lockroy, Antarctica. Royal Navy sailors came to the aid of four women who have taken up jobs at the isolated Antarctic scientific base after heavy snowfall buried some of the buildings. Issue date: Saturday December 3, 2022.

Some of the buildings were buried, while the roof of Bransfield Hut – home to the site’s museum, gift shop and post office – was damaged by the heavy spring snowfall of between two and four metres deep.

A team of sailors and Royal Marines from Royal Navy ship HMS Protector shifted several tonnes of snow and carried out temporary repairs.

‘At least the snow killed the smell’

Warrant Officer First Class Lee “Rattler” Morgan said it had been good for the ship’s company to “step ashore and help out”.

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He added: “The sailors were all smiles and happy to get cracking on with such a worthwhile task.

“I was taken aback by the sheer amount of snow and how the buildings had all but disappeared.

“When I left here at the beginning of the year, the penguins were lying on bare ground of rocks and mess – at least the snow got rid of the smell.”

EMBARGOED TO 2230 SATURDAY DECEMBER 3 Undated handout photo issued by Ministry of Defence of HMS Protector in Port Lockroy, Antarctica. Royal Navy sailors came to the aid of four women who have taken up jobs at the isolated Antarctic scientific base after heavy snowfall buried some of the buildings. Issue date: Saturday December 3, 2022.
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HMS Protector in Port Lockroy. Pic: Ministry of Defence

Engineering Technician Marine Engineer Jack Pearce said: “This is only my second ‘run ashore’ in the Navy, having come out of training just three weeks ago.

“It’s amazing to be here, I have enjoyed the scenery and wildlife, but also it feels great making a difference by working with the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust.”

Undated handout photo issued by Ministry of Defence of HMS Protector's Ship's Company and UKAHT team work together in Port Lockroy, Antarctica. Royal Navy sailors came to the aid of four women who have taken up jobs at the isolated Antarctic scientific base after heavy snowfall buried some of the buildings. Issue date: Saturday December 3, 2022.
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The HMS Protector’s Ship’s Company and UK Antarctic Heritage Trust teams together

Counting penguins

The four women were among 6,000 people who expressed an interest in running the site, abandoning home comforts to live and work in the region without running water or a flushing toilet.

Mairi Hilton
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Mairi Hilton and Lucy Bruzzone (below) are two of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust team
Lucy Bruzzone

The former whaling station, which has become a tourist attraction visited by around 20,000 people during the summer season, is home to the world’s most remote post office, which handles around 80,000 cards mailed each year to more than 100 countries.

Another job the team overseeing the station has, is counting the island’s penguins.

HMS Protector is the Royal Navy’s ice patrol ship, which pays regular visits to international bases on the frozen continent, delivering supplies, supporting scientific research and conducting her own.

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs - in worst day for indexes since COVID

Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.

While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.

As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years

All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.

The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.

Read more: What’s a bear market?

Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.

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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.

The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.

And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.

Pic: Reuters
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US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters

Trump holds trade deal talks – reports

It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.

The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.

Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.

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Do Trump’s tariffs add up?

Read more:
Markets gave Trump a clear no-confidence vote
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow

China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.

Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.

Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.

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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump

He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’

“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they're also battling with another problem

Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.

The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.

The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

More on Donald Trump

He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

Read more:
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow
Trade war sparks ‘$2.2trn’ global market sell-off

These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.

His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.

The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.

Demonstrators who stayed overnight near the constitutional court wait for the start of a rally calling for the president to step down. Pic: AP
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Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP

Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.

The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.

Read more from Sky News:
Highs and lows of Five-Year Keir
MP tells Sky News she was targeted online by Tate brothers

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The Constitutional Court is under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement of the impeachment trial. Pic: AP
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP

After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.

He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.

His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.

The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.

South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.

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