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A nursing union leader is calling on the prime minister to intervene on the evening of the biggest NHS walkout in history.

Royal College of Nursing’s director for England, Patricia Marquis, has told Sky News that so far there has been no “direct contact” with Rishi Sunak despite four previous strike days.

“It’s a cry out to Rishi Sunak”, she said, “to come to the table to seek a resolution. So far we’ve not had direct contact with him, all of our efforts have been through the secretary of state for health.

“And those have not really brought us any solutions.

Royal College of Nursing's director for England, Patricia Marquis
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The Royal College of Nursing’s director for England, Patricia Marquis

“So really, now, we don’t want the strikes to go ahead tomorrow or at any point. And we’re really calling on the prime minister to intervene, to come to the table and seek a resolution with us.”

Monday 6 February will see tens of thousands of NHS workers including nurses, in England, and GMB union ambulance workers, in England and Wales, taking industrial action in a dispute over pay and conditions.

On Tuesday 7 February, a second day of nursing strikes will take place.

More on Nhs

Thursday 9 February will see more than 4,000 NHS physiotherapists walk out across England.

And on Friday there will be more ambulance worker strikes – this time members represented by Unison in London, Yorkshire, the South West, the North East and North West.

Carmel O’Boyle has been a nurse in Scotland and Liverpool for six years, and an NHS worker for nearly two decades.

Carmel O’Boyle has been a nurse in Scotland and Liverpool for six years.
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Carmel O’Boyle has been a nurse in Scotland and Liverpool for six years

She describes making the “horrendous” and “emotional” decision to strike.

“No nurse wants to strike,” she said, “but the wages just aren’t compatible with the cost of living”.

“We need a wage increase that is in line with inflation so that we can attract people, and keep people in the profession so that we can give the care to our patients that we want to deliver.”

Strikes will have ‘impact on patients’

The health secretary has described the industrial action as “regrettable” and said the strikes will “undoubtedly have an impact on patients and cause delays to NHS services”.

Carmel says the government needs to understand that “people aren’t dying because nurses are striking, nurses are striking because people are dying”.

Read more:
Nurses urge PM to take ‘swift’ action to avert strike
Junior doctors ‘likely’ to go on strike next month

Concern has also been raised over the impact the strikes will have on the NHS backlog of treatment and waiting lists.

Kim Whyman has been waiting for surgery on her elbow.
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Kim Whyman has been waiting for surgery on her elbow

Kim Whyman has been waiting for surgery on her elbow for two years.

It often dislocates and she often has to “pop it back in” herself. Her operation to stabilise it was scheduled for Monday, but due to strikes it has been cancelled for the second time.

Mrs Whyman, from Norfolk, describes being in pain regularly and is worried about the amount of painkillers she has to take, over a longer period of time, while she waits for surgery.

She works as a receptionist in a GP surgery but is “angry” over her care being disrupted.

‘It’s not fair’

“I’m not very happy,” she told Sky News. “You build yourself up to go into hospital and this is the second time it’s been cancelled in just under a month.

“I understand where (nurses) are coming from. But it’s everybody that’s been affected by their strike. Not just nurses.

“It’s patients and families, there are people worse off than me that are being cancelled as well. And it’s not fair”.

She said she wants immediate action from the government: “Give them a pay rise.”

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Junior doctors ‘likely to strike’

The RCN and other NHS unions in Wales called off strikes in Wales this week after receiving a new pay offer from the Welsh government, while negotiations in Scotland are ongoing.

In a statement from the government, Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: “We accepted the recommendations of the independent pay review body to give over one million NHS workers, including nurses and ambulance workers, a pay rise of at least £1,400 this financial year, on top of an increase the previous year when wider public sector pay was frozen”.

He added: “I have been having constructive talks with unions about what is affordable for 2023/24, and urge them to call off the strikes and come back around the table.”

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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.

More on Donald Trump

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

More on South Korea

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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