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The King has warned of the “dangerous re-emergence of antisemitism” and met with Holocaust survivors on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

During a visit to the Jewish Community Centre of Krakow – which he opened in 2008 – King Charles said Holocaust Memorial Day “is a moment when we recall the depths to which humanity can sink when evil is allowed to flourish”.

The King then joined survivors and other dignitaries at Auschwitz, marking the first time that a serving British monarch has visited the concentration camp where more than a million people were murdered at the hands of the Nazi regime.

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Before he laid a candle as the UK’s representative at the ceremony, three Holocaust survivors shared their stories, with Tova Friedman saying she felt it was “normal” that “as a Jewish child they all had to die”.

Janina Iwanska also said: “It is difficult to calculate all the people killed here.”

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Survivors recount Auschwitz horrors

Pic: PA
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Pic: PA

Kate, the Princess of Wales, will also join Prince William at a Holocaust commemoration ceremony in London later on Monday.

The royals will pay their respects alongside Sir Keir Starmer and hear survivors and campaigners speak.

King Charles III arrives at Krakow Airport, in Balice, Poland, to attend commemorations at Auschwitz-Birkenau, marking 80 years since the liberation of the concentration camp. Picture date: Monday January 27, 2025.
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King Charles arriving at Krakow Airport, in Balice, Poland. Pic: PA

‘Remembering the evils of the past remains vital’

Speaking in Krakow earlier on Monday, the King said: “In a world that remains full of turmoil and strife, and has witnessed the dangerous re-emergence of antisemitism, there can be no more important message.

“As the number of Holocaust survivors regrettably diminishes with the passage of time, the responsibility of remembrance rests far heavier on our shoulders and on those of generations yet unborn.

“The act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task, and in so doing, we inform our present and shape our future.

“Here in Krakow, from the ashes of the Holocaust, the Jewish community has been reborn.”

Read more:
Survivors mark liberation from Auschwitz 80 years ago
‘My mother sacrificed herself for me’

King’s poignant journey to Auschwitz a display of his lifelong commitment to Holocaust survivors

The King had a clear purpose as he made his first visit to Auschwitz.

Remembrance – but also the high cost of forgetting.

It was right at the heart of a speech he gave at a Jewish community centre in Krakow, which he opened in 2008; a reminder of his enduring work to champion religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue, ever mindful of what he can do with his global profile.

In the auditorium at Auschwitz, he was one of the most recognisable attendees. But as is so often the case with the Royal Family, his intention was to use his presence to draw even greater attention to those who really matter, the survivors.

The Holocaust Educational Trust described his attendance as elevating the event on a global stage, a signal to the world of its significance.

It was a display of his lifelong commitment to humanise and give a voice to those who 80 years ago were so savagely dehumanised at the hands of the Nazis.

The King went on to say there is “no greater symbol” of that rebirth than the centre he was speaking at.

“In a post-Holocaust world, projects such as this, this centre, is how we recover our faith in humanity,” he said.

“They also show us there is much work still to be done,” he said, adding that it’s important not just to remember the past, “but to use it to inspire us to build a kinder and more compassionate world for future generations”.

“This remains the sacred task of us all,” he added.

Later, the King joined world leaders like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Auschwitz, as those who lived through the Holocaust shared their stories of survival.

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

‘I remember watching children driven to their deaths’

Survivor Janina Iwanska said that while the camp was originally for political prisoners, in March 1942, “the operators of the camp started building gas chambers and the crematorium”.

“It was no longer a POW camp, a Soviet camp – this is when the killing machine started its operation,” she added.

“It is difficult to calculate all the people killed here.”

Fellow survivor Tova Friedman also told those in attendance: “I remember as a five-year-old child watching from my hiding place as all my little friends were rounded up and driven to their deaths while the heartbreaking cries of their parents fell on deaf ears.

“After all the children were gone and the courtyard was empty – I thought ‘am I the only Jewish child left in the world?'”

She recalled that while held in Auschwitz, she “was being beaten mercilessly by a guard for fidgeting” after “not being able to stand still for hours,” as she looked into her mother’s eyes.

“She was pleading with me ‘don’t cry’. And I didn’t. At five I had the rebellion in me that I would not let them know the pain they are inflicting on me,” Ms Friedman added.

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Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman: ‘Very few of us are left’

More than a million people were murdered at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp during the Second World War, most of whom were Jews but also Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war and other nationalities.

Six million Jewish men, women and children died during the Holocaust.

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‘I lost 41 members of my family’

Commemorations at the former death camp began earlier when Poland’s President Andrzej Duda joined Auschwitz survivors laying wreaths and candles at the site.

Their tributes were left at a reconstruction of the Death Wall, the site where several thousand people, mainly Polish political prisoners, were executed.

In a speech, Mr Duda said “we Poles are the guardians of memory today” and had a duty to maintain the life stories of the survivors.

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‘My dad could still be here’, says daughter of Bhim Kohli, 80, killed by children in Leicestershire park attack

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'My dad could still be here', says daughter of Bhim Kohli, 80, killed by children in Leicestershire park attack

The daughter of a man who was killed by two children has told Sky News “there is a possibility” he could have still been alive if police had taken anti-social behaviour reports more seriously.

Susan Kohli has spoken to The UK Tonight With Sarah-Jane Mee about what she says were failures by the Leicestershire force, leading up to the death of her 80-year-old father Bhim Kohli near Leicester in September 2024.

Mr Kohli was racially abused and physically attacked just yards from his home as he walked his dog in Franklin Park, Braunstone Town. He suffered a broken neck and fractured ribs, and died in hospital the next day.

Susan Kohli
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Susan Kohli

Susan Kohli is critical of how Leicestershire Police dealt with earlier reports of anti-social behaviour in the area in July and August 2024, before the attack on her father. The force said it did not identify misconduct or missed opportunities, which could have prevented Mr Kohli’s death.

In one of the cases, Ms Kohli said her father faced abusive and racist comments and was spat at. Although the incident in August was not related to her father’s death, she believes a stronger police response could have deterred her dad’s killers.

“Why is it that they’re not taking these things seriously? Are they just waiting for something to happen? Because that’s literally what it looks and feels like.

“They waited for someone to lose their life before they took any stance. If they had arrested these two boys prior to that incident on the 1st of September, there is a possibility my dad could still be here,” she said.

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A boy, who was 14 at the time of the attack, and a girl, who was 12, denied their part in the killing but were found guilty of manslaughter at Leicester Crown Court in April. The pair cannot be named because of their age.

Jurors heard the boy kicked and punched Mr Kohli – encouraged by the girl who recorded parts of the attack while laughing.

Susan Kohli told Sarah-Jane Mee she felt the children's sentences were too lenient
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Susan Kohli told Sarah-Jane Mee she felt the children’s sentences were too lenient

Ms Kohli said she felt their sentences were too lenient after the boy received seven years’ detention while the girl was given a three-year youth rehabilitation order.

We need the sentencing guidelines to be looked at, whether it’s a child or an adult, they know what they are doing at that age.

“Why is it that because they are a child that they get half the sentence of an adult? He’s going to be out in three and a half years or even less. How is that justice for taking somebody’s life? But that’s not justice at all. They’ve given us a life sentence.”

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Daughter’s anger over child killers

In August, the Court of Appeal ruled the boy’s sentence will not be changed, saying it was neither unduly lenient nor manifestly excessive.

Solicitor General Lucy Rigby had referred the sentence to the court under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. The girl’s sentence was not referred to the Court of Appeal.

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Camilla told Boris of train attack
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Leicestershire Police told Sky News that, due to prior police contact with Mr Kohli, the force referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The force found that proportionate and reasonable lines of enquiry were followed and concluded that no misconduct or missed opportunities which could have prevented Mr Kohli’s death were identified.

Chief Superintendent Jonathan Starbuck said: “The death of Bhim Kohli is an extremely shocking, traumatic and upsetting incident and our thoughts, sorrow and sympathies continue to remain with Mr Kohli’s family and friends.

“We know that anti-social behaviour has a huge impact on people’s lives. Preventing and addressing incidents and community concerns is of the utmost importance to our force in order to ensure the safety of our residents. This is something we continue to work on, address and to make ongoing improvements wherever we can.

“Through our own local investigation, following direction by the IOPC, we also identified organisational learning in relation to improving our system of logging and tagging anti-social behaviour incidents.”

An IOPC spokesperson said: “We agreed with Leicestershire Police’s finding that police officers did proactively investigate matters reported to them and there was nothing to indicate any officers or police staff committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner justifying disciplinary proceedings.

“And we agreed with learning identified by the force in respect of accurately recording and tagging incidents of anti-social behaviour (ASB), thus ensuring incidents can be dealt with appropriately and to support the long-term management and deterrence of ASB.”

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Summer 2025 was warmest on record – and repeat is now 70 times more likely, Met Office says

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Summer 2025 was warmest on record - and repeat is now 70 times more likely, Met Office says

The UK has just sizzled through its hottest summer on record, a phenomenon made 70 times more likely by climate change, the Met Office said today.

It beat the previous high set in 2018, and kicks the notoriously hot summer of 1976 into sixth place.

The persistent heat drove hosepipe bans, “nationally significant” water shortfalls, and even a “false autumn” in places.

The new provisional data found temperatures between 1 June and 31 August 2025 were 16.10C on average across the UK – much higher than the previous record of 15.76C in 2018.

The difference might sound small, but – as an average over a three-month period, including day and nighttime temperatures – is in fact substantial.

All the top five warmest summers have occurred since the year 2000, which the Met Office called a “clear sign of the UK’s changing and warming climate”.

This summer was the hottest by far, much warmer than all the previous records, and relegating 1976 to sixth place.
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This summer was the hottest by far, much warmer than all the previous records, and relegating 1976 to sixth place.

Did autumn come early this year?

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The heat gave rise to early signs of autumn, with blackberries ripening early and leaves turning brown and falling to the ground in August.

This so-called “false autumn” is not the early arrival of the next season, but a survival mechanism of trees and plants when stressed by extreme summer conditions.

They shed leaves and fruit ahead of schedule to conserve water and energy, especially the younger trees whose shallow roots can’t access moisture further underground.

Kevin Martin from Kew Gardens called false autumns a “visible warning sign”.

“Trees are remarkably resilient, but they are also long-lived organisms facing rapid environmental changes.”

Was this summer warmer than 1976?

This summer was the hottest on record going back to 1884, and far warmer even than the memorably hot summer of 1976, which now trails in sixth place.

The Met Office’s Dr Mark McCarthy said this shows how “what would have been seen as extremes in the past are becoming more common in our changing climate”.

The summer of 1976 is remembered for its heatwave that lasted more than two weeks, and 16 days in total with temperatures over 32C.

Although 2025 has had just nine days of temperatures over 32C, what is “striking” about this summer is how consistently warm it was, the Met Office said.

Why was this summer so warm?

There were a number of factors that made it so warm, so persistently.

Lingering high pressure made for settled, sunny and warm weather, and fuelled four heatwaves.

It was also very dry, with about a quarter less rain than average for summer – though that varied by region. But it followed the driest spring in England for more than a century.

Dry ground holds less moisture that can evaporate: a process that usually cools things down.

And a marine heatwave sent sea temperatures on the surface well above average, with a knock-on impact on air temperatures.

Overnight temperatures were also high, keeping the average up.

What about climate change?

Climate change made a summer as hot or hotter than this year 70 times more likely, the Met Office said.

It adds another layer of heat on top of the other weather patterns that may have happened without humans changing the climate.

The UK is warming by roughly 0.25C per decade, and is already at least 1.24C warmer than the period between 1961-1990.

Without climate change, a summer like in 2025 would have happened about once in every 340 years. Now it’s expected once in five years.

Anna Roguski from Friends of the Earth, said the summer “underlined how unprepared the UK is for extreme heat”.

She said we “urgently” need to adapt towns with things like stricter building standards, shaded streets and “far more nature woven through neighbourhoods – trees, wetlands and green spaces help to keep things cool”.

“But adaptation alone won’t be enough. To stop summers spiralling ever hotter, we must slash emissions.”

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Retired vicar involved in ‘Eunuch Maker’ extreme body modification ring jailed for three years

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Retired vicar involved in 'Eunuch Maker' extreme body modification ring jailed for three years

A retired Church of England vicar who was part of an extreme body modification ring run by man who called himself the Eunuch Maker has been jailed for three years.

Warning: The following article contains graphic details of extreme physical mutilation

Reverend Geoffrey Baulcomb, 79, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent after a nine-second video of him using nail scissors to perform a procedure on a man’s penis in January 2020 was found on his mobile phone.

He also admitted seven other charges, including possessing extreme pornography and making and distributing images of children on or before 14 December 2022.

Prosecutors said some of the material included moving images which had been on the eunuch maker website, run by 47-year-old Norwegian national Marius Gustavson.

Marius Gustavson
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Marius Gustavson

Gustavson was jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years last year after a court heard he made almost £300,000 through his website, where thousands of users paid to watch procedures, including castrations.

Baulcomb was said to have been an “acquaintance” of Gustavson, and the pair exchanged more than 10,000 messages with each other over a four-year period.

He was formerly a vicar at St Mary the Virgin Church in Eastbourne but retired from full-time ministry in the Church of England in 2003.

The diocese of Chichester said he applied for “permission to officiate”, which allows clergy to officiate at church services in retirement, when he moved to Sussex the following year.

But Baulcomb was banned for life from exercising his Holy Orders following a tribunal last year, which heard he was issued with a caution after police found crystal meth and ketamine at his home in December 2022.

He had claimed experimenting with drugs or allowing his home in Eastbourne to be used for drug taking would “better enable him to relate and minister to people with difficulties as part of his pastoral care”.

The diocese said the Bishop of Chichester immediately removed his permission to officiate after being contacted by police, and bail conditions prevented him from attending church or entering Church of England premises.

‘Nullos’ subculture

The Old Bailey heard last year that extreme body modification is linked to a subculture where men become “nullos”, short for genital nullification, by having their penis and testicles removed.

Gustavson and nine other men have previously admitted their involvement in the eunuch maker ring, which one victim said had a “cult-like” atmosphere.

The life-changing surgeries, described as “little short of human butchery” by the sentencing judge, were carried out by people with no medical qualifications, who he had recruited.

Prosecutors said there was “clear evidence of cannibalism” as Gustavson – who had his own penis and nipple removed and leg frozen so it needed to be amputated – cooked testicles to eat in a salad.

Gustavson, who was said to have been involved in almost 30 procedures, pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm between 2016 and 2022.

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