New £150m Hunterston port development plans given go-ahead
A £150m scheme to transform the site of the former Hunterston coal terminal in North Ayrshire has been given the go-ahead. Peel Ports Clydeport, which owns the site, has been granted planning permission to fill in the dry dock and create a “hub for the blue and green economies”. Plans for the 350 acre (142 […]
What happened to the banned and ‘forgotten’ drug?
Getty Images Khat falls into the class C drug category but it isn’t recorded as a specific drug in seizure data A decade ago, a stimulative drug that sold for just a few pounds, was banned in the UK. Known as khat, it’s a plant that’s chewed, giving similar effects to amphetamine. Ten years on […]
Parcels to bring ‘magic of Christmas’ to Bristol children
BBC Charities say families need extra help over winter as heat bills rise Bristol charities have said they are working together to pack Christmas packages full of food and presents, amid rising child poverty. FareShare South West together with Children’s Scrapstore, Unique Voice and The Children’s Kitchen are packing more than 1,000 food parcels to […]
Musk could become political puppet master, says Nick Clegg
Billionaire and X owner Elon Musk could become a “political puppet master” in the US, former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has said. Clegg, who is now Mark Zuckerberg’s second-in-command at Meta, where he is the president for global affairs, made the comments to Nick Robinson’s Political Thinking podcast. When asked whether Musk was a […]
Some domestic abusers’ reoffending halved
Mayor Tracy Brabin told BBC Radio Leeds she was “very proud” of police efforts to cut reoffending by domestic abusers and stalkers The reoffending rates of some domestic abusers have been halved in an initiative that government ministers should adopt, an elected mayor has said. Tracy Brabin said she hoped work done by a joint […]
South Africa’s succulent plants under threat from poachers in the Karoo
Thuthuka Zondi / BBC A biodiversity hotspot in a remote part of South Africa has become the hub of an illegal trade in protected plant species, with organised crime groups capitalising on overseas demand. “They’ve not just stolen our land or our plants, they’ve stolen our heritage as well,” a livestock farmer angrily tells the […]
Former Indian Prime Minister dies at 92
Watch: Former Indian PM Manmohan Singh’s life and legacy Former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh has died at the age of 92. Singh was one of India’s longest-serving prime ministers and he was considered the architect of key liberalising economic reforms, as premier from 2004-2014 and before that as finance minister. He had been admitted […]
‘Why I spent £85k to help fix housing crisis’
Hastings Commons Dr Jess Steele began converting derelict office blocks into affordable homes a decade ago Hastings was such a lively town in the 1980s that London bands would come to play a gig and never go home, says Dr Jess Steele. Today it is one of the most deprived in England with a housing […]
South Korea votes to impeach acting president Han Duck-soo
South Korea has voted to impeach its acting president Han Duck-soo, two weeks after parliament voted to impeach its President Yoon Suk Yeol. A total of 192 lawmakers voted for his impeachment, more than the 151 votes needed for it to succeed. Prime minister Han took over the role after President Yoon was impeached by […]
‘Starmer loves Cumbria but Labour Budget cuts hitting farmers hard’
BBC Matthew and Liz Staley, pictured with sons Lewis and Luke, have managed the farm for almost five years The Mallerstang Valley on the eastern edge of Cumbria is a spectacular place to live and work. Matthew and Liz Staley would not want to be anywhere else. For almost five years, the couple has managed […]