Trump says Putin agrees to start negotiations to end war in Ukraine
US President Donald Trump has said he had a “lengthy and highly productive” phone call with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in which the leaders agreed to begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he and the Russian president had “agreed to have our respective […]
Food writer Jack Monroe ‘loses £5,000 in phone-number hijack’
Zoe Kleinman Technology reporter, BBC News Mike English Jack Monroe says she has lost about £5,000 after her phone number was hijacked and re-activated on another Sim card. The criminals were then able to receive her two-factor authentication messages and access her bank and payment accounts. The bestselling food writer tweeted she was “paranoid about […]
NI oil prices up 35% since Russia invades Ukraine
Getty Images Oil prices have soared to 10-year highs Northern Ireland’s oil prices have shot up more than 35% in the week after Russia invaded Ukraine – so what does it mean for the UK’s most oil-dependent nation? Meanwhile the number of households in fuel poverty in Northern Ireland is predicted to have doubled, from […]
The actor who fought for his place in Bollywood
Getty Images Kaushik was an actor, producer, comedian and screenwriter Bollywood actor and director Satish Kaushik has died at the age of 66 in India’s capital Delhi. His nephew Nishaan Kaushik told BBC Hindi that the actor suffered a heart attack on Thursday morning. He was travelling in a car at the time and was […]
NI farmers press government on tariffs
Conor Macauley BBC NI Agriculture & Environment Correspondent Getty Images Northern Ireland farmers have called on the government to match the EU’s tariffs on agricultural produce to protect the industry in the event of a no-deal Brexit. In March, the UK government announced a temporary tariff schedule that would apply in such circumstances. The year-long […]
Birds to be kept indoors from Monday
Getty Images There has been a rise in avian flu cases across the UK and Republic of Ireland in recent months All kept birds and poultry must stay indoors from midday on Monday to combat the spread of avian flu, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has said. Owners of pet birds, commercial […]
Children in England consuming ‘twice as much sugar as recommended’
Getty Images Children in England have already consumed more than their recommended sugar intake for 2018, according to Public Health England survey – and we’re only halfway through June. Four to 10-year-olds are eating more than twice as much sugar as they should per day, equivalent to 13 sugar cubes. That amounts to 4,800 sugar […]
Worst retail sales in Scotland as Covid-19 takes hold
Getty Images Scotland’s major shopping streets have seen a sharp drop in footfall since the lockdown began Scotland has recorded its worst retail sales figures as the industry struggles to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. Total sales dropped by 13% in comparison with March 2019, when they decreased by 3.7%, according to the SRC-KPMG retail […]
Bird flu prevention zone to be introduced in NI
PA An Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) is to be introduced in Northern Ireland from midnight on 17 November, the agriculture minister Edwin Poots has announced. Mr Poots said the AIPZ places a legal requirement on all bird keepers to follow strict biosecurity measures. It follows “multiple detections” of the H5N1 virus in wild birds […]
Pete Hegseth says return to Ukraine’s 2014 borders ‘unrealistic’
Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, has said it is “unrealistic” to expect Ukraine to return to its pre-2014 borders, when Russia first took control of Crimea. Speaking at a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Brussels, Hegseth said it would only be possible to establish a “durable peace” with a “realistic assessment […]