Berkshire farmer says mental health in industry at ‘all-time low’
A farmer says government changes to subsidies and tax have left mental health in the industry at an all-time low. Dan Willis, who owns Rookery Farms near Newbury, Berkshire, says the changes announced in the autumn budget will cost him about £35,000 this year. He told the BBC he feared some in the farming community […]
Gloucestershire campaign to reduce milk use angers dairy farmers
Getty Images Farmers in Gloucestershire have hit back at the non-dairy campaign A council campaign to get people to swap cow’s milk for oat or almond alternatives has angered local farmers. It is part of the Swaps in Seconds campaign which Gloucestershire County Council said could help reduce people’s carbon footprints. One local farmer said […]
‘Mammoth task’ to identify bodies, police say
Getty Images Rescued miners have been taken for medical checks It will be a “mammoth task” to identify the bodies brought up from a disused mineshaft in South Africa this week, a police spokesperson says. Seventy-eight corpses, along with more than 240 illegal miners, have been hoisted to the surface since Monday as part of […]
Birmingham chefs push for better mental health support
BBC Sam Sears said he missed out on family events due to his work as a chef Hospitality firms are being urged to do more to support chefs in their kitchens with their mental health after one says there is still a stigma around the issue. Sam Sears, deputy head chef at the Edgbaston Park […]
Artificial intelligence embraced by Basingstoke college
BBC Anthony Bravo said students would be “foolish” not to use AI for work “The tide is coming in. You can’t hold it back,” college principal Anthony Bravo reflects on the impact artificial intelligence (AI) is having on teaching and learning. Basingstoke College of Technology in Hampshire now teaches its students how to use AI […]
What happens if TikTok is banned?
Watch: Can young Americans live without TikTok? TikTok will be banned in the US on 19 January – unless the Supreme Court accepts a last ditch legal bid from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, that to do so would be unconstitutional. But even if the country’s highest judicial authority agrees with the lower courts – and […]
Google faces UK investigation over search dominance
The UK’s competition watchdog has launched an investigation into whether Google has too much power in online search. Google accounts for 90% of UK web searches – the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is looking at whether it is using that dominant position to harm competition or choice for users. It is its first investigation […]
All porn sites must ‘robustly’ verify UK user ages by July
Getty Images All websites on which pornographic material can be found, including social media platforms, must introduce “robust” age-checking techniques such as demanding photo ID or running credit card checks for UK users by July. The long-awaited guidance, issued by regulator Ofcom, has been made under the Online Safety Act (OSA), and is intended to […]
Israeli air strikes continue in Gaza after ceasefire deal announced
AFP Journalist Ahmad Al-Shayah was reportedly killed overnight in Khan Younis Israeli air strikes are continuing in Gaza ahead of the ceasefire agreement and hostage deal with Hamas, which comes into effect on Sunday, subject to the Israeli cabinet’s approval. The strikes killed 62 people overnight, following the announcement of the deal, the Hamas-run health […]
Fatbergs turned into perfume: Britain’s new industrial revolution
BBC In a gleaming laboratory in Edinburgh, robotic machines whirr and mix. The final product that they are creating will be a pine-smelling chemical that can be used as an ingredient in perfumes. But the starting point is very different: a brown, gloopy, fat mixture, recently fished out from below ground – fatbergs. Fatbergs are […]