Ministers agree 2025/26 Northern Ireland funding
PA Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, Finance Minister Caoimhe Archibald and First Minister Michelle O’Neill announced the draft budget on Thursday The Northern Ireland Executive has agreed to release for public consultation its draft budget for the 2025/26 financial year. Under the proposals, the health and education departments would receive most of the £19bn budget […]
Can flights hit net zero by 2025 and at what cost to passengers?
BBC It is the perfect start to a holiday: your plane ticket is cheap, your cabin baggage is safely stowed, the engines are roaring into life – and the pilot has announced that there’s no need to worry about the environmental impact. This is Jet Zero, a vision where air travel is entirely carbon neutral […]
UK rent soars by average £3,240 since Covid, says Zoopla
Getty Images Renting a newly let property is on average £270 per month more expensive than at the end of the coronavirus pandemic, according to figures from Zoopla. Rent began to soar in 2021 because of high demand from tenants after lockdowns were lifted and limited numbers of available properties. The average cost of renting […]
Farmers and tractors hold rally in York over inheritance tax
Louise Fewster/BBC Steve Ridsdale attended the rally to show support for fellow farmers More than 100 farmers from across North Yorkshire have taken part in a protest against the government’s planned inheritance tax reforms. Crowds gathered to watch the demonstrators in their tractors travel from York Auction Centre in Murton past city landmarks such as […]
‘My friend was life and soul of the soup kitchen’
Jan Kellond Dianne Henry (left) inspired Jan Kellond and her other friends and family through her kindness A retired teacher who helped set up a kitchen to feed people in food poverty – including hundreds of children – said the work of a close friend lived on through the venture. Jan Kellond, 75, co-founded Friends […]
Telford study aims to reduce bowel cancer diagnosis wait
A £1m research study based in Shropshire hopes to reduce the waiting time for bowel cancer diagnosis. The year-long study will take place at the Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) in Telford, using about 6,000 symptomatic patients from the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH). It will trial a new test, which uses a device […]
Nasa’s Parker Solar Probe survives closest-ever approach to Sun
NASA Parker Solar Probe broke records as it made its burning-hot fly-by A Nasa spacecraft has made history by surviving the closest-ever approach to the Sun. Scientists received a signal from the Parker Solar Probe just before midnight on Thursday after it had been out of communication for several days during its burning-hot fly-by. Nasa […]
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 […]