Mobile phone warning road signs ‘a UK first’
Norfolk County Council Phones that are being used via a vehicle’s Bluetooth system or hands-free will not trigger the warning system A roadside system that detects if a mobile phone is in use in a passing vehicle is being piloted in a UK first. Despite being unable to pick up whether the driver is using […]
E-cigarettes can be key weapon against smoking, say MPs
Getty Images Around 470,000 people are using e-cigarettes as an aid to stop smoking Rules around e-cigarettes should be relaxed so they can be more widely used and accepted in society, says a report by MPs. Vaping is much less harmful than normal cigarettes and e-cigarettes should be made available on prescription to help more […]
Government urged to fix touring ‘crisis’ in Europe
Getty Images Katie Melua has said uncertainty over touring in Europe has cost her record sales The government should appoint a touring “tsar” to unravel the red tape facing British musicians in Europe, a cross-party group of MPs and peers has said. They would need to tackle the soaring costs of obtaining visas and transporting […]
Has Northern Ireland seen a peace dividend?
BBC The number of people employed in clothes manufacturing has fallen over the last 25 years On the eve of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 14,000 people worked in clothes manufacturing in Northern Ireland. The most recent comparable figures, covering the third quarter of 2022, showed that workforce had dwindled to less than 1,000. […]
Benches made from nappies: Inventive recycling hacks
Getty Images Like it or not, rubbish is a part of our world. In 2012, the world’s cities produced 1.3bn tonnes of solid waste each year, according to the World Bank. This is a figure that is set to increase to 2.2bn tonnes by 2025, as urban populations grow. At the same time the rising […]
First woman appointed UK’s chief scientific adviser
GoS Prof Dame Angela McLean played a critical role in drawing up scientific advice during the Covid-19 pandemic Prof Dame Angela McLean is to replace Sir Patrick Vallance as the government chief scientific adviser (GCSA), the first woman to hold the role. Dame Angela is currently Ministry of Defence chief scientific adviser and an expert […]
Solihull friends’ lockdown boredom turns horse box into pizzeria
Four business-savvy teenagers from Solihull launched their own food business to stave off lockdown yawns. Ben Lyth, Jamie Morrall and twins Beni and Jacques Barker, all aged 19, converted an old horse trailer into a mobile pizzeria to keep them motivated during the pandemic. The best friends, who have dreamt of setting up a business […]
Are millions of trees being planted?
Getty Images At the last election, the Conservative Party promised to plant millions of trees. But, as Reality Check correspondent Chris Morris reports, it is going to have to dramatically speed up the planting to meet the target. Campaigners have called on the government to do more to address the “unacceptably low” level of woodland […]
Astronomer in Twitter limbo over ‘intimate’ meteor
Mary McIntyre A still from Mary McIntyre’s meteor video which was banned by Twitter. An astronomer from Oxfordshire was locked out of her Twitter account for three months after sharing a video of a meteor which was flagged by the site’s automated moderation tools. Mary McIntyre was told that her six-second animated clip featured “intimate […]
UK warned to avoid climate change crisis
Getty Images The government faces a post-lockdown choice between green growth or propping up polluting industries The UK must avoid lurching from the coronavirus crisis into a deeper climate crisis, the government’s advisers have warned. They recommend that ministers ensure funds earmarked for a post-Covid-19 economic recovery go to firms that will reduce carbon emissions. […]