What does guidance mean for NI businesses?
PA Media Cashless payments are the preferred method by most businesses now Some sectors of NI’s economy are set to reopen within days after closing down at the start of the coronavirus outbreak in March. Resuming trade in this new normal brings many challenges and unknowns. BBC News NI looks at the guidance given to […]
Off-grid bus station officially opened in Telford
BBC More of the bus shelters, powered by wind turbines and solar panels, will be introduced across Telford A bus station powered by wind turbines and solar panels has been opened. Telford and Wrekin Council said its new off-grid facility in Wellington was a first in the UK. Lighting, CCTV and electronic timetables will be […]
Chip shops battered by price of fish
BBC Erin Morgan said the price of cod for her restaurant had gone up 50%, but she did not want to pass the cost on to customers It is one of Britain’s favourite dishes, but there are fears the future of fish and chips could be at risk due to rising costs. In some Welsh […]
Chinese version of Fortnite to close in November
SOPA Images Fortress Night, the Chinese version of the popular game Fortnite, is to close later this month. Epic Games, which owns Fortnite, has so far provided no reason for the decision to close the online shooter game. An announcement said the game, which has been available in China as a “test” for two years, […]
India facing a pandemic of antibiotics-resistant superbugs
Mansi thapliyal The emergence of a multidrug-resistant pathogen which attacks the lungs of patients in critical care is worrying doctors At the 1,000-bed not-for-profit Kasturba Hospital in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, doctors are grappling with a rash of antibiotic-resistant “superbug infections”. This happens when bacteria change over time and become resistant to drugs […]
Mother whose son’s death inflamed Syrian revolution on Assad’s downfall
BBC Hamza al-Khatib’s death sparked protests in 2011 that led to Syria’s civil war If the push to oust Bashar al-Assad was born anywhere, it was born in Deraa, a small city in Syria near the Jordanian border. Here, on 21 May 2011, the tortured and mutilated body of 13-year-old Hamza al-Khatib was delivered to […]
Smart motorway deaths: Coffins protest planned
PA Media Claire Mercer, from Rotherham, has campaigned against the use of smart motorways since her husband’s death Campaigners are set to carry 38 coffins across London to the Department for Transport headquarters to demand smart motorways are scrapped. The protest has been organised by Claire Mercer, widow of Jason Mercer, who was killed on […]
UK job vacancies at record high as wages pick up
Getty Images Job vacancies have hit a record high as the UK’s labour market continues to “rebound robustly”, according to the latest official figures. The number of vacancies hit 953,000 in the three months to July, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. The unemployment rate fell to 4.7% in the three months to June, […]
Is the new passport really blue or black?
BBC The new passport (left) is a return to the “iconic blue” of the old one, the Home Office says Is the new UK passport blue? Or is the colour really closer to black? The Home Office has issued pictures of the post-Brexit passport, describing it as a return to the “iconic blue” used for […]
The little-known nut that may save at-risk rainforests
Nth Wonder Are kenari nuts about to shoot up in popularity around the world? Food scientist Marcello Giannuzzi asks an intriguing question. “What do Italy and the Indonesian rainforests have in common?” he says. “Gelato,” he quickly answers himself with a smile. While few of us would make a connection between Italian ice cream, and […]