Warnings curry houses may not reopen after lockdown
Thousands of Indian restaurants in the UK could be lost due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to warnings from industry groups, as the lockdown has put owners under intense financial strain. Curry houses can be found in pretty much every British town and chicken tikka masala is often referred to as the country’s national dish. […]
Backstop discussions start and Sala plane wreckage found
Getty Images Brexit: MPs discuss backstop ‘alternatives’ The backstop is described as an “insurance policy” – designed to avoid a hard border “under all circumstances”. And it’s proved the single biggest sticking point in getting MPs to back Theresa May’s Brexit agreement with the EU. According to Downing Street, Mr Barclay’s Alternative Arrangements Working Group, […]
Trump tweets row and Iran prisoner ‘in psychiatric ward’
Getty Images Trump Twitter row: US House condemns ‘racist comments’ The row over US President Donald Trump’s tweets attacking four Democratic congresswomen shows little sign of abating. The House of Representatives has passed a motion denouncing “racist comments that have legitimised fear and hatred of New Americans and people of colour”. The motion got through […]
Thousands more back Dr Timnit Gebru over Google ‘sacking’
Getty Images Scientists have expressed support for a leading artificial-intelligence ethics researcher who says Google fired her. Google denies Timnit Gebru’s account of events that led to her leaving the company. She says she was fired for sending an internal email accusing Google of “silencing marginalised voices”. She sent the email after a research paper […]
Army ‘may deploy’ in fuel crisis and NHS unit shut
The i The i leads on proposals to ask the Army to help deliver fuel to filling stations. It comes as the government suspends competition law to allow oil firms to target fuel deliveries at stations. The move is intended to enable companies to share information and prioritise parts of the country most at need. […]
Northern Ireland’s prisons ‘need better drug-detecting technology’
BBC The findings come from an investigation into the death of a 27-year-old prisoner in Magilligan Prison The Prison Service needs better scanning technology to help detect drugs being smuggled in to Northern Ireland jails, according to a report. It follows an investigation by the prisoner ombudsman, Lesley Carroll, into the death of an inmate […]
Minister urged not to allow ‘healthy’ alpaca’s death
BBC Ms Macdonald said there was “no way” she would put Geronimo to sleep The owner of a condemned alpaca has urged the environment secretary not to allow the death of “a healthy animal in front of the whole world”. Geronimo was condemned to death by a High Court judge after twice testing positive for […]
Former Facebook and Google employees fight tech ‘addiction’
Getty Images The campaign will back legislation to look at impact of technology on youngster’s health Two former employees of Google and Facebook have launched a campaign to fight what they see as the addictive nature of the technology they helped to create. The Center for Human Technology aims to “reverse the digital attention crisis” […]
MSPs warning over salmon farming impact on environment
PA Scotland’s marine ecosystem faces “irrecoverable damage” from salmon farming if environmental concerns are not addressed, according to MSPs. Holyrood’s environment committee said fish mortality was at “unacceptable levels”. A report concluded that there has been little progress in tackling environmental problems since 2002. The Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation insisted it was committed to long-term […]
Candidates speak out over public transport
BBC Yorkshire political editor James Vincent on what the mayoral election means for the county Voters in South Yorkshire will elect a new mayor for the county on Thursday 5 May. Dan Jarvis, the present incumbent, who was elected in 2018 and is also Labour MP for Barnsley Central, previously said he would not seek […]