Fife beach ‘worst’ for nurdle pollution
Kevin Keane BBC Scotland’s environment correspondent FIDRA About 450,000 plastic pellets, known as “nurdles”, have been found on a single beach in Fife as part of a UK-wide survey. North Queensferry, about 12 miles from the Ineos Polymers plant where nurdles are produced, recorded the largest number, weighing 9.35kg (20.6lb). In the marine environment, the […]
Restaurant fish fraud not being caught, experts warn
Getty Images The number of fish samples submitted to the Food Standards Agency is significantly smaller than meat samples Rogue restaurants think they can get away with passing off catfish as cod because there is so little testing of seafood, experts have warned. “Fish fraud” sees cheaper fish being passed off or mislabelled as a […]
UK visa plan will not fix lorry driver shortage, says boss
Reuters Plans to offer temporary visas to foreign lorry drivers will not make a big difference to the UK’s skills shortage, the boss of one of Europe’s biggest goods vehicle firms has said. There was no longer an “endless amount of labour” in eastern Europe looking for such jobs, said Jens Romer Sode, chief operating […]
Venezuela to investigate ex-oil tsar over corruption
Reuters Rafael Ramírez was a close associate of former Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez The Venezuela authorities say they are opening a corruption investigation into one of the country’s most influential political figures, the former oil minister Rafael Ramírez. Mr Ramírez ran the state oil company, PDVSA, for 12 years until 2014. Last week he was […]
Russia launches largest drone attack of war on Ukraine
Ukrainian State Emergency Services Emergency services survey the damage following a drone strike in the region of Dnipropetrovsk Russia launched the largest single drone attack on Ukraine on Saturday night, officials have said. Ukraine’s Air Force Command spokesman Yuriy Ignat, said a “record” 267 Russian drones were launched in a single, coordinated attack. Some 138 […]
Feeling the impact of Trump’s foreign worker squeeze
Stav Dimitropoulos Business reporter Jiri Stejskal Jiri Stejskal first came to the US when he was he 27 Jiri Stejskal is the type of entrepreneur that helps the US economy to flourish. The 58-year-old runs a successful translation business on the outskirts of Philadelphia. His company – Cetra Language Solutions – employs 35 people and […]
UK government ‘could retain fisheries negotiations veto’
Kevin Keane BBC Scotland’s environment correspondent Getty Images The UK government would retain a veto over Scotland in international fisheries negotiations, according to a draft white paper seen by BBC Scotland. The paper, which is still to be finalised, sets out a framework for quota talks where devolved institutions would be consulted on the UK […]
Can Irish Sea border ‘teething problems’ be solved?
John Campbell BBC News NI Economics & Business Editor Getty Images As Joe Biden was being inaugurated on Wednesday members, of the UK’s shadow cabinet were hosting a less happy gathering. Rachel Reeves, the shadow cabinet office minister, was chairing a meeting of Northern Ireland haulage firms. Since New Year’s Eve, getting goods across that […]
Weedkiller glyphosate a ‘substantial’ cancer factor
AFP A US jury has found that one of the world’s most widely-used weedkillers was a “substantial factor” in causing a man’s cancer. Pharmaceutical group Bayer had strongly rejected claims that its glyphosate-based Roundup product was carcinogenic. But the jury in San Francisco ruled unanimously that it contributed to causing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in California resident […]
Aldi looks at online move as shopping habits change
Emma Simpson Business correspondent, BBC News United National Photographers Clive Perkins hasn’t been to a supermarket since March, but he’s just driven to an Aldi store in Loughborough to have his groceries delivered straight to his car. He’s one of the first customers to try its new click and collect trial – a loyal Aldi […]