Starmer pledges knife crime action after No 10 summit
Reuters Hollywood star Idris Elba (left) speaks at the 10 Downing Street knife crime summit with PM Keir Starmer (right) The prime minister has pledged to “double down” on knife crime after a summit at Downing Street aimed at halving it over the next decade. Hollywood star Idris Elba joined Sir Keir Starmer and experts […]
Algeria silent after civil war book wins top French award
Getty Images For the first time, an Algerian author has won France’s top literary award, the Goncourt, with a searing account of his country’s 1990s civil war. Kamel Daoud’s novel Houris tells of Algeria’s blood-soaked “dark decade”, in which up to 200,000 people are estimated to have been killed in massacres blamed on Islamists or […]
One million energy vouchers unclaimed in cold snap
Getty Images More than one million households with pre-payment meters did not redeem their monthly energy support vouchers during the cold weather snap in December. Firms where prepayment customers can cash vouchers said postal strikes may have delayed some voucher deliveries. The Energy Support Scheme provides £400 to all households in Britain and those on […]
‘Working for £3 an hour made me feel dirty’
BBC Paramjit Kaur says she agreed to work for as little as £3 an hour because she was desperate Open your wardrobe, and there’s a good chance you’ll find garments made in Leicester. The city was once the engine of England’s clothing industry, with companies including retail giant Next keeping tens of thousands of people […]
Wales tourism bosses worry for industry
Getty Images Rail strikes could put families off traveling in Wales, says Jim Jones from North Wales Tourism Tourism officials in Wales say they fear that the latest rail strikes have come at “the worst possible time”. The new industrial action, beginning Saturday and continuing next Thursday and Saturday, is hitting the holiday industry on […]
Farmers use ‘magic dust’ to capture millions of tonnes of carbon
BBC Ryan Nelson first read about enhanced rock weathering in a farming publication Ryan Nelson sprinkles tonnes of “magic dust” across his farm near Culross, Fife. The dust is crushed basalt – volcanic rock which can be found in abundance in quarries across the country. The magic comes from its ability to both capture carbon […]
Oprah Winfrey, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Barack Obama lead tributes
Getty Images Quincy Jones discovered Oprah Winfrey and cast her in 1985 film The Color Purple Some of the biggest names in popular culture and politics, from Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama to Sir Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, have remembered Quincy Jones in a succession of personal tributes. In a lengthy appreciation in Rolling […]
Nightclubs reopen in Northern Ireland as restrictions ease
Pacemaker Revellers in Belfast partied as nightclubs reopened for the first time since March 2020 Nightclubs in Northern Ireland reopened on Sunday as some remaining coronavirus restrictions imposed last March were lifted. The hospitality sector is expected to be busy on Halloween night, with legal requirements on social distancing also being scrapped. Ministers want people […]
Bristol Cathedral show to highlight impact of fashion industry
Dave Challenger Photography The designers are “producing fashion that is in harmony with nature” A sustainable fashion show at a cathedral hopes to highlight the impact of the textile industry on the planet. Fashion on Earth will explore clothing “created in harmony with nature” and include a makers market, poetry, live readings, pledges, music performances […]
Jersey farmers ask government for more financial aid
BBC Farmer Phil Le Maistre said the industry needed more financial support from the States of Jersey Farmers are asking the government to help the industry recover from a “tough” summer. Farmer Phil Le Maistre said the dry summer of 2022 and the war in Ukraine had affected farmer’s produce and running costs. Deputy Kirsten […]