Supermarkets probed over food and fuel prices
Michael Race Business reporter, BBC News Getty Images Supermarkets are being investigated by the competition watchdog over high food and fuel prices. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it would look at whether a “failure in competition” meant customers were overpaying. Supermarkets said they were working to keep food prices “as low as possible”. […]
Business rates cut for shops, restaurants and gyms
Getty Images Shops, restaurants and bars and gyms in England which have been badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic have been given a financial boost in the Budget. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a temporary 50% cut in their business rates, up to a maximum of £110,000. In addition, he has scrapped 2022’s planned annual increase […]
Shop sales fall for fourth month as more dine out
Getty Images Retail sales in the UK fell for the fourth month in a row in August, but people spent more time eating and drinking in bars and restaurants. Food store sales fell by 1.2%, but the ONS said this was linked to the removal of restrictions on hospitality leading to more people eating out. […]
What do Scots want from this election?
BBC Liam Valentine, pictured with baby Ellie, worries about his the future for his children Before the country heads to the polls on 4 July, BBC Scotland News has been asking voters what matters to them. As part of our Your Voice, Your Vote series, we have been listening to the issues causing the most […]
Farmers across Wales light bonfires to send election agriculture message
BBC Farmers light a bonfire at Shadog Farm, Pentre-cwrt, near Llandysul, Ceredigion The farmers’ pressure group Enough is Enough lit bonfires on farms around Wales on Monday evening to highlight the importance of agriculture before the general election. Events were held in Ruthin, Denbighshire, Pennal near Machynlleth, Brecon, Powys, Aberystwyth and Rhydlewis, Ceredigion. The main […]
A model for regenerative tourism in New Zealand
Cinzia Maioha-Jonathan (Credit: Cinzia Maioha-Jonathan) New Zealand is emerging as a global leader in regenerative tourism, thanks in part to Māori tour operators such as the Bay of Plenty’s Kohutapu Lodge. First-time tourists to New Zealand often perceive Māori culture as an itinerary item to be ticked-off in an afternoon, usually in Rotorua. The North […]
Freshwater pearl mussels: Scotland’s little-known royal gems
Ross Kenneth Urken Features correspondent Eli Obus Freshwater pearl mussels: Scotland’s little-known royal gems (Credit: Eli Obus) They’re featured on the Crown of Scotland and are rumoured to have led the Romans to invade Britain. Now, a hotel in the Highlands is helping to save the UK’s endangered pearls. On a June afternoon in north-east […]
How the world’s oceans could be running out of fish
Gaia Vince Features correspondent Thinkstock (Copyright: Thinkstock) Global fish stocks are exploited or depleted to such an extent that without urgent measures we may be the last generation to catch food from the oceans. It has been some time since most humans lived as hunter-gatherers – with one important exception. Fish are the last wild […]
How I made my pension sustainable
K. Victor/Getty Setting up a climate-friendly pension is one of the most powerful tools we have to contribute to the green transition. (Photo: K. Victor/Getty) As a journalist whose main beat is climate change, I have come across green pensions fairly often over the years. But I had never got around to actually ensuring my […]
Scraps of stale bread are keeping Afghans alive
Secunder Kermani BBC News, Kabul BBC Stalls sell much more old naan bread in Kabul than they used to On a market stall in front of a blue-domed mosque in Kabul, large orange sacks are filled with stale, leftover naan bread. It’s usually fed to animals, but now, according to those selling it, more Afghans […]