United Kingdom
www.bbc.com
> In an average working day, Claudia Bowring has to play the role of detective, estate agent, family mediator and, occasionally, grief counsellor. > >She’s an empty homes officer for a borough council in the suburbs of Nottingham. > >There are just short of 700,000 empty and unfurnished homes in England, according to the most recent government figures, external. Of those, 261,471 are classed as “long-term empty,” meaning no-one has lived there for six months or more. > >If all empty homes were brought back into use, the housing crisis would be solved at a stroke and, arguably, the government would not have to build 1.5m new homes. > >Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as that. Bringing derelict and abandoned properties back to life can be a long and complex process. > >Even finding out who owns properties that have been standing empty for years, or in some cases decades, can be a challenge. > > ... > > When persuasion fails, the gloves come off. > > Like many local authorities, Conservative-controlled Rushcliffe charges extra council tax on homes that have been unoccupied for more than a year, under the Empty Homes Premium brought in by the previous government. > >If that doesn’t do the trick, the council can take enforcement action. > >It treats abandoned properties as an environmental health issue - derelict properties can be a magnet for vandalism and vermin, harming the quality of life for people living next to them. > >In some cases, the council is able to carry out emergency repair work on abandoned homes, and then force a sale at auction to recover its costs. This sometimes results in a windfall for the owners who were so reluctant to sell up in the first place. > >Another tool at the council’s disposal are Empty Dwelling Management Orders, which give councils the right to take over and make repairs to run-down private properties that have been vacant for at least two years. They can rent the property out for up to seven years to recover costs. > > ... > > But it does not have to do this. There is no legal requirement for local authorities to bring empty homes back into use – and some councils choose not to.
news.sky.com
Good news! Following up from this https://feddit.uk/post/18671151 The men's World Conker Championships winner has been cleared of cheating after a steel chestnut was found in his pocket.
www.theguardian.com
> Counter-terrorism police are investigating whether Russian spies planted an incendiary device on a plane to Britain that later caught fire at a DHL warehouse in Birmingham, the Guardian can reveal. > >Nobody was reported injured in the fire on 22 July at a warehouse in the suburb of Minworth that handles parcels for delivery, and the blaze was dealt with by the local fire brigade and by staff. > >The parcel is believed to have arrived at the DHL warehouse by air, though it is not known if it was a cargo or passenger aircraft, nor where it was destined for. There could have been serious consequences if it had ignited during the flight. > > A similar incident occurred in Germany, also in late July, when a suspect package bound for a flight caught fire at another DHL facility in Leipzig, and investigators are looking at links between the two. German authorities warned this week that had the parcel caught fire mid-air it could have downed the plane. > > ... > > British investigators suspect that the incendiary device is part of a wider campaign that Russian spies have been carrying out across Europe this year, which has been condemned as rash and careless by spy chiefs in the UK and elsewhere. > > Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, warned last week that Russia’s GRU military intelligence appeared to be on “a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets: we’ve seen arson, sabotage and more”. > >The British spy chief accused Russia of engaging in “dangerous actions conducted with increasing recklessness” and argued that the plotting was counter-productive for the Kremlin because it was “driving increased operational coordination with partners across Europe and beyond”. > >Russia’s motive appears to have been to try to inflict a cost on western allies of Ukraine, though the plots are at times precise and at others poorly coordinated and amateurish. But the Kremlin usually denies it is engaged in sabotage activity and has in the past dismissed its accusers of engaging in conspiracy theories.
www.bbc.com
cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3843656 > Securing the release of pro-democracy activist and British citizen Jimmy Lai from a Hong Kong prison is a "priority" for the government, Sir Keir Starmer has said. > > During Prime Minister's Questions, Conservative leader Rishi Sunak asked if Lai's imprisonment was a breach of the 1984 treaty transferring power over Hong Kong from the UK to China. > > The prime minister agreed it was a breach and said the government would "continue" to raise the case with China. > > Lai, who is 76, was arrested in 2020 for fraud and involvement in protests and, following delays, is now facing trial for sedition and collusion with foreign forces. > > His son called for "action" from Sir Keir to "save my father's life". > > [...] > > But he added: "My father will be 77 soon, he has spent close to four years in solitary confinement in a maximum security prison for peacefully campaigning for democracy in Hong Kong. > > "As you can expect his health has deteriorated by a lot. I would ask our prime minister to put word to action, to save my father’s life and bring him home.” > > Jimmy Lai has pleaded not guilty, but would face life in prison if convicted. > > Lai founded the now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily and was involved in pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. > > [Edit title for clarity.]
www.theguardian.com
Metal replica conker found in pocket of David Jakins AKA King Conker, first-time winner after competing since 1977
www.theguardian.com
>England has suffered its second worst harvest on record – with fears growing for next year – after heavy rain last winter hit production of key crops including wheat and oats. >The cold, damp weather, stretching from last autumn through this spring and early summer, has hit the rapidly developing UK wine industry particularly hard, with producers saying harvests are down by between 75% and a third, depending on the region. >On staple crops, England’s wheat haul is estimated to be 10m tonnes, or 21%, down on 2023, according to analysis of the latest government data by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU). >Winter barley was 26% down on last year, and the winter oilseed rape harvest was down 32%, in data released by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs on Thursday. >The ECIU estimates that farmers could lose £600m on five key crops – wheat, winter and spring barley, oats and oilseed rape – where production was down 15% in total...
www.theguardian.com
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/21381352 > The Dutch have seen their prison population decrease by more than 40% over the past 20 years. At the other end of the spectrum, Britain has the highest rate of incarceration in western Europe, and is struggling with an unprecedented prisons crisis. Britain’s minister of prisons, James Timpson, calls the Netherlands a source of inspiration. > > What could the Dutch system teach the rest of the world? First, the declining prison population is not actually the result of recent policies by visionary politicians. Much of it is due to changes in reported crime and the nature of crime. As in many other western countries, the number of violent crimes has significantly dropped in the Netherlands in recent decades. > > This does not necessarily mean that there is actually less crime overall, as Dutch criminologist Francis Pakes, professor at the University of Portsmouth, who has studied the reasons for the emptying Dutch prisons, told me: “There is less conventional, violent crime, like murder. On the other hand, a lot of conventional crime went online and is less visible. And it is quite possible that there is a kind of organised crime that we have little visibility on. But fewer serious cases are coming to the police and courts.” And so fewer people end up in jail. > > But while the Dutch don’t have a model policy the world can copy, the overall Dutch attitude towards imprisonment could be instructive. According to Pakes, the Dutch are much more aware that a stay in prison does more harm than good. Society may be rid of a criminal for a while, but in many cases, criminals simply resume their activities when they leave prison. They may become more ruthless, due to the violent prison climate in which they have had to survive. And perhaps they have a wider criminal network that they built up behind bars. > > This also applies to shorter sentences. Even these can completely turn an offender’s life upside down. You can lose your job, home and social network. And you rarely become a better person during a short stay in jail.
www.bbc.co.uk
Seems like the guy in the article was a bit stupid and did the exact things that banks tell you not to like giving personal info and 2FA codes to a cold-caller, but also that Revolut's claims of biometric security didn't stop the scammers nicking all his money. I've not had much experience with the "challenger banks" but apparently Revolut gets the most complaints by a long way. Anyone got any similar stories?
www.bbc.com
> All eyes were on outgoing Post Office chief executive Nick Read this week as he spent three days in front of the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal. > >Mr Read replaced former boss Paula Vennels in 2019 and was brought in to "right the wrongs of the past". > >Wrongful prosecutions may have stopped, but he still had questions to answer about how much the organisation has really changed when he gave evidence. > >Mr Read had taken leave of absence from his day job to prepare for the inquiry. > >Unlike the appearance of his predecessor, Paula Vennells, there were no tears. But there were some key revelations. ( (Here are five things we learned from his evidence. * Told not to 'dig into' the past * Frustrated about his own pay * Government using Post Office as a 'shield' * Staff implicated by the scandal still working * Contract for sub-postmasters is 'heavy-handed'
www.theguardian.com
Explosive revelations from the inquiry this week. These convictions are starting to look more than a little unsafe.
www.bbc.co.uk
> A record 9.3 million people - including one in five children - are facing hunger and hardship in the UK, according to an anti-poverty charity. > >This is one million more than five years ago, the Trussell Trust said in a new report. > >The charity said almost a quarter of children under four face hunger and hardship, making them the age group most at risk. > >Unless changes are made by the government, a further 425,000 people, including 170,000 children, are projected to fall into this category by 2027, it said. > >A government spokesperson told the BBC that "no child should be in poverty". > >The report, [The Cost of Hunger and Hardship](https://trusselltrustprod.prod.acquia-sites.com/sites/default/files/2024-10/Cost%20of%20Hunger%20and%20Hardship_Interim%20report.pdf), external, was published on Wednesday. > >Trussell Trust worked with economic and public policy experts WPI Economics to analyse government data. > >It found that one in seven people across the UK face hunger and hardship and one in five children are growing up under these circumstances. > >This means that 46% more children are facing hunger and hardship than two decades ago. > >More than half of people currently facing hardship are living in a disabled family, the report said. > >The Trussell Trust said a total of 32% of people in single-parent families face hunger and hardship, and children under four face the highest risk of being in this situation of any age group at 24%. > >Having employment is not a reliable route out of hardship, the report concluded, with 58% of people facing hunger and hardship living in a family where someone is working. > >The rate of hunger and hardship is highest for people living in Black, African, Caribbean, or Black British families at 28%, compared to 11% for people living in White families, the report said.
www.bbc.com
>The BBC Weather website and app are suffering a data issue, meteorologists have said, after forecasts showed hurricane force winds hitting the UK. >Graphics show estimated wind speeds of 13,508 mph in London and overnight temperatures of 404C in Nottingham. >Presenter Matt Taylor said in a post on X: "Don't be alarmed folks - Hurricane Milton hasn't made it to us here in the UK! There's been a data glitch between our suppliers and the app/online. Folk are working to solve the issue"...
sourcingjournal.com
[Archived version](http://web.archive.org/web/20241008212700/https://sourcingjournal.com/topics/business-news/shein-scrutiny-london-imports-xinjiang-ipo-forced-labor-530182/) If Liam Byrne—a British Labour Party politician who leads parliament’s business and trade committee—gets his way, Shein might need to redirect its planned IPO float to Hong Kong or its home base in Singapore. He is calling for the U.K. government to ban imports made in the Xinjiang region in China, according to the Financial Times. That kind of legislative change will result in greater intensive scrutiny in the supply chain, and ultimately on producers such as Shein over alleged use of forced labor. Xinjiang is the Chinese region with links to the exploitation of Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic groups via forced labor. The evidence of crimes against humanity are widely documented. [...] Even those connected to the fast-fashion firm end up getting pulled into Shein controversies. Last month, Italy launched a greenwashing probe into Shein. The Italian antitrust watchdog is probing Infinite Styles Services Co., a Dublin-based operation that manages Shein’s online presence. The probe’s focus is over the possibility of misleading sustainability claims connected with Shein’s clothing. Last month, Italy launched a greenwashing probe into Shein. The Italian antitrust watchdog is probing Infinite Styles Services Co., a Dublin-based operation that manages Shein’s online presence. The probe’s focus is over the possibility of misleading sustainability claims connected with Shein’s clothing. And in August, David Schwimmer, the leader of the London Stock Exchange Group, found himself pushing back on allegations that the Exchange had lowered its standards to court Shein so it could switch course from the U.S. to the U.K. for its flotation. [...] Shein initially planned to file its IPO in the U.S., but drew scrutiny from Washington lawmakers, who urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to block the firm due to concerns over ties to the Chinese government and alleged use of forced labor in its supply chain. [...] [Given the scrutiny in the UK], the most likely scenario could be a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. [...] But how a Hong Kong listing would fare also remains a big question mark. Hong Kong isn’t exactly the go-to choice for companies aiming to go public. Exchanges elsewhere, such as the U.S. or London, are seen as more active, and therefore get to attract more investors.
www.farminguk.com
>Researchers have warned about the impact of 'climate tipping points' on the UK due to its position near the North Atlantic, as such an event could 'wipe out' domestic crop growing. >An assessment of climate threats to UK food security has put a spotlight on climate tipping points as a 'severely overlooked danger', a new report published today warns. >Researchers from the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) and others point to the fact that climate change is already playing a significant role in several threats to UK national security, including food supply. >But they warn that the government has a 'blind spot', as major climate threats are not adequately addressed in its national risk register, while some threats – like climate tipping points – are not included at all...
www.bbc.com
> Sixty of the wealthiest people in the UK collectively contributed more than £3bn a year in income tax, the BBC has learned. > >The amount of income tax they paid is roughly equivalent to around two-thirds of Labour’s entire additional spending commitments in their manifesto earlier this year. > >Each of the 60 individuals had an income of at least £50m a year in 2021/22, but many will have earned far more and probably pay large amounts in other taxes too. > >There is concern tax rises in this month's Budget could prompt an exit of the super-rich, hurting UK finances. Labour ruled out income tax changes, but Chancellor Rachel Reeves left the door open for other tax hikes. > >A Treasury spokesperson said the government was committed to "addressing unfairness in the tax system". > >Swiss banking giant UBS predicted in July the UK would lose half its millionaires by 2028, partly as a result of some switching to low-tax countries. > >The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the Treasury needed to be aware that a small number of this super-rich group leaving the country would create a "relatively big hole in its finances”. > >But the Green Party argued claims taxing the wealthy more would lead to them leaving the UK were not credible.
www.theguardian.com
> Deaths have outstripped births in the UK for the first time in nearly half a century, excluding the start of the pandemic, official figures showed on Tuesday. > >Declining fertility and the demise of baby boomers means there are now more funerals than baby celebrations, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. > >There were an estimated 16,300 fewer births than deaths in the UK in the year to mid-2023, the first time this has happened since the 1970s “baby bust”, if excess deaths during Covid are stripped out. > >But the figures continue to show a growing population, up 1% in the year to 68,265,209 people, due to net international migration of 677,300. > > The dominance of deaths over births was described by economists as “a stark reminder of Britain’s demographic challenges”.
every.to
> On October 3, the British government announced that it was giving up sovereignty over a small tropical atoll in the Indian Ocean known as the Chagos Islands. The islands would be handed over to the neighboring island country of Mauritius, about 1,100 miles off the southeastern coast of Africa. > >The story did not make the tech press, but perhaps it should have. The decision to transfer the islands to their new owner will result in the loss of one of the tech and gaming industry’s preferred top-level domains: .io. > >Whether it’s Github.io, gaming site itch.io, or even Google I/O (which arguably kicked off the trend in 2008), .io has been a constant presence in the tech lexicon. Its popularity is sometimes explained by how it represents the abbreviation for “input/output,” or the data received and processed by any system. What’s not often acknowledged is that it’s more than a quippy domain. It’s a country code top-level domain (ccTLD) related to a nation—meaning it involves politics far beyond the digital world > > ... > > Once this treaty is signed, the British Indian Ocean Territory will cease to exist. Various international bodies will update their records. In particular, the International Standard for Organization (ISO) will remove country code “IO” from its specification. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which creates and delegates top-level domains, uses this specification to determine which top-level country domains should exist. Once IO is removed, the IANA will refuse to allow any new registrations with a .io domain. It will also automatically begin the process of retiring existing ones. (There is no official count of the number of extant .io domains.)
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/30558477 > Britain is facing a “staggering rise” in attempts at assassination, sabotage and other crimes on U.K. soil by Russia and Iran, as the two states recruit criminals to “do their dirty work,” the head of the U.K.’s domestic intelligence agency said Tuesday. > > MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said his agents and police have tackled 20 “potentially lethal” plots backed by Iran since 2022 and warned that it could expand its targets in the U.K. if conflicts in the Middle East deepen. > > The spy chief said if the crisis escalates with Israel launching a major attack in response to Iran’s recent missile barrage, there is the risk “of an increase in — or broadening of -– Iranian state aggression in the U.K.”
www.bbc.co.uk
> The average UK house price came close to reaching a record high last month as falling mortgage rates helped to boost confidence among buyers, according to Halifax. > >The UK's largest mortgage lender said the average price hit £293,399 in September, just short of the record £293,507 reached in June 2022. > >Prices have now risen for three months in a row, Halifax said, as market conditions improve. > >"Mortgage affordability has been easing thanks to strong wage growth and falling interest rates," said Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax. > >"This has boosted confidence among potential buyers, with the number of mortgages agreed up over 40% in the last year and now at their highest level since July 2022." > >Compared with a year ago, Halifax said house prices were up 4.7% - the fastest pace of growth since November 2022. > > That was partially a reflection of the weakness of activity a year ago. The value of a typical property value has risen by about £13,000 over the past year, but was a rebound from falling value over the previous 12 months. > >Looking back two years, prices had only increased by just 0.4%, the equivalent of £1,202, the Halifax said.
www.telegraph.co.uk
>Humanity has missed its chance of keeping global warming below 1.5C and it will take “heroic efforts” to stay below 2C this century, the scientist leading the global effort to understand climate change has warned. >Jim Skea, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said a failure to sufficiently curb carbon emissions had left the world on track to warm by 3C by 2100. This average masks variations between land and sea, with western Europe and the UK facing even greater warming – perhaps as much as 5C by the end of the century. >“We are potentially headed towards 3C of global warming by 2100, if we carry on with the policies we have at the moment,” said Skea. >“Obviously temperature rises over land will be higher than over the ocean. We don’t know how warm it will get [over land] but I know it may be more than the global average.” >The Met Office has tried to project the UK impacts. By 2070, it says, winters will be up to 4.5C warmer but 30pc wetter, meaning more flooding. Summer will be up to 6C warmer, with frequent droughts and surging numbers of heat-related deaths...
www.theguardian.com
> Concerns about the growth of self-styled fitness clubs organised by the far right have prompted calls for action to counter misogynistic messaging targeted at young men and boys. > >Campaigners want the UK government to recognise the danger presented by so-called “active clubs” – a loose movement imported from the US – and use moments such as a review of the school curriculum to challenge their ideology. > >While it has often been careful to avoid direct calls to violence, the decentralised grouping has links to the international far right and has a specific focus on developing members’ fitness with a view to being able to fight. > > Thousands of subscribers across Britain are signed up to accounts on Telegram, the encrypted messaging app. > >White nationalism, fascist imagery as well as homophobic and misogynistic language feature heavily, while many of the same fitness groups’ Telegram channels have been posting attempts to stir up tensions after the deaths of three young girls in Southport. > >A range of active club groups in the UK had upwards of 6,000 subscribers on Telegram while the latest version of a group dedicated to England had almost 1,600 subscribers, a BBC investigation reported this week. > >Evidence seen by the Guardian indicates that members of equivalent clubs in the US have travelled to the UK in recent months. > > The groups’ relative growth – researchers regard the true number of participants as being a fraction of the thousands of subscribers – comes as more overtly political British far-right groups such as Patriotic Alternative have struggled.
www.bbc.co.uk
>Human remains have been found under the patio of a sheltered housing site. >Hertfordshire Police was called to St Mary's House, Hemel Hempstead, on Thursday after the remains were discovered by builders digging up the patio. >The force said officers were making inquiries as to why the remains, which they said were "very old", were at the site.
www.bbc.com
> In November 2022, Mrs Khatun had her house insulated under a government scheme known as ECO 4. It is designed to help low-income households make their homes warmer and cut their energy bills. Insulation boards are fixed to the exterior brickwork of a house and then coated in render. More than three million homes in the UK have had insulation fitted under government ECO schemes, which are paid for by the energy companies, with the cost passed on to all consumers through their energy bills. > The BBC revealed earlier this year that hundreds of thousands of these homes could have insulation that wasn’t installed to the required standard. Within months of Mrs Khatun getting her insulation fitted, it became clear that this was the case in her house. A surveyor’s report shows how rainwater penetrated the house leading to the damp, mould and dry rot. 
www.telegraph.co.uk
[Archived link](https://web.archive.org/web/20241003064010/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/09/21/british-travel-bloggers-sugarcoating-china-uyghur-problem/) In the heart of Xinjiang, the Chinese region where more than one million Uyghurs are believed to be detained in re-education camps, two carefree British travel vloggers cheerfully introduce their viewers to “one of the most controversial areas” of the country. Journalists are harassed and heavily monitored in the rugged western province, where Western governments and rights groups have accused the authorities of suppressing Muslim minorities through mass surveillance, abuse and political indoctrination. But foreign YouTube influencers are warmly welcomed by the normally censor-happy Chinese government, which seizes on their happy-go-lucky content to legitimise its own narrative that no human rights abuses are taking place. [...] As the country reopens for travel after years of pandemic isolation, foreign influencers, including many Brits, are heading East armed with cameras and tripods, eyeing an increasingly lucrative YouTube market with an eager audience ready to increase their ratings. The Chinese government has given them a helping hand with a raft of new visa-free policies, and the country received over 17 million foreign travellers in the first seven months of this year, up by almost 130% year-on-year, according to foreign ministry figures. [...] But a growing number are entering lesser-known regions including Xinjiang, which for years has been beset by allegations of severe human rights abuses and repression that Beijing justifies as necessary to fight terrorism. Some YouTubers setting foot in the rugged region attempt to draw viewers with sensational titles about exposing Western media “lies” about Xinjiang or by alluding to the risks of travelling there. [...] There is no suggestion any of the vloggers are acting at the behest of the Chinese government or receiving its money, but titles about media deception echo official state messaging about the West’s perceived anti-China narrative, particularly on fundamental rights. For China, the influx of influencers offers the opportunity to rebut overseas criticisms and reinforce its stance through highlighting the unimpeded visits of awestruck foreigners. The footage, amplified by Chinese social media platforms and state-run outlets, receive hundreds of thousands of views and screeds of favourable comments. An increasing number of international vloggers were visiting Xinjiang “with great curiosity,” noted a recent article in the [state-controlled] Global Times. [...] Daria Impiombato, a cyber analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, has co-written several reports on China’s multilayered ways of folding local and foreign influencers into its propaganda strategy. She said vloggers with large platforms had a responsibility to inform themselves and to be sceptical. “There needs to be a reckoning with that type of platform,” she said. **“It’s like influencers who are going to Syria, just doing travel vlogs from Syria without talking about years and years of war and devastation. You can’t do that, and you can’t do that in Xinjiang either.”** [...] Maya Wang, the associate China director at Human Rights Watch, urged travellers to be more aware in societies suffering human right abuses and “not be complicit in the censorship and disinformation that the Chinese government hopes to achieve.”
www.bbc.com
**South Kesteven District Council (SKDC) contracted Leisure Energy Limited to procure and supply solar panels for Grantham Meres Leisure Centre, which subcontracted the work to Geo Green UK.** **However, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the panels were being supplied by PV manufacturer Canadian Solar - a company facing allegations of using forced labour in China, which they have strongly denied.** The LDRS has contacted Canadian Solar for comment on the council opting for a new supplier. The panels will now be supplied by JA Solar, which the council said uses more "transparent" supply chain practices. In May 2022, CEO and chairman of Canadian Solar Dr Shawn Qu insisted that no evidence of forced labour within the company’s supply chain had been found.
www.independent.co.uk
> British adults in their 30s and 40s are healthier than their counterparts in the US – but are more likely to think their health is poor, a study has suggested. > >The health of the US “acts as a warning” of what Britain could be like without the “safety net” of the NHS, researchers said, with differences potentially down to access to healthcare, diet and levels of poverty. > > For the study, academics from the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies, University of Oxford, Syracuse University and University of North Carolina used data from the 1970 British Cohort Study and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. > >Analysis included 9,665 British people born in 1970 and 5,381 US adults. > >It found adults in the US were more likely to have high cholesterol and high blood blood pressure, while four in 10 US adults were obese compared to 34.5% of Brits. > > However, 18% of British adults were likely to report their health as poor compared to 12% of adults in the US. > > Britons were also more likely to smoke every day, with 28% reporting cigarette use compared to 21% in the US cohort.