‘They have to come up with another model’: For many the BBC licence fee increase is a bad joke

‘They have to come up with another model’: For many the BBC licence fee increase is a bad joke

For those who're on modest means, the cost of the licence fee going up by £5 on 1 April of all days is a bit of a bad joke.Certainly, for residents at St Crispin Retirement Village, it's hard to see the funny side.Among them is 83-year-old Stan Fritton who, since last November, has been embroiled in a battle over how much he and his neighbours should be paying for the BBC.Their accommodation coming under one roof, they previously paid £7.50 […]

31/03/2025

US

Teenager charged with killing mother and stepfather – and living with bodies for weeks

A teenager has been charged with killing his mother and stepfather, as prosecutors say he lived with their bodies for weeks.Nikita Casap, 17, from Wisconsin, faces two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of hiding a corpse, the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department said.He appeared in court on Thursday over the deaths of his mother, Tatiana Casap, 35, and stepfather, Donald Mayer, 51.Their bodies were found in a state of decay on 28 February after Mr Mayer's mother - […]

31/03/2025 2

UK

Cost of living calculator: See how much your bills are going up

Households across the country face higher bills from 1 April. Use our calculator to find out how you'll be affected.Council tax, gas, water and electricity bills, broadband, mobile phone, TV and transport costs are all rising. The increases are being introduced to coincide with the new financial year and are likely to hit the finances of almost everyone in the country.Many of the increases are higher than the rate of inflation and are coming into effect with households already struggling […]

31/03/2025 1

Home

UK set to be hotter than Greece and Spain

Parts of the UK could be hotter than cities in Greece and Spain this week, as the country continues to bathe in spring sunshine.Dry, sunny conditions could see temperatures rise as high as 21C (70C) on Thursday in the south of England, while Athens is set to peak at 17C (63F), the Met Office has said.On the same day, South Wales and Somerset could reach 20C (68F) and may be hotter than Barcelona, where 16C (61F) is the expected high.Latest […]

31/03/2025

World

How Myanmar quake left some areas almost completely destroyed

Even with thousands dead and entire neighbourhoods levelled, the ruling military junta in Myanmar maintains its long-term ban on international journalists entering the country.It cited a lack of guaranteed safety that could be provided to foreign media to report on the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake that rocked the southeast Asian nation on Friday.That may also be because it is still pursuing its campaign against rebel forces amid the destruction.So open-source information from satellite imagery and social media is a […]

31/03/2025

Home

Gaza aid workers ‘targeted’ by Israel, Palestinian agency says, as bodies recovered from ‘mass grave’

Israel has been accused of targeting aid workers in Gaza after the remains of 15 people, including eight medics working for the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), were recovered following what the aid organisation called a "war crime".The PRCS said in a statement on Sunday the group, who came under fire more than a week ago, were attacked "by the Israeli occupation forces while performing their humanitarian duties".It said it also recovered the bodies of six civil defence members and […]

31/03/2025

Tech

‘Start with me’: NASA astronaut says some blame for being stranded in space lies with him

One of the astronauts who was stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) has said some of the blame for what went wrong lies with him.

31/03/2025

As Trump ramps up his trade war, there’s one number to keep in mind

Here is a number to lodge in your brain in the coming weeks and months: 48%.Last year a group of economists carried out an an analysis on the economic impact of the Iron Curtain; how much trade actually took place from east to west in spite of all the restrictions during the Cold War. They came to the conclusion that, at its height in 1951, "the Iron Curtain represented a tariff equivalent of 48%".As the world limbers up ahead of […]

31/03/2025

Tech

University student pleads guilty to causing risk to national security while on work placement

A university student accused of removing top secret information worth millions of pounds while on a work placement with GCHQ has pleaded guilty to causing a serious risk to national security.

31/03/2025

Month: March 2025