Flowers used in the ‘microbiome garden’ can enhance gut health by being eaten or just walked past
An “edible meadow” designed to improve gut health is to be displayed at the Chelsea flower show this year.
The two gardeners behind the “microbiome garden” say it will be filled with flowers that can enhance gut health by being eaten or just walked past.
Continue reading...Met had previously refused to allow expected 300,000 demonstrators to hold rally on Whitehall on Saturday
The latest pro-Palestine march of hundreds of thousands of protesters through central London will end with a rally near Downing Street after a climbdown from the Metropolitan police.
Following a meeting late on Thursday afternoon, organisers of the march said they had been given permission for the end stage of Saturday’s demonstration to take place on Whitehall.
Continue reading...Facebook’s parent company to pay out to shareholders as it reports $40bn revenues for final quarter
Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is expected to receive $700m (£549m) a year in dividends.
On Thursday, Meta announced it would pay its first-ever quarterly dividend to investors since Facebook floated on the stock market in 2012, after beating Wall Street expectations with $40bn in revenues for the final quarter last year.
Continue reading...Boys aged 15 and 16 charged with murders of Mason Rist and Max Dixon, while two men charged with assisting an offender
Four more people have been charged in connection with the murders of teenagers Mason Rist and Max Dixon in Bristol on Saturday, Avon and Somerset police said.
Mason, 15, and Max, 16, were stabbed in Knowle West, a neighbourhood in the south of the city, on Saturday night.
Continue reading...Police share photo of suspect showing maimed right side of his face as they warn public not to approach him
Scotland Yard is hunting a “significantly injured” suspected chemical attacker who allegedly left a “vulnerable” young woman and her toddler with potentially life-changing wounds after throwing a corrosive substance over them.
Detectives shared a new photo of Abdul Ezedi on Thursday, calling him “dangerous” and highlighting the maimed right side of his face while appealing for witnesses to come forward. But they warned: “If you see him, do not approach him.”
Continue reading...Former Labour member likely to be up against George Galloway in contest for Rochdale seat
Simon Danczuk, the former Labour MP who was suspended from the party for sending explicit messages to a 17-year-old girl, is standing in the Rochdale byelection for the Reform party.
He looks likely to face George Galloway, another former Labour MP, who said he would stand on a pro-Palestine ticket to “teach Starmer a lesson”.
Continue reading...Police searching for Abdul Ezedi after woman and her youngest daughter, 3, suffer possible life-changing injuries. This blog is now closed
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has said last night’s chemical assault in Clapham is “truly shocking”.
He tweeted that his “thoughts are with all those who have been injured, especially the woman and two children who remain in hospital”.
The Met are doing all they can to urgently find the man seen fleeing the scene and have increased patrols in the local community. I urge anyone with any information to call the police on 101.
Continue reading...Dean Carelse, a South African, was convicted in Queensland and left the country after being refused a visa before getting a job at Butlin’s in England
A convicted pedophile who was deported from Australia was working as a lifeguard at a holiday camp in the UK until his background was uncovered by reporters.
Dean Carelse, 43, was convicted in 2022 of more than 20 offences including indecent treatment of a child under 16, possessing child exploitation material and grooming a child under 16.
Continue reading...Researchers say they have found how anemonefish identify unwelcome guests of their own kind, by counting white markings
Unlike the star of Disney’s Finding Nemo, real-life common clownfish are not keen on sharing their home with members of their own species.
Researchers say they have discovered how they kick unwelcome guests out, by counting the stranger’s vertical white markings.
Continue reading...Michelle O’Neill has taken the top job but Irish unity is unlikely to be ‘within touching distance’
The elevation of Michelle O’Neill as Northern Ireland’s first minister is a historic moment that breathes new life into the republican slogan “tiocfaidh ár lá” – “our day will come”.
The Sinn Féin deputy leader, a working-class republican, has taken charge of a state that was designed in 1921 to enshrine a unionist majority in perpetuity, and that the IRA vowed to destroy.
Continue reading...Supply chain difficulties have led to job losses and cuts in purchasing and stocks, S&P Global poll shows
Britain’s factories have been hit by disruption caused by Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea that led to shipping delays and contributed to rising costs, as the boss of Adidas warned about “exploding” global freight rates.
UK manufacturers have experienced growing supply chain difficulties, as the Red Sea crisis led to the rerouting of deliveries of raw materials, components and other goods away from the Suez Canal, a survey has shown.
Continue reading...Ex-US president took action over allegations he took part in ‘perverted acts’ and bribed Russian officials
Donald Trump’s data protection claim for damages over allegations in the “Steele dossier” that he took part in “perverted” sex acts and gave bribes to Russian officials has been dismissed by a high court judge in London.
Mrs Justice Steyn agreed with Orbis Business Intelligence, the company founded by the former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who compiled the contentious material, that the case should not go to trial.
Continue reading...The chancellor said he wanted to manage people’s expectations ahead of the spring budget
The UK needs a government guided by clear purpose, Reeves says.
Labour has set out five missions. But they are all tied to the economic mission – to raise growth.
These are the symptoms of economic decline.
Continue reading...Lib Dem leader, who was business minister from 2010 to 2012, says he is sorry he ‘did not see through Post Office’s lies’
Ed Davey has apologised for the first time for his role as a minister in the Horizon scandal, with the Liberal Democrat leader saying he was “sorry I did not see through the Post Office’s lies”.
Writing in the Guardian, Davey, whose business minister role from 2010 to 2012 involved oversight of the Post Office, said officials had initially advised him to not meet Alan Bates, who led the campaign into the unjust targeting of post office operators.
Continue reading...Assault with alkaline corrosive substance in Clapham also injured an eight-year-old girl, police say
A 31-year-old mother and a three-year-old girl have potentially life-changing injuries after an attack with an alkaline corrosive substance in south London.
The attack in Clapham on Wednesday evening also injured an eight-year-old girl, the Metropolitan police said. A hunt for the suspect is under way.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Pet owners risk contaminating their hands with neurotoxins for at least 28 days after application, scientists find
Vets should limit the use of flea treatments containing pesticides on dogs and cats, scientists have said, after a study revealed the vast amount of toxic substances in them that end up in rivers.
Pet owners using these flea treatments risk contaminating their hands with fipronil and imidacloprid, two insecticides, for at least 28 days after the treatment has been applied, according to research by the University of Sussex and Imperial College London.
Continue reading...Concierge service for super-rich co-founded by Queen Camilla’s nephew lost £1.5m in latest financial year
Quintessentially, the concierge service for the super-rich co-founded by Queen Camilla’s nephew, Ben Elliot, lost £1.5m in its latest financial year and warned investors it is struggling with £29m of liabilities that could threaten its future as a going concern.
The company that Elliot, a former co-chair of the Conservative party, set up in 2020, reported pre-tax losses of £1.5m in the year to the end of April 2022, compared with a £3.8m loss a year earlier. However, its post-tax losses increased to £12.9m, up from £8m the previous year.
Continue reading...Czech tycoon promised Gambling Commission two years ago his
firm would sever Russia ties before taking over the lucrative contract
The Czech billionaire whose company takes over running the UK national lottery from Thursday is still in business with the Kremlin-owned gas company Gazprom, nearly two years after promising regulators he would sever ties with Russia.
The Gambling Commission awarded Allwyn the lucrative 10-year licence to run the lottery, estimated to be worth up to £100bn in sales, in March 2022.
Continue reading...Offer comes as research shows half of families in UK have never holidayed abroad with grandparents
EasyJet’s holiday wing is offering “grans go free” places on trips to Europe, after research found half of families had never holidayed abroad with their grandparents.
Under the offer, one grandparent on the trip can travel free of charge to countries including Spain, Greece and Italy. The tour operator said it hoped the deal would encourage Britons to take a holiday with three generations of their family or more.
Continue reading...Irish foreign minister says he does ‘not anticipate any particular difficulties in respect of the EU side’
Back at the home affairs committee James Daly (Con) asks why so few police investigations end up in people being charged.
James Cleverly, the home secretary, says the Crown Prosecution Service is independent. He wants to make sure investigations are as professional as possible.
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