Friday, September 25

Tag: Featured

NEW STOP SMOKING HELPLINE LAUNCHES ALONGSIDE STOPTOBER
ENGLISH, London

NEW STOP SMOKING HELPLINE LAUNCHES ALONGSIDE STOPTOBER

A new Stop Smoking London Helpline service, funded and supported by Tower Hamlets Council and 29 other London Boroughs, has been launched by the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) London. The helpline (0300 123 1044) has been launched alongside Stoptober; the national campaign that encourages people to stop smoking for 28 days and beyond. John Biggs, Mayor of Tower Hamlets said: "We all know that smoking is bad for our health and Stoptober is a great way to finally kick the habit for good with thousands of other people. We are working in partnership with other councils to offer professional help and support in a simple and convenient way." Fabiana Boarin, decided to use local services to help her quit for good after finding out she was pregnant. She spoke to Dipul from the Qu...
International Day of Older Persons recognising and valuing the contributions of older people
ENGLISH, London

International Day of Older Persons recognising and valuing the contributions of older people

People over the age of 50 will join the council and health and community organisations to mark this year's International Day of Older Persons on October 1. The day is celebrated annually to recognise the contributions older people make to society and to examine issues that affect their lives. Events including entertainment, information sessions, and health and wellbeing activities, will take place at LinkAge Plus centres during the week of October 2. Funded by the council and Tower Hamlets Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), LinkAge Plus centres offer a range of activities to help people over the age of 50 achieve a better quality of life, improve their physical and mental well-being and reduce social isolation. In 2015, there were an estimated 16,700 people aged 65 or over living in Tower...
Love Recycling in Tower Hamlets
ENGLISH, London

Love Recycling in Tower Hamlets

Tower Hamlets Council has been encouraging its residents to love recycling all week as part of national Recycle Week. An information stall has been touring the borough, handing out advice and information on what can and can't be recycled. Residents have also been encouraged to use their communal purple bins, where they have them, and clear sacks for recycling. Mayor John Biggs said: "Making the borough cleaner and greener is a big priority. The council sent 12,000 tonnes of waste to be recycled last year but we need to do even more, and we want local people to help us." Lead member for Strategic Development, Councillor Rachel Blake, added: "By recycling, you are doing your part to help the environment. Everyday items can be given a new lease of life, from plastic bottles to cardboard boxes...
Exact copies of illegally demolished conservation housing must be re-built, says Tower Hamlets Council
ENGLISH, London

Exact copies of illegally demolished conservation housing must be re-built, says Tower Hamlets Council

Tower Hamlets Council has ordered three conservation area houses, illegally demolished in June 2016, to be re-built by their owners exactly as they stood before. The owners, suspected to have caused or permitted the demolition of the buildings in Coldharbour Conservation Area, repeatedly refused to give a credible explanation for their destruction during exhaustive enquiries by the council. Enforcement notices have now been issued to the owners, giving them 18 months to rebuild the properties. John Biggs, Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said: "Many local people were understandably distressed by the demolition of these properties. It is right that those who show contempt for our heritage assets and flout the law should face legal action. "I am pleased our legal action will help remedy the harm the ...
French port as Briton packs WW2 bombshells in his bag
ENGLISH, Europe

French port as Briton packs WW2 bombshells in his bag

    The French bomb squad was called in on Wednesday after a British tourist tried to take a ferry home from France with World War 2 bombshells in his suitcase. The Briton was trying to take the shells onto a ferry from the northern France port of Ouistreham when he was stopped by customs for a bag search. The French police found three bombshells, understood to be from World War 2, inside his suitcase. The potential risks attached ton the war relics were enough for police to evacuate the ferry terminal and to call in the bomb squad. A large cordon was set up around the port, and an incoming ferry from the UK was diverted, reported French media. Outgoing ferries were delayed by several hours, while local police took to Twitter to warn of the evacuation. The British national who...
Leave voters admitted holding racist attitudes over Brexit
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Leave voters admitted holding racist attitudes over Brexit

    Brits who voted Leave in the EU referendum are more likely to describe themselves as racially prejudiced than those who voted Remain, according to new research. A survey of 2,220 people found that 34% of Leave voters admitted holding racist attitudes compared to 18% of Remain voters. The study, conducted by the National Centre for Social Research, found 26% of Britons still described themselves as very or a little prejudiced towards people of other races. The study has been conducted annually since 1983 and the number of people saying they are racially prejudiced has never fallen below a quarter. The figure peaked at 39% in 1987 and hit a second peak of 37% in 2011, the report Racial Prejudice In Britain Today said. Also published in the report was new data from the Europe...
Boris Johnson faces calls to be sacked after breaking Ministerial Code with hard Brexit event
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Boris Johnson faces calls to be sacked after breaking Ministerial Code with hard Brexit event

    The Foreign Secretary is accused of breaching the Ministerial Code by arranging a launch event on government property for the Institute for Free Trade a new Eurosceptic think tank being led by Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan. Mr Hannan was a prominent figure in the Vote Leave campaign. He has previously called the NHS a mistake and said the minimum wage should be scrapped. The event was held in the Map Room of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which, as state property, is supposed to be used only for ministers’ official duties. Mr Johnson and Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary, both spoke at the launch. The Institute for Free Trade wants to roll back EU regulations, including on safety standards and workers’ rights, and unilaterally scrap all import tariffs, eve...
More than 60 Rohingya feared drowned as US steps up pressure on Myanmar
Asia, ENGLISH

More than 60 Rohingya feared drowned as US steps up pressure on Myanmar

    More than 60 Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar are believed to have drowned when their boat capsized, the latest victims in what the United Nations says is the world's fastest-developing refugee emergency. The refugees drowned in heavy seas off Bangladesh late on Thursday, part of a new surge of people fleeing a Myanmar military campaign that began on Aug. 25 and has triggered an exodus of more than half a million people. International anger with Myanmar over the crisis is growing. In New York, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley called on countries to suspend providing weapons to Myanmar over the violence. It was the first time the United States had called for punishment of Myanmar's military, but she stopped short of threatening to reimpose U.S. sanctio...
Britain must prepare for of US war with North Korea
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Britain must prepare for of US war with North Korea

    Tensions between the United States and North Korea are now so high that war is a real possibility that Britain must prepare for, a respected defence think tank has warned. Such a conflict would result in hundreds of thousands of casualties, severely disrupt the global economy, and have profound implications for the political and diplomatic landscape of East Asia, the report for the Royal United Services Institute said. US bombers accompanied by fighter jets flew off the east coast of North Korea on September 23, in a show of force This report is not saying that war is likely. But the probability of war is an uncomfortably real prospect, said Professor Malcolm Chalmers, who authored the report. Tensions between North Korea and the US have escalated over the past year as Pyo...
Woman or Machine
ENGLISH, Technology

Woman or Machine

    As technology continues to develop, the line between man and machine has become increasingly blurred. And this stunningly lifelike android woman will have you believing the line has disappeared altogether. Footage of the robot at this year’s Tokyo Game Show in the Japanese capital has been viewed more than three million times on one social media platform alone. A number of Japanese-made and international games are on display at the convention, which has been held annually for the last 21 years. But the beautiful female android has stood out - despite the fact she is only a PR prop. She, along with several others of her kind, are stood at the booth of Detroit: Become Human a new PlayStation 4 video game developed by Quantic Dream, from France, and published by Japan’s very ...