UK

Birmingham city council is set to vote through a raft of budget cuts amounting to £149 million. Along with £500 million of asset sales, this amounts to what my colleagues and I, at the Audit Reform Lab, think will be the biggest cuts any local authority has ever made. The proposals will devastate crucial statutory services, including children’s services, home-school transport, early help and adult social care. They will also include a 21% rise in council tax over the next two years and a near complete defunding of the arts. A local authority cannot technically declare bankruptcy. But it can...

My son in transition year is currently selecting his subjects for the Leaving Cert in 2026. He has no idea what direction to take after he leaves school, but we don’t want him to close any options at this stage.Leaving Cert subject choice presents a series of challenges for students which, if managed effectively, will help keep open all his options in the summer of 2026.Most schools administer a combined interest and aptitude test to all transition-year students which aim to indicate their strengths and interests.In my own practice as a guidance counsellor, for example, I administered “Eirquest” tests which...

Best: Supermarket bargain Grape: Colombard and Trebbiano Country of origin: FranceAnother excellent swap for a standard Sauvignon Blanc, this white wine made in southwest France’s Côtes De Gascogne has all the same flavours you know and love. Think lip-smacking citrus, a twist of crisp grapefruit and a bracing acidity that means it will work with lightly spiced food like a Thai curry or a piled-high summer salad.Made in the Côtes De Gascogne appellation between the Pyrenees and the Atlantic, the grape’s cool, clean flavours benefit from the area’s warm days and chilly nights and are even harvested at their ripest during the...

Two men have been arrested by Gardaí as part of ongoing investigations into organised criminality and money laundering offences in North Dublin this morning in the capital.Gardaí arrested the two men, aged in their 30s & 40s, in Dublin earlier today and both are currently detained at Garda Stations in the Dublin Metropolitan Region under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.In 2022, An Garda Síochána commenced a criminal investigation into an organised crime group and their criminal enterprises operating in the DMR North.A number of targets were subsequently identified as having carried out suspected offences...

Olivia Colman has spoken candidly about her past use of Botox injections.Last week, the Oscar winner was a guest on Vernon Kay’s Radio 2 show, during which the presenter and his guest discovered they were the same age.“Are we?” Olivia remarked upon hearing that she and Vernon were born in the same year. “I look like your mum! Oh my god! You look so young – that’s really annoying.”“How much Botox have you had?” the former star of The Crown then questioned, to which Vernon responded: “Eh, none! I refuse!”“Oh, I’ve had loads,” Olivia then disclosed. “Yeah – it’s needles...

Two sisters have narrowly avoided prison after violent incidents on a train and at a station. Airdrie Sheriff Court heard that Shannon Greenhorn brandished a screwdriver at terrified children. Her sibling Courtney demanded money from other passengers during a drunken escapade on a train. The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now. Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7. The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your...

Funding to protect the endangered corncrake on the Aran Islands and to build shelters for bats to nest in Cabra in Dublin are among 78 community grants to improve biodiversity announced on Monday.Some €376,000 in funding is being provided to local groups to push green projects, which include plans to improve biodiversity along the Moy estuary and river in Co Mayo and revamp a nature reserve on the river Nore in the southeast.Grants include €4,500 given to a group in Cabra, in north Dublin, to build shelters and nests for bats, birds, bees and butterflies; and €6,000 to tackle the...

Derry manager Mickey HarteMickey Harte explained that midfielder Conor Glass needed rest after leaving him off the Derry squad for Saturday night’s league defeat to Dublin in Celtic Park.“He has been through a lot over the last two years and he would be willing to play but at the same time we felt it was good to give him a break and I hope it he enjoys his break,” said Harte Source link

In addition to the restaurant, lounge area and upstairs bar, No. 42 has also made space for a chic underground spa and adjoining coffee shop, called Field Trip. Decked out in shades of warm wood and decorated with herbs and grasses, this is the place to go for the hotel’s signature Lessen Your Stress treatment: an hour-long back, shoulder and face massage with a facial which managed to unwind every muscle in my body in a surprisingly short space of time (£95). Source link

Labour peer Shami Chakrabarti described Rishi Sunak’s recent claims about extremism in the UK as “sinister” during an interview on Sunday.Over the last week, the prime minister has condemned supposed extremists for “trying to tear us apart”, alleged “our democracy itself is a target” amid rising “mob rule” and called for the police to do more to protect the UK.But, speaking to Sky News at the weekend, Chakrabarti said: “I don’t like his theatre, quite frankly.”“The thing I find most sinister about it is that he’s almost suggesting that he has read the riot act to the police,” she added.“He’s...