Author: mshahazad3916

James McCarthyBBC News, West of EnglandGetty ImagesThousands of Countryside Stewardship agreements will end in DecemberFarmers say they feel abandoned as thousands of long-running nature scheme payments are set to end.According to a Freedom of Information request by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), 5,830 Countryside Stewardship (CS) agreements will stop in December.These provide financial incentives to put in place measures like insecticide-free farming, wildflower strips and flourishing hedgerows. Gloucestershire arable and livestock farmer David Barton said he felt “completely abandoned” by the move.Defra said it was working with farmers to build a more profitable farming system by focusing on food production…

Think of battery manufacturing and it may evoke images of Elon Musk and Tesla’s sprawling “gigafactories” around the globe, or China’s vast, hi-tech clean rooms churning out cells to go in anything from electric toothbrushes to mobile phones and cars. But at Invinity Energy Systems’s small factory in Bathgate, near Edinburgh, workers slotting parts together are hoping that Britain can also play a part in the battery revolution.These batteries, which rely on vanadium ions, are put in 6-metre (20ft), 25-tonne shipping containers. They will not go into cars, but the manufacturer hopes the technology can win a place in a…

Every two-and-a-half years, Uche and her husband pay more than a combined £5,000 for NHS care, on top of the tax and national insurance deducted from their salaries as a care worker and an IT worker.Now, thousands more skilled workers face having to “pay twice” for services for 10 years or more, campaigners fear, as the government considers extending the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) – and eventually citizenship – in an immigration crackdown.Currently, the standard wait for settlement is five years, during which time immigrants typically pay the equivalent of £1,035 a year for NHS care,…

Noor NanjiCulture reporterBBC Bosses Quizzed By MPsBBC director general Tim Davie has said he is “not letting anything lie” when it comes to rooting out abuses of power within the corporation.”If you’re not living the values, it is clear you leave the BBC or there are consequences,” he told MPs on Tuesday, adding that no one was “irreplaceable”.Davie is facing questions from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on a number of scandals.One of the topics discussed was the MasterChef crisis, after both of its presenters – Gregg Wallace and John Torode – were sacked following a report which upheld…

The Week 2 NFL schedule has arrived with 16 more games, most of which are projected to come down to one score. Fifteen games have a spread of 6.5 points or fewer, with only the Ravens (-12.5) vs. the Browns outside of that range. NFL bettors frequently target spreads, totals and money-line NFL picks. Some key Week 2 NFL odds include the Packers at -3.5 versus the Commanders and the Eagles at -1 versus the Chiefs in a Super Bowl rematch. A set of exact Week 2 NFL score predictions can give you the tools needed to make a variety of…

Mark PoyntingClimate and science reporter, BBC NewsGetty ImagesPlans to fight climate change by manipulating the Arctic and Antarctic environment are dangerous, unlikely to work and could distract from the need to ditch fossil fuels, dozens of polar scientists have warned.These polar “geoengineering” techniques aim to cool the planet in unconventional ways, such as artificially thickening sea-ice or releasing tiny, reflective particles into the atmosphere.They have gained attention as potential future tools to combat global warming, alongside cutting carbon emissions.But more than 40 researchers say they could bring “severe environmental damage” and urged countries to simply focus on reaching net zero,…

National Geographic–Lindblad ExpeditionsOn the 12-day Iceland’s Wild West Coast to East Greenland itinerary (from $19,769) by National Geographic–Lindblad Expeditions, guests will explore the dramatic landscapes of Iceland’s Westfjords before making their way to Northeast Greenland National Park and Scoresbysund on Greenland’s east coast. Book the August 5 departure to see the eclipse during the voyage, or book the August 16 departure with the pre-trip eclipse extension for a land-based viewing in Iceland.Celebrity CruisesCelebrity’s seven-day Iceland Total Eclipse Cruise (from $9,866) visits the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, the Westfjords, and the northern city of Akureyri before spending two days at sea to find…

Norway’s minority Labour Party government won a second term in power on Monday while the populist right achieved its best-ever election result, official results showed, in a ballot dominated by concerns over rising living costs and wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Suzanne BearneTechnology ReporterGetty ImagesNewspapers are banking on online revenue to replace falling circulationWhen actress Sorcha Cusack left the BBC drama Father Brown in January, it made headlines, including for the newspapers owned by Reach, among them The Mirror, and the Daily Express.But the story did not generate the traction the Reach newspapers would have expected a year ago, or even at the start of the year.Reach put this down to AI Overviews (AIO) – the AI summary at the top of the Google results page.Instead of clicking through to the story on a Reach newspaper site, readers were happy with…

Kensington Palace said on Tuesday that Paramount U.K. head Sarah Rose has been appointed the new CEO of The Royal Foundation, led by Prince William and Kate Middleton. She succeeds Amanda Berry.Rose has been president of 5 and regional lead, U.K. for Paramount since February 2024. Prior to that she was Chief Operating and Commercial Officer, first for the UK, then for Broadcast, UK and International Studios. She joined Paramount when it was still Viacom in August 2020.  Rose said in a memo that she will stay at Paramount until the end of 2025 to ensure a successful transition.A process…