Culture Secretary calls on Morecambe owner to sell
In the most recent statement from Whittingham on Sunday, he said owners Bond Group Investments were ready to sell and urged Panjab Warriors to make contact.The sports investment company, who have been in talks to purchase the club for more than a year, released a statement on Tuesday which said they remain "ready, willing and able" to take over.
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BBC News
19 minutes ago
- BBC News
Hula Hoops and Pom-Bear KP workers reject strike action
Workers making Hula Hoops, Pom-Bear and Disco crisps have voted against striking in a dispute over union members working at KP Snacks' factory in Billingham, County Durham, were balloted on whether to take industrial action after declining a salary rise of 77p per said its workers had asked for an increase of £1 per hour, but when the ballot votes were counted on Tuesday there was not enough support for strike action.A KP Snacks spokesperson said the company would meet with union officials to "progress any next steps as swiftly as possible", while GMB organiser Fiona Hill said the union had now "re-entered negotiations with the company". The KP spokesperson said: "We recognise and appreciate the role the union has played in ensuring the process was conducted professionally and constructively." Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Sun
19 minutes ago
- The Sun
I made £1,800 by dobbing in my neighbour – it paid all my bills and rent for a month & anyone can do it
YOU could earn thousands by reporting abandoned properties on your street. YouSpotProperties allows you to earn money by reporting homes that are no longer in occupation and run down. 1 The website gifts £20 Amazon or M&S vouchers to members of the public when the reported home meets the criteria. You can go on to receive 1% of the purchase price if the property goes on to be sold. This is typically capped at £10,000. Lisandra made £1,777 after reporting an empty home she spotted on a walk to her local bus stop. The 37 year old from Crawley said it was the overgrown garden that caught her attention. "Upstairs windows on the first floor were covered with OSB boards, and the bins always appeared to be in exactly the same place. I just knew the house was unoccupied.' She remembered a news story she read about the website and decided to report it as she had "nothing to lose". 'It took months to receive my £20 voucher, but I was delighted when it came through as it was essentially free money. "The surprise was that it took so long as I'd completely forgotten about it.' She later received a call that the property was sold and she would receive a cut of £1,777. All in all, the process took up to a year for Lisandra to get her hands on the cash. And it could not have come at a better time for the Portuguese native. I'm being forced to tear down my loft conversion - my neighbours call it a 'monstrosity' but I'm going to fight back She recently resigned from her job and was hoping to have a break before stepping in to a new role. Lisandra added: "The money was like an extra salary and meant I could stay home for a few more weeks – a bit of a miracle. "I've always believed life brings you what you need when you really need it, in my case it came at a fantastic time for me.' Ben Radstone, co-founder of said: 'Lisandra's story is a reminder of the power and potential of involving local communities in the benefits of getting their empty and derelict houses back into use. He shared the abandoned house was owned by a married couple who were in a dispute over the property following their separation. HOW TO REPORT EMPTY PROPERTIES If you spot an empty property, take a picture of it and upload it to You will also need to share the address of the property. It can take a few weeks or months to hear back from the team. But you will receive a £20 gift voucher for M&S or Amazon if the criteria is met. You can go on to be handed 1% of the purchase price if the team have helped bring the property back into use. They had stopped paying the mortgage for over a year and the bank had started repossession proceedings. Ben added: "We mediated between both the husband and wife to come to an agreement on a sale of the property within a three-week period, and helped avoid repossession." MORE SUCCESS STORIES And Lisandra is not the only spotter who has managed to score some cash. In June, confirmed it handed out more than £1 million in reward monies and vouchers to members of the public. Balham resident Rebecca scored £10,000 after hearing about the initiative after seeing a post on social media. Speaking at the time she said: "The house in question though – on the corner of my road - I thought would be the least likely to get anywhere." "It's a large, 2,000 square foot, late Victorian house with some intricate detailing." The Sun also heard from Mikhail Chekhrinov who has made £8,000 by using the feature. 5 Tips to Get on The Property Ladder Saving for your first property is tough, but it is possible. Here are a few steps for first-time buyers. 1. Cut back on luxuries and start saving Consistent monthly saving is the best way to accumulate enough money to get on the ladder, for a deposit and purchase fees. To do this, you need to take a look at your monthly outgoings and think about what can be cut out - holidays, new clothes, weekly takeaway. Using a savings calculator can help you to establish how long you will need to save for a deposit. Based on your income, you can figure out a realistic amount to save each month. 2. Have a realistic property search Set a budget for the property price you would like to buy, and think realistically about the location and size of your property. While we all may want that house with a view or extra bedroom, can you afford it? 3. Research Help To Buy and Shared Ownership schemes The government has introduced a few ways to help first-time-buyers get on the property ladder and they're great for those on lower incomes or to buy a property in more expensive areas like London. 4. Consider buying with another person Investing with somebody else you know is a sure way to get onto the property ladder. You only need to save half the amount you would otherwise, so you can work towards getting your property sooner. You can invest with a friend, family or partner. Naturally, it is a big step and a huge commitment so be open and honest about what you expect from living together — if you haven't already. 5. Talk to a mortgage broker and get your documents in order A mortgage broker can tell you exactly how much you can borrow for a mortgage, what you will need to pay monthly and in upfront costs.
The Guardian
19 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Thursday briefing: How the colonial legacy has created a toxic beauty industry
Good morning. The slogan 'black is beautiful' rang out from civil rights marches in the US and UK during the 1960s and echoed through liberation struggles across the global south. It became a rallying cry against racist beauty standards that had long cast Black skin, facial features and hair as undesirable. These movements urged pride in what had been denigrated for centuries, and their message was not limited to people of African or Caribbean heritage. Calls to embrace natural beauty resonated across Asia and much of the global south, directly challenging the colonial belief that lighter skin conferred greater worth. Yet decades later, that belief seems to endure. Across the world, women of colour continue to use skin-lightening creams, many laced with toxic ingredients, in the hope of meeting beauty ideals shaped by colourism. Now, we are learning that the results are becoming even more devastating. For the first time, medical journals have reported rising cases of cancers among women of colour using skin-lightening products. The industry, now worth US$10.7bn (£8bn), is expected to grow to US$18.1bn by 2033. Some reports even describe these products being used on babies and young children. To understand why skin‑lightening creams remain so prevalent, and what can be done to end their appeal, I spoke to Prof Ncoza Dlova, head of dermatology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. That's after the headlines. Ukraine | Donald Trump told European leaders on Wednesday he would be seeking a ceasefire in Ukraine at his summit with Vladimir Putin on Friday and gave reassurances that he would not make any territorial concessions without Kyiv's full involvement. UK news | David Lammy has referred himself to the environment watchdog after going fishing with JD Vance without the required licence during the US vice-president's trip to the UK. Immigration | At least 20 people have died after a boat capsized off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, a United Nations agency and local media reported on Wednesday. UK politics | Keir Starmer is to formally revive Northern Powerhouse Rail this autumn with an announcement expected before the Labour conference. Palestine | The United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied territories has warned that moves to recognise a Palestinian state should not distract member states from stopping mass death and starvation in Gaza. Recently, a patient walked into Ncoza Dlova's clinical office in need of support. She had dark-coloured pigmentations, known as ochronosis, and stretch marks on her face and neck. The marks were as a result of a skin-lightening cream she had used for three years. When Dlova asked why she used the cream, she told her that she wanted to look like a friend she felt was more beautiful. Patients like this are now a daily occurrence for Dlova. 'I said 'I feel sorry about your situation, but unfortunately, I have to be realistic with you: there's nothing I can do to reverse your skin and make it look like it was before',' Dlova remembers. 'There was a clear contrast between the face and the hand, with the hand being much darker and the face being much lighter. And then she broke down there and cried. I told her, I know this is painful, but now what I can offer you is using sunscreens to protect your skin from getting worse, or even getting skin cancers.' The Guardian's global health correspondent, Kat Lay, reported last month on a string of cases of women dying from cancer after using these products for several decades. Dlova and colleagues are now working on a paper that cites more than 55 cancer cases, from countries including Mali and Senegal. 'People don't know the complications and side-effects. The patients I see who have side-effects regret it, and say they wish they'd known,' Dlova says. When did this become an issue? The use of these creams isn't a new phenomenon. Reports of African women using skin-lightening creams and suffering harmful effects began emerging as early as the 1970s. At the time, these products often contained mercury as the bleaching agent, but their use was banned in South Africa in 1975 due to the risk of brain and skin damage. Manufacturers switched to using hydroquinone instead. But in 1975, a professor at Pretoria University, George Findlay, wrote about the harms of hydroquinone in the British Journal of Dermatology. He explained that while the chemical initially lightens the skin, it later makes it rough with dark lumps that can turn into abscesses and ulcers. These effects seem to be accelerated by exposure to the sun, making them particularly dangerous for individuals who use them in African countries. Dlova tells me this paper was groundbreaking and led to bans in other countries such as Rwanda and Ghana. But their use continues today due to weak regulation, while other companies are now using steroids in skin-lightening cream. What are the side-effects? The melanin found in darker skin typically is known to offer some protection against sun damage (though people of colour should still wear sunscreen). Skin-lightening products work by removing the melanin and therefore this layer of protection, and can make some people look lighter, but they come with a whole set of complications. The combination of hydroquinone and steroids can be particularly dangerous. 'The immediate complication is the thinning of the skin, where you find that a person can't use any products. Whatever they use on the skin, it stings and it burns because the upper layer has been thinned. And then there's also fungal infections, which are common, because some of the steroids also are immunosuppressants,' Dlova says. 'You can also get steroid-induced acne or rosacea. And some patients, if they're using steroids, get excessive hair where they are using their products. There's stretch marks, because of the damage in collagens, and irreversible pigmentation, such as ochronosis.' The other side-effect increasingly raising alarm? Skin cancer. The huge problem is that many women are simply unaware. A study Dlova recently carried out, of 700 women, found that 30% were using skin bleaching creams. And of those who were using the products, 90% of them didn't know about the side-effects. Is this just affecting African women? The overwhelming majority of Dlova's patients are women, though she does see some men. The reasons why are complex. 'It's psychosocial, political, historical, but colonisation is at the root of it. Being lighter is seen as superior,' she says. Research has found that lighter-skinned women often face shorter prison sentences, are seen as more intelligent in job interviews, and have greater career and dating prospects than their darker-skinned peers. 'There's so much pressure for darker-skinned women to change their skin colour,' Dlova adds. Just how much women are affected is still hard to say due to a lack of data. Across African countries, estimates in studies of its usage range from 25% to 80% of women. But Dlova was keen to point out that the use of skin-lightening products affects countries across the globe. 'This is not exclusively an African issue. It's a global phenomenon. It's as common in South Africa as it is in India,' Dlova says, 'We know about the caste system in India and we know about colonisation there and in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand. In all those countries, skin bleaching is pervasive. Even in South America. 'It's important to highlight that, because sometimes people say, 'Why are Africans changing their skin colour?' No, it's everyone who's Black or darker-skinned trying to be white because of colonisation.' How can we stop it? When a number of African countries banned hydroquinone, there was a slight reduction in the marketing of these products. But that's changed in the past decade because of social media, Dlova says. Now, a growing number of beauty influencers on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook promote these products with a simple message of personal transformation, while their toxic ingredients are rarely acknowledged. Dlova believes regulation alone is not enough to push back on this worrying trend. She has called for public health campaigns to explain the immediate and long-term risks of using these products, as well as addressing colourism and colonial legacies. Dlova is part of a global working group set up by the International League of Dermatological Societies to address skin lightening. She explains that the group includes dermatologists from across the world, including Japan, Korea, the Philippines, India, South America, Africa, Europe and the US. It also brings together anthropologists, historians, psychologists, community workers and patients. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Her hope is that by involving people from many disciplines and regions, they can develop a multi-pronged approach to the issue. 'We just need to look at examples of advocacy that have been successful in the past, such as smoking, HIV, and see how they did it. It has to be sustained and continuous, not just a one-off. It must go on so that people become used to it and they know.' Of this campaign, she said: 'It's something very close to my heart when I see these patients, some of whom are depressed or suicidal because they realise the damage from the products is permanent. It hurts me to see, it's very painful.' Since the blockade Israel forced upon Gaza in early March medical evacuations have slowed. This is a devastating account of the children waiting for treatment abroad. Saranka Maheswaran, newsletters team National police guidance will now include the ethnicity, and potentially the immigration status, of police suspects. The academic Nasar Meer makes a powerful argument as to why it's a huge misstep. Aamna From Celine Song, director of the much-loved Past Lives, comes the Materialists. Peter Bradshaw reviews the film that prods at the debate of whether we marry for love or money, and if we can do both. Saranka I chuckled my way through this piece by Joe Stone on how he tried to cut down his screen time, but ended up replacing one obsession (looking at his phone) for another (not looking at it). Aamna A great bit of investigative work showing millions of litres of oil are seeping into UK soil from underground power cables. Yet more evidence of our crumbling energy infrastructure and another environmental headache. Phoebe Football | Newcastle are close to signing Jacob Ramsey from Aston Villa for £40m after resisting competition from West Ham for the versatile 24-year-old midfielder. Tennis | Venus Williams will make her return to grand slam singles at the US Open after a two-year absence. At age 45, Williams will be the oldest singles entrant at the tournament since Renee Richards played there aged 47 in 1981. Football | Marcus Rashford has offered a withering assessment of Manchester United's decline, claiming a lack of identity since Sir Alex Ferguson retired has marooned the club in 'no man's land'. The Guardian leads with 'Trump warns Putin faces 'severe consequences' if no truce agreed'. The Financial Times takes a similar line: 'Trump warns 'severe consequences' will follow if Putin refuses to end war'. The Times says 'Trump in warning to Putin on eve of talks', while the Telegraph reports 'Trump to offer Putin minerals for peace'. The i has 'Protect Ukraine from 'bluffing' Putin, Zelensky urges Trump'. The Daily Mail leads on 'BBC climbs down over 'xenophobe' slur on top Tory'. The Mirror reports 'Arena bomber's brother on 3 murder bid charges'. Finally, the Sun has 'Gun plot link to £64m Arsenal deal.' How Israel used Microsoft technology to spy on Palestinians Harry Davies on how Microsoft's cloud was used to facilitate mass surveillance of Palestinians. A bit of good news to remind you that the world's not all bad Natural England is celebrating the comeback of 150 previously struggling species, including the return of the Duke of Burgundy butterfly. A series of targeted conservation projects have facilitated this recovery and demonstrated how a 'joined up, collaborative approach' can spell success for conservation. Celebrations will take place at Brandon Marsh nature reserve, which has returned to hosting the Eurasian bittern, a wading bird which has found a renewed home in habitats of deep pools and reedbeds produced by the programme. The work done by Natural England has set a positive precedent for further recovery of rare species. Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday And finally, the Guardian's puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply
