Latest news with #PAPP
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Business Recorder
PAPP distributes camera bags amongst its members
KARACHI: The Pakistan Association of Press Photographers (PAPP) held an event at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) to distribute camera bags among its members. The chief guest for the ceremony was Cemal Sangu, the Consul General of the Republic of Turkiye in Karachi. Consul General Sangu extended his special thanks to the officials of the Pakistan Association of Press Photographers for inviting him, noting it was his first visit to the Karachi Press Club. He lauded the services of photographers in journalism, stating that their role is crucial for the country and for the freedom of the press. He also congratulated the recipients of gifts from the association. Addressing the gathering, G M Jamali, former president of PFUJ and president of the Pakistan Association of Press Photographers Trust, highlighted the numerous challenges currently faced by journalism. He emphasised that photographers are frontline soldiers in the field's challenges, and their contributions to press freedom and freedom of expression in the country cannot be overlooked. He described PAPP not merely as an organisation but as a passion, committed to serving journalism and its members. He praised PAPP's work, which he said is being recognized not only in Karachi but across Pakistan, including Islamabad. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
The National
4 days ago
- General
- The National
I spent the weekend beach-cleaning in Dumfries and Galloway
I'm spending the weekend beach-cleaning with People Against Plastic Pollution (PAPP), a small charity set up in 2021 after its founder Will Thorpe – an environmental consultant from Devon – visited the Western Isles and was dismayed to find beaches there strewn with rubbish. Glance at the beach at Port William in Dumfries and Galloway and you would have no idea of the scale of plastic pollution on it, and within it. READ MORE: 'Collective action' against Israel to be decided at global conference But take a closer look and you will find plastic almost everywhere – embedded into the soil, trapped between stones, forming habitats for wildlife including slow worms, voles and ants. They are living under fishing crates and giant drums, but we're here to clear as much plastic as we possibly can from this hard-to-reach part of the coastline before it becomes too brittle to deal with at all. The creatures scamper and slither away to find alternative refuge in the thick vegetation. At last summer's clean-up there were a dozen volunteers, but this year it turns out to be just Will and his determined colleague (also called Will), until my arrival boosts the squad by 50%. I'm here on Saturday under my own steam and on Sunday using volunteering leave offered by The National's publisher, Newsquest. Assisting two Englishmen to clean up a Scottish beach certainly seems to fit with the goal of delivering a positive impact on the local community. We may be small in number, but we have the resolve of a much bigger team. Many hands make light work, but so does a brand-new 518cc quad bike loaned to the group by Honda UK, which we use to repeatedly tow a trailer piled high with hundreds of kilogrammes of plastic. Last year the group had to drag everything they collected along the beach, but we're able to load up a trailer, tow it up the road and hurl it into a huge skip provided by Dumfries and Galloway Council. Not until we have weighed it, though – the charity pledges to collect 2kg for every £1 donated, so we keep track of every load and set ourselves ever-increasing targets. We spend hours hauling huge trays and barrels we've stuffed full of boxes, bottles, fishing rope and much more, and what starts out feeling like a losing battle becomes more satisfying with every weigh-in. The clean-up is enlivened by the discovery of some 'treasure', including a doll's head with no eyes, a message in a bottle (about how to find Jesus) and a cheerful yellow duck printed with 'World Record Duck Race – Ireland 2006'. READ MORE: Seven charged in connection with hate crime at St Mirren match Some investigation reveals that this was one of a number of escapees from that fundraising event, set loose from the River Liffey by some mischievous children. It clearly wasn't the strongest swimmer of the raft, as others reached Sweden and Holland. On day two I remark that it was interesting to find so many bottles with liquid in them and the lids screwed shut. 'Have you ever seen the inside of a fishing boat?' asked Will T. 'They're probably all full of pee'. I pause to contemplate the fact that he had neglected to mention this to me 24 hours earlier, when I was diligently emptying out the contents of these sealed bottles to ensure we were weighing only the plastic, not liquid too. Undeterred, however, I keep doing so, reasoning that human pee was probably less of a threat to my health than the near-infinite number of microplastics to which each of us is exposed daily. So every kilogramme of our grand total of 1.4 tonnes was plastic. Returning to my desk, it felt serendipitous to find an email from Yes West Lothian about its community litter pick this coming Saturday (starting at 10am at The Lanthorn, Dedridge). Imagine the impact if every Yes group in Scotland did the same, for just one day this summer – a win-win for the environment and the cause. I'm already looking forward to next summer's PAPP mission. If you're averse to rodents, spiders, legless lizards and/or handling urine, then this might not be the activity for you. But really the most disturbing thing is getting a glimpse of how much plastic, in various states of degradation, is in our oceans, on our beaches and in our environment – to witness how solid objects break down into tiny fragments too small to collect or contain. Microplastics are being found in rapidly increasing concentrations in human bodies, including in the liver, kidney and especially the brain. It really is a race against time to remove what's there, while taking action to prevent more being added. I certainly won't look at a single-use plastic bottle the same way again.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Police's diversity programme 'not transparent'
A Thames Valley Police (TVP) diversity programme that saw three white officers discriminated against was "not properly consulted upon or transparent in how it was managed", a review concluded. Kerrin Wilson, a former chief constable of Lincolnshire Police, led work into what went wrong before the force lost an employment tribunal in August. Mrs Wilson found the impact of the case across TVP was "significant" and had led to some officers from an ethnic minority background feeling marginalised. Police and crime commissioner Matthew Barber commissioned the review in October said the report is "clear that the leadership of TVP advocates for equality in all its forms". An employment judge ruled last year that a superintendent was told to help improve diversity amongst the force's senior staff by appointing a sergeant from an Asian background to the rank of detective inspector. The employment tribunal heard three members of staff, who had worked for TVP for between 19 and 26 years, were blocked from applying for the detective inspector role in Aylesbury in 2022. But a decision was made to move an officer into the role without undertaking any competitive process or advertising the vacancy to staff, the tribunal was told. Mrs Wilson, who retired in 2022 after 30 years in policing, found the way the Positive Action Progression Programme (PAPP) operated "led to parts of [TVP] feeling excluded". Her report makes 51 recommendations but she said that number is not reflective of the force's overall effectiveness. She said TVP was initially "slow to understand and acknowledge the depth of concern" amongst staff after the employment tribunal concluded but there were no concerns about senior leaders' conduct regarding the case. "The findings show that mistakes were made and that there was a lack of consistency, information and inclusion in the way policies were applied, leaving parts of the organisation feeling left out and overlooked," Mr Barber said. "Due regard should be given to all staff. A wide range of recommendations focuses on key areas of central oversight, training, better alignment with relevant bodies, internal communications, internal recruitment and career advancement programmes. These, if implemented, will go a long way to address the issues identified." TVP's chief constable Jason Hogg said: "[The force] takes these recommendations seriously and will use them as it seeks to improve. "I am also pleased that the report recognises that Thames Valley Police is an organisation that has 'wonderful people with passion and ways of working that deliver excellent policing for its communities' and that the force is effective in tackling crime and supporting those most vulnerable." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Ex-senior officer to review force's race discrimination Police officers win race discrimination claim Thames Valley Police
BBC News
03-04-2025
- BBC News
Thames Valley Police's diversity programme 'not transparent'
A Thames Valley Police (TVP) diversity programme that saw three white officers discriminated against was "not properly consulted upon or transparent in how it was managed", a review Wilson, a former chief constable of Lincolnshire Police, led work into what went wrong before the force lost an employment tribunal in Wilson found the impact of the case across TVP was "significant" and had led to some officers from an ethnic minority background feeling and crime commissioner Matthew Barber commissioned the review in October said the report is "clear that the leadership of TVP advocates for equality in all its forms". An employment judge ruled last year that a superintendent was told to help improve diversity amongst the force's senior staff by appointing a sergeant from an Asian background to the rank of detective employment tribunal heard three members of staff, who had worked for TVP for between 19 and 26 years, were blocked from applying for the detective inspector role in Aylesbury in a decision was made to move an officer into the role without undertaking any competitive process or advertising the vacancy to staff, the tribunal was told. Mrs Wilson, who retired in 2022 after 30 years in policing, found the way the Positive Action Progression Programme (PAPP) operated "led to parts of [TVP] feeling excluded".Her report makes 51 recommendations but she said that number is not reflective of the force's overall said TVP was initially "slow to understand and acknowledge the depth of concern" amongst staff after the employment tribunal concluded but there were no concerns about senior leaders' conduct regarding the case. "The findings show that mistakes were made and that there was a lack of consistency, information and inclusion in the way policies were applied, leaving parts of the organisation feeling left out and overlooked," Mr Barber said."Due regard should be given to all staff. A wide range of recommendations focuses on key areas of central oversight, training, better alignment with relevant bodies, internal communications, internal recruitment and career advancement programmes. These, if implemented, will go a long way to address the issues identified."TVP's chief constable Jason Hogg said: "[The force] takes these recommendations seriously and will use them as it seeks to improve."I am also pleased that the report recognises that Thames Valley Police is an organisation that has 'wonderful people with passion and ways of working that deliver excellent policing for its communities' and that the force is effective in tackling crime and supporting those most vulnerable." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
