Latest news with #WhatsAppGroup
BBC News
26-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Passionate football shirt collector 'building a community'
A man who turned his passion for retro football shirts into a business says he feels he is building a community of like-minded Owen set up a shop selling the second-hand shirts at The Parade shopping centre in Shrewsbury six months recently moved into a bigger unit in the centre after outgrowing his first one and said: "I'm making friends as we go."Mr Owen said he eventually planned to sell his shirts online but wanted a "bricks-and-mortar" store first because it was "a more human experience". He now sees the same faces drop in regularly and added: "I'm happy just chatting about football if you want to come in and just chat about football."Mr Owen admitted he had doubts at first, though."You're never too sure when you start in any kind of business, but particularly something like this, because you're thinking, is it just me that likes these things?"Over the last six months he has made connections with like-minded collectors across the UK and in Europe has set up a WhatsApp group to chat about their shared passion and said: "I'm building a community. It's really cool." Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Malay Mail
24-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Financial analyst loses nearly RM150,000 to fake investment scheme
KUALA TERENGGANU, May 24 — A financial analyst was left devastated after losing his savings of RM147,350 to a fraudulent investment syndicate operating through a non-existent scheme. Kuala Terengganu police chief ACP Azli Mohd Noor said it was in February when the 42-year-old victim came across a stock investment advertisement on the social media platform Instagram. He said the victim clicked on the advertisement link and was subsequently invited to join a WhatsApp group comprising 125 members who actively discussed stock market trends. 'One of the group members claimed to be an employee of a securities and investment company based in China. The suspect persuaded the victim to invest using a platform called HTGIC, but required him to transfer money to several company accounts beforehand as part of the stock trading process. 'The suspect assured the victim that he would be able to monitor all transaction records through the platform and freely manage the funds for stock purchases and sales,' Azli said in a statement today. Azli said the victim had made 13 money transfers amounting to RM147,350 to five different bank accounts as part of the so-called investment. He said that in addition to using his savings, the victim had also borrowed money from his mother and used company funds to invest in the fraudulent scheme. 'The victim lodged a police report at 7.36pm yesterday after failing to see any returns from the investment to date. The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating,' he added. — Bernama
News18
23-05-2025
- News18
WhatsApp Now Lets You Start Voice Chat For Groups Of All Sizes: Here's What It Means
Last Updated: WhatsApp Group voice chats have been available but only if you have many members, now that feature is open to all group sizes. WhatsApp Groups have supported voice chats as long as there are plenty of members in it but now the messaging app is removing those limits and making it available for the smaller groups as well. Voice chats were a fad with apps like Clubhouse raking the mileage for a brief time and now WhatsApp is offering the feature to a wider audience. WhatsApp is bringing the new Group feature to both Android and iOS users over the coming days. WhatsApp Voice Chat For Small Groups: How It Works WhatsApp is calling the new update a new audio hangout, as it effectively let's small group of members on the messaging app start a voice conversation similar to a personal podcast. WhatsApp also mentions that starting a voice chat will not notify or ring anyone (the user) which makes it easy to join or leave the hangout whenever they want to. advetisement The platform is also keeping the voice chat pinned to the bottom of your chat so you can easily access call controls, while new members can join when they want and see who else has already. The update brings features that X Space and Clubhouse have offered with their respective platforms, now coming to WhatsApp. So how can you start these voice chats in WhatsApp Group? You just have to go to the bottom of your chat, swipe up from the chat box and hold it for a few seconds to activate the voice chat in the group. We got to try out the feature on WhatsApp running on our Android phone and it is already working for groups with 3 members, and you can start a voice chat easily by following the steps mentioned here. Why Now? WhatsApp doesn't say why it needed this feature rolling out now but it does assure that like all the chats, calls and media files, the voice chats are also protected by end-to-end encryption by default. First Published:
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
'Shiver Me Timbers' WhatsApp group councillor gets standards brief
A councillor suspended for involvement in a controversial political WhatsApp group has been appointed to her authority's standards watchdog. Brenda Warrington was a member of the 'Trigger Me Timbers' social media chat, in which messages containing derogatory comments about constituents were made, prompting the suspensions of Labour councillors and MPs. Tameside Council Conservatives criticised former council leader Warrington being put onto the committee, which investigates breaches of the code of and Tameside Council have been approached for comment. The Local Democracy Reporting Service reports that at a Tameside Council meeting on Tuesday, Conservative councillor Dan Costello said Warrington was a member of a social media group in which members of the public were "mocked and abused".Costello said the actions of those in the group were not "anything close to high standards of conduct". "In the transcripts from that group Councillor Warrington has over 1,500 contributions. These contributions include descriptions of people as 'idiots', 'stupid', 'peevish' and even as 'bonkers'."Costello said he accepted there was "no constitutional reason" Ms Warrington could not be appointed to the committee, he questioned her Councillor Joe Kitchen, chair of council business, said issues related to the WhatsApp group were under investigation and those enquiries were ongoing. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
The Sun
19-05-2025
- The Sun
I left kids at home and went to Africa for the DAY for £51 – it was cheaper than spa & ultimate self-care birthday treat
I WOBBLED perilously on the camel as it stood up, nervous that I was about to slide straight off, before screaming with joy as it came to a stop. It was my 43 rd birthday and normally I'd be celebrating at home with my husband and four kids over cake and cards, before a countryside walk. 6 But this year, I was enjoying a camel ride in the Moroccan desert, after deciding to take an extreme day trip to Africa - without my family. My companions for the adventure were a bunch of strangers I'd connected with on a WhatsApp group and met for the first time at Gatwick Airport at 4am. We had an action-packed itinerary for the 18-hour trip, including flights, riding on camels and quad bikes, touring Marrakesh's famous souks and enjoying a tagine dinner. It might sound crazy to make the 2,800-mile round trip to Morocco and back in a day. But for me, it was a rare chance to have 'me time', rediscover my adventurous spirit, forget my responsibilities and make new friends. I love spending time with them but it's exhausting and I often feel burnt out by refereeing squabbles and ferrying kids to school and activities. Normally, my days are spent juggling work as a freelance journalist and caring for my four kids – a teenage son, six-year-old twin boys and a ten-year-old daughter, who has a genetic condition and multiple disabilities, including autism and cerebral palsy. I love spending time with them but it's exhausting and I often feel burnt out by refereeing squabbles and ferrying kids to school and activities. Before I had children, travel was a big part of my life. I'm an only child and my late dad saw visiting other countries as a key part of my education, taking me to places such as South Africa and China, and sending me on school trips to India and Mexico. I volunteered in Kenya, Romania and Poland in my teens and even went to Australia for my honeymoon. But since having my first child aged 29, I'd barely left Kent, let alone Britain, and I missed it. Our large family made it expensive and logistically impossible to go abroad as a six. Then last year I learnt about extreme day trips, where you fly to another country, explore and return home by bedtime. They usually involve an early morning flight out and a return flight late at night. 'Bucket list' trip I joined a Facebook group dedicated to the topic, with 300,000 members all keen to see how far they can get and back in 24 hours. I started small with visits to Switzerland in September and December, going in groups of a dozen or so led by the organiser of the Facebook group. But with my birthday looming in March, I felt the itch to go further – and Africa seemed like the ideal challenge, with Morocco on my bucket list. I wasn't sure what my husband Philip, 43, would think of me ditching them all for my birthday but he encouraged my mad plan because he knew how important it was to me. 6 Getting up at 3am and meeting six strangers at the check-in desk was exhilarating. All the tiredness melted away as we boarded the plane for our 6.05am flight, which took three-and-a-half hours. I'd booked two single flights with WizzAir at a combined cost of £51, taking just a rucksack with my essentials for the day and a passport. It was cheaper than a night out in Bromley, Kent, where I live. While security at Marrakesh International Airport was slow, we were riding on quad bikes by noon, even though we lost an hour due to the time difference. Yes, it was a long day, but I felt like I'd been on an actual holiday, leaving me recharged for mum duties. We had booked a driver for the day who took us to our hour-long driving session, followed by an hour riding camels in the desert, before three hours exploring Jemaa el-Fnaa, the city's historic main square, and its incredible souks, led by a guide. Then it was back to the airport to check in for our 8.15pm return flight, arriving back in Britain at 11.20pm. Yes, it was a long day, but I felt like I'd been on an actual holiday, leaving me recharged for mum duties. It's also a great way to see the world during a cost-of-living crisis as there is no accommodation or extra bags to factor into the price. I've since done another day trip, this time to Venice, and in October, I'm taking my eldest son James, 13, to Athens to show him the Acropolis. He's going to miss a day of school but I know he'll learn more than being in the classroom for a few hours. 6 6
