UK sets 24-week target for asylum appeals. The UK is introducing a 24-week target for deciding certain asylum and immigration appeals, in a move aimed at speeding up the removal of people whose claims are rejected.From this week, the First-tier Tribunal will be expected to hear new appeals within 24 weeks involving non-detained foreign national…
Representative image of historical coins spilling out of a broken bowl in a kitchen (AI generated) When Robert and Betty Fooks bought South Poorton Farm in West Dorset in 2019, they knew the 17th-century long house would need extensive work before it felt like home. What they did not expect was to find a piece…
UK heatwaves help bananas fruit, experts explain why it’s unusual In a quiet garden in Seaton, near Looe in Cornwall, something unusual is happening. A banana plant, once a tiny gift, has grown to 11 feet tall and produced 24 pieces of fruit. For owner Cathy Neville, it is a moment of surprise and delight….
“I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it,” wrote William Shakespeare in his play ‘As You Like It’. Most people feel this sentiment towards their homes, the abodes they come to buy and decorate in the space of a lifetime with one trinket at a time.Shakespeare is believed to have been…
Prince Edward and Sophie’s son James is set to begin university this autumn after receiving his A-level results. James, the Earl of Wessex and son of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, will study rural land and property management at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, this autumn.James was among hundreds of thousands of…
Stephen Jalland, a 57-year-old handyman from March, Cambridgeshire, began clearing overgrown gardens for free in June 2026 after coming across a Facebook post about an untidy garden. What started as a one-off act of kindness quickly turned into a regular volunteer effort after his post showing the transformation attracted thousands of reactions and a flood…
Carmela Chillery-Watson (Image Credit: Guinness World Records) Carmela Chillery-Watson made history at the age of 11 as the youngest person ever to receive a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). According to Guinness World Records, she was 11 years and 78 days old when the honour was announced in June 2025, recognising…
Quote of the day by King Charles (AP photo) Few words spoken at a moment of personal loss carry the weight of an entire lifetime. When Queen Elizabeth II died on 8 September 2022, her eldest son, King Charles III, addressed the nation the following day, speaking as both a new monarch and a grieving…
Indian-origin strategist Gautam Rangarajan. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has appointed Indian-origin strategist and former BBC executive Gautam Rangarajan as an Expert Adviser on Structure and Process in a newly created role at 10 Downing Street.Rangarajan, who brings decades of experience in strategy, organisational transformation and media, is set to take up the position this…
Not all superheroes wear capes, some don tiaras and do the good work such as five-year-old Rosie. After befriending Sid at a birthday party and learning he uses a wheelchair due to having spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (SMA1), a condition which causes muscle weakness and a lack of motor neuron function in infants, she…