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Police urged to changed amidst Black Lives Matter manifesto

By
Nathan Bailey
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Police urged to changed amidst Black Lives Matter manifesto

A community activist has stated that there has not been enough done to improve the representation and quality of black communities in Wales for the past 10 years. Many Black Lives Matter groups have been publishing manifestos calling for changes especially within the Welsh police force.

Black Lives Matter activist, Bianca Ali, stated that the statistics from the past decade made her feel like police tactics had no changed at all.

Amidst these discussions from the public, the Welsh Government mentioned that they would be inviting leaders to discuss proposals on moving forward.  A crime commissioner and Welsh Police officer stated that more BAME officers are being recruited in his department but there is definitely more that needs to be done for diversity and representation awareness.

The manifesto has 8 points that discusses BAME citizens’ assembly, heritage, cultural integration, prisons and policing, public servant training, funding, government reviews and education.

In Wales, black individuals are 6 and a half times more likely to be stopped by officers compared to white individuals. These figures come from a United Kingdom government figure source. Additionally black individuals are 4 and a half times more likely to be arrested.

Bianca Ali, a 28 year old mixed Italian, Jamaican, Bangladeshi, Arab, Maltese and Welsh background told the BBC radio of Wales that she has not seen any changes within the police force over the past 5 years.

She told the station that she believes there is a lot more that can be done within organisations and communities. The Black Lives Matter movement is a great example where people can find real changes that would actually help and find the ways to implement them.

Ms Ali also mentioned that the statistics for tasering and stop and search of BAME individuals was so disproportionate that she believes that the police should have black representation within the higher ups.

Lack of women in leadership roles impacts UK economy

By
Courtney Rowe
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woman working together

A recent report by Women Count 2020 has shown that the UK economy is potentially suffering to the tune of £47bn in pre-tax profits due to the lack of women in highly placed executive roles. Findings in the report showed that companies with women in leadership roles had significantly higher profit margins and better performance than companies with no women on their executive teams.

The positive correlation between women and improved business performance should be strong motivation for companies to begin bridging the gender disparity gap and solving the huge diversity issue in many UK companies. Top leaders in the UK are urging companies to take action. The severity of the underrepresentation issue was laid bare when the report found that there were only thirteen women at companies on the Financial Times Stock Exchange 350 at CEO level. Now, former UK Prime Minister Theresa May has called for change, pointing out that there is no good reason for the disparity to exist.

It seems the country is moving in the right direction, with female executives on the rise between the 2019 and 2020 financial year but the gap is still wide, especially in traditionally male dominated industries such as Finance where male chief financial officer’s outnumber women by five men to every one woman in the role. In some industries, such as construction the number of women in leadership roles is actually dropping.

Now more than ever, it’s key to the health of the UK’s economy that companies push to see more women in leadership roles. The country has suffered a huge blow to the economy in the past year and will see a faster recovery if companies prioritise diversity in the workplace and begin to work on remedying the gender disparity on executive committees.

British warn of coronavirus scams

By
Kyle Faulkner
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British warn of coronavirus scams

British financial institutions have warned of fraudulent scammers using the crisis as an opportunity to exploit people for their hard earned cash.

Financial institutions have listed out some of the current scams that they are aware of in an effort to try and stop consumers from falling prey to fraud.

Banks have said that scammers have been known to impersonate important organisations such as the HMRC or the NHS to trick them. To avoid falling for these sophisticated scams, people should stay alert and not give out their personal information to anyone that asks.

Katy Worobec, the managing director at economic crime at UK Finance stated that during the pandemic they have seen many scammers and criminals use these sophisticated tactics to exploit people into giving them their information or even money.

This statement is backed by the overwhelming stat from local councils that have recorded a 40 percent increase in scams since the beginning of the pandemic. Some of the scammers are urging people to invest to take advantage of the downturn that the economy has taken. Instead they simply just pocket the money and the public is left with nothing.

As previously mentioned, others are impersonating popular subscription based services to steal money and personal information from people.

With the rise of this crime during this time, Ms Worobec urges people to use the advice from the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign to ensure that they personal information and money is safe. The main message behind the campaign is to be wary of solicitors and to “Stop, Challenge and Protect” when they received any unsolicited contact.

In addition to this type of crime, the Local Government Association has warned people about scammers selling fake hand sanitiser, COVID-19 testing kits and even medical products that claim to treat or even prevent coronavirus.

Researchers in the UK trial healthcare robots

By
Michael Nash
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Researchers in the UK trial healthcare robots

Researchers in the UK are trialling a robot known as ‘Pepper’ in aged care homes. The robot is designed to monitor vital signs in participants and can complete tasks such as making phone calls and analysing missing kitchen items. The humanoid robot is being positively recognised for its potential to help people in assisted living situations and to help alleviate loneliness. Robots such as Pepper are being programmed to take on the role of care workers and are being built to help improve the lives of those in vulnerable situations. The technology could in the future help to take some of the burden off of the health and social service industries.

The experiment has been called the Ambient Assisted Living program and will look to find solutions for vulnerable groups of people whose challenges have been deepened by the current social isolation measures in place. The experiment is currently being conducted in a highly controlled environment, a university facility which has been transformed to look like a normal apartment.

The aim of the experiment is to help researchers find ways to use the technology to help reduce the heavy workloads of care workers. Researchers and care providers are collaborating on the project by participating remotely with the use of the cloud. The experiment is focussing on the use of signal and sensor technology which constantly monitors the health of patients. If a patient is suffering from a health emergency an alert is sent out so that emergency workers or carers can take fast action.

The experiment is being carefully overseen by a panel of ethics experts to help properly assess any risks the technology or experiment might pose to the privacy and safety of participants, so far the response has been overwhelming positive from care workers who see the potential of the technology.

What you need to understand about Brexit

By
Courtney Rowe
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What you need to understand about Brexit

On the 31st of January 2020, the UK was officially no longer a member of the European Union. Since then, the UK has been working on coming to agreements with the EU on the nature of their trade relationships, aviation standards, access to fishing waters, supply of electricity and gas and the licensing of medicine going forward.

If you haven’t been following the entire Brexit saga closely, then here’s everything you need to know.

What is Brexit?

Brexit is the name the media is using to refer to the British exit from the European Union. The EU is the union between 27 European countries which has previously allowed for free trade and movement between countries in Europe. The UK is the first member of the EU to choose to leave. In 2016 a referendum was held and 17.4 million Brits voted to leave the EU (which meant 52% of voters wanted to leave). Most of the leave voters polled said that their main reason for voting to leave the EU was because they wanted sovereignty and more control over immigration

Following the referendum the UK officially left the EU at the beginning of 2020 and began a transition period set to end on the 31st of December 2020.

Whilst in this transition period the UK is still operating under existing trade agreements but is no longer taking part in EU politics.

During the course of this transition period the UK must decide on how their relationship with the EU will work – a new free trade agreement is the main priority for the country. At the end of the transition period if new agreements have not been reached then tariffs and border checks will apply between people travelling between the UK and the EU.

Denise Johnson from Primal Scream – his story

By
Victoria Rhodes
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Denise Johnson

Denise Johnson has died at the age of 56. The singer was most well-known for her vocals on Primal Screams highly acclaimed album Screamdelica. There has been an outpouring of grief over the death, with Johnny Marr and Peter Hook among the many musicians who have paid tribute to the singer after her death.

Denise Johnson’s vocals have been featured on a number of prominent records and she has been involved in a number of bands from her home town of Manchester including New Order.

A solo acoustic album, titled ‘Where Does It All Go’ was scheduled for release in September of this year. Prior to her death the singer had been suffering from an illness for about a week, although she had shown signs of recovery a few days before her death. Her family said that her death was sudden in a statement and a cause of death has not been publicly announced.

Many musicians have spoken out about the sadness of the news , touting her incredible talent former guitarist from the Smith, James Marr has said that ‘it as a privledge to work with her’. Former bassist from New Order said he was ‘shocked and saddened to hear the news’. The singer had been a member of the Manchester band ‘A Certain Ratio’ for over 25 years and members of the band urged fans to spend time listening to and appreciating her voice.

Happy Mondays singer Rowetta tweeted about her sadness over the death and said that she had shared many happy memories with Denise whom she’d known since she was in school.

The hugely talented singer touched many and will be sorely missed by those in the industries and members of the band’s that she has been involved during a career that spanned decades.

The mystery of Stonehedge solved

By
Nathan Bailey
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The mystery of Stonehedge solved

The mystery of Stonehedge has finally been solved after a missing piece of the site was returned after more than 60 years. The piece was a core measuring more than a metre long which was matched through a geochemical study of the giant standing stones.

Through the study, archaeologists were able to narrow down the exact source of the stones to a small area around 25 km’s from Marlborough. The stones, which stand at around seven metres tall all weigh around 20 tonnes each. Stonehedge is made up of fifteen sarsens which create a horseshoe shape. The smaller stones in the formation have been found to have come from the Preseli Hills area in Wales but until recently it was impossible to work out where the large sansens had come from. The core was originally removed in 1958 during the archaeological excavations of the site, its return some 60 years later meant that scientists could finally analyse the composition of the stones. The core was returned after Robert Phillips who was involved in the original archaeological works decided to bring part of the core back. Scientists started by carrying out an x-ray fluorescence test on the remaining stones at the Stonehenge site which showed that they had similar chemistry to the stones in the area near Marlborough.  Destructive tests on the core were the decisive factor in proving that the stones had originated in the area near Marlborough. The stones were placed at Stonehenge in around 2500 B.C and researchers has said the new discovery gives them insight into how carefully thought out and planned Stonehedge was by the builders of the site.

Researchers had long suspected that the stones may have come from the Malborough area but could not prove it until the core was found.

Fashion brands ignore the impact of fake fur

By
Sienna Flynn
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0
Fashion brands ignore the impact of fake fur

Fake fur has become increasingly popular with fashion brands in recent years as consumers become more conscious of the impacts of the fur industry. Luxury fashion brands have received praise in recent years for using fake fur as an alternative to the real thing in their attest collections however the faux materials pose their own threat to the environment and are in many ways just as bad as the real thing. The manufacture of the synthetic materials in the products cause green gas emissions and the garments almost always end up in landfill because they are difficult to recycle. Fast fashion trends often mean that clothes are quickly discarded as well, compounding the issue.

The fashion industry is being critisised for ignoring the impacts of faux alternative and synthetic materials. Clothing made out artificial fibres such as polyester are reliant on emission heavy manufacturing processes. It has also been pointed out that taking clothes to a charity shop is rarely as sustainable a method of recycling clothes as people seem to think as many clothes remain unsold.

At the moment faux fur garments are on-trend and highly sought after, many celebrities have been seen wearing fake fur over the past year and consumers are adopting the trend. A number of new brands specialising in fake fur have also cropped up as a result of the popularity of the look.

Critics say that consumers should be made more aware of the potential environmental impacts of their fashion choices and that the culture of fast fashion and disposability should be questioned. Consumers should focus on searching for vintage fashions and making longer lasting, more sustainable fashion choices. Education of sustainability and ethical clothing choices is key to seeing industry wide change and the reduction of environmental impacts.

 

UK’s Hugh Osmond plans to make a stock market comeback with float of $400M

By
Kyle Faulkner
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0
Hugh Osmond plans to make a stock market comeback with float

Hugh Osmond is planning on floating the cash shell Broadstone in New York within the next couple of weeks. The entrepreneur who guided PizzaExpress into becoming one of Britain’s largest food chain is now planning on making a stock market comeback by listing Broadstone to a UK company that was hit hard from the coronavirus pandemic.

Reports have indicated that the private equity firm that Mr Osmond works at, Sun Capital Partners, are setting up a blank cheque plan of attack in New York City in the upcoming weeks.

The goal is to have the Broadstone Acquisition Corp listing to raise between $300 and $400 million dollars. According to people briefed in on the plan the takeover of the company could be double that of the listing price.

Within recent weeks Mr Osmond has been having chats with institutional investors about the listing. A prospective shareholder stated on Friday that feedback about the plan had been “overwhelmingly postitive”. Another member briefed on the plan had also stated that a filing to the American security regulators may be possible within the next month.

If the deal goes off without a hitch, it could see Mr Osmond being a part of the first time that a United Kingdom focused SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) has been floated within the US exchange.

The goal for Broadstone is that it will focus on helping out companies that have been seriously impaired by the pandemic. Since thousands of companies have had to take on unwanted debt during this time, it could potentially help out a lot of people. The capital provided from Broadstone could align the books of a target company by paying down their debt. The can then focus on transforming into a consolidator.

Tackling diversity in the fashion industry

By
Sienna Flynn
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0
Tackling diversity in the fashion industry

A number of fashion industry insiders have joined together to try and tackle the issues of fiverty and inclusion in the fashion industry.

The Black Lives Matter movement saw Chrissy Rutherford and Danielle Prescod of Harper’s Bazaar and Elle magazine call their followers to action over the issue of systemic racism.

Since then they have united to start and agency called 2BG (2 Black Girls) which is a consultancy for fashion brands and businesses in the beauty space for crisis management and guidance on diversity issues.

The pair plans to work with influencers and will offer seminars covering racism issues in the workplace. The seminars will discuss real life examples of brands that handled situations correctly and incorrectly in the past and will suggest ways for influencers to become allies to the black lives matter cause, suggesting ways for influencers to take action. They will also discuss the intersection of racism and fashion throughout history.

Prescod has pointed out that there is a greater willingness for people to listen to issues on racism and diversity than has existed in the past with more people willing to receive training and advice on behaviour change and improvement going forward.

The pair want to help to trigger change within the fashion industry and plan to hold brands accountable for problematic behaviour and subtle forms of racism such as saying models of different colours or ethnicities are ‘not on brand’. The pair hope to encourage brands to see the power they have in shifting the attitudes and perceptions of the public. The fashion industry has an important role to play in furthering the black lives matter cause since fashion is often the dictator of style and desirability. Better representation of diverse people will help to challenge racist attitudes not just in the industry but in the world at large.

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