International News

Halifax has released its latest House Price Index (HPI), which tells us how the property market performed in March 2022. As one of the earliest reports to come out, it’s an excited read – and we’ve digested it all for you, so you can sort the good from the bad and get your head around the numbers. This month is another record-breaker. Wait! What’s a House Price Index? It’s not as complicated as it looks at first glance! A ‘House Price Index’ (or HP...

The price of the average home in the UK has risen by £43,577 since the start of the first lockdown two years ago, the Halifax has said. The lender, part of Lloyds Banking Group, said the 18.2% rise took the cost of a typical home to £282,753. The race for space from buyers was clear with a 21% rise in the price of detached homes compared with a 11% rise in flat prices over the same period. A lack of homes on the market has helped to push up prices. "The story behind such ...

David and Jasmine Pringle had woken up at 4am to travel to Manchester airport from County Durham after Qatar Airways told them to expect huge delays for their flight to Doha. “Leaving the house at 5am for a 3pm flight isn’t ideal,” David said. “But it’s been over two years since we last saw Jasmine’s family in the Philippines and we’ve been desperate to make the journey to see her elderly parents. We’ve paid the best part of £3k for the fl...

The Environment Agency is running a pilot scheme in Preston to see how video games can help raise awareness and find solutions to problem flooding. Pupils at Archbishop Temple Church of England High School have been testing specially-themed Minecraft mini-games built to replicate their local flood defences. If the scheme is successful then other similar projects could be rolled out in other parts of England. Retrieved from：https://www.bbc.com/news/av/entertainment-arts-60987029 (5 April...

The U.K. will detail plans to broaden its energy sources this week as the war in Ukraine, sanctions on Russia and a cost-of-living crisis forces countries across Europe to urgently revamp how they generate electricity and heat homes. The main focus will be on nuclear and wind power, two industries that haven’t been short of controversy. Government minister Grant Shapps said on Sunday he expects to see proposals for more nuclear reactors, including smaller capacity ones, and for scaling ...

The moving words of Ukrainian refugees and a performance by the country's 2016 Eurovision-winning singer provided powerful moments as a star-studded concert in Birmingham raised £12.2m. Pop superstars like Ed Sheeran, Camila Cabello and Emeli Sande were among the artists at the Concert For Ukraine. Jamala gave an impassioned rendition of her Eurovision-winning track 1944. And the stories of two Ukrainians were put centre stage when they were read by actors Tamsin Greig and Edd...

Leading Australian businesses have announced major new investments totalling £28.5 billion in projects across the United Kingdom, as the Prime Minister hosts a UK-Australia investment roundtable at Downing Street this evening [Wednesday 30th March]. Today’s announcements follow from the Global Investment Summit hosted by the PM in October and the creation of the new Office for Investment. They underline the growing appeal of the UK’s dynamic economy and workforce for foreign...

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has set out measures aimed at combating soaring energy, food and fuel prices, in his Spring Statement. He cut fuel duty by 5p but resisted calls to scrap April's National Insurance rise of 1.25p in the pound. He warned the UK's post-pandemic recovery had been blown off course by the war in Ukraine. But he held out the promise of an income tax cut in 2024 when he said the economy would be in better shape. Labour said he had made an "historic mistake" by ...