Latest News

A 31-year-old man pleaded guilty to three counts of child cruelty after permanently tattooing three young children; Newcastle Crown Court sentenced him to three years in prison and imposed a ten-year restraining order.

New CEO John Furner will speak for the first time this quarter as Walmart, which recently passed $1 trillion in market value, is widely expected to give cautious guidance amid a fragile consumer backdrop.

Riders 4 Veterans raised $5,429 at a packed spaghetti fundraiser in Cornwall, with 250 tickets sold, and the group will direct the proceeds to Veterans' House Canada in Ottawa.

EV sales rose nearly 24% last year and almost a quarter of new cars sold were electric; EVs now vary widely in price, range, charging speed and maintenance compared with petrol and diesel models.

Jesse Jackson led a late-1980s push, alongside the NAACP and other Black organizations, to popularise the term "African American" as a way to reflect ancestral heritage, and several institutions and communities adopted the term into common usage.

NHS has launched a national media campaign urging an estimated 9.4 million people with common mental health conditions to access NHS talking therapies, and officials say more than 670,000 people received such treatment last year.

With the UK seeing heavy rain, the article notes Gozo—an island near Malta—has mild February weather around 18C and is known for green hills, dramatic cliffs and quieter beaches compared with Malta.

The National Crime Agency says the threat of online child abuse has grown, with about 1,000 arrests and 1,200 child safeguards each month and a doubling of leads from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in three years.

The BAFTA- and Oscar-nominated film Hamnet has driven a reported 15–20% rise in visitor numbers at Stratford-upon-Avon sites such as Shakespeare's Birthplace and Anne Hathaway's cottage since its January release.

Politicians and experts in the UK are urging that suicides where domestic abuse is suspected be investigated as potential homicides, and they call for better police training and a more investigative approach. Reporting cited a large discrepancy between a media estimate of up to 1,500 such suicides a year and official figures that recorded 98 last year.

Congress compelled the White House to release a $51.4bn foreign aid package that included nearly $6bn for the global HIV response, but analysts say the 2026 global health budget remains roughly 6% lower than the previous year.

Consumer Prices Index inflation fell to 3% in January from 3.4% in December, the Office for National Statistics reported, with lower petrol and food prices cited among the drivers.

Queen Camilla visited Bath on February 17, touring the Holburne Museum, the Theatre Royal and Persephone bookshop, and took three Persephone titles to be included in the new Buckingham Palace library.

Japan's lower house formally reappointed Sanae Takaichi as prime minister on Wednesday, 10 days after her February 8 election victory; she is due to give a policy speech outlining defence, economic and legislative plans.

King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman provided two donations totaling SAR150 million through the Jood Eskan platform to support housing initiatives, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

One Sixth Form College in Ipswich was awarded Bronze Hedgehog Friendly Campus status by The British Hedgehog Conservation Charity after students supported Suffolk Prickles Hedgehog Rescue through volunteering and donations.

Gozo, Malta’s smaller sister island, is reachable by short ferries and is reported to have February temperatures around 16–20C; media reports also noted example one-way flights from London Stansted to Malta for £35 and local pints priced at about £1.80.

The BBC reports the NHS has paid nearly £50m to an outsourced firm assessing Covid vaccine harm and a new provider has been appointed to take over the medical assessments under a separate contract.

Twelve students from Chichester College completed the West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service's IGNITE course and were presented with certificates at a pass out parade at Bognor Fire Station on February 13.

Martin Kemp was trapped in a lift for about an hour before a DJ set in Falkirk; a Scottish Fire and Rescue crew freed him and the performance started about an hour late.

Several Olympic skiers including Lindsey Vonn, Mikaela Shiffrin and Federica Brignone said nearby glaciers have dramatically shrunk; Italian researchers report more than 200 square kilometres of glacier loss since the late 1950s and projects indicate some glaciers could largely disappear within years under high-warming scenarios.

Newland Homes presented a donation cheque to Teckels Animal Sanctuaries as its Upton's Garden development nears completion under the 'Home for a Home' scheme. The project has two unsold homes remaining out of the original eight.

Specsavers in Cirencester raised £110 for Guide Dogs UK after an optical assistant sold handmade earrings and the store hosted a visit from the charity's team.

Four women are running community events under the High Five Project to raise at least £500 for each of five children's charities by the end of 2026, and a Wine Tasting 'Call My Bluff' is scheduled for 7pm on Saturday 7 March at Fairford Community Centre.

Saba Riaz performed at Bangor Street Community Centre in Blackburn as part of a UK tour and said she was delighted to play to Pakistani audiences.

Costa Coffee on Montague Street in Worthing has joined the Community Toilet Scheme, allowing public use of its toilets and baby-changing facilities during normal opening hours without requiring a purchase.

Morebus raised £57,700 for the University Hospitals Dorset NHS Charity over two years to support patient care and services at Royal Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch hospitals.

Students at Hans Price Academy in Weston-super-Mare raised £1,645.66 for RNLI Weston through a school fireworks night and later visited the station to present the cheque and learn about the charity's volunteer rescue work.

This compilation lists local death notices and funeral arrangements published on February 18, 2026, and notes tributes paid to Karl Dyrda and Patricia Wright.

Sahyadri Farms grew from 110 growers in 2011 to about 30,000 members and processed 385,000 tonnes last year, helping smallholders access export markets.