UK | Westminster World

Dec132021 by Bronwen Latham, Lucy Tudor, Ting Lei, Joanne Clark and Zuri SotoNo Comments

Air pollution hitting deprived and POC communities hardest

Climate, Environment, Extinction Rebellion, extinction rebellion, Health, London, London Mayor, Politics, protest, Science, Transport, UK news, urban

Air pollution burdens low income and communities of colour resulting in major health risks. Source: Unsplash The British Heart Foundation found that 15 million Brits are exposed to toxic air. The majority of which are people of colour and those within deprived communities; a report conducted by Natural England in 2019 revealed Britons who are POC were exposed to particulate matter pollution rates at 19-29% higher than White Britons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt2OIcQ-7y8 Environmental racism is a form of systematic racism where communities of colour are disproportionately burdened with health hazards through policies and practices that force them to reside near or around polluted areas. Environmental Justice is not simply highlighting the discrepancies b...

‘Trickling away to nothingness is not inspiring for me’: Should the UK legalise assisted dying?

Adults, Breaking News, Explainers, Health, News, NHS, Opinion, Politics, Science, UK news, Worldnews

Assisted dying is currently illegal in the UK. It is being debated in Parliament and about to the enter the committee stage. The right to end your own life has always caused controversy, and this bill could see the UK follow other countries by legalising euthanasia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFOBkAlpAYo Credit: Politics.co.uk, Youtube The bill would enable terminally ill adults to end their own life with those providing assistance avoiding prosecution. This legislation could be seen as a solution to the issues surrounding palliative care, something that many feel is lacking. However, when people are in so much pain, should they have autonomy over their own lives and when to die? Polls taken on the issue of assisted dying consistently demonstrate that the majority of the pu...

Is your makeup bag cruelty-free?

Animal Rights, Animals, Blogs, Breaking News, Business, Culture, Data Journalism, economy, Explainers, Fashion, News, shopping, What's Hot, Women, Worldnews

Image by Kloudia Sakowski The EU prohibited the sale of animal tested cosmetic products and ingredients on 11 March 2013 following its ban on animal tested cosmetics just four years earlier. We explored if these regulations are truly practised in the UK. Brands marked with a green star are cruelty-free. Our own research. Walking down the aisles at Boots, you would assume the cosmetics brands you see are vegan and cruelty-free because of this law. Yet upon inspection, we found that the UK has plenty of makeup brands that practice neither. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayyXLmUwkuk Reporter Kloudia Sakowski compares makeup brands and conducts an interview with a Lush employee. Cruelty-free products are products created without the use of animal testing while vegan products

‘All my clients wanted to carry on’ -Why this personal trainer refused to shut her business

Breaking News, Business, Covid-19, economy, Explainers, Fitness, Hunger Strike

Image by Jonathan Borba All non-essential businesses and storefronts were ordered to shut down on November 5 ahead of another month-long lockdown. While most shops obliged – (although reluctantly), a few small business owners continued to operate during restrictions. Lauren Sundre*, 27, is a personal trainer in Liverpool who continued to hold gym sessions despite the regional lockdown. “The main thing that made me continue was the fact that all my clients wanted to carry on. I felt this sense of responsibility to ensure they were able to do so. I felt very strongly of the fact that what I did posed no threat - but actually improved people’s health,” she told Westminster World. As a newly qualified personal trainer Lauren will not receive any financial support from the go

Did Boris Johnson force us into a second lockdown based on fake data?

Covid-19, economy, Explainers, Law, London, News, Opinion, Politics, Student, UK news

Photo By: Andrew Pearsons Prime Minister Boris Johnson is allegedly under the impression that he was fooled into enforcing a national lockdown due to ‘dodgy’ data. According to Government scientists, Covid-19 related deaths could rise to 4,000 a week; 4 times the peak we saw in April. This figure is now being discredited, with conflicting data released last week, suggesting cases were dropping, and the second wave may have peaked before the second lockdown began on November 5. Shops and businesses forced to close during second lockdown. Photo: Amelia Hallsworth Figures released last week show 20,572 cases recorded, down from the previous week’s number of 23,254. A total of 156 deaths were recorded across with the UK, compared to 162 from the week prior.&nb

Apr142020 by Juliane SonntagNo Comments

Obesity in childhood

children, Data Journalism, Education, Explainer, Explainers, Fitness, Food, Health, Medical, NHS, Obesity, Sport, youth

The numbers for people who are obese in the UK again saw a record high in 2019; it is the fourth consecutive year that a new national record was set. Around 20 percent of UK's school children aged 8 to 11 are obese, according to the NHS’s National Child Measurement Programme. In other words, every fifth child is severely overweight. This puts the UK on rank 33 out of 191 surveyed countries (Global Obesity Levels). Obesity in childhood increases the risk of obesity in adulthood and can cause serious illnesses such as Type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. Often, it also triggers mental health issues such as depression or fatigue. Especially now that schools, playgrounds and gyms are closed due to the coronavirus, it is vital to provide a healthy diet and as much

Apr132020 by Editor2No Comments

Five common coronavirus myths: what might you be getting wrong?

Breaking News, Covid-19, Explainer, Explainers, Health

Illustration: Veronica Sofia Nitu These past few weeks you’ve probably been overwhelmed by pretty scary images and reports about the ongoing pandemic, so I totally wouldn’t blame you if you never wanted to hear the word “coronavirus” again. But there is a lot of misinformation out there and it’s important to know how to spot it. I’m sure you’ve noticed that newspapers and media outlets have played a big part in how people have been reacting to what’s been going on in the world. False information has always been a big problem, but in this case it can literally mean the difference between life and death, so you need to be careful about what sources you trust. There have been a lot of claims about what you can do to keep yourself safe, and it’s useful to have a look at these mis

Dec162019 by Editor2No Comments

PM Johnson assures Brexit deal by 31 January next year

Breaking News, brexit, Politics, UK news

After a historic landslide win, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reiterated his Brexit promise and stated that Britain will retain control of their trade, money and borders. There is minimal doubt that the British PM will face any obstacle to pave a way for Britain’s exit after securing a majority in the elections. Credit: Sera Mathews Following a crushing election victory on Friday, Mr Johnson assured his Conservative backers that the UK would exit the European Union by the end of January 2020. The win was a “powerful new mandate to get Brexit done” Mr Johnson said at his victor’s speech on Friday. Deputy director general of the CBI, Josh Hardie, embraced the hope of an end to the three-year issue because “a government with a mandate and a strong majority brings a bit more c

Dec132019 by Martine RyholtNo Comments

Stunt casting: The death of the British actor?

Culture, Entertainment, Instagram, London, Social media, Theatre

Miranda Hart in 'Annie', Joe Sugg and Ashley Roberts in 'Waitress', David Hasselhoff in '9 to 5' and soon Jake Gyllenhaal in 'Sunday in the Park with George'. British theatre is filled to the brim with famous names and celebrity casting, so what does that mean for the profession and the people invested in it? Stunt casting has become a common occurrence in the UK and referees to a practice where the casting of a role is used to generate media attention. Investing in shows based on already successful books and movies and hiring big names to create and star in them has proven a receipe for sucess. The West End earned an estimated 765 million pounds in box office revue last year, but is this way of casting giving unknown actors a fair chance? Casting based on social media presence Earlier

Dec92019 by Beth KeeleyNo Comments

Free counter-terror training course available to the public

Breaking News, Education, Explainers, London, News, ReportingWeek2

The counter terrorism police are now offering free online training to the public on how to respond to a terror attack. The award-winning online training course is being made available publicly for the first time and has been put together by Counter Terrorism officials. It is available free of charge for anyone who wants to take part. The training is made up of seven modules that take a few minutes each to complete. The following e-modules are available as part of the course: Introduction to Terrorism Identifying Security Vulnerabilities How to Identify and Respond to Suspicious Behaviour How to Identify and Deal with a Suspicious Item What to do in the Event of a Bomb Threat How to Respond to a Firearms or Weapons Attack Summary and Supporting Materials