Rent

Residents held a street party to celebrate a 'neighbour from hell' finally being evicted. Katie Bentley's landlord Phil Withnall spent months desperately trying to get her out of the property, which she rented from P&J Properties. The mum-of-five left the house in Bransholme, Hull, needing £25,000 worth of repairs. There were holes in the walls, smashed up windows, ripped up floorboards and mounds of rubbish in multiple rooms. Mr Withnall eventually got her kicked out through the High Court, Hull Live reports. And she was unpopular with neighbours, who complained about her on a weekly basis for her apparent raucous behaviour and the state of her rented home. Miss Bentley was evicted in March after a lengthy battle with her landlord. Neighbours said they would throw a party if she ever left - and sure enough, today they kept their promise by getting the whole community together for a “Getting Our Street Back Party”. Those in charge of the celebration … [Read more...] about Neighbours throw street party to celebrate ‘tenant from hell’ being evicted

Seven years ago, a new set of contour lines emerged in our understanding of inequality in Britain. The publication of The Pinch by David Willetts has shaped the way we map, measure and articulate inequality: not just in terms of the gap between the rich and the poor, but in terms of the divide between the young and the old. Lord Willetts’ arguments have since become well rehearsed. The baby boomer generation have collectively done much better financially than the generations that came before them. They will have drawn more out of the welfare state than they paid in as a generation; have done exceedingly well out of accelerating house-price growth; and can look forward to a comfortable retirement on generous defined-benefit pensions. But this has come at the expense of the younger generation, which finds itself struggling to even get on the housing ladder, and financially propping up both the welfare state and pensions schemes that the older generation are drawing down on. If … [Read more...] about The Guardian view on generational inequality: a country fit for all ages

This is a historic election, the most important choice voters have faced in decades. The result will determine whether Britain as we know it exists in a generation or whether the union will have splintered beyond repair. It will shape the nation’s economic wellbeing: whether we make countless lives harder by cutting ourselves off from our biggest trading partner or maintain our close relationship with the EU. It will influence the type of society we are: whether the number of children who grow up in abject poverty and the number of people sleeping rough – stains on our collective conscience– will continue to rise. It will decide the sustainability of the world we bequeath to our children and grandchildren. Yet there is no disguising that this is an election of last resort, the product of an unedifying journey through months of parliamentary gridlock. None of the options inspires enthusiasm; the campaign has been underwhelming and uninspiring. But the gloomy sense it … [Read more...] about The Observer view on who to vote for in the general election

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Oscar-winning British actor Helen Mirren has hit out against the “exponential rise in homelessness” as she prepared to sleep out in central London on Saturday as part of a global charity appeal to fight the scourge. FILE PHOTO: Cast member Helen Mirren attends a premiere for the HBO miniseries “Catherine the Great” at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, California, U.S., October 17, 2019. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo Mirren joined Hollywood stars Will Smith and Brian Cox and an estimated 50,000 people in the “World’s Big Sleep Out” event, which takes place in more than 50 cities from New York to Delhi and raises funds for homeless causes. “What’s disturbing, profoundly, to me is the exponential rise in homelessness that I’ve noticed ... in every city in Los Angeles, in New York, in London,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “The line between having a … [Read more...] about Film star Helen Mirren decries ‘disturbing’ global rise in homelessness

Video PlayerClose Mi-26 heavy transport helicopter loaded with machinery files over Abuluoha Village in Butuo County of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Dec. 5, 2019. Nestled in the mountainous area, Abuluoha Village is connected with the outside world with a rugged trail built along a cliff. One way trip needs about 4 hours by walk and goods are transported by horses. To improve the transportation conditions which are believed to hinder the villagers from getting rid of the poverty, local authority decided to build a 3.8-km-long road that will link Weimu Village of Laguo Township with Abuluoha Village in Butuo County of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. As the road construction was carried out, problems came. Large-scale machinery and equipment need to be transported to the construction site. A Mi-26 heavy transport helicopter has been rented since Nov. 30 by the construction unit, Sichuan Road and Bridge (Group) Co., Ltd., to help transport … [Read more...] about Mi-26 heavy transport helicopter used to help transport machinery for road contruction

Union Human Resource Development minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has his hands full. As if the ongoing unrest in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was not enough, discontent has now boiled over in the Delhi University campus with the teachers laying a siege of the vice-chancellor’s office. In the present turmoil in the two campuses, there is one commonality: the utter failure of the two vice-chancellors—Mamidala Jagdeesh Kumar of the JNU and Yogesh Tyagi of the Delhi University—to encourage dialogue. In both the cases, the charge against the establishment is of unilateral decision-making without taking into account the views of the students and the teaching communities. Without going into the merits or demerits of the decisions taken, let’s take a look at what Nishank had to say in the Parliament on the ongoing crises on the two premium education centres of the country. “All administrative and academic decisions, including fee revision, are taken by … [Read more...] about OPINION | Thanks to Inept Vice-chancellors, DU Joins JNU as Discontent Brews in Premier Campuses