News in pictures: Wednesday March 19, 2025
Lauren Owen of Monk Park Farm near Thirsk in North Yorkshire cares for Roo the baby wallaby who, for several weeks has been attached to her round the waist to replicate the warmth and security he would have experienced with his mother during his development. Lauren is regularly stopped in the street by friends and family who think she is pregnantTIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JAMES GLOSSOP
Source:The Times
March 19, 2025 12:31 UTC
UK Aims to Cut Billions in Welfare Amid Budget Crunch
Of those, 2.8 million receive long-term sickness payments or related welfare, according to the government, which expects the number to grow to more than four million if nothing is done. The government spent £65 billion on sickness payments last year. But the government insists there is also a strong moral case for helping people off welfare and into the work force. “Many sick and disabled people want to work with the right support,” Ms. Kendall told lawmakers, citing a litany of failings that she said the government had inherited from the previous Conservative government. “One in 10 people of working age now claiming a sickness or disability benefit; almost one million young people not in education, employment or training.
Source:The Times
March 19, 2025 11:06 UTC
Santander UK plans to close 95 branches cutting 750 jobs
Photo- APStay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays. Santander UK's announcement on Wednesday that it plans to shut a fifth of its branch network has raised concerns about the bank's future in the UK. The move, which could result in around 750 job losses consist of the closure of 95 out of 444 branches by June.The bank which has faced speculation over its long-term presence in the UK, will retain 349 branches, including 290 full-service locations and 36 branches with reduced hours. "As a business, we must move with customers and balance our investment across all the places where we interact with them," said the bank. The bank employs approximately 18,000 people.Despite reports in January suggesting that Barclays had explored a potential offer for Santander UK's operations, the parent company reiterated last month that its UK unit remains a key part of its globally diversified business strategy and is not for sale.
Source:The Times
March 19, 2025 10:23 UTC
Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market 2025 | Novo Holdings' $16.5B Catalent Deal, Samsung Biologics' $1.2B CMO Expansion, and GE Healthcare's €132M Ireland Investment Reshaping Global Supply Ch
This acquisition is a blueprint for how future pharma giants will integrate R&D with robust supply chains. This move not only boosts their production capacity but also sets a new standard for CMO partnerships worldwide. This investment reinforces our long-term commitment to meeting the growing demand and strengthening our supply chain. "Eugene Barrett, Site Leader & Managing Director, GE Healthcare Ireland"The expansion of our Cork facility is a major milestone. This expansion will not only drive innovation but also create high-value jobs, strengthening Ireland's position as a leading hub for pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Source:The Times
March 19, 2025 10:08 UTC
Charlotte Tilbury tops Times’ first beauty rich list
UK Newspaper, The Times has published its first survey of the UK’s £27 billion beauty industry, ranking the 30 wealthiest beauty industry leaders via its popular Rich List format. Charlotte Tilbury scooped the number one spot with an estimated £350 million fortune. THE DETAILS Ranked second is Mark and Mo Constantine, the couple behind Lush with an estimated net worth of £249 million while The Fragrance Shop’s Sanjay Vadera came in third with £240 million. Phoebe McDowell, Beauty and Interiors Director, The Sunday Times, comments, “Beauty is big business and this inaugural list demonstrates the power of creativity and innovation in the sector. These entrepreneurs have not only built brands but changed the way we think about hair, make-up and skin care.”
Source:The Times
March 19, 2025 06:03 UTC
Meerut Navy Officer Killed: Wife, lover dismember body, hide it in cement drum in Meerut
Key highlightsSaurabh Rajput, a 35-year-old merchant navy officer, was murdered by his estranged wife, Muskan Rastogi, and her lover, Sahil Shukla alias Mohit, in Meerut. Police discovered the decomposed remains of Saurabh Rajput nearly 15 days after his murder, following reports of a foul smell from his rented apartment. Muskan Rastogi misled Saurabh's family by messaging them from his phone, pretending he was alive while they sought to communicate with him. Both Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla have been arrested and charged with murder and destruction of evidence. Their crime was exposed when the police recovered Saurabh’s body.
Source:The Times
March 19, 2025 05:47 UTC
JD Vance Immigration Effect On UK Economy: 'Growing lazy': JD Vance pokes UK again, says high immigration leading to economic stagnation
That’s not a total happenstance. I think that the connection is very direct. "Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on iron and steel imports from Britain, dragging the UK into his trade war. He has also suggested a 200% tariff on European wine and spirits.Vance insisted that a combination of tariffs, advanced robotics and lower energy costs would help the US rebuild its manufacturing industry. "The Daily Mirror reported that his comments sparked backlash, with critics pointing out that 636 British troops died in Iraq and Afghanistan while fighting alongside the US.
Source:The Times
March 19, 2025 05:32 UTC
Fontaines DC cancel multiple shows after frontman needs urgent medical attention
"We are very grateful for all your support and, with all my heart, I am sorry that I can’t play for you." In February, the band released It's Amazing to Be Young, their first single since releasing their fourth album Romance last summer. "It’s Amazing to Be Young is a song that was written in the presence of a newborn child – Carlos’s child. He added: "The feeling of hope a child can give is profound and moving, especially for young men like us. "So we wanted to declare which side we were on — it really is amazing to be young.
Source:The Times
March 19, 2025 03:43 UTC
Trump’s deals thrive on debt he can’t repay
Deals are my art form. Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. That’s how I get my kicks.”With these words Donald Trump opened his bestselling 1987 book The Art of the Deal. Yes, he claims he wants to annex
Source:The Times
March 19, 2025 01:31 UTC
Bristol author wins £10,000 Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year award for 'sparkling' debut
More infoA Bristol-based debut author has been named the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. Harriet Baker was honoured with the prestigious prize for Rural Hours - hailed as "sparkling" and a "glorious surprise" by judges. It tells the story of the three different women, who were all forever changed by moving to the countryside. Founded in 1991, the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award recognises the best literary work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry by a British or Irish writer aged 35 or under. The other contenders for the award were Moses McKenzie’s sophomore novel Fast by the Horns, debut novelist Scott Preston's The Borrowed Hills and poet Ralf Webb's non-fiction debut Strange Relations.
Source:The Times
March 18, 2025 23:18 UTC
How do you like your killers: deadly or friendly?
LAST week I invited your views on Gillian Ford’s plea to make some of the Killer Su Dokus in the Books section on Saturdays slightly less Deadly, and you enthusiastically took up the invitation. “Please don’t make the Saturday Killer easier. I would have thought that by now most solvers find even the moderate level too easy.” Colin Walls’s objection is not that they are hard, but that they are ugly. “When they first came out we got handcrafted, elegant puzzles with graded progression of the solving process. Now we get puzzles where, mostly, after a few easy numbers you struggle to get the first very hard number, and then the rest is just routine.” Arthur Ray is “hooked on the
Source:The Times
March 18, 2025 23:09 UTC
One in ten people in UK may suffer from long Covid
Nearly one in ten people in England think they could have long Covid, according to analysis of national data. This showed that 4.8 per cent of people report suffering from long Covid, while a further 9.1 per cent believed they may have it but are not sure. Long Covid is a chronic condition induced by Covid-19 infection, with symptoms including fatigue, feeling short of breath, “brain fog”, and heart palpitations. The findings, published in the journal Health Expectations, show the continuing effect of the pandemic on the health of the UK. The illness is keeping tens of thousands of people out of work, impacting economic growth,
Source:The Times
March 18, 2025 20:52 UTC
John “Paddy” Hemingway, Last Surviving Pilot of the Battle of Britain, Dies at 105
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few,” Churchill proclaimed. When John A. Hemingway died in Dublin on Monday at 105 — the Royal Air Force announced his death — he was the last known survivor of the “few,” nearly 3,000 pilots and crew who saved Britain in the early stages of World War II. Mr. Hemingway, who was known as Paddy, piloted Hurricane fighters in the battle, which took place in the skies above Britain between July 10 and Oct. 31, 1940. Hitler had planned a September 1940 invasion of the British Isles, known as Operation Sea Lion. However, the Blitz, Germany’s bombing of London and other British cities, extended into the spring of 1941.
Source:The Times
March 18, 2025 20:00 UTC
New India Cooperative Bank: Depositors to RBI to Revive co-op bank
Thane: An organisation representing depositors of New India Cooperative Bank, hit by alleged embezzlement of Rs 122 crore, have submitted a petition to RBI, seeking immediate measures to revive the bank and end their financial hardships. The New India Cooperative Bank Depositors' Foundation said it suspects that "deeper financial irregularities like undisclosed non-performing assets or additional frauds could be contributing to the crisis". Its president, T N Raghunatha, said many depositors have been unable to meet medical and educational expenses owing to RBI 's restrictions. The petition argued that a Rs 122-crore fraud should not have been severe enough to destabilise a bank with a deposit base of Rs 2,436 crore as of March 2024. pti
Source:The Times
March 18, 2025 19:18 UTC