SNP crippling Scottish businesses by not bringing in rates relief, say Tories
Scottish Tory deputy leader Meghan Gallacher made the claim during a campaign trip to the Scottish Borders on Monday. Source link
All posts tagged: Crippling
Crippling mortgages and £16 olive oil: how much have UK prices risen in the past two years? | UK cost of living crisis
Two years ago, a two-litre bottle of supermarket olive oil cost about £7. Step into your local branch today and that same bottle will set you back more than £16. Grab a packet of pasta, or some broccoli, and you will pay 95% and 50% more, respectively, than in 2022. If your car insurance renewal is due, that will be an extra 35%-50%. The Russian invasion of Ukraine almost 26 months ago set off a chain reaction that caused energy and food bills to jump, and ultimately sent inflation in the UK spiralling, reaching a peak of 11.1% in October 2022, the highest rate in 41 years. On Wednesday, the Office for National Statistics will reveal the inflation figures for March. While consumer price inflation is expected to continue to fall, following February’s 3.8% figure, shoppers (and prime ministers) may have to wait a further month to see a more substantial decrease. Even as inflation slows, it has taken a toll on our budgets. Analysis by the Observer shows British households are now spending between …
Thousands face crippling tax demands from HMRC. Two who tried to take their own lives speak out
Storyful 7-Year-Old Discovers Sapphire Worth Thousands A seven-year-old boy from Queensland went viral recently, after he found a sapphire estimated to be worth up to AU$10,000 ($6,500) near his Rubyvale home, just two years after his father made headlines with a similar find.Gem hunter Matthew Betteridge recorded the moment his son Riley ran to him to show him the apple had not fallen far from the tree.“Dad, I think I found a sapphire,” Riley can be heard saying before handing it to his father, who examines it with his lamp.“Look at that! Beautiful, mate,” the proud father says.Betteridge, whose family business specializes in ethical hand mining, said the “stunner” would make a “huge gem, potentially worth thousands”. Credit: Matthew Betteridge via Storyful Source link
Thousands face crippling tax demands from HMRC. Two who tried to take their own lives speak out | Politics News
Tens of thousands of people are facing crippling tax demands from HMRC for tax their employers failed to pay. It’s an injustice that has been compared with the Horizon scandal. At least 23 victims have taken – or attempted to take – their own lives. For the first time, two of those who tried to end their lives have shared their story with Sky News. This story contains references to suicide that readers may find distressing. “I went for a drink. And I don’t remember – I know why I did it – but I don’t remember making the decision to do it. “The next thing I truly remember is waking up in St Thomas’ Hospital with a dislocated shoulder and blood all over my face. Because I stepped in front of a minicab.” In the depths of his depression, this felt like the most sensible decision in the world to Mark*. For several years, he had been receiving letters from HMRC demanding he pay tax that his employers failed to pay. The sums were …
Experimental brain pacemaker successfully treats woman with crippling depression
Emily Hollenbeck, a deep brain stimulation therapy patient, demonstrates an EEG device that records brain activity as she reacts to short videos at Mount Sinai’s “Q-Lab” in New York. (CREDIT: AP Photo/Mary Conlon) Emily Hollenbeck, burdened by a profound and recurrent depression akin to being trapped in a gravitational black hole, sought refuge from the looming threat of hereditary suicide by exploring an unconventional therapy. As first reported by the Associated Press, her desperate journey led her to consider deep brain stimulation (DBS), an experimental treatment showing promise for individuals enduring treatment-resistant depression, a condition afflicting nearly 3 million Americans. DBS, sanctioned for Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy, has instilled hope among both medical professionals and sufferers of depression for its potential expansion in treating this debilitating condition. Administered through electrodes implanted in specific brain regions, DBS delivers targeted electrical impulses akin to a pacemaker for the brain. Despite encountering setbacks, including studies indicating no discernible advantage for DBS in depression, ongoing research and expedited FDA reviews underscore its potential significance. Hollenbeck, a participant in Mount …
Miley Cyrus’ mom Tish confesses to ‘crippling breakdown’ over Billy Ray Cyrus divorce, declares she’s ‘so happy’ with new husband
Miley Cyrus’ mom Tish Cyrus is reflecting on the heartbreak and hardships she endured in the midst of her divorce, but also the place of total happiness she is in now. The manager and producer, 56, was married to the “Flowers” singer’s dad Billy Ray Cyrus from 1993 to 2022, and their relationship was full of ups and downs. In their three decades together, they welcomed, in addition to Miley, 31, kids Braison, 29, and Noah, 24, plus the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer adopted his ex-wife’s kids Brandi, 36, and Trace, 34, from a previous relationship. The Hannah Montana actor, 62, has since married Firerose, 34, in 2023, while Tish married Prison Break actor Dominic Purcell, 53, also in 2023. WATCH: Miley Cyrus wins her first two Grammys ever Recently speaking with People, Tish candidly opened up about the terrifying feelings that came with her divorce, confessing: “When I literally was going through my divorce and trying to make that decision of stepping out of a 30-year marriage, I was terrified mostly,” to which her …
Nottingham attacks: Victims’ families describe ‘crippling’ grief after ‘unbelievably savage’ killings | UK News
The families of three people who were stabbed to death in Nottingham have told a court of the “crippling” grief they have felt after losing their loved ones. Two 19-year-old university students, Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, and 65-year-old school caretaker Ian Coates were “deliberately and mercilessly” killed by 32-year-old Valdo Calocane on 13 June last year. Calocane, also known as Adam Medes, denied three counts of murder but admitted three counts of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility in November 2023, which the Crown Prosecution accepted on Tuesday. In impact statements read aloud to Nottingham Crown Court, Mr Webber’s parents, Ms O’Malley-Kumar’s parents and her younger brother, and Mr Coates’s son spoke of the effect Calocane’s crimes have had on their lives. Read more: Nottingham attacks victim a ‘hero’, say family David Webber, Mr Webber’s father, said the “waves” of pain he has experienced since his eldest son’s death have been “crippling” as he branded Calocane a “monster”. Image: Valdo Calocane was branded a ‘monster’ and a ‘despicable killer’ “Barnaby was a vibrant, …
Crippling Winter Puts Nearly 100,000 Children At Risk in Quake-Hit Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD — The United Nations has called for increased humanitarian aid to help tens of thousands of children in western Afghanistan who are suffering in life-threatening winter conditions in the aftermath of a string of devastating earthquakes last October. The U.N. Children’s Fund, UNICEF, issued the warning Monday, 100 days after repeated earthquakes struck the impoverished country’s western Herat and surrounding provinces. The de facto Taliban government and aid agencies estimated the disasters last October killed more than 1,000 people, primarily women and children, and destroyed 21,000 homes, with countless families losing livelihoods, livestock, and crops. “Three months on, the impact of Herat’s earthquakes lingers, with many families still living in tents or sleeping in the open despite the biting cold,” UNICEF stated. It added that the crippling winter gripping Afghanistan, including the earthquake-affected Herat region, is threatening lives and slowing efforts to rebuild. “Children are still trying to cope with the loss and trauma. Schools and health centers, which children depend upon, are damaged beyond repair or destroyed completely,” said Fran Equiza, UNICEF country …