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Transfer of medical services from hospital to former Wilko store is improving healthcare access and boosting footfallIt is a revolution that might just save the NHS – and the high street. Imagine being able to have your eyes tested, mole examined or get an appointment with a consultant without going to your local hospital – and maybe fit in some shopping or a cinema visit afterwards.That, increasingly, is what people in Barnsley are doing after an unprecedented relocation of medical services from the district general hospital into a purpose-built outpatients centre in the Alhambra shopping centre, which is getting a new lease of life thanks to the experiment. Continue reading...

• Researchers published the most thorough study of cosmic expansion in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics on April 10, combining decades of research to derive the most precise Hubble constant yet while confirming that tension between early and late-universe measurements persists. • The study, launched at an International Space Science Institute Breakthrough Workshop in Bern, Switzerland in March 2025, expanded the cosmic distance ladder into a comprehensive survey called the Local Distance Network, achieving a goal considered 'potentially unreachable' a decade ago. • Study co-author Richard Anderson from the University of Göttingen stated that the Hubble tension reveals that 'something's missing' in the current understanding of basic physics on cosmological scales.

Late-night gallery tours and new venues signal a city staking its claim as a regional arts capitalOn a recent weekday evening, the doors of more than a dozen galleries and museums across Abidjan stayed open till midnight, several hours later than usual, as art enthusiasts went around town on a bus tour. It was the Night of the Galleries, designed for people to drop in after work and enjoy Abidjan art week to the fullest.The after-hours special showcase was first tested in January 2024 on the sidelines of the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament hosted and won by Côte d’Ivoire. The tradition continued this year during the art week’s third edition, which ran from last Tuesday to Sunday. Continue reading...

• Kaseya opened a new R&D hub in Silicon Valley on April 8, 2026, aimed at accelerating AI innovation in IT management and cybersecurity. • The facility targets attracting top AI talent to enhance automation solutions for managed service providers across the US. • This expansion responds to growing demand for AI-powered tools amid rising cybersecurity threats in the tech sector.

• Microsoft's GitHub is seeing booming traffic and frequent outages as developers deploy AI agents to generate massive volumes of code beyond human capacity. • Companies like Meta are hosting 'tokenmaxxing' contests, intensifying AI agent usage on the platform and straining infrastructure. • This surge reflects the rapid adoption of AI in software development, highlighting both productivity gains and operational challenges for major platforms.

Announcement of eight young futures hubs made as concerns grow over the number of knives on the streetsEight young futures youth hubs aimed at giving young people support towards work and away from street crime are to open across England, ministers have announced.The youth centres are supposed to help people aged up to 18 with employment advice, health and wellbeing, and are also aimed at preventing them from falling into a life of crime. Continue reading...

• Türkiye positions itself at the center of diplomatic initiatives and alternative energy transit routes as U.S.-Israel-Iran hostilities enter their second month. • Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan conducted intense phone diplomacy and Gulf trips, coordinating with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan on ceasefire frameworks. • Ankara prioritizes preventing escalation, staying outside direct hostilities while warning against conflict expansion amid surging global oil prices.

• US President Donald Trump threatened Monday to destroy Iran's Kharg Island crude oil export hub, along with oil wells and power plants, unless Tehran quickly accepts a deal to end the US-Israeli war. • The threat of potential US ground operations to seize Kharg Island is creating significant tremors through financial and energy markets, as well as raising concerns among neighbouring Gulf countries. • Trump expressed hope about talks with a "more reasonable regime" in Tehran on his Truth Social network, an apparent reference to new leadership despite the month-long war failing to dislodge the Islamic Republic.

City Property, which manages buildings for council, accused of ‘coercive and unfair’ increases and issuing eviction noticesTenants at one of Glasgow’s leading cultural hubs are battling what they describe as “unsustainable” rent increases, with critics describing the landlord responsible as a “rogue agency” imposing similar rises on vulnerable organisations across the city.With tenants expected to sign new leases or receive notices to quit this week, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the offices of City Property last Friday. The demonstration reflects growing concern about the conduct and accountability of the arm’s-length organisation that manages hundreds of buildings on behalf of Glasgow city council. Continue reading...

European parliament votes in favour of sending refused asylum seekers to offshore hubs, in ‘historic setback for refugee rights’People with no right to stay in the EU could be detained for up to two years or sent to offshore centres described by experts as possible “human rights black holes” under plans voted for by the European parliament on Thursday.An alliance of mostly centre-right and far-right lawmakers voted for a proposal to increase returns of undocumented migrants to their home countries, in a further sign of strain on the grand coalition of centrist political forces that has traditionally driven EU lawmaking. Continue reading...

• The State Department announced a new Bureau of Disaster and Humanitarian Response with 12 regional hubs to coordinate emergency aid, replacing functions of the dismantled USAID. • Hubs will be located in Miami, Bogota, Guatemala City, Santo Domingo, Kyiv, Amman, Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Dakar, Bangkok, Dhaka, and Manila, with 200 staffers based in Washington. • The move follows Trump administration cuts to foreign aid, especially climate and social justice programs, amid criticism from aid organizations, though a $2 billion UN contribution was made last year.

• Iran hit Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City energy hub with missiles on March 18, 2026, causing extensive damage to QatarEnergy facilities. • Tehran also fired four ballistic missiles at Riyadh and attempted a drone attack on a Saudi gas facility, both intercepted by Saudi defenses. • The attacks mark a major escalation in the US-Israel-Iran war, driving oil prices higher and disrupting global supplies.

• US stock futures fell in early Monday trading on March 16, 2026, while oil prices gained amid supply fears following a US military strike on Iran's Kharg Island, the country's main oil export terminal. • The S&P 500 dropped 1.6% last week to close at 6,632.19, marking its third straight weekly decline, with the Dow down 2% and Nasdaq off 1.3% due to geopolitical tensions and soaring oil. • Escalation risks persist as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, threatening prolonged supply disruptions and potential oil prices up to $200 per barrel in 2026, impacting global markets and commodities.

In comments to NBC News, US presidents also deflates hope of deal with Tehran, saying ‘terms aren’t good enough’Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States may carry out more strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub “just for fun”, saying that while Tehran appears ready to make a deal to end the conflict, “the terms aren’t good enough yet”.He said the US strikes had “totally demolished” most of Kharg Island, telling NBC News that “we may hit it a few more times just for fun.” Continue reading...