Global Trade

A new banking hub is set to open in a Kent town.

The hub in Rainham will consist of a counter service operated by Post Office employees, where customers of any bank can withdraw and deposit cash, make bill payments and carry out regular banking transactions.

Cash Access UK, who will deliver the hub, is to consult with the local community over the next few weeks to find a suitable location.

The banks work on a rotating basis, so there will be staff from different banks available on different days, according to Local Democracy Reporting Service.

In addition, there will be private spaces where customers can speak to community bankers from their own bank for more complicated matters that require specialist knowledge or privacy.

Across the UK there are more than 226 banking hubs, with a further 150 planned to open.

The Rainham hub will be the fourth in Kent, with one open in Sheerness and two planned for Dover and Tonbridge.

'Face-to-face'

The move follows a request from Naushabah Khan, MP for Gillingham and Rainham, to Link, the UK's main ATM network.

Ms Khan said: "The closing of NatWest last year removed a key local banking resource, and ever since constituents have consistently told me that Rainham desperately needs more in-person financial services."

Dr Chris Ashton, chief commercial officer of Link, said: "While more people are choosing to bank and pay for things digitally, we know that many people still rely on cash and face-to-face banking."

Community leaders have called for people to stand united as tensions escalate between India and Pakistan following reported military strikes between the two countries.

On Wednesday, Indian forces launched "Operation Sindoor" targeting sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, in retaliation for a deadly militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed at least 26 people on 22 April.

Pakistan denies involvement, but Indian authorities allege attackers included Pakistani nationals.

In the west of England, the impact of the conflict is reverberating on families who are fielding anxious WhatsApp calls. Local leaders are also stepping forward to offer guidance and solidarity.

There is growing concern, not only for relatives overseas, but also over the risk of tensions disrupting the unity between communities in the region.

Bristol Green Party councillor Abdul Malik, who recently returned from his ancestral village in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, said the escalation tension has "caused a lot of grief".

After Wednesday's strikes in Pakistan, a gathering was held at Easton's Jamia Mosque.

"It's so important to give a sense of security to the elders who've lived most of their lives in the UK but still feel so connected to what happens abroad," said Mr Malik.

"This isn't a war about religion. This is a political war about borders. We must not bring hatred to our streets and our homes.

"Bristol has a wonderful Indian and Pakistani community. We've sat together. We've listened. This is the time to stand united – and that's what we intend to do."

"Trying to avoid any conflicts is my main concern," said Pankaj Pandya, one of the trustees of the Hindu Temple in Bristol.

"Hopefully it doesn't escalate, and it doesn't become tit-for-tat leading to an outright war between two nuclear nations.

"Being an Indian myself, it's a concern for not only what is happening between India and Pakistan, but just generally the issues of war throughout the world at the moment."

Local leaders in the west of England are also are urging communities not to spread misinformation online.

"There's a lot of fake information and false news being spread around which doesn't help the situation," said Atiff Ghafar, vice chair of the Swindon Pakistan Association.

"So, we have been telling and encouraging our communities not to share unverified news reports."

Pakistan says 36 people have been killed by Indian air strikes and firing. India says at least 16 people were killed by Pakistani shelling on its side of the de facto border.

"As someone from the Pakistani diaspora, it's quite sad to see that there's tensions between both communities and innocent lives have been lost on both sides of the border," said Mr Ghafar.

"We don't want anything to be spreading across to this part of the world as we have very good cordial and friendly relationships with our Indian diaspora community who have lived with us side by side for a good 50 to 60 years."

A man who punched a man outside a nightclub, leading to his death, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

West Midlands Police said Kejuan Malone, 33, hit 51-year-old Kevin Taylor "multiple times" outside DeCode Lounge, Lichfield Street, Walsall, in the early hours of 7 December last year.

Mr Taylor fell backwards and hit his head on the pavement, later dying from his injuries, said the force.

Malone, from Osprey Close, in Hall Green, Birmingham, is due to be sentenced on 12 May.

Police said both men had been customers at the club that evening and there had been a "verbal exchange" between them outside before the attack.

Officers used CCTV footage of the incident to identify Malone and arrested him two days later.

Weeks later, DeCode had its licence revoked.

Malone pleaded guilty to manslaughter at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday.

Following Mr Taylor's death, his children said: "Dad, you were our hero, a guiding light who taught us love, kindness, and resilience.

"Your generosity and unwavering support touched so many lives, and your memory will forever live in our hearts.

"We love you deeply and will honour your legacy always."

His parents said: "Our beloved son Taisekwa, your kindness and compassion were a blessing to all who knew you.

"You brought joy and pride to our lives, and your selflessness touched hearts far and wide.

"Though you are gone, your legacy of love will forever remain with us.

"We will miss you dearly, our precious child."

Det Insp Dan Jarratt, who led the investigation, said his thoughts were with the victim's family.

"Mr Taylor was enjoying a night out when his life was tragically taken," he said. "Mr Taylor's family have been left devastated by his death, and I just hope this conviction helps just a little as they try to come to terms with what has happened."

Nestled in the South Downs and Cuckmere Valley, it would be easy to miss what is one of the smallest churches in the country.

At about 16ft by 16ft (4.8m by 4.8m), Lullington Good Shepherd Church can host about 20 people at a time, whether they are members of the community, returning visitors or hikers who have stumbled across the site.

Only accessible by foot, the church sits just off a section of the South Downs Way which winds its way through Alfriston and towards the Long Man of Wilmington.

The Reverend Stephen Stuckes, rector of the Cuckmere Churches, said: "It creates its own special spirituality."

He added: "The knowledge and love of this place extends far and wide beyond the immediate community to the many people who find it by reputation or by accident.

"There's something about the scale which makes it extra special. You can only gather here with a limited number of people.

"Somehow that makes it distinctive amongst churches that are often so much larger."

Thought to date back to the 13th Century, it now stands as Sussex's smallest church.

It is thought to be the chancel of a much larger space believed to have been burned down by a fire in the mid-17th Century Cromwellian period.

In the church hangs a bell, believed to date back to the 19th century, and an organ which featured on the 2003 song The Smallest Church in Sussex, by Sea Power.

But, in a countryside church which is more often sound tracked by birdsong and the whistle of the wind, what stands out, according to Rev Stuckes, is the serenity.

He added: "One of my favourite times to come here is when nobody else is around, such as early morning on a spring or summer day.

"You can walk up here and find that you have the place to yourself and sit here in the pure silence of this special place.

"It gives you a sense of your connectedness with this ancient place and a moment to find yourself amongst the singing of the birds and the gentleness of the breeze."

One-hundred-and-fifty London women have learned to sew, thanks to a social enterprise that is geared towards empowering and upskilling women on low household incomes.

Kundakala is currently offering 70 women in four London boroughs – Islington, Camden, Hackney and Lambeth – the opportunity to gain a qualification.

It was founded by Poornima Kirloskar-Saini as a way for women to develop tailoring and enterprise knowledge.

"I thought it would be great to give them some skills so that they could look at saving money, reducing debt, and possibly looking at an avenue of income generation," she explains.

"But what I also realised is that some women from some ethnic minority backgrounds have very fixed traditional roles in the household unit, and the women are the main caregivers, not just for children, but for older members of the family, and the men are the main providers.

"So I thought if I were to upskill them, it would be some kind of skill that they could do at home. So I thought of tailoring".

Her social enterprise runs several programmes, including a "make and mend" course, and a more advanced "alterations and upcycling" class.

"Our main thing was to help them save money and reduce debt. But along the way, we've also had a lot of positive mental health outcomes, social integration, lifelong friendships," says Poornima.

Of the 150 women to have been part of the programme so far, 15 have taken what they've learned and started their own microbusinesses.

Some make products which they can then sell in local markets, or they carry out alterations and repair services.

Others go into offices and workplaces to offer the alteration services, and get paid directly by customers.

"We had the pandemic, then we had the cost of living, crisis, energy bills, so it just helps them feel a bit more comfortable with their financial situation," says Poornima.

As well as being a way to earn an income, the sewing skills have also helped the women reduce their spending, according to Poornima.

"Women from ethnic minority backgrounds normally like to wear ethnic clothes for festivals, and it's really expensive to get those clothes and to alter them, because invariably, if you get them off the shelf, you know the trousers may be too long for your child.

"So anecdotally, the women who've been through our programmes have told me that they've saved hundreds of pounds"

One of those to have been helped by Kundakala is Maggie Oparebea who started a sewing programme two years ago and believes it has really helped her.

"I can do make-up bags and I sell them. I can do repairs," she says.

"People call me [about making alterations] then I can charge them and I have money in my pocket."

Poornima says that her social enterprise is all about putting women on a path of education and empowerment – something she calls her life's work.

"Just getting a skill improves their self-esteem, improves their confidence. Some of the ladies who participate in our programs have had no formal learning, and this sets them on the path to getting more skills, more confidence, and therefore more self-esteem.

"And then they become role models for their kids, their sons and their daughters."

A 12-year-old girl from Guernsey is aiming to complete 100 sea swims in 100 days for a conservation charity.

Alice is raising money for Guernsey Conservation Volunteers by swimming at least 100 metres (328ft) every day as she is "passionate about the natural world and loves Guernsey's environment".

She said she wanted to push herself "even further" after swimming across Havelet Bay for a week last year, raising money for the GSPCA.

Alice, who is 10 days into her swimming challenge, said it had been "a little bit challenging to go from school every day".

She is hoping to raise £500 for the charity.

Alice said she had friends joining her in the water on some days and was swimming alone on others.

She said it was "pretty intimidating" knowing she would have to swim for more than three months.

Alice often swims at the Bathing Pools in St Peter Port but also at beaches around the island such as Cobo Bay.

Two more empty houses could be compulsorily purchased by City of Wolverhampton Council, as part of its scheme to turn long-term unoccupied properties into family homes.

The homes on Warstones Drive and Hadley Road have been vacant for a number of years, and the authority's cabinet is being asked to approve the potential purchases at a meeting on Wednesday.

In March, the authority said it had taken over more than 300 homes over five years to be sold or rented, many of which had been empty for many years.

The council buys the properties and refurbishes them, before selling them on and putting the money back into the scheme.

Both of the latest properties are semi-detached, with the one on Hadley Road being empty since August 2018 and the house on Warstones Drive vacant since January 2021.

Before considering compulsory purchase, housing improvement officers work with owners to encourage them to carry out any required work and get them occupied again, the council said.

Through the strategy, the authority stated it wanted to prevent properties becoming "a blight on their neighbourhood" and make them available to be sold or rented.

A coroner has written to the government to determine the owner of a shipwreck where a visitor drowned – so that safety warnings can be put in place.

Raymond Mills, 74, from Milton Keynes, died on 17 August while visiting the SS Vina wreck off the Brancaster coast in Norfolk.

In a prevention of future deaths report (PFDR), Norfolk senior coroner Samantha Goward said a lack of warning signs about tidal dangers – and information about who actually owned the wreck – meant "there was no system to ensure concerns can be raised".

A Department for Transport spokesperson offered condolences to Mr Mills' family, adding: "The department has received the coroner's report and will respond in due course."

An inquest in January found Mr Mills' medical cause of death was ischaemic heart disease and drowning, with the coroner concluding that he died due to an accident caused by underlying natural causes.

Ms Goward's report revealed that Mr Mills went under the water when the tide came in at the wreck, and he was later found unresponsive in the sea by search and rescue teams.

His family told an inquest there were no signs at the site of the shipwreck warning of the tidal dangers.

The coroner has written to Trinity House, the National Trust and Natural England to try and establish who owns the shipwreck and who is responsible for any warning signs.

However, she wrote: "This then triggered a whole series of correspondence, the outcome of which, is that no one seems to know who is responsible for the shipwreck."

On 16 April, HM Coastguard "very helpfully" informed the coroner that the wreck was privately owned when it was requisitioned in World War Two by the Ministry of Defence, "but their records do not show who currently owns it but suggest that the DfT may be able to assist with ownership."

Following her investigation, the coroner said she was "concerned that there is no safe system in place to ensure that an organisation is responsible for the management and safety of such shipwrecks which are accessible by members of the public."

"In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you [and/or your organisation] have the power to take such action," Ms Goward told the DfT.

The department now has to inform the coroner of changes it intends to make, provide a timetable for action or explain why no action is proposed.