In a special immersive feature, Birmingham Eastside looks into sexual assault on campus in Midlands universities – and why levels of reporting are so low.
Author: Sania Aziz
Muslims in the UK are expected to fast for around 18 hours this Ramadan, with the Suhoor – pre-dawn meal – time ending before 3 AM at the end of Ramadan. At the same time, Iftaar – the meal taken after breaking the fast – times will be much later, going past 9:30 pm in many places. Suhoor and Iftaar times will differ from region to region, and city to city, so Muslims will be looking at the timetables provided by their local mosques to know when they should start and end their fasts. What should Muslims eat when…
The month of Ramadan is set to begin this week, with as many as three million adherents of the Islamic faith fasting this year. Ramadan is a holy month of Islam where Muslims all around the world abstain from food, drink, and sexual activity during fasting hours. It is a spiritual month where praying, reading the Quran, attending religious gatherings, and empathising with the poor is encouraged. Muslims are also obliged to be more self-disciplined and engage in virtuous deeds. Muslims begin their fast with a small meal which has different names throughout the Islamic world, although the most common…
Air India has confirmed that new flight operations from Birmingham to Amritsar will begin from 20 February this year. The airline announced last year that it will provide two direct flights a week to Amritsar, home of the Golden Temple in the Punjab region of India. This will be the UK’s only direct service to the city. Speaking to Birmingham Eastside, Uday Dholakia, brand ambassador of Birmingham International Airport said, it has been a long concerted effort by the community members, and we are absolutely indebted to Air India and the community for this campaign to be turned into reality. Labour…
Air India has confirmed that new flight operations from Birmingham to Amritsar will begin from 20th February this year. The airline announced last year that it will provide two direct flights a week to Amritsar, home of the Golden Temple in the Punjab region of India. This will be the UK’s only direct service to the city. Speaking to BirminghamEastside, Uday Dholakia, brand ambassador of Birmingham International Airport said: “It has been a long, concerted effort by the community members, and we are absolutely indebted to Air India and the community for this campaign to be turned into reality.” Labour MP…
Talks for making Birmingham’s vehicles more environmentally friendly have begun today at the Birmingham City Council. Speaking at the Council meeting today, Councillor Stewart Stacey discussed the Electric Vehicle (EV) Charge Point Network Development Programme. He suggested that electric charging points be made available to not only taxis and hire cars but also to the general public. The talks come after the government published a report on tackling nitrogen dioxide concentrations in cities and towns across the United Kingdom in July 2017. Clean Streets, Recycling and Environment councillor Lisa Trickett had this to say about imposing charges on cars that do not comply…
Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in Birmingham are spending a lot more on branded drugs where they could possibly prescribe cheaper alternatives. This is according to OpenPrescribing’s data on Sandwell and West Biringham CCG, Birmingham South Central CCG, and Birmingham CrossCity CCG. The data suggests that the CCGs could have made possible savings of £430,000 on high-cost drugs in the last 6 months. If these CCGs had followed the best prescribing policies, they could have saved £600,000 on such prescriptions. OpenPrescribing also suggests that generic drugs are not only significantly cheaper but also equally effective as compared to the expensive branded ones. How else…
The West Midlands saw the largest percentage growth from overseas visitors in England in 2017, latest figures from VisitBritain show. These figures do not include the data for the months of October, November, and December. According to the British tourist agency, the visitor percentage growth in the West Midlands stood at 9.93%, surpassing the national average of 6.84%. The region received 1.78 million visits from people all over the world, with the highest number of Polish residents visiting the region for business purposes. Regionally, Scotland had the highest percentage growth at 14.31% while Northern Ireland stood at 8.62%
A Birmingham NHS trust has paid out over £90 million towards compensation in the last five years, with around £20 million being paid out last year alone. Data from the BBC Shared Data Unit shows that the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust had paid £12 million in damages in 2013, out of which over £1 million were related to maternity costs only. This includes payments made before and after 1995. Nationally, The Heart of England NHS Foundation has one of the highest amounts paid towards medical negligence, while Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust paid…
Councillors and businessmen mobilised Monday to ensure the safety of hundreds of jobs across the West Midlands after the collapse of construction giant Carillion. The Black Country Chamber of Commerce announced it was setting up a task force to help local employees, suppliers, and contractors. Wolverhampton City Council meanwhile said they were in talks with West Midlands Mayor Andy Street to handle the situation. Nationally, the Cabinet Office said it would guarantee salaries of people working on Carillion projects across the country and urged them to turn up to work as normal. But there were growing calls from opposition MPs and…