Maryam Qaiser

Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice, which supports Sophie Charles and her family, faces a planned £1 million deficit and daily running costs of about £20,000. The hospice receives only a fraction of its funding from government, while rising energy and National Insurance costs and the cost-of-living crisis are reducing charitable donations. Sophie’s family says the hospice provides crucial clinical, emotional and practical support for her severe STXBP1-related condition, and its loss would be devastating. Hospice leaders are calling for children's palliative care to be included in Andy Burnham’s planned social care reforms, warning that closures would increase hospital pressure and leave families without adequate end-of-life and bereavement support.

The Fasi family, among roughly 100 Syrian refugees settled on the Isle of Bute a decade ago, have built a lasting life and businesses in the island community. Zakarya Fasi runs a barbershop, while his son Yahya owns a café and plays football, and the family has formed strong relationships with local residents. Abdul Fasi and Abbie Cameron, who met at school after the family arrived, are now engaged. Despite early hostility and negative media coverage, local supporters helped the family learn English and settle in, while the Fasis contributed through work, volunteering and community participation. Their experience illustrates how belonging and Scottish identity can develop through relationships, effort and shared life rather than birthplace.

Single parents in the UK report widespread discrimination in the private rental market, including denied viewings, higher deposits, intrusive questioning and rejection of benefits or child maintenance as income. A Single Parent Rights survey found that 65% of 412 respondents experienced discrimination, while campaigners cited gaps between rents and Local Housing Allowance, the Benefit Cap and a shortage of social housing as drivers of homelessness. First-hand accounts describe eviction threats, temporary homelessness, reliance on family and severe financial and health pressures. The government says the Renters’ Rights Act bans discrimination against single parents, allows fines of up to £7,000 and is accompanied by increased housing support and a £39 billion social and affordable housing investment, but campaigners argue that stronger enforcement and higher allowances are still needed.

Three refugees who fled Uganda, Zimbabwe and Ukraine describe treasured objects that preserve links to their former homes and recount how they rebuilt their lives in Britain. Alice Mpofu-Coles became Reading’s first Black mayor after overcoming hardship and now campaigns against poverty and discrimination. Ukrainian professor and former mayor Ruslan Panchyshyn served in Ukraine’s armed forces, later established a community organization and blood-donation initiative in the UK, and continues academic work. Pritesh Pattni, who fled Idi Amin’s Uganda as a child, built a career and business in Birmingham and founded a charity supporting sports, education and young people. Their stories emphasize resilience, gratitude toward the UK and sustained contributions to local communities.

The Million Acts of Hope campaign is bringing together charities, community groups and faith organisations across the UK to celebrate acts of kindness and solidarity. The article highlights people and groups in Bradford, Birmingham, Hatfield, Cardiff and Greater Manchester who provide food, companionship, language support, inclusive cycling, disability services and emotional care. Their stories show how locally rooted initiatives help people facing poverty, bereavement, illness, isolation and integration challenges, reinforcing the campaign’s message that community connection can counter the perception that hatred is louder than hope.

Police officer Saara Nawaz describes surviving physical, emotional and coercive domestic abuse before joining Nottinghamshire Police to support others. Her testimony highlights why victims may feel trapped and remain silent, while urging survivors to seek help and report abuse. The account comes as a National Police Chiefs’ Council report records 347 domestic abuse-related deaths in the previous year, Refuge warns of epidemic levels, and Jess Phillips resigns from Keir Starmer’s government amid criticism over the slow pace of action on violence against women and girls.

Reform UK won all nine Tamworth Borough Council seats contested in the local elections, becoming the main opposition while Labour remained the largest party overall. Interviews with residents and local business owners found that immigration, asylum accommodation, taxation, the economy and dissatisfaction with national government were major reasons some former Labour or first-time voters chose Reform. Other residents criticised the party’s immigration-focused rhetoric, questioned its experience and expressed concerns about its impact on the town and the future. Local priorities also included repairing potholes, revitalising the town centre, improving policing and addressing pressure on the NHS. The results leave Labour with two years to demonstrate that it can improve conditions in Tamworth before the next general election.

Magic Breakfast is calling for free breakfast provision to be extended from primary schools to teenagers, arguing that hunger affects health, wellbeing, educational performance, social inclusion and community outcomes beyond age 11. At E-ACT Willenhall Academy in Walsall, around 400 pupils use a breakfast club each morning, with staff reporting improved concentration, behaviour, attendance and student relationships. The campaign comes as the Labour government expands free school meals, introduces healthier food standards and rolls out 500 additional primary-school breakfast clubs. The Department for Education says secondary schools in the National School Breakfast Programme will receive grant support next academic year, but Magic Breakfast wants a firm long-term commitment so no secondary pupil starts the new term hungry.

Millions of UK residents who have migrated to the country cannot vote in general elections, while more than a million are excluded from every election because of nationality-based rules. Migrant residents describe being turned away from polling stations despite working, paying taxes and living in their communities. Campaigners argue that the missing votes could affect closely contested constituencies, while Scotland and Wales already provide broader residence-based voting rights in local and devolved elections. The article backs the Votes for All campaign and criticizes proposals from Nigel Farage and Gavin Williamson to further restrict voting rights, including those of Commonwealth citizens.

Maryam Qaiser describes Ramadan as physically demanding and sometimes isolating while working and fasting in a predominantly non-Muslim environment. She highlights the growing popularity of Open Iftars, which bring Muslims and non-Muslims together to break the fast, pray and share food. At an event hosted by Notts County Foundation and Mercy for All at Meadow Lane, attendees from diverse backgrounds gathered, funds were raised for charity, and organizers emphasized inclusion, cultural understanding and community unity.

The People's Kitchen in Newcastle is marking its 40th anniversary after being founded by Alison Kay in response to the death of a homeless man in freezing weather. What began with Kay distributing coffee has grown into a seven-day operation staffed by 300 volunteers, providing more than 1,000 meals a week alongside showers, clothing, toiletries, phone charging and friendship. Demand has expanded from primarily homeless men to families, workers unable to afford food and people facing housing insecurity, reflecting worsening poverty and homelessness in Newcastle. Kay's daughter Ailie says the continuing need is heartbreaking, but the charity's volunteers and supporters have created a lasting lifeline for hundreds of people.

Ramadan 2026 is expected to begin in the UK on the evening of February 17 or 18, depending on the sighting of the moon, and will last 29 or 30 days. The explainer covers fasting practices, exemptions, Suhoor, Iftar, Taraweeh prayers, Laylatul Qadr and the spiritual and charitable significance of the month. Eid-ul-Fitr is expected to begin on March 19 or 20 and will be celebrated for three days.

Three Holocaust survivors—John Fieldsend, John Hajdu and Peter Summerfield—describe how cherished childhood possessions survived Nazi persecution, war and displacement. Fieldsend preserved a farewell letter from his parents, who were deported to a death camp after he escaped through the Kindertransport. Hajdu kept a teddy bear through the Holocaust, the Hungarian ghetto and his later escape after the Soviet occupation of Hungary. Summerfield held onto his teddy bear while fleeing Berlin, losing his family's belongings twice before settling in Britain. Their stories emphasize the personal cost of antisemitism, the importance of preserving survivor testimony and the resilience of refugees rebuilding their lives.

Poppie Chapman, a Suffolk mother, says a 2024 family trip to Disneyland Paris exposed how severely her weight and mobility problems were affecting her: she struggled to walk, could not comfortably use rides and felt she was letting her children down. After joining Slimming World, she lost 5st 9lb in eight months, falling from size 20 to size 6, and says the group's support improved her physical and mental health. She now runs with friends, coaches a girls' football team, works as a special educational needs teaching assistant, studies for a degree and has won Slimming World's Icon 2026 competition.

A budget home gym can be assembled for under £10 using inexpensive equipment and household items, including a roughly £5 yoga mat, resistance bands costing as little as £1.87, 39p two-litre water bottles, tins of food, a sturdy chair, towels, and a wall. The article provides instructions for exercises targeting the core, glutes, hamstrings, arms, shoulders and legs, while emphasizing safe form and the use of a stable, four-legged chair.

Avatar: Fire and Ash has grossed about $1.08 billion worldwide after three weeks, making it James Cameron’s fourth billion-dollar film. The article ranks the ten highest-grossing billion-dollar blockbusters, led by Avatar, Avengers: Endgame and Avatar: The Way of Water, while also highlighting Titanic, Ne Zha 2, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Avengers: Infinity War, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Inside Out 2 and Jurassic World. Film critic Chris Olson attributes the success of Cameron’s films to simple, accessible stories, technical spectacle and renewed interest in 3D, while noting that critics have criticized Fire and Ash for its recycled plot and structural weaknesses.

Eight-year-old Derbyshire gaming creator Spencer Whittenham, known online as Spencer Arcade, recommends 10 family-friendly activities and products for Christmas. His list combines offline games such as the Oreo Roll Challenge and cup matching with gaming-themed LEGO, a retro arcade, headphones, a VR headset, Roblox Robux and other accessories. The piece frames family gaming and offline play as a way to counter concerns that online gaming can encourage social isolation.

BAND, a Bolton project founded by volunteers 30 years ago to combat loneliness, is marking its anniversary while continuing to support more than 100 adults experiencing mental-health challenges and social isolation. The project, now partnered with Family Action, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust and MhIST, provides community activities, hospital visits, crisis support through the Listening Lounge and its Living Well service. Service users describe BAND as lifesaving after domestic abuse, bereavement, substance misuse, autism and hospitalization. The project will remain open over Christmas, serving meals and offering companionship amid widespread seasonal isolation, financial stress and mental-health difficulties.

Judith Leary-Joyce and her husband John increased the value of their Victorian three-bedroom home in St Albans by £90,000 through a deep retrofit. The work included demolishing an inefficient conservatory, adding natural insulation, installing solar panels and fitting a heat pump, reducing annual energy use from 25,500kWh to 6,000kWh and improving the property’s energy rating from D to B. Judith advises homeowners to research retrofit methods, choose suitable insulation and ventilation, carefully vet builders and clarify contracts, costs and insurance before work begins.

Eighty-four-year-old Jan Edis was deceived by a bogus travel company after searching online for business-class flights to visit her daughter in Australia and then travel to Sri Lanka. She paid £5,170 in six bank-transfer instalments after receiving what appeared to be a genuine ATOL certificate, but the tickets never arrived and the company became unreachable. Banks eventually recovered her money, although rebooking cost an additional £500. Edis now books through Trailfinders and is working with Ask Silver to raise awareness. The article highlights warning signs including suspiciously similar web addresses, requests for bank transfers, missing security features and poor company information.

Azra Omerbegovic recalls losing her childhood during the Bosnian War, including discrimination at school, the siege of Sarajevo, deprivation, her father-in-law's torture in detention camps and the killing of her grandmother. She describes the role of Bosnian Serb forces under Ratko Mladic in the violence and reflects on the Srebrenica genocide, in which more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed. Although the Dayton Peace Agreement ended the war, she says its victims continue to live with profound losses and urges opposition to racism, hatred and discrimination.

Six-year-old Tottenham Hotspur fan Arabella Palmer, who is undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, served as a mascot alongside captain Cristian Romero during Spurs’ match against Brentford. At half-time, Arabella and her sisters surprised their father Michael with a video tribute, and club legend Ledley King presented him with a signed shirt. The match was dedicated to Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice, which supports the Palmer family through specialist care, therapies and respite services. The hospice says rising National Insurance costs and limited government funding threaten its ability to plan services, despite a recently announced £80 million allocation for children’s hospices.

Seven-year-old Freddie is in remission after three years of treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, which was diagnosed after he became ill while on holiday in Thailand. He completed his final chemotherapy dose at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital on July 9 and is now home with his parents, Francis and Lizzie, in time to celebrate Christmas without a hospital stay. His father describes the treatment and side effects as brutal, while praising Freddie’s courage and ability to continue attending school. The family is supporting Leukaemia UK’s fundraising for less harsh treatment options for children with the disease.

Family bhangra band Masti, formed by DJ Aamir Rana with his father Amjad and uncle Surinder, has been signed by Kiss Records after its Punjabi-English remix of “Jingle Bells,” titled “Jingle Balle,” went viral across TikTok and international audiences. The track was remixed by Pete Ware and features a tumbi riff from Kulwant Singh Bhamra. Masti, which began performing regularly after a 2023 reunion, has appeared at festivals, weddings and BBC Children in Need, won Best Band at the 2024 UK Bhangra Awards, and will release the new recording through international music channels including B4U and Zee Music.