According to figures released in January, there are currently over 216,000 homes in the UK that have been left empty for six months or longer. In England, the number of vacant properties has risen for the first time in a decade. This situation is problematic for a number of reasons, one of these being that empty homes are more likely to be targeted by criminals. Security experts Oaksure note that this makes empty property security more important than ever: “Even...

Boris Johnson became the latest victim of infamous Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus after the duo called pretending to be the new prime minister of Armenia. The Foreign Secretary congratulated the caller on his election success before going on to discuss highly sensitive topics such as UK-Russia relations, the Salisbury poisoning and Syria. According to the latest reports the hoax callers talked to Alan Duncan first, and his private office gave them a number for the Foreign Secretary on his recommendation. After congratulating...

Forex trading is one of the fastest-growing activities for amateur finance enthusiasts who want to make a little extra money. But there are some who seek to take it a step further and can build a lucrative full time career out of their trading activities.   Software developers are never slow to pick up on changing trends, and there is now a wide choice of apps available that facilitate Forex trading on the go. Clearly, getting the right app with...

The pair, both 15, plotted to carry out a 'Columbine'-style massacre' attack

Perhaps one of the most inspiring things about Nora Twomey's Oscar nominated first feature animation The Breadwinner is how female it is in it all its aspects. Adapted from Canadian writer Deborah Ellis’s best selling Young Adult novel of the same name, and executive produced by Angelina Jolie, the film offers one of the most heartening stories you are likely to come across this year, and is further elevated by the simplicity of the means used to tell it. The...

By Mohammad Zaheer I had just begun my O levels when the first bombs dropped on Iraq- the opening salvo of a brutal and unnecessary military campaign that would forever change the world we live in, and not for the better. News coverage and water cooler conversation mainly focused on the chaos and carnage that was being wrought at the time, as everyone slowly became desensitised to news of civilians losing their lives to one atrocity after another. I was...

The rest of the world will move on with or without us. The stupidity of Brexit gives them a laugh, just as we laughed at the Greeks a few years ago. The World will change. What will those changes mean for UK entrepreneurs? Tax Changes VAT is dead, long live BAT. We might be headed out of European VAT, but you can bet the life of your first-born that HM Government will replace VAT with a similar tax on purchases,...

He got his rear end wedged in the seat which is made for toddlers

There are few words in the world of wine that conjure up quite as many adjectives as terroir. These days most labels read like an atlas of descriptive language aimed at setting a scene and creating provenance, but what if you could do away with all that and simply show someone? High against the Andes Mountains in Mendoza sits one of Argentina's jewels: the Remolinos vineyard. Its vintage Bordeaux-style red blend, The Owl & The Dust Devil, is an elegant wine...