The Environment Agency has announced £30 million for Coastal Adaptation Pilots, allocating £18 million to projects in the East Riding of Yorkshire, Norfolk and Suffolk and £12 million to Regional Flood and Coastal Committees; the pilots are due to start in April 2026.
A four-part series called Our Yorkshire Pub Rescue with Jon Richardson will air on More4 in February and follows the community-led restoration of The Plough in Fadmoor, purchased in September 2024 with Community Ownership Fund and local investment.
The British Embassy Tokyo's MUSUBI Initiative has partnered with the Liverpool FC Foundation's 'Leaders of Tomorrow' programme, supported by The Nippon Foundation, to expand youth sport and leadership activities in Japan. The programme uses football clinics, leadership development and community sessions to reach children and local communities.
East Anglia's Children's Hospices' Christmas tree recycling scheme raised around £48,000 and collected a record number of trees across Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.
Newtownbutler's Comhaltas branch will host the 55th Fermanagh Fleadh from May 31 to June 7, and a fundraising all-day trad music session will be held on April 11 at The Old Oak Bar in Enniskillen.
The National Trust has sunk three decommissioned Thames lighters in the Blackwater Estuary and is using up to 8,000 cubic metres of sediment to build a 0.55-hectare island intended as habitat for wading and seabirds.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned a Russian drone attack on a crowded passenger train in Ukraine's Kharkiv region that officials say killed at least five people and injured several. Russia has not commented, and officials reported explosions near the train.
Ulster head coach Richie Murphy welcomed the increased number of Ulster players named in Ireland's initial Six Nations squad, saying it reflects the province's progress; Murphy and his coaching staff recently signed two‑year contract extensions at Ulster.
Proposed rules would require vet practices to publish price lists for common treatments and to state if they are independent or part of a chain, and would introduce official operating licences for all clinics.
Ai Weiwei made a three-week visit to Beijing in December, his first return since 2015 after Chinese authorities returned his passport, and he described the trip as emotionally significant.
