DES ABEND NEWS

Streaming platform Netflix has announced an updated tiered membership system in an attempt to combat falling subscriber numbers over the last year. Credit: chromegeek.com. By:  Sam Feierabend. The company claim that the main reason driving a loss of memberships is the ability to share account details with multiple people and devices. This means families and couples can split the cost of a monthly subscription. Currently, people are paying £6.99 a month for the service, and within that each person that holds the account details can create their own profile. Within this you can create your own watchlists and recommendations. As people move away from families, or even break up as a couple, a lot are seeing their accounts stay with them with no worry of having to shell out for a separate membership. This is what Netflix are aiming to clamp down on. Starting in November, a whole new membership structure will be in place. The initiative has been trialled in South America over the...

Since the COVID pandemic began, over 93,000 pupils have vanished from the school register. These so-called “ghost children” were investigated last month after going under the radar for nearly two years. The cost-of-living crisis will only make this worse. Credit: Schools Week. By:  Derry Salter. Over 1,000 schools in disadvantaged areas have an entire class of children missing; with the academic year only one month in, the number is predicted to rise. School Standards Minister Will Quince admitted that work needs to be done in order to get children back in school. Children missing school is not being treated as a priority however, but more as a money-making scheme. Fines for missing school begin at £60, but can rise if they are not paid on time – something many disadvantaged families cannot do, especially during the cost-of-living crisis. Last year, more than 100,000 children missed over half of the autumn term. With the economy crippling, children from disadvantaged areas are ...

The latest YouGov poll on voting intention has shown Labour to be 33 points ahead of the Conservative party in the wake of the mini-budget announcement last week. The lead is the highest ever recorded by a political party in a published poll since the late 1990s. Credit: trendradars.com By:  Sam Feierabend. If an election was held tomorrow, the forecast would be 54% of vote share for Labour and just 21% for Conservative. Even more damning for the Tories, is that of those who voted for the party in 2019, less than two fifths would now vote the same way. 17% would swing to Labour which in historical comparison, is far higher than the 5% swing that was seen the last time Labour were leading the polls. One estimate shows that the Conservatives would lose a whopping 304 seats in an imminent election, leaving them with just 61, their lowest ever. Labour would win an extra 296 seats, putting them in control of 498 constituencies, another new record. While it is always naïve to take th...

Violent crime has dominated Haiti for over a year since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. His successor acting President Ariel Henry has been criticised by his people for doing very little to combat Haiti’s criminal gangs. Between January to May this year, at least 780 people have been killed in the country.   Credit: BBC News. By: Derry Salter. On 29 April, gang members seized a Dominican diplomat, Carlos Guillén, whilst he was at the Dominican embassy in Port-au-Prince. The Dominican Republic urged Haiti to do everything possible to ensure the safe release of its diplomat. Luckily, the diplomat was freed only four days later.   The 400 Mawozo gang was thought to be behind the kidnapping and are infamous for demanding high ransoms after kidnapping foreigners. In October 2021, the gang abducted 16 US citizens who were part of the NGO Christian Aid Ministries and demanded a ransom of $1 million each. The east of the country’s capital, the Croix-d...

The ongoing cost of living crisis has started to trickle down to the lower reaches of the footballing pyramid. Some clubs are being pushed to the brink of their finances, while others are searching for solutions to cut costs to run day to day activities. Photo: jooin.com.  By: Sam Feierabend. Britain’s energy regulator in the past weeks has announced price hikes to bills in the coming months, but unlike domestic consumers, there is no price cap on businesses like pubs or football clubs. This means sky-high prices for places that have not got the financial turnover to sustainably last them for the future. One pub was seen on social media sharing their energy bill forecast for the next 12 months as £64,000; an increase from £6,000. For football clubs, especially those at the lower end of the professional game, costs are piling up, and with the cold winter months setting in, using heat and light is crucial to the everyday running of the clubs. This can be coupled with the fact tha...

The world’s second largest cinema chain, Cineworld, has announced that it is considering filing for bankruptcy in the US. Photo: dcm.com. By: Sam Feierabend. The move comes after the company accumulated up to $4 billion in debts over the coronavirus pandemic. They have assured cinemagoers and staff that, for the meantime, cinemas will be operating as normal and staff will still be employed while attempts are made to balance the books. They employ 45,000 people globally, including 5,000 in the UK. The chain has struggled with not experiencing a quick enough recovery since lockdown easings, this being coupled with a failed takeover of Canadian chain Cineplex leaves $1 billion owed to the company. Their debts may also be attributed to the decline in the cinema industry on the whole. People are being priced out of watching movies at the cinema, with companies such as Odeon charging upwards of £12 for a single adult ticket. In comparison, streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ a...

Following disruption last month due to strikes from railway workers, a further round of strikes will take place next week (19   August) causing more chaos in the height of the summer holidays.   Credit: The Express . By: Sam Feierabend. Members of the RMT Union will take part in a 24 hour walkout with up to 10,000 London Underground workers expected to be involved. Tube workers are striking over disputes about their pensions, prompted by Transport for London’s (TFL) refusal to share details of a draft government proposal for funding the transport system. The funding deal has been drafted in response to Covid-19 leaving an economic black hole in the transport industry – the union are demanding that assurances are made about jobs, no detrimental changes to pension or changes in working conditions. The Underground strikes sit in between a further two days of National Rail strikes which are expected to cause even more disruption to a summer of travel turmoil; holidaymakers and f...

  The ongoing cost of living crisis in the UK has plunged millions into financial obscurity. For some however, the most recent development will hit hardest; McDonald’s are putting up the prices of their cheeseburgers. Credit - inkl.com By: Sam Feierabend. The global fast-food chain sent out a statement with the harrowing news that, for the first time in 14 years, the price of the famous 99p cheeseburger will increase to £1.19 – a 20% increase. Their CEO has stated that, despite the restaurant’s commitment to providing food for good value, nothing can escape the increasing pressures on price that the world is facing. It is worth noting that not all prices are changing, and the increases vary from restaurant to restaurant – only the items most affected by inflation will see change. This comes after multiple companies have increased prices over the past few months. Unilever, the company who own brands such as Marmite and Ben and Jerry’s, announced price hikes of up to 11.2% while ...