Jan. 1, 2025 /Mpelembe Media/ — Patricia Green Rodgers’ article details her journey from aspiring artist to social entrepreneur, highlighting the pivotal role her artistic background played in shaping her career and her focus on empowering women. Here’s a summary of the key takeaways: Continue reading
Craig Robertson, University of Oxford
When Elon Musk took over Twitter and changed its name to X, many users vowed to move to another platform. First was talk of a shift to Mastodon that never seemed to catch on. Then Meta tried to make Threads appealing by linking the app to Instagram – but this hasn’t had much cut-through either.
Takao Maruyama, University of Bradford and Vincent Charles, Queen’s University Belfast
The state pension age in the UK is currently 66. Yet 9.5% of people aged 66 and older (1.12 million people) were still working, according to the most recent data from the UK’s Annual Population Survey (July 2023 to June 2024). This figure has been rising over the past decade, increasing from 8.70% (880,000 people) in July 2013 to June 2014.
The number of people who read for fun appears to be steadily dropping. Fifty percent of UK adults say they don’t read regularly (up from 42% in 2015)
and almost one in four young people aged 16-24 say they’ve never been readers, according to research by The Reading Agency.
Michael Bankole, Royal Holloway University of London
Kemi Badenoch has become the first Black leader of a UK-wide political party. But her ascent is unlikely to translate into meaningful gains for Black Britons.
Black music record stores have always been more than just places to buy records. These spaces became lifelines for communities, cultural hubs where people gathered, shared stories and connected over a shared passion for music.
From the early days of the Windrush generation to the present, these stores have been a vital part of the Black cultural experience. For many, they were crucial in shaping not just their musical tastes, but their sense of identity and belonging.
Islamic finance continues to be a significant and growing part of the global financial landscape, with a $3 trillion finance market. It offers alternatives to the mainstream UK financial structure that align with Shari’ah law, including ethical, interest-free finance. Continue reading
This October, Fenwick invites you to step into a world where beauty transcends the ordinary, with the unveiling of its transformed Fenwick Newcastle Beauty Hall. At 26,000 sq ft, this will be the UK’s largest beauty hall outside of London. The newly reimagined space is a testament to Fenwick’s dedication to creating an innovative in-store shopping experience, featuring two new enlarged atriums, 56 foot of facade windows looking out onto Northumberland Street, over 1600 sq ft of terrazzo flooring, and 50-foot-long fragrance bar. Continue reading
Michael Rees, Nottingham Trent University
Conservative MP Kemi Badenoch recently caused controversy by claiming that while she was born to a middle-class family, she “became working class” when working in McDonald’s to earn money while she was in college. In fairness to Badenoch, having a diversity of experience is an admirable attribute for an MP – something you wouldn’t associate with someone like recently deposed Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg for example.
Prologis, Inc. (NYSE: PLD), the global leader in logistics real estate, today hosted its fourth annual GROUNDBREAKERS thought leadership forum in London. GROUNDBREAKERS 2024 featured trailblazers including FedEx Chairman Fred Smith, former UK Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair and Survival Expert Bear Grylls. Continue reading