Durham space conference to be attended by Florida agency
Florida is home to the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which has seen launches from Elon Musk's SpaceX and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's space company Blue Origin.
Mr Dinsley is the founder of 3S Northumbria, which focuses on sustainability in space."It's really exciting how fast the space sector in our region has grown and how much faster it is likely to grow in the next few years with big organisations now taking a real interest in the area," he said.
All five of the region's universities - Northumbria, Durham, Sunderland, Teesside and Newcastle - are also scheduled to attend the day-long event.Northumbria University's executive director of the research and innovation service management team Jenny Taylor said: "A few years ago, it wouldn't have been the North East that Space Florida was coming to, but I think we have absolute traction now."She said Northumbria's £50m North East Space Skills and Technology Centre would become an important part of the sector's development in the coming years.Teesside University's senior lecturer in aerospace engineering Dr Atma Prakash said Space Florida's involvement offered potential for international collaboration. "It's a real sign of ambition for the North East," Dr Prakash said.
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The Sun
22 minutes ago
- The Sun
Is your new job a scam? How to spot the red flags and avoid losing £1,000s
SCAMMERS are preying on desperate job hunters struggling to find work as unemployment rockets to a four-year high. With figures showing the unemployment rate at 4.7 per cent, those scrambling for work have become prime targets for fraudsters. Criminals are posing as recruiters to trick victims into handing over money or personal financial information. Lloyds Bank has reported a 237 per cent rise in job scams this year, with victims losing £1,420 on average. Mark Sitton, from TPF Recruitment, says: 'The current economic climate and rising unemployment has created the perfect environment for fraudsters to thrive in and carry out job scams.' Blathnaid Corless explains what to look out for . . . HOW THEY GET YOU THERE are lots of different scams to watch out for. You may get an unexpected text, email, call, WhatsApp or message on social media from fake agents offering flexible roles. They come with pay cheques of up to £1,000 a day, says Mark. His company has seen a spike in con artists pretending to be recruiters from the firm. Mark says: 'They will lead the victim through a seemingly legitimate recruitment process, which may include video interviews, requests for references and even fake offer letters, all of which create the illusion of credibility.' To gain your trust, crooks may even pay you a small fee for accepting the job offer. 'However, the real intention is to extract sensitive personal and financial information,' says Mark. Be wary if you are asked for personal details, such as your full name, address, date of birth and copies of your passport or driver's licence, as well as your National Insurance number, which can all be used to commit identity fraud. They may ask for your bank details in order to process your pay, but in reality, they are doing everything they can to get their hands on your cash. Some fake job ads have dodgy links that take you to websites designed to steal your logins or put viruses on your computer, says HSBC head of fraud David Callington. Sophisticated scammers will also create fake websites to draw you into the con. Victims will be shown an 'earnings dashboard' and told to pay a fee to unlock higher-paying tasks, Mark adds. As victims complete more tasks, they will see their 'earnings' rise on the dashboard and will be more inclined to pay in more money to level up to higher-paid tasks — but of course, it is all fake. Similarly, you may be told to sign up for a certain type of crypto wallet, which the fraudsters will secretly have access to. You will be told your pay will be sent to the wallet but that you need to put money into it first before you can do the work tasks. Then the scammers swipe the money. Victims may be asked to pay the company for computers or other tech needed as part of the job. And beware of the 'overpayment trick', David warns. 'Scammers will send you a cheque that is more than your 'salary' and ask you to send the difference back. 'Then their cheque bounces, and you're out of pocket.' THE RED FLAGS THERE are warning signs to watch out for if you have been approached by a recruiter. David Callington says: 'If a job offer seems too good to be true, pays higher than expected for little effort, asks for money upfront, or demands too much personal information too soon, be very, very suspicious.' 3 A real recruiter would never ask you to pay them to secure a job, says Melissa Mhondoro, from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, as this would be a breach of industry laws. A recruiter does not need to know your date of birth, financial information or your National Insurance details. You would never be asked for your bank details before you have signed a contract. Check any documents and contact details, such as the recruiter's email address, for poor spelling and grammar. Beware if the recruiter's email address contains @yahoo or @hotmail, or if you have been added to unknown apps or group chats where you will be spammed with job ads. Stick to applying for jobs directly on company websites or on well-known, trusted job boards such as LinkedIn, Indeed or Reed. If you think you have fallen for a fake job offer, you should stop talking to the 'agent' immediately. Take a note of their details and report it to Action Fraud (0300 123 2040, If you have handed over any money, tell your bank immediately. And scam-proof your phone by blocking unknown calls. BT INCREASES PRICE HIKE WATCH out for hefty mid-contract bill hikes if you are signing up for a new broad- band or mobile phone deal with BT, Plusnet or EE. BT, which owns the other two, has announced the three brands will increase their mid-contract price rises for broadband customers from £3 to £4 a month. This affects new customers signing up for contracts any time from now. BT and EE customers will see the hike hit their bills on March 31 next year and again on March 31, 2027. Plusnet will roll out the higher charges to new customers signing up from Tuesday. For mobile plans, any BT, EE and Plusnet customers on Sim-only and Flex Pay plans will see their contracts rise by £2.50 in April. Bundled handset and airtime plan customers will face a £4 rise, also in April. Uswitch telecoms expert Ernest Doku described the changes as 'another pounding for consumers' wallets'. He added: 'BT's price updates have often set a precedent for other providers to follow suit. 'If this trend continues, the telecoms industry runs the risk of creating its own accelerated rate of inflation.' BT said in a statement said: 'We're focused on providing value and customer satisfaction, making new technologies available to our customers such as 5G standalone and WiFi 7.' BLATHNAID CORLESS LOVE AFFECTS PREMIUMS YOUR relationship status could be pushing up your car insurance by hundreds of pounds but there are ways to slash costs. Single drivers pay the most, at an average of £859 a year, according to data from MoneySuperMarket. 3 But separated drivers are charged an average of £496 – £363 less. Marital status is a big factor insurers look at when assessing how risky you are. Single drivers are usually regarded as more risky to insure than married couples, who pay £799 on average for their annual premiums. Married couples have a reputation as financially stable and less accident-prone. Widowed motorists pay an average of £515, while those who are listed as a 'partner' pay £760. Making a simple tweak to your relationship status could save you hundreds of pounds – but don't lie, otherwise you could invalidate your insurance. For example, if you are no longer married, state 'divorced' instead of single, and save £349. Other ways to slash your premiums include parking in a garage instead of on the road. Pay annually, not monthly, otherwise you will be charged interest and pay more. If you don't have enough cash to pay upfront, consider using a zero per cent credit card, which charges no interest for a set period.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Hidden impact of UK's shoplifting epidemic revealed as crime wave costs every household £150 a year through price hikes
BRITAIN'S shoplifting epidemic is pushing the UK's retail sector into a 'vicious cycle', with rampant theft fuelling out-of-control inflation. The Sun on Sunday can reveal that the crime wave is costing households almost £147 a year as stores hike prices to recoup their losses and pay for extra security measures. 7 Britain's shoplifting epidemic is pushing the UK's retail sector into a 'vicious cycle', with rampant theft fuelling out-of-control inflation Credit: Getty 7 A looter is captured on shops' CCTV 7 A shoplifter is pictured in a store Credit: Getty 7 A crook pockets stolen items before leaving this shop Credit: Darren Fletcher With inflation jumping to a worrying 3.6 per cent this week — and with Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey under pressure to slash interest rates to stimulate growth — experts warn that shop theft is pushing inflation ever higher. Economist Dr Kamran Mahroof, associate professor at the University of Bradford, said: 'We are stuck in a vicious circle, with high prices provoking people to steal at the same time as shoplifting forces stores to raise the cost of their goods, exacerbating inflation. Billions of pounds worth of stock is being stolen, but it doesn't stop there. 'Security tags are being put on pretty much everything nowadays, from baby formula to butter and cheese, and these tags have to be bought from a supplier and then they have to be attached, and time costs money. Costs retailers billions 'Rampant theft is also causing staff to go off sick because they are fed up with being intimidated and assaulted, and that is an additional cost to the retailer. 'Shoplifting is not the only cause of inflation and the most significant factors are rising production costs, geopolitical tensions and other external shocks. 'But you can't turn a blind eye to the significance of this crime as someone needs to pay for it and the burden is falling on the consumer.' Chancellor Rachel Reeves has come under increasing pressure to act on spiralling inflation after prices rose by more than expected in the year to June. In 2023, shoplifting added £133 to the cost of an average household's shopping bill for the year, according to the Centre For Retail Research. The Sun on Sunday's own research suggests the new cost is nearly £147 — a ten per cent increase. There were 516,971 shoplifting crimes last year, according to the Office for National Statistics, which is a 20 per cent increase on 2023 when 429,873 offences were recorded. I pinched £30m worth of goods as UK's most prolific shoplifter to get my daily hit of heroin - I've been jailed 28 times In its annual crime survey of major retailers, the British Retail Consortium found that violence and abuse against shop workers rose by 50 per cent, with more than 2,000 incidents recorded on average each day. BRC head of communications Tom Holder added: 'Shoplifting costs retailers billions a year, and on top of that there are myriad anti-crime measures that take place — everything from security guards to security tags, CCTV and all the rest. There's also crime costs including vandalism and employee theft that do not come under shop theft or security measures. 'The total cost is about £4.2billion across the entire retail sector. 'The amount lost is a large chunk of the profit margin. And that pushes up costs for everyone.' The Consortium is calling for the Government to crack down on the crime epidemic to prevent prices rising even further. Tom added: 'The increase in shoplifting is concerning for two reasons. First, it pushes up the cost of shopping for everyone. It can make the difference for some households between what they can afford and what they can't. 'The other side is that shoplifting is a major trigger for violence against staff, particularly if they intervene. 'Most theft isn't because Granny can't afford something so she slips a few choice items in her handbag. A large chunk of this is organised crime where people come in and go straight for the high-value goods — the alcohol, cigarettes, electronics and phones — with a group of four or five others, often wielding weapons. 'This crimewave is not being caused by a cost-of-living crisis, with people thinking the only way I can survive is to steal. 'The real rise has been in organised crime and that's not a crime of desperation, it's a crime of opportunities.' Our shoplifting probe has found that major High Street chains are now using alarm tags and stickers, each costing around £50, to protect everything from meals-for-one to make-up brushes. And Ann Summers has become the latest retailer to give its staff body cameras to combat thefts. 7 Rachel Reeves has come under increasing pressure to act on spiralling inflation after prices rose by more than expected in the year to June Credit: EPA 7 Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey is under pressure to slash interest rates to stimulate growth Credit: Reuters Tesco Express workers in Redhill, Surrey, are attaching security devices to pizzas costing £4.75 as well as Tesco Finest ready meals retailing at £5.25. The alarms go off if someone removes the tags or leaves the store without paying. One exasperated employee told us: 'If they can flog it, they'll take it, even pizzas.' 'Any shop is a target' Meanwhile, at a Sainsbury's Local in crime-ravaged Croydon, South London, trendy Beavertown Neck Oil Session IPA beers selling for £2.25 are also fitted with security tags, as are cans of Sainsbury's gin and diet tonic costing £1.70. Down the road at Boots, entire displays of make-up products worth as little as £3 per item are fitted with anti-theft tags, and three security guards patrol the store. Shelves of confectionery are protected behind specially installed plastic security grills. Experts warn that users of sites such as Vinted, eBay, Facebook Marketplace and TikTok may be unwittingly buying stolen goods. Andrew Goodacre, CEO of the British Independent Retailers Association, is calling for internet giants to do more to stop organised gangs selling their wares online. We are stuck in a vicious circle, with high prices provoking people to steal at the same time as shoplifting forces stores to raise the cost of goods, exacerbating inflation Dr Mahroof He said: 'Previously, it was grocery stores that sold tobacco, alcohol and food that were worst affected. 'Now it seems that any shop is a target. Toy shops, children's clothes shops, hardware stores, health stores — they are all having to take measures to try to reduce the amount of stock they are losing. They are smaller so they can keep a closer eye on things, but they are also more vulnerable to the criminals who seem increasingly emboldened. 'We used to talk about two per cent shrinkage [stock losses] and it's certainly a lot more than that now. 'Organised crime is getting more organised when it comes to shoplifting, and shops are being attacked because the goods are so easy to sell on online platforms to unsuspecting shoppers. We need a way of addressing that. 'The online platforms need to be more rigorous. 'Are these items preloved or pre-stolen? That would be our question. And we think a lot of it is probably stolen.' All the stores mentioned were contacted for comment. SECURITY TAGS ON MONOPOLY AND BOOZE BOARD games including Monopoly and Cluedo were fitted with two forms of security alarms when the Sun on Sunday visited stores this week. They were protected by alarm tags and stickers in TGJones, formerly WHSmith, in Croydon, South London. It comes after serial thief Omar Innis, 32, was spotted by West End cops carrying board games and toys last month. It was the seventh time he had struck in over a month, nicking £1,300 of goods. At Westminster Magistrates' Court, Innis, of North London, pleaded guilty to theft and was jailed for 26 weeks. A spokesman for TGJones said: 'The high street is facing increased levels of crime and we have been taking action to ensure our stores remain welcoming places for our colleagues and customers.' 7 Shopkeeper Ben Selvaratnam in Croydon Credit: Paul Edwards
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Former Everton star Yerry Mina eyeing shock return to Premier League with defender free to leave Cagliari
YERRY MINA has eyes on a Prem return — and can leave Cagliari for £1.8million. The Colombian centre-half, 30, was a cult hero at Everton before moving to Italy two years ago. 1 He cost £30million in 2018 and made 99 appearances for the Toffees. Injury hampered the centre-back during his time on Merseyside and he left at the end of the 2022/23 season having played just eight games that campaign. Those problems persisted following his move to Fiorentina, where he played just six times in one season. He has spent the last two years at Serie A side Cagliari and was ever-present last year, scoring one goal in 31 games. Meanwhile Everton's transfer activity has been quiet so far this summer. Boss David Moyes says he needs "five or six" players in the next week, after his side lost 3-0 to Bournemouth in a friendly. He said: 'We've signed three, so if you take that off, we're still in the need of maybe five or six players. 'That's what we have to try and do. 'In the past I probably have had to sign a lot of players, but I've never had to do so many in one window as we need now.' Moyes suggested that he and the club's new Friedkin Group owners are paying for the chaos of the final years under Farhad Moshiri. Everton and West Ham to fight it out for Douglas Luiz He said: 'We're sort of picking up a little bit of what we're at the end of now. 'We had a lot of people out of contracts, a lot of loan players, because of the financial situation. 'So we're having to sort of find a way around that and we're trying really, really hard behind the scenes to get things done. 'But you can see we're going to need it. 'We've got no centre-halves and we're really struggling.'
