Latest news with #Didsbury
Telegraph
a day ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Sharia court job advert deleted from Government website
An advert for a 'Shariah law administrator' has been deleted from the Government's jobs website after a backlash from MPs. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was criticised by Reform UK and Conservative MPs for hosting the advertisement on its Find A Job website. The role, which pays £23,500 per year and appears to be based in Didsbury, Manchester, required the successful applicant to 'provide all admin and secretarial work' for the Manchester Shariah Council. The job was posted by an independent registered charity called Manchester Community Centre, which is not affiliated with the Government department. Its advert said candidates must have previous work experience 'in Shariah law-related fields and/or Shariah courts in Muslim countries', as well as an understanding of British law. Sharia courts have existed in the UK since the early 1980s and issue Islam-inspired rulings on family life and marriage matters.
Telegraph
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The Oasis economy: How much will Britain make from the Gallaghers?
Sifters Records in the Manchester suburb of Didsbury has strong links to Oasis. Pete Howard, who runs the shop and is known locally as 'Mr Sifter', featured in the band's 1994 single Shakermaker. 'Mister Sifter sold me songs when I was just 16,' sang Liam Gallagher about the record shop where he and brother Noel would hang out in their youth Thirty one years later, as Oasis's much-anticipated reunion tour continues, Sifters has become a place of pilgrimage. 'Two young lads from South Korea came in when I was there last week. It's their first time in the UK and they knew all about Shakermaker,' says Joe Feeley, a friend of Howard's who hosts 'Wonderwalk' Oasis-themed walking tours around Manchester. 'They were going to [the first Oasis show in] Cardiff next. There's a mural of Liam and Noel on the side of the Sifters building, and as I was leaving there was a girl from China doing a selfie and I was talking to her. She's said 'I've come all the way over to see places like this and I'm going to Cardiff tomorrow.'' As almost 1.4 million other people gear up for Oasis's remaining UK mega-shows, places such as Sifters are reaping the benefits. Indeed, the Oasis tour is proving a cash cow for all manner of businesses, from bars to hotels and from tribute acts to fashion retailers. In total, the 'Oas-economy', if you will, is predicted to contribute over £1 billion to Britain's coffers between now and September, when the domestic leg of the tour concludes (the band also visit North and South America, Asia and Australia). Bookings for Wonderwalks (£15 before fees) are up by 75 per cent compared to last year, Feeley says. Meanwhile, demand for a three-hour Oasis bus tour of the city has risen by 50 per cent. The bus tour – £40 for an adult, £30 for a child – takes in Liam and Noel Gallagher's old school, a drive-by of guitarist Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs's former house in which the cover sleeve of Definitely Maybe was photographed, concert venues, the aforementioned Sifters, and more. 'The reunion news has turbocharged [demand] and we hope the effect will continue long into the future,' says Lewis Swan, director of organiser Brit Music Tours. Someone who runs a Manchester Airbnb management company tells me that city-wide bookings are up by a third during Oasis's five-concert Heaton Park residency later this month. And it's not just Manchester. Visitors to Cardiff for Friday night's opening show had the option to attend all manner of ticketed and free parties before and after the gigs. Pubs, karaoke bars, cocktail lounges and restaurants laid on Oasis-themed specials, quiz nights and indie discos. Mary's, Cardiff's self-styled 'premium gay cabaret bar', hosted an unofficial pre- and post-concert party. Meanwhile, a central London restaurant is offering a £58.30 'Oasis Bottomless Brunch' around the band's five Wembley Stadium dates in late July and August; brunch includes 90 minutes of limitless cocktails while banging 90s anthems blare from the speakers. 'Parka not required, but highly encouraged,' says the blurb. You can see why enterprising business owners are latching onto Oasis mania. Britain's economy is as stagnant and toothless as Liam was when he spent that night in a Munich police cell in 2002 (he'd lost his two front teeth in a bar brawl). The Oas-economy is fuelled by middle-aged men keen to relive their youth – with how much money they spend secondary to having a hedonistic, tear-stained, arms-aloft night out. For the first time in a while, people's purse strings will be open – just like they were in Oasis's mid-1990s heyday. When Oasis's first album Definitely Maybe was released in 1994, Britain was motoring out of the early-Nineties recession and annual Gross Domestic Product – the value of goods and services the UK produced – was rising by a healthy 3.4 per cent. People felt flush. This year? GDP is expected to rise by just 1 per cent. Therefore any largesse by nostalgic Oasis fans will be hugely welcome. Businesses will take whatever bump in trade they can get. 'The Oasis reunion [has] gone worldwide, which they never had before on this scale. Good on them,' says James O'Mullan, who runs the Shiiine On series of retro music events and has teamed up with a company called Star Shaped to organise an Oasis boat party (£25) on the Thames on August 3, the final Wembley date of the group's opening run. A week before, a separate boat party will feature an Argentinian Oasis tribute band called Oeisis ('easily the best Liam,' O'Mullan has ever seen). 'It's a chance for people to meet up and have a sing and dance on the Thames. A chance to celebrate a time when music meant something to people. It seems this reunion has reignited the tribes again,' says O'Mullan. This desire for nostalgia certainly feels true. An agency called Champions Music and Entertainment that books bands for parties and events tells me that enquiries about Oasis tribute bands have risen by 205 per cent year-on-year. A new Oasis tribute band has been formed once every six weeks on average this year, the agency says. Paul Higginson, who performs as Liam in tribute band Oasish, says that bookings this year are up by around 15 per cent. 'It's not as many as other Oasis tributes because we were already a busy band anyway, so we couldn't squeeze many more gigs into the diary as there's only 52 Fridays and Saturdays in the year,' Higginson says. Publishers are also diving in: I've read seven new books on Oasis in recent weeks, from biographies to stocking fillers to parody diaries. The total amount of cash that Oasis's Live '25 tour is due to bring in is phenomenal. A recent report by Barclays, based on a survey of 2,200 people, estimated that Oasis fans will spend a total of £1.06 billion attending the band's 17 UK concerts, equivalent to £766 each. While the spend-per-head is slightly below the £848 average spent by Taylor Swift fans during the UK leg of her Eras tour last summer, the headline figure is higher as Oasis are playing 17 concerts compared to Swift's 15. It's yet to be seen whether the Oasis shows will boost regional economies in the way that Swift's tour did. In June 2024, Swedish officials said that economic activity around her Eras tour – including soaring accommodation prices in Stockholm – had contributed to a rise in the country's inflation for the first time in over a year. In 2023, Beyoncé's Renaissance tour also had a huge economic impact on Stockholm. But broken down by the four UK cities in which Oasis will play, the band's reunion will bring £112 million into Cardiff, £151 million in Edinburgh, £302 million into Manchester and £476 million into London. Only rock 'n' roll? Pah. It's a financial lifeline to struggling hospitality businesses. Although, it has to be said, not everyone will coin it in. According to a Telegraph colleague who was in Cardiff for the opening night, the city's taxi drivers were unhappy. Road closures around the Principality Stadium, effective from midday over the weekend, meant they lost business. 'Everybody else makes good money except for us taxi drivers,' one taxi driver said. 'Our fares don't go up at all and we're stuck in traffic.' Still, this is how the individual per-person spending is split. Each of the 1.4 million Oasis fans has already spent an average of £171.10 on their ticket, says Barclays. But they will go on to spend, on average, £108 on accommodation, £70.50 on travel, £51.40 on merchandise in the run-up to the show (or after), £26.60 on vinyl or CDs before the event, £73.70 on clothes and accessories ahead of the show, and £75.20 on food and drink before they arrive at the venue. On top of this, they will spend £55.30 on VIP packages or hospitality once at the venue, £59.70 on official merchandise and £74.70 on drinks on top of what they've already eaten and drunk on their way there. Aah yes, the booze. Oasis fans are a thirsty bunch. Another Oasis-themed survey I received last week laid this bare. The survey was small and was conducted on behalf of an online pharmacy called MedExpress by a polling platform called Attest. It polled 168 people who are attending the Oasis tour. The survey revealed that, on average, just over a quarter of attendees tend to consume 3-4 drinks when they're at a concert. One in five consume 5-6 drinks and one in seven have 7-8 drinks. But 6.6 per cent of respondents – that's one in 15 people – consume 11 drinks or more at a concert. If extrapolated to account for all 1.4 million UK Oasis attendees, this means that 92,400 people plan to drink over 11 drinks each. That's an entire Wembley Stadium filled with people hammered out of their skulls. Then there's the merchandise and fashion. Oasis have opened – or will open – temporary branded shops in Manchester, Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Dublin and Birmingham to sell clothes, brand-collaborations with companies such as Adidas and merch. Fans can buy Oasis-themed baby grows, hoodies (from £70), cutlery, t-shirts (from £35), jackets, umbrellas (£45), jigsaw puzzles, postcards (£1), lighters, records (from £35, with a print), shot glasses, mugs (£12), water bottles, pin badges and magnets (£6), stickers (£2), keyrings (£8) and tote bags (£20). Nationwide sales of bucket hats have risen by 275 per cent, according to reports (top tip: they're equally useful as receptacles for people who have over-indulged). Even barbers will benefit: according to Barclays, 14 per cent of Oasis fans plan to get a haircut inspired by Liam or Noel. To coincide with the tour, the band is also gearing up to re-release their second album (What's The Story) Morning Glory? to mark its 30 th anniversary later this year. The so-called 'complete bundle' comprising two triple vinyl LPs (one neon orange) and a double CD will cost £110. Interestingly, the one part of the Oasis universe that hasn't seen a boost is the band's streaming numbers. According to data analytics company Chartmetric, Oasis have actually seen a 9 per cent decline in popularity on Spotify over the last 30 days, losing 2.4 million monthly listeners (although they still have a highly respectable 24 million. Wonderwall is their top track by a mile). On the flip side, the band have had an increase in TikTok engagement ('likes' up 23 per cent to 9.1 million over the last three months, and 'followers' up 12 per cent to 931,600). But income from recorded music is far less important to bands than it used to be. Indeed, there is so little money in the streaming economy that musicians make almost all of their money through touring these days. And the bigger the tour, the better. Thirty years ago, recorded music sales were musicians' primary source of income, with tours acting as adverts for a band's latest physical album. Now, the inverse is the case. 'Going offline is where real impact can be had. And for artists that means playing live and selling merch. The first generates long-lasting memories and the second a permanent reminder of the artist to the fan,' says Mark Mulligan, managing director of music industry analysts Midia Research. 'Oasis predate the digital era, so it is both easier and natural for the band to lean on offline as their way to build brand in a way that won't simply get washed away by the next TikTok trend.' Estimates of how much Liam and Noel will make from this tour vary dramatically, but they range from £50 million to £100 million each. This amount of money would transform the brothers' net worth in a stroke. According to numerous estimates, Liam currently has a net worth of £4.5 million while Noel, as Oasis's songwriter, has a reported net worth of just over £50 million. It's not hard to see why they've decided to put years of animosity aside to reunite for this tour. There could also be a juicy coda for songwriter Noel when it comes to Oasis's music. The publishing rights to these songs are currently owned by Sony Music Publishing, which until recently was known as Sony/ATV, the music publishing company that was founded by Sony and Michael Jackson in 1995. Publishing rights are hugely lucrative: every time a song is streamed, sold or synced in a TV show or advert, the owner makes money. According to a new Liam and Noel biography called Gallagher: The Fall and Rise of Oasis by P. J. Harrison, the band's publishing rights revert from Sony to Noel in 2025, meaning he will be free to sell them on to the highest bidder at some point later this year. The tour has therefore come at a perfect time to remind the world what a golden back catalogue Oasis has. 'Doing an Oasis tour right on top of his rights coming back under his control puts him in the optimal position to capitalise on a sale,' writes Harrison. 'So while both brothers could pocket £100 million each from the tour, Noel could bag a lovely 'Brucie Bonus' in the form of a £250 million buy-out of his song catalogue.' I put this specific scenario to a band spokesman. He declined to comment. But for all the joy, nostalgia and money that the Oasis tour will bring, there is one potential hitch for male Oasis fans. The survey conducted on behalf of the online pharmacy MedExpress suggested that the tour could have a significant impact on men's sexual health. Punningly headlined 'What's the story? No morning glory', the company's press release states that 71 per cent of Oasis fans have reported experiencing difficulty maintaining or keeping an erection following the consumption of drugs or alcohol. The very existence of such a press release tells us all we need to know about how companies and brands are leaping on the Oasis bandwagon. And if that stat is true? Well, every cultural phenomenon has a downside.
Scoop
03-07-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Project Aims To Bring Cutting-Edge Cancer Treatments To NZ
Press Release – University of Auckland Cell-based therapies are the most advanced and promising treatments for cancer,' says Didsbury, who is an immunologist, committee chair at the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy, and a trustee for Ovarian Cancer Foundation NZ. Plans are under way to bring life-saving cell-based cancer treatments to patients in New Zealand. Dr Alicia Didsbury from the University of Auckland's Centre for Cancer Research is leading a major project aiming to provide cell and gene therapies for cancer. The project is supported by the New Zealand Blood Service and doctors at Auckland City Hospital. Didsbury is applying for $1.4 million for the first phase of the project, which will offer virus-specific T-cell therapy for people with blood cancers who are undergoing treatments that lower their immunity. Virus-specific T-cells fight viruses more effectively and with fewer side effects than antiviral medications, which are currently used widely. The aim is for the first phase to begin later this year, establishing the country's first facility to manufacture virus-specific T-cells and a local biobank of T-cells. From there, the plan is to launch New Zealand's first clinical trials of cell-based treatments for a broad range of blood cancers and solid tumour cancers over the next few years. 'Cell-based therapies are the most advanced and promising treatments for cancer,' says Didsbury, who is an immunologist, committee chair at the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy, and a trustee for Ovarian Cancer Foundation NZ. 'At the moment, access to cellular therapies is extremely limited in New Zealand, so some patients go overseas and have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for these life-saving treatments.' Blood-cancer patients who receive stem-cell transplants are generally given immune suppressant medication to prevent complications. This can leave patients vulnerable to potentially life-threatening viral infections. New Zealand currently imports a small number of virus-specific T-cells, but these are expensive and not always a good match for Māori and Pacific populations, says Didsbury. 'By manufacturing virus-specific T-cells here in Auckland, we can create more affordable and better-matched therapies using local donor cells,' says Didsbury. 'For some people undergoing transplants, this could be lifesaving.' Launching a virus-specific T-cell manufacturing and treatment service in Auckland will help build the basis to launch national and international clinical trials for cell-based treatments for blood and solid tumour cancers. The second phase of the project will make experimental treatments for multiple myeloma, melanoma, ovarian and lung cancers available in New Zealand for the first time. 'I'm a strong advocate for clinical trials in cancer care. They offer hope to patients and contribute to research that brings hope to others in the future,' says Didsbury. Initially, the project will launch at Auckland Hospital, but Didsbury hopes clinical trials will later be offered throughout New Zealand. For blood cancers, cell-based therapies show remarkable results. For solid tumours, cellular treatments are more experimental and have only completely cured a small percentage of patients in overseas trials. CAR T-cell therapy is one of the most promising treatments that will be offered. It harnesses the natural ability of T-cells – white blood cells that normally detect and kill virus-infected cells – to target cancer. In this therapy, a patient's own T cells are collected and genetically modified in the lab to recognise and kill cancer cells. These modified cells are then infused back into the patient to fight the cancer. CAR T-cell therapy can currently cost more than $500,000 per patient, so the project will explore affordable ways to offer these treatments within the public health system. The new service also aims to offer other cell and gene-based cancer therapies, such as transgenic T-cell receptor therapy and tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy. Didsbury's drive to make cancer treatments more accessible and affordable has personal roots. 'My dad passed away from cancer when I was 21 and that motivated me to pursue a career in cancer research – initially thinking I'd go into drug discovery. 'Then, in 2005, I attended a lecture from a scientist who had recently returned from Oxford who introduced me to the new idea of T-cell therapy – that was Professor Rod Dunbar. It completely changed my direction. I decided to do a PhD with him and he's still my boss at the University of Auckland's School of Biological Sciences,' she says. The 46-year-old has been developing cell-based treatments for cancer for 15 years. A breakthrough treatment she helped develop for melanoma could soon be offered in clinical trials.
Scoop
03-07-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Project Aims To Bring Cutting-Edge Cancer Treatments To NZ
Plans are under way to bring life-saving cell-based cancer treatments to patients in New Zealand. Dr Alicia Didsbury from the University of Auckland's Centre for Cancer Research is leading a major project aiming to provide cell and gene therapies for cancer. The project is supported by the New Zealand Blood Service and doctors at Auckland City Hospital. Didsbury is applying for $1.4 million for the first phase of the project, which will offer virus-specific T-cell therapy for people with blood cancers who are undergoing treatments that lower their immunity. Virus-specific T-cells fight viruses more effectively and with fewer side effects than antiviral medications, which are currently used widely. The aim is for the first phase to begin later this year, establishing the country's first facility to manufacture virus-specific T-cells and a local biobank of T-cells. From there, the plan is to launch New Zealand's first clinical trials of cell-based treatments for a broad range of blood cancers and solid tumour cancers over the next few years. 'Cell-based therapies are the most advanced and promising treatments for cancer," says Didsbury, who is an immunologist, committee chair at the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy, and a trustee for Ovarian Cancer Foundation NZ. 'At the moment, access to cellular therapies is extremely limited in New Zealand, so some patients go overseas and have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for these life-saving treatments.' Blood-cancer patients who receive stem-cell transplants are generally given immune suppressant medication to prevent complications. This can leave patients vulnerable to potentially life-threatening viral infections. New Zealand currently imports a small number of virus-specific T-cells, but these are expensive and not always a good match for Māori and Pacific populations, says Didsbury. 'By manufacturing virus-specific T-cells here in Auckland, we can create more affordable and better-matched therapies using local donor cells,' says Didsbury. 'For some people undergoing transplants, this could be lifesaving." Launching a virus-specific T-cell manufacturing and treatment service in Auckland will help build the basis to launch national and international clinical trials for cell-based treatments for blood and solid tumour cancers. The second phase of the project will make experimental treatments for multiple myeloma, melanoma, ovarian and lung cancers available in New Zealand for the first time. 'I'm a strong advocate for clinical trials in cancer care. They offer hope to patients and contribute to research that brings hope to others in the future,' says Didsbury. Initially, the project will launch at Auckland Hospital, but Didsbury hopes clinical trials will later be offered throughout New Zealand. For blood cancers, cell-based therapies show remarkable results. For solid tumours, cellular treatments are more experimental and have only completely cured a small percentage of patients in overseas trials. CAR T-cell therapy is one of the most promising treatments that will be offered. It harnesses the natural ability of T-cells – white blood cells that normally detect and kill virus-infected cells – to target cancer. In this therapy, a patient's own T cells are collected and genetically modified in the lab to recognise and kill cancer cells. These modified cells are then infused back into the patient to fight the cancer. CAR T-cell therapy can currently cost more than $500,000 per patient, so the project will explore affordable ways to offer these treatments within the public health system. The new service also aims to offer other cell and gene-based cancer therapies, such as transgenic T-cell receptor therapy and tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy. Didsbury's drive to make cancer treatments more accessible and affordable has personal roots. 'My dad passed away from cancer when I was 21 and that motivated me to pursue a career in cancer research – initially thinking I'd go into drug discovery. 'Then, in 2005, I attended a lecture from a scientist who had recently returned from Oxford who introduced me to the new idea of T-cell therapy – that was Professor Rod Dunbar. It completely changed my direction. I decided to do a PhD with him and he's still my boss at the University of Auckland's School of Biological Sciences,' she says. The 46-year-old has been developing cell-based treatments for cancer for 15 years. A breakthrough treatment she helped develop for melanoma could soon be offered in clinical trials.
CTV News
01-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Olds man charged in relation to possession of illegal hand gun
An Olds man faces multiple charges after police seized an illegal hand gun they say he had in his possession. On May 29 at around 3 p.m., Olds RCMP took a man into custody after receiving information that he had an illegal hand gun. Working with the RCMP's emergency response team and police dog services, Olds RCMP executed a search warrant, which resulted in a man inside a motor home being taken into the custody. A 30-year-old Olds resident was charged with unsafe storage of a firearm, possession of prohibited firearm, unauthorized possession of a firearm, and possession of a firearm when knowing possession was unauthorized. Following a bail hearing, the man was released. He's scheduled to appear in court in Didsbury on June 16.
