Safiyyah's blog

The UK has been hit by a wave of egg shortages due to struggles in the poultry industry, forcing supermarkets to ration supplies. The shortages, caused by Britain’s bird flu outbreak and rising costs for farmers, have left supermarket shelves empty while shoppers rush to stock up on supply. Several supermarkets have had to consider rationing the product, with Tesco the latest chain to join others in limiting supply.  Tesco, the UK’s biggest supermarket chain, has followed Asda and Lidl in limiting the purchase of eggs. Customers are now limited to just three boxes of eggs at checkout. Although the supermarket introduced restrictions, it claims to maintain a “good availability” of eggs and is simply taking precautions. Asda’s restrictions have reduced customer purchases to two boxes per shopper, while Lidl allows up to three boxes per shopper. Furthermore, a spokesperson for The British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) estimated the shortages to last past Christmas. He ...

BBC Leicester legend Martin Ballard describes local radio as “a jewel that should be preserved” as the station faces staffing cuts. Radio Leicester has a special significance and place in local radio, as it was one of the first local stations introduced by the BBC in the 1960s. Today (November 8) is the 55th anniversary of the station, and in an exclusive interview, the former presenter says he fears that the cuts will silence the “friendly voice in the corner of the room”. Mr Ballard, 61, has produced and presented a plethora of programmes covering countless elections, budgets and major sporting events, to name a few. Throughout his career spanning almost four decades, he worked predominantly for BBC Radio Leicester. He expressed his sadness towards the looming cuts and explained that once there is shared programming, “the keyword in local radio doesn’t work anymore because it’s no longer local.” Taking East Midlands Today as an example, he said: “People in Leicester who watch East Mi...