Vernon’s Song - a Christmas anthem for the homeless.

Taking time at Christmas to remember homeless who passed away in Birmingham.

Jo empowers an Erdington community response.

Woman faces lifetime ban after racially abusing and spitting at doorman.

Recognition for Redthread's work with young people affected by violence and street crime.

Fancy a short break not too far from the madding crowd?

A well known local businessman is lending his support to a competition for artists at Coventry University.

Coventry regeneration schemes awarded £3.7 million loan.

White collar boxing training offered to fundraisers.

Midlands survey launched to help make music careers available to everyone.

A course aiming to assist the international drive to protect the world’s tree population is once again being hosted by the University of Wolverhampton.

The benefits of short food chains and local produce were the focus of an event on Wednesday 3 July organised by Coventry University’s Centre for Agroecology and Food Security

Kingsbridge Project board member Amanda Smith tells us about their activities.

A charity concert has raised £700 for the Edgbaston-based charity Ammalife.

CEC celebrates forty years in business with commitment to Net Zero.

Classic locomotive takes to the rails for the summer.

Future music business talent initiative launches at major city festival.

New pilot programme from Girl Grind UK is as easy as ABC.

Safety charity begins arts workshops to teach accident prevention.

Ball helps community group.

 Moseley has been crowned as the best place in Britain for city living, according to the Sunday Times.

Halesowen community invited to join in a big Poppy Picnic this Saturday to support The Royal British Legion’s vital work for the Armed Forces community

Transport firm raise record amount for childrens charity.

Pallet-Track golf day tees up £8,000 for Marie Curie.

Black City Records to open at Scruffy Murphy's.

Shopping ethically in the city.

One of Birmingham’s oldest community-run festivals celebrates its fiftieth anniversary.

Pedal power replaces horse power on London 2 Paris charity bike ride.

Andy Street joins expert panel for COVID-19 vaccine webinar.

“Udaan’s financial performance for FY23-24 reflects its commitment to building a robust, profitable and resilient business. With revenue reaching INR 5,700 crores for FY23-24, we have made significant strides toward profitability, reducing EBITDA burn by 40% year-on-year to ~INR 900 crores,” said Kiran Thadimarri, SVP Finance, Udaan in a LinkedIn post.

The new funding will support Wheelocity’s plans to expand operations across 20,000 towns and villages in southern India over the next year, aiming to reach a user base of 10 million.

According to a report by Kearney and LUXASIA, India's luxury beauty market is projected to grow to USD 1.6 billion by 2028 and USD 4.0 billion by 2035. This growth is fueled by economic development and an expanding middle class. Brands need to tailor their strategies for region-specific preferences to succeed. Early market entry and expert support are crucial to navigate complexities, the report said.

Blackstone is close to acquiring Retail Opportunity Investments Corp, which owns U.S. shopping centers worth $3.4 billion including debt. Other private equity firms, including Bain Capital, are also interested. The deal could be finalized in the coming weeks if negotiations succeed. ROIC has raised rents significantly amidst high inflation, making it an attractive target.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is convening a Central Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting on November 7-8. The meeting will address concerns regarding food safety on e-commerce platforms and strategize ways to enhance food product surveillance and testing across states.

Bhutani Group acquired Logix City Center for nearly Rs 1,000 crore. The deal includes 1.2 million sq ft of retail, office and hospitality space. Bhutani Group also secured land with potential for a 600,000 sq ft residential project. The company recently won a bid to develop Film City near Noida's upcoming airport.

Going by the draft papers, the company plans to utilise proceeds from the fresh issue for investing in technology and cloud infrastructure; brand marketing and business promotion; and debt payment; and funds will also be allocated for inorganic growth and general corporate purposes.

Sony India, experiencing substantial growth in its gaming sector due to the PlayStation 5's success, is now eyeing India as a key market. Despite anticipating moderated growth this fiscal year, the company remains committed to expanding its gaming presence, including software and peripherals. Sony India last week filed its annual returns to report over 50.1 per cent growth from its 'other business' segment at Rs 1,363.54 crore, which houses its gaming and B2B business.

Manos Nikolakis, GM, BIC Cello, said, "While e-commerce is growing significantly across the country, the landscape of the Indian market is still heavily reliant on traditional trade. Accordingly, this remains our main sales driver. The lack of digital penetration in semi-urban and rural areas can sometimes create a challenge in the e-commerce space, which means that e-commerce is mostly relevant in bigger cities with a more mature infrastructure."

Raymond Lifestyle witnessed a significant 69.72% drop in its consolidated net profit for Q2 FY'25, reaching Rs 42.18 crore. This decline is attributed to subdued demand and inflationary pressures. Despite this, the company remains optimistic about the future, citing recent positive trends in the festive and wedding season and plans for retail expansion and new product launches.

Beauté Secrets, a D2C beauty tools firm, has secured Rs 1.6 crore in debt from Velocity to expand its presence on quick commerce platforms and introduce new products. Founded in 2010, the company plans to enter major retail outlets and launch new beauty tools, leveraging its sustainable profits for growth and expecting a festive season boost.

L'Oreal's third quarter sales rose by 3.4% but missed expectations due to low consumer confidence in China. North Asia sales declined 6.5%. Reduced demand for suncare and dermatological products also slowed growth. Chief Executive Nicolas Hieronimus highlighted the need to excite consumers with new innovations, especially targeting young GenZs.

Highlighting the brand’s expansion trajectory in terms of physical retail presence, Sanjay Sharma, Country Head of Shiseido India said that since launching with 15 touchpoints last year, NARS has already doubled its reach to 30 points in India and plans to double again in the next two years.

Coty expects lower annual profit than previously forecasted. Demand for beauty products is slowing down in the US and Australia. Consumers are choosing essential products over beauty items. Coty's prestige fragrance segment, however, reported a 9% rise in sales. This is due to new launches such as Burberry Goddess and Marc Jacobs Daisy Wild fragrances.

Net sales rose 40% to $301.1 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with analysts' average estimates of $285.8 million, as per data compiled by LSEG.

Union Minister calls on domestic toy industry to back artisans and foster creativity at Toy CEO Meet. Global players like Walmart and Amazon join hands for collaborations. Government measures boost local manufacturing. Stakeholders discuss investment opportunities in India's growing toy market.

A while back, Apple introduced the RSS tag to let you mark individual episodes as "bonus," "full," or "trailer" types. Here's what each type means and how you should use them in your podcast-publishing tools.

The post When to Use Trailer, Full, and Bonus Episode Types first appeared on The Audacity to Podcast.

The Audacity software is popular among countless podcasters at all levels of production! at some point! It's a free, cross-platform audio-editing app, so almost anyone can use it. But Audacity has historically lagged behind other audio-editing apps until now! So here are some of my favorite new features that I think warrant giving Audacity another try.

The post Audacity Is Improving Fast! Here Are the Top New Features to Try first appeared on The Audacity to Podcast.

Krafty Entertainment has acquired a minority equity stake in Sports First TV, the world's first global sports news TV channel. Sports First TV, which launched in March on FAST platforms in North America, was founded by Frank Brown, the former CEO of Viacom International Media/MTV Networks, where he served for 11 years. The channel is based in Sydney, Australia.