Luke Alsford

I am a journalist covering news, investigative and human-interest stories for Metro and The Londoners

Metro •

Yoga instructor thought leg might have to be cut off after Bali scooter crash

A yoga instructor has described dragging herself to the side of the road after her leg was ‘shattered’ in a scooter crash in Bali.
Jasmine Daisy, from Brighton, recalled the ‘disgusting’ scene of her right leg ‘almost at a 90-degree angle’ after two drunk men drove into her scooter last week in the small village of Uluwatu, on the Indonesian island of Bali.
The 33-year-old travelled to Bali a month before the incident, in the hopes of finding work online and ended up teaching at a week-long yoga...
Metro •

British-Lebanese family trapped in Beirut facing 'psychological terrorism'

A British-Lebanese woman has said her family has faced ‘psychological terrorism’ over fears of being bombed in Lebanon as people desperately try to flee the country.
Dalia Rishani, the vice chairwoman of the Center for Lebanese Studies, said some of her British-Lebanese family members – including her mother Rajaa and nine-year-old cousin Leila – are stuck in Lebanon amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Thousands of civilians have been leaving southern Lebanon as...
North West Londoner •

Barnet Council voted health and safety "Bad of Boss of the Year" by trade union

Barnet Council beat Amazon and ASDA to be voted “Bad Boss of the Year” by a trade union health and safety conference.


The vote came from delegates at the 35th National Hazards Conference of trade union health and safety reps and activists, which took place from 30 August to 1 September.


The organiser of the conference, Janet Newsham, cited the ongoing dispute between Barnet UNISON mental health social workers and the council, which has lasted more than a year, for the result.


Newsham, w...
North West Londoner •

Camden restaurant changing lives by tackling homelessness opens

Formerly homeless employees of a newly opened fine dining restaurant in Camden have claimed the project has changed their lives.


Home Kitchen opened last week in Primrose Hill with the aim of tackling homelessness by employing and training those who have experienced it.


Waiter Jeremy Coates found his very first job at Home Kitchen through a course run by the charity Beyond Food, aiming to help those in disadvantaged backgrounds gain skills in food and hospitality.


He said: “Before findi...
Palatinate •

Durham in Stockton: how are international students prepared for University life?

By Luke Alsford


It is often forgotten by students studying in Durham, as they attend lectures in view of the city’s cathedral, or grab coffee by the River Wear, that Durham life continues almost thirty kilometres away, in the market town of Stockton.


On the edge of County Durham, Stockton-on-Tees is home to hundreds of international students completing a foundation year or a Pre-Masters course, in the hopes of progressing on to academic study in Durham, or elsewhere.


Run by the educatio...
Palatinate •

Asian students feel “less confident” and “isolated” as hate crimes rise in County Durham

The number of reported hate crimes against Asian people in County Durham has increased by more than 50% since 2019. Data from a Freedom of Information Request to Durham Constabulary also shows that hate crimes against Chinese, Japanese and South East Asian people in particular has not returned to pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels. Campaigners believe that a high rate of underreporting is obscuring the true number of racist hate incidents and crimes faced by Asian people.

Palatinate has spoken to mem
The London Economic •

How Brexit resulted in immigration going up

Just weeks after the Conservatives left office with record-high levels of immigration, and years after Brexiteers voted to “take back control” of Britain’s borders, the latest round of Tory leadership hopefuls are promising to reduce immigration levels all over again.
The six leadership rivals have been queuing up to condemn the Party’s performance on immigration during their fourteen years in government. 
Robert Jenrick, one of the six running to lead the Party, admitted in a video on X that he...
Palatinate •

Palestinian student fundraising to evacuate her family from Gaza

A Palestinian student at Durham University has described how her dreams and plans have been “shattered” as her family remains trapped under life-threatening conditions in Gaza. Dalya Saleh is now fundraising to evacuate her husband, daughter and close family through the border crossing with Egypt at Rafah.

“When I came to the UK I had big dreams,” Ms Saleh told Palatinate last week. She had worked as an English teacher in Gaza before winning a master’s scholarship to attend Durham University wi
Palatinate •

Four JCRs declare climate emergencies amid climate crisis

University College (Castle)’s Junior Common Room (JCR) has joined Trevelyan College, St John’s and St Chad’s College JCRs in declaring a climate and ecological emergency. A motion to that effect was passed at a Castle JCR meeting in November last year.

Trevelyan and St. John’s College JCRs both recognised a climate emergency as part of more comprehensive Environment and Sustainability policies that were passed in Michaelmas term by both respective JCRs. St Chad’s JCR has, on the other hand, ado
Palatinate •

International students re-evaluate next steps following UK visa changes

In December of last year, the Home Office announced changes to legal migration rules for family and work visas for 2024 and a review of the Graduate visa. Palatinate has spoken to Durham University students who are worried that the changes will affect their plans, or the plans of their loved ones, to live in the UK after they graduate.

The package of new measures proposed by the Government included a rise in the baseline minimum salary to be sponsored for a Skilled Worker visa from £26,200 to £
Palatinate •

Students hoping for an ADHD diagnosis face long waiting lists and uncertain University support

Students seeking a diagnosis for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are enduring over a year-long wait for an NHS diagnostic assessment and unreliable disability support from Durham University while they wait, Palatinate has learned. Data provided by the Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust reveals that the mean waiting time for an adult diagnosis is 57 weeks in the Country Durham area. Palatinate spoke to students who have been affected by the wait for a diagnosis, many o
Micro-Europa Studio Tübingen •

Studierende aus dem Vereinigten Königreich (465)

Radio Micro-Europa: Sendung (465) „Studierende aus dem Vereinigten Königreich“ am Sonntag, den 19. März 2023 von 12 bis 13 Uhr im Freien Radio Wüste Welle 96,6 – Kabel: 97,45 Mhz, auch als Live Stream im Internet

Der Link zum Anhören im Internet:

https://www.wueste-welle.de/broadcasts/livestream

Der Link zu unserer Mediathek:

http://vergil.uni-tuebingen.de/microeuropa/

Der Link zu unserer Homepage:

https://micro-europa.de/

Heute führen wir eine Diskussion auf Englisch über die Herausfo