Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Konnie Huq launches 'Little Spring Clean' campaign to recycle electrical items

BRITISH television star and author Konnie Huq says the younger generations are “not fussed” about skin colour as she launches an eco-friendly 'Little Spring Clean' campaign.

The former Blur Peter presenter has urged people to join the Recycle Your Electricals project and “make a difference” to the planet.


“Nearly 60 per cent of UK householders are spring cleaning in lockdown -- but there’s a mountain of old electricals getting left in the dark,” says the campaign.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch, Huq, 44, recalled being a “token” Asian woman on the Blue Peter show.

Being the first Asian presenter on the popular CBBC show helped pave the way for more non-white personalities, she added.

“I still have now people in their 20s or 30s going ‘I never saw Asians in that role or even black people’,” she told the Daily Mail.

“You end up going through a thing where people may get called 'token' but you have to have people doing it first for it to become the norm.

“Younger generations won't notice colour. They're not fussed. It's not a big deal.”

Huq, who is married to TV critic and satirist Charlie Brooker, added that bringing about changes in attitudes involved helping people not feel “embarrassed to pave the way” in a society so judgmental that “we feel scared to be ourselves”.

The British-Bangladeshi star is also supporting the ‘Summer Reading Challenge 2020’, a literary initiative from June to September aimed at encouraging children to pick up a book.

More For You

Hindu pilgrims take the plunge ahead of Kumbh Mela

A Hindu devotee smeared with ash dances during a religious procession ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj. (Photo by NIHARIKA KULKARNI/AFP via Getty Images)

Hindu pilgrims take the plunge ahead of Kumbh Mela

INDIAN farmer Govind Singh travelled for nearly two days by train to reach what he believes is the "land of the gods" -- just one among legions of Hindu pilgrims joining the largest gathering of humanity.

The millennia-old Kumbh Mela, a sacred show of religious piety and ritual bathing that opens Monday, is held at the site where the holy Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers meet.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tulip Siddiq
Siddiq is accused of helping her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, secure a deal with Russia for the Rooppur power plant in 2013. (Photo credit: tulipsiddiq.com)

Downing Street weighs replacements for Tulip Siddiq amid ethics inquiry

SENIOR Labour officials are reportedly considering potential replacements for Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq amid an ethics investigation into her ties to Bangladesh’s ousted government.

Although prime minister Keir Starmer has publicly expressed full confidence in Siddiq, sources told The Times that some of his allies have informally discussed possible successors. A No 10 spokesperson dismissed claims of a formal shortlist as “completely untrue.”

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-snow-getty

People drive their cars past a landscape covered in snow and along the Snake pass road, in the Peak district, northern England. (Photo: Getty Images)

UK records coldest January night in 15 years at -17.3 degrees Celsius

THE UK recorded its coldest January night in 15 years as temperatures dropped to -17.3 degrees Celsius in Altnaharra, Sutherland, by 9 pm on Friday.

This is the lowest January temperature since 2010, when Altnaharra hit -22.3 degrees Celsius on 8 January, The Guardian reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chandra Arya

Arya, who represents Nepean in Ottawa and was born in India's Karnataka, made the announcement on X. (Photo: X/@AryaCanada)

Liberal MP Chandra Arya declares bid for prime minister of Canada

CANADA’s Asian MP Chandra Arya has announced his candidacy for the prime ministership, just hours before the Liberal Party confirmed that its next leader will be selected on 9 March.

Arya’s announcement comes days after prime minister Justin Trudeau declared his decision to step down while continuing in office until a new leader is chosen.

Keep ReadingShow less
Exclusive: 'Starmer must fill NHS staffing defecit'
Dr Chaand Nagpaul

Exclusive: 'Starmer must fill NHS staffing defecit'

LABOUR's latest announcement to cut NHS waiting lists, while welcome, does not go far enough, the former leader of the doctors’ union, Chaand Nagpaul has told Eastern Eye.

Prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, unveiled his plans on Monday (6). He pledged Labour would set up more NHS hubs in community locations in England, and the service would make greater use of the private sector to help meet the challenge.

Keep ReadingShow less