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Jasmin Jessen •

Could the UK ever compete in the commercial space industry?

Last night, American lunar lander Odysseus successfully touched down on the Moon.

The mission aims to build models of the lunar landscape, and map how exhaust fumes interact with the surface.

These models will help NASA prepare for 2026, when four astronauts will land to begin building a lunar base.

This is the first American moon landing in over 50 years, and the first commercial moon landing in history.

But could the UK ever compete in the commercial space industry?

A bill read in Parliam
BBC News •

Star Wars: Norfolk man spends over a year building R2-D2

People have lots of things in their garages, but not many can boast 15 life-size droids.

The 52-year-old takes them to conventions, uses them for charity fundraising, and visits schools to teach robotics.

"I've had people in tears… they can't believe they've met a real-sized R2-D2," he said.

As a child, Mr Harris loved making models from kits. When his son asked if they could build an RD-D2 together, he told him he would not know where to start.

"Next thing you know, you've got a full-sized
UEAJournalism.com •

Dig deeper – cultivating your health goals in the garden

It’s almost time for lunch, and Doreen Cochrane has spent her morning weeding in Norwich.

St. Stevens Square Community Garden is a blaze of colour amidst the grey city, with vibrant flowers packing a punch.

The air is full of drizzle and the sky is grey, but she laughs and jokes her way around the flowerbeds.

“I’m full of arthritis; it exercises my hands, my mind… I love it.

The garden’s sign is adorned with photos of Doreen and her community building the garden from scratch.

Gardening is p
Jasmin Jessen •

“Blessing” £2 bus cap extended

Central government have extended their £2 bus fare scheme again to the end of October as part of the Help for Households scheme.

It covers over 500 bus routes in the East of England alone.

After this, fares will be frozen at £2.50 until November 2024.

The scheme began in January this year and was originally planned to end in March before being extended to July.

The 45 mile journey from Norwich to King’s Lynn usually costs uni student Aimee £4.80; she travels back and forth around 6 times a m
Jasmin Jessen •

Black people face eight times more stop and search in Norfolk than white people

In the first quarter of 2023, people who Norfolk Constabulary officers defined as black were stopped and searched eight times more than people they defined as white.

Police have the power to stop people and search them if they have ‘reasonable grounds’ to suspect you’re carrying something illegal, for example stolen property or illegal drugs.

Police can also carry out a stop and search without reasonable grounds if a senior officer approves it.

Chief Constable Olivia Pikney, NPCC, said stop a
Jasmin Jessen •

Young people are leaving Great Yarmouth

Data from the 2021 Census shows the median age in Great Yarmouth has increased by 3 years, and population growth is almost 6% lower than the rest of the East of England.

Brett Smith, aged 23, was “born and raised” in Great Yarmouth and wants to move to the USA.

He’s pursuing a career in cybersecurity and says there’s only one company in Norfolk he’d be interested in working for.

“I’m out of Yarmouth as much as I possibly can.

“It’s a tourist town – summertime is okay… wintertime all the shop
Jasmin Jessen •

Families “worried about kids” as interest rates rise 11th time

The Bank of England has increased interest rates from 4% to 4.5% for the 11th time in a row.

The interest rise is lower than initial predictions after last year’s mini budget, but is still hard news for many.

Around 1.4 million people currently have tracker or variable rate mortgages and will be affected by this change immediately.

On average, a tracker mortgage will cost £24 more per month and variable £15 more.

This increase is almost as much as the average person spends on a week of food.
Jasmin Jessen •

Norfolk Police “could force people to use the black market”

Norfolk Constabulary has not changed its policy since being criticised for seizing a patient’s prescription cannabis last year, a Freedom of Information Act request has revealed.

Ryan Specter has a cannabis prescription for ADHD, as first-line medication gave him intolerable side effects.

His prescription cannabis was seized by Norfolk Police last year as he “didn’t provide them with a Cannabis Card (Cancard)”.

“I see how it could force people to use the black market.

“It’s odd as the police
Jasmin Jessen •

Students criticised for not fighting for Ukraine

Memorials on the streets in Western Ukraine (Credit: Olha Babenko)

A Ukrainian university student living in the UK says he’s been accused of being a “draft dodger” while his home country is invaded.

Oleksii Burov has been at UEA since 2019 and is now studying for a masters degree in Media, Culture and Society.

“I’ve had people on social media… tell me that I’m a coward, that I’m a ‘draft dodger’.

“It’s seemingly picking up and getting worse and I’m not quite sure why.

“It’s worrying. It’s n
Jasmin Jessen •

How a Climate Course ‘saved me’

“We had young women coming to our counselling service who were talking about whether or not they would have children, and we just felt really under-resourced as an organisation.” Ruth Taylor told UEAjournalism.

The UK’s first mindfulness-based eco-anxiety course was created to fill this gap, and is running at UEA.

Azza is a PhD student who co-delivers sessions on the six week course.

She came across the content of the course in 2019 as a result of a personal crisis.

“It helped me, it really
UEAJournalism.com •

Duolingo’s “Worst Update Ever”

The boss of the language app, Duolingo, has defended changes to the company’s product.

The company launched this new update to all users on the 1st of November.

Luis von Ahn told NBC “We do think that the new system is better.

“And, you know, for us, having to maintain two separate systems is pretty difficult.

“This is why we decided to do this – to simplify Duolingo and also to make it so that new users understood how to best use Duolingo.

Duolingo is a language learning app that offers ov
Jasmin Jessen •

Crew Launched to Research “Holy grail” Heart Disease Treatment

SpaceX launched NASA’s Crew-5 to the International Space Station at 16:00 UTC on the 5th of October.

The crew includes 2 NASA astronauts, Nicole Aunapu Mann, and Josh A. Cassada, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina.

This is the first female-led NASA Commercial Crew Program mission, and the first mission to take a Native American woman to space with Nicole Anapu Mann of Wailacki heritage as commander.

The journey to the ISS too