Category: News

A soft play center owner has slammed “selfish” parents who deliberately hosted a chickenpox party at her venue. 

Jane Coulson, the owner of an indoor activity center in England, was shocked and outraged when she learned about the gathering’s secret intentions.

A concerned mother tipped her off, revealing that a group of parents had intentionally brought their children to the center to spread chickenpox, believing it was best to expose their kids early and “get it over with.”

Chickenpox is “a very contagious disease that’s caused by varicella zoster virus. It can spread when you touch or breathe in droplets from an infected person’s cough or sneeze or when you touch their chickenpox rash.”

However, the plan has been widely condemned as irresponsible and dangerous. 

Speaking to the BBC, Jane expressed her frustration at the reckless behavior which jeopardized the health of not only children but also staff and other families.  

“Someone deliberately bringing in something like chickenpox is very selfish,” she said.   

“If you want a chickenpox party, have it in your own home.” 

Jane’s biggest concern is that the play center is a place where children with weaker immune systems often come to play. For some, exposure to chickenpox could result in severe complications.

“I thought people would have common sense. If your child is sick, don’t bring them to a place like this,” she added. 

Deliberate exposure to chickenpox is not worth the risk

Medical professionals and health organizations have long warned against intentionally exposing children to chickenpox.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strongly advises against chickenpox parties, stating that the risks far outweigh any perceived benefits.

“Chickenpox can be serious and can lead to severe complications and death, even in healthy children. There is no way to tell in advance how severe your child’s symptoms will be. So, it is not worth taking the chance of exposing your child to someone with the disease,” their official website states.

“The best way to protect a child from the disease is to get them vaccinated against it.”

The Australian Department of Health website lists the ages when the chickenpox vaccine is recommended for individuals (with factors depending on immunity issues and exposure).

The Raising Children Australia website advises that individuals with chickenpox should stay away from newborn babies, pregnant people, and anyone with weakened immune systems, as they are most vulnerable to severe illness.

A Co Armagh man who shook his baby son so violently that it caused “catastrophic” brain injuries has been told he will spend the next 20 years behind bars for the child’s murder.

Lewis Oliver Rowland sustained life-changing brain injuries in November 2015 and was left with a range of disabilities when he was 13 weeks old.

His 29-year-old father Craig Rowland, from Millington Park in Portadown, denied murdering his son.

He stood trial last October and at the conclusion of a four-week trial, the jury of eight men and four women convicted him on a charge of murder.

Mr Justice O’Hara said that despite the jury’s verdict, Rowland continues to deny responsibility for what he did and has blamed medical staff for his son’s death.

Also sentenced today was Lewis’s mother Laura Graham, who is 32 and from Edward Street in Lurgan.

Before the murder trial, both she and Rowland admitted a charge of wilfully neglecting their son on November 20th, 2015 by failing to obtain timely medical treatment.

Graham was handed a combination order consisting of three years probation and 100 hours of community service for the child cruelty charge.

On that same charge, Rowland had a 12 month sentence imposed that will run concurrently with the 20-year sentence.

We’ve all heard about the pressures of job interviews, but sometimes, it’s not the nerves that get to us– it’s the unexpected, uncomfortable situations. One job seeker’s recent experience, shared on Reddit, has quickly gone viral after he was rejected for refusing to answer a question about his father’s workplace. What started as a regular interview took a tense turn, leaving the candidate with no choice but to walk out. Here’s what happened, and why it has people questioning the professionalism of the hiring process.
An unfortunate beginning

Mick, a job seeker, had passed the initial screening and was invited to an in-person interview with a manufacturing company. He arrived 30 minutes early, eager to make a great impression. However, things quickly went south when he was kept waiting for over an hour. No explanation or apology came for the delay, which left Mick feeling frustrated. As he put it, “No explanation, no apology. Just waiting.”
Finally, when the interview began, things didn’t improve. The HR representative greeted him with little warmth and even took two phone calls during the interview, completely ignoring Mick. He also noted that the HR rep’s tone felt disrespectful, especially when she questioned him about his nickname.
The personal question that crossed the line

The interview’s awkwardness continued to escalate when Mick was asked a very personal question: “What does your father do for a living?” Mick responded that his father worked at a private electronics company. But instead of leaving it at that, the HR representative pushed further, asking, “Where exactly does he work?”
Mick, feeling uncomfortable with the probing, politely declined to answer, stating, “I’m sorry ma’am, but I’d rather not answer that. It’s a private matter.”
Unexpectedly, the interview ends

Instead of respecting his boundaries, the HR representative shut down the conversation with a blunt response: “Then we can’t continue this interview.” Mick was caught off guard by how quickly things ended, but he didn’t push back. With a simple “Alright then,” he got up and walked out of the room.
Public reaction to the disrespectful behaviour
Mick’s Reddit post sharing his experience quickly gained traction, with many users expressing outrage over how the interview was handled. It wasn’t just the long wait or the interviewer’s rudeness– many were shocked that the HR rep ended the interview over such a personal question.
One Reddit user summed it up, saying, “This is beyond unprofessional. Wasting your time, playing on her phone, and then acting like your father’s job is a dealbreaker? You dodged a bullet.” Another user suggested Mick should take the matter higher up in the company, commenting, “I would find and call the owner of the company directly and level with him about how bad the interview was compared to every other company you’ve interviewed at.”
Others focused on the long wait, pointing out, “I’d say 15 minutes, honestly. Especially when a lot of people get an attitude if you’re not 10 minutes early.”
A bigger lesson about professionalism

Mick’s story is a lesson for both job seekers and employers. For job seekers, it’s a reminder that interviews should be professional and respectful. Feeling nervous or running late is one thing, but being treated poorly or asked personal questions is another.
For employers, this should be a wake-up call. How a company treats candidates in an interview speaks volumes about its work culture. For Mick, the experience was a major red flag– and judging by the online reactions, many agree he was right to walk away.

A supposed hunting influencer from the U.S. might be losing her Australia visa after snatching a baby wombat from its mother.

Sam Jones, who markets herself online as a “wildlife biologist and environmental scientist,” shared a disturbing video of herself running off with a baby wombat while laughing at its panicked mother.

Videos by VICE

“Look at the mother!” said an Australian man who was recording the video. “Oh, it’s chasing after us!”

US Influencer Stole a Baby Wombat From Its Mother in Australia and Filmed It

They’re both heard laughing at the distressed mother while Jones escapes toward their car.

“I caught a baby wombat!” she says excitedly as the baby wails and squirms in her arms.

“Hey, mom is right there,” she adds as she notices the wombat’s mother approaching them. “And she’s pissed!”

Eventually, she releases the wombat back into the wild.

After posting her video, she was hit with her own consequences.

Now, the Australian government is investigating the conditions of Ms Jones’ visa.

“Either way, given the level of scrutiny that will happen if she ever applies for a visa again, I’ll be surprised if she even bothers,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also rightfully labeled the incident an “outrage.”

“They are gentle, lovely creatures… I suggest to this so-called influencer, maybe she should try some other Australian animals, maybe she should try a crocodile,” Albanese said. “Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there. Take another animal that can actually fight back rather than stealing a baby wombat from its mother.”

As I said earlier, Jones presents herself as a wildlife biologist and environmental scientist. You would hope someone like that would have a little more respect for animals…

She has since deleted the video and locked her account, but you can still watch the clip below.

Surveys of 16-24-year-olds and parents, conducted by the Chartered Institute of Building, explore perceptions of the industry as well as what influences careers choices.

New insights into how positively young people and parents view careers in the construction industry have been released by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).

Surveys of 6-24-year-olds and parents of young people in that age range explored perceptions of the industry as well as what influences careers choices. Both surveys were conducted by Opinion Matters in early February 2025, among a sample of 2,001 young people aged 16-24, and a sample of 2,000 UK Parents, aged 31+, with children aged 16-24 years old, respectively.

Two thirds (65%) of young people surveyed hold a positive view of construction careers while more than three quarters (79%) of parents are supportive of their child pursuing a career in the sector. Just under half (42%) said they would recommend a career in construction to their child.

More than 40% (43%) of parents surveyed said they’d prefer their child to “earn while they learn” instead of going to university, reflecting concerns over the well documented rising costs of university education and lack of graduate opportunities. 

More than half of the young people (53%) said they’d be interested in studying a built environment GCSE while almost two thirds (64%) of parents said they’d encourage their children to take this subject were it to be available.

However, both surveys highlighted how perceptions of poor workplace culture, male dominance and construction not being a respected career remain rife. “Male dominated”, “physical work” and “unsafe” were the most chosen options by young people for not wanting to work in the construction sector.

As a further setback, almost half (47%) of young respondents said information about working in construction was not included in the careers advice they received while in education. More than a quarter (28%) don’t believe careers in construction are accessible to young people.  

David Barnes, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at CIOB, said: “It seems we’re seeing a positive change in perceptions of working in construction from ones that historically have been fairly negative and this we hope will be welcomed by the industry. We firmly believe there’s more that can be done at government level to improve access to construction careers, like the creation of a built environment GCSE in England and a review of careers advice, but employers can also help make the sector more attractive to young people.”

The survey showed parents, friends and people they know working in the sector were the top three influences on young people’s perceptions of working in construction, while family, friends and social media have the biggest influences on their career choices more generally.

Presented with a list of fields of work, the top three selected by the 2,000 young people were digital and tech, project management and health and safety. The parents surveyed would most like their children to work in computing and tech, business and finance, and construction. As the third most preferred option construction ranked higher than healthcare, education, legal, creative and media, sport and leisure, armed forces, manufacturing, transport, tourism, retail and beauty.

Flexible working (49%), a good benefits package (42%) and career development funded by the employer (27%) were the top three choices by young people when asked what features offered by an employer would make them most likely to apply for a job.

CIOB hopes its findings will help construction employers better understand which aspects of jobs appeal to young people and what influences their career decisions so job adverts, job descriptions and working practices and policies can be adapted to attract a wider range of applicants.

Barnes continued: “Offering and promoting the things we know matter to them such as flexible working, development opportunities and employee benefits wherever possible could all help attract more to consider the sector as a career option. It’s also important the industry works to overcome some of the negative perceptions around diversity, physical labour and safety as these are seemingly putting some young people off.

“Our survey highlights how roles spanning data and technology, project management and health and safety all appeal to young people. Construction offers roles in all three areas, but we need to do more to sell these and dispel myths that all jobs are trade based or working on building sites. It’s also clear many young people are heavily influenced by social media so it’s important for our industry, including employers, to keep pace with that.  

“Here at CIOB we’ve recently launched our own TikTok channel to reach a younger audience for example. Parents are also influential, and a high percentage hold construction careers in high regard while many say they’d prefer their children to earn while they learn instead of going to university, something which the construction industry can offer.

“It’s time to make the most of the changes in attitudes we’re seeing and convert that positivity into more young people opting to join what those of us already in the sector know to be an exciting, fairly paid industry with amazing opportunities to learn and develop in a hugely rewarding career.”

Young people survey key findings:

• Almost half of young people surveyed selected working on building site in their top three options for describing construction careers. It was the most chosen option.
• 36% say construction is not a respected career path
• 35% say the industry has a poor workplace culture
• 53% say the industry is not welcoming to women
• 28% feel careers in construction are not accessible to young people
• 25% say they think their parents would be embarrassed if they pursue a career in construction. Only 8% of parents said they’d be embarrassed if their child worked in construction.  
• 47% say construction was not covered in careers advice they received while in education.  

Parents survey key findings:

• Women are more likely to have a high level of discussion about careers with their children than men (41% v 35%)
• 65% hold positive view of construction careers (71% men v 62% female)
• Almost two thirds (64%) of parents said they’d encourage their children to take a built environment GCSE were one to be available.
• More than three quarters (79%) would be supportive of their child working in construction with only six per cent saying they’d be unsupportive.  
• More than 40 per cent (43%) said they’d prefer their child to “earn while they learn” instead of going to university.

Aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner were absent from their retrial as jurors heard how they abandoned a live cat in a box as they fled authorities with their newborn daughter.

Marten, 37, and Mark Gordon, 50, are accused of the manslaughter of baby Victoria who died after they went off grid and slept in a tent on the South Downs in early 2023.

On the fourth day of their Old Bailey trial, neither defendant attended court as the prosecution listed belongings abandoned after their car burst into flames on the M61 near Bolton.

Judge Mark Lucraft KC told jurors: “You will notice that neither of the defendants are at the back of the court today.

“They are not here. Please do not draw any conclusions from that. We are going to continue in their absence.”

The court heard how the defendants had fled the scene of the car fire with baby Victoria before police and firefighters arrived on the evening of January 5 2023.

Prosecutor Joel Smith KC said it was a “watershed” moment as the discovery of a placenta wrapped in a towel in the car and Marten’s passport first alerted police of the existence of baby Victoria.

Other items strewn around the area included a live cat in a box, a wig, a blue camo romper suit, babygrows, a head massager, blankets, dummies and mittens, assorted clothes, nappies, sanitary towels, paperwork, a pink dressing gown and 38 mobile phones.

Mr Smith questioned Detective Constable Martha Bourne about what was recovered near the Peugeot car and on a nearby playing field.

He said: “Was a live cat found in a cat box on the playing field with the other material.”

Ms Bourne replied: “Yes, that’s correct.”

Jurors were told that the defendants were given a lift by a member of the public to Bolton where they were captured on CCTV at the bus interchange before taking a taxi to Liverpool.

Jurors were shown CCTV of the couple in Bolton, with Marten appearing to hold the baby under her coat.

From Liverpool, the couple travelled by taxi to Harwich in Essex, where they checked into a Premier Inn in the early hours of January 6.

At 1pm, Greater Manchester Police issued an alert for the missing couple and newborn baby, with the defendants’ photographs.

The next day, Ryan Gosling was walking his dog in Harwich when he spotted a couple by a flower planter and heard a baby crying.

Giving evidence, he said Marten was cradling the child in her arms wrapped in a towel.

He told jurors she seemed gaunt, pale and unkempt, while Gordon was “quite well presented”.

When he got home he told his wife that he had “definitely” seen the couple from the news and called the police “the same minute”.

The prosecution has alleged that the couple failed to provide adequate clothes for their baby as they travelled across England and camped on the South Coast, amid a high-profile police search.

Baby Victoria’s decomposed body was found in a disused shed inside a shopping bag with rubbish after the defendants were arrested in Brighton on February 27 2023.

Marten and Gordon, of no fixed address, have denied the gross negligence manslaughter of their daughter and causing or allowing her death between January 4 and February 27 2023.

Jurors have been told the defendants were convicted at an earlier trial of concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.

The Old Bailey retrial continues.

The bill, dubbed “Philomena’s law” in honour of mother and baby home survivor Philomena Lee, will exclude any such payments from calculations of a person’s eligibility for means-tested benefits or financial support for social care.

Liam Conlon, the Labour MP for Beckenham and Penge, yesterday secured leave from the House of Commons for the introduction of the bill, which will now be subject to a further debate on Friday 28 March.

“Just as we did for the Windrush families, we must now change the law to ensure that compensation payments for victims and survivors are ringfenced,” Mr Conlon told MPs.

“This bill, Philomena’s law, named after the inspirational and courageous Philomena Lee, will achieve that.

“I am proud to bring it to the House today, and I hope in the months ahead we will see a change in the law so that we can deliver justice for survivors and show them the kindness and respect they have so often been denied in life.”

Just five per cent of eligible survivors in Britain have applied for a compensation payment through the Irish scheme, according to Mr Conlon.

He believes up to 13,000 survivors living in Britain risk losing their benefits under current rules if they accept the compensation.

The CEO of multi-billion pound gaming platform Roblox has suggested parents worried about its safety should not let their kids play the game.

“My first message would be, if you’re not comfortable, don’t let your kids be on Roblox,” CEO Dave Baszucki told the BBC in a recent Gaming Empire: The Roblox Story programme, which is available on BBC iPlayer.

Roblox reportedly has more than 300 million active monthly users, and has been subject to numerous accusations of lax safety standards over the years.

• Read more: Essential Roblox parental-control settings, after 10-year-old spends £2,500-plus on game

A Bloomberg report from 2023 suggested the Roblox platform itself reported more than 13,000 instances of child exploitation in the US, and had to respond to more than a thousand requests from law enforcement about potentially predatory players.

“We watch for bullying, we watch for harassment, we filter all of those kinds of things, and I would say, behind the scenes, the analysis goes on all the way to, if necessary, reaching out to law enforcement,” Mr Baszucki said during the BBC interview.

Roblox announced improvements to its child safety policies in October 2024, in requiring parental permission to grant players under 13 access to the game’s chat features, disabling them for younger players as standard.

During the programme, though, the BBC also demonstrated how easy it is for minors to be contacted by adult players, and take part in Roblox instances that may contain unsuitable content.

The Roblox universe is make up of user-made games and experiences produced by other players, some of which attract far larger crowds of players than many AAA games.

Roblox creator Roblox Corporation went public in 2021, and its current price values the platform at around £30bn.

PEGI categorises Roblox as “parental guidance recommended”, citing that it “contains a broad and unpredictable range of user-generated content, which may contain elements that are unsuitable for younger children”.

• Read more: Ofcom tells tech companies to hide toxic online content from children