Fines increased for fly-tipping and littering as cases soar in lockdown

Ethan Shanfeld This year, the Academy Awards will not allow acceptance speeches on Zoom, but that doesn’t mean you can’t virtually gather with your friends to watch the Oscars.However, before you unmute to discuss the best and worst red carpet looks and groan about what will win versus what should win, take a few minutes to make sure your video background is reaching its full aesthetic potential.There’s no better authority on Zoom rooms than Claude Taylor, who, with co-creator Jessie Bahrey, runs Room Rater, the popular Twitter account that scores Zoom backgrounds on a scale of one to ten. Variety spoke to Taylor to find out the four best tips for setting up your space so you can take home the award for best room.

FBI negotiation tips which claimed to help "win anyone over" including repeating their words.TikTok user David Rooney, from Melbourne, Australia, said he learned the negotiation skills from FBI agent Chris Voss and one of the key techniques is "mirroring".Speaking on his account @david_rooney, he says: "Here's a negotiation technique that will help win anyone over."It's called mirroring and it involves repeating keywords in a conversation to make someone feel like they're being understood."For example, if someone says, 'I'm having a really hard time, I feel like I'm under a lot of financial pressure and a lot of stress at the moment'.

KRIS Boyson has been spotted having an intimate dinner with ex Bianca Gascoigne - just days after his former fiancée Katie Price announced her engagement. The pair shared a posh meal at ROKA in London's Mayfair but Kris seemed determined to keep it a secret as he hid his face from photographers and even tried ducking under a table.

JMSN has shared a new track called ‘Rolling Stone’ – you can listen to it below.Written, produced, arranged and mixed by the indie-soul wunderkind himself, the gorgeous new single hears him channel a Prince-meets-Tame Impala type of vibe.As the track builds, the Detroit musician’s high-pitched falsetto swims in and out of a shimmering, calmly psychedelic backdrop, laced with sharply defined layers of instrumentation.“Ever since I been gone we’ve been driftin’ apart/ As time passes on, distance grows/ When I finally get home, we go back to the start/ See, I never meant to be a rolling stone,” JMSN sings, acknowledging his status as a musical nomad, even though it was never his intention.He then transports listeners to a hypnotic space with

Graeme Hall has spoken out about how the easing of lockdown restrictions will see a different dynamic for dogs to get to grips with.

Paul Weller has opened up about making music during lockdown.In a new interview with Uncut magazine, the former frontman of The Jam said music helped to keep him sane during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.Weller’s upcoming new album ‘Fat Pop (Volume 1)’ is set for release on May 14, was written and recorded during the first coronavirus lockdown last year.Weller said that without access to a studio and the means to make music, he would “probably be in a padded cell.

Lion Babe are looking ahead to summer with the release of their sun-kissed new single ‘Frida Kahlo’ – listen to it below.The track comes on the heels of the alt-R&B/soul duo – comprised of singer-songwriter and performance artist Jillian Hervey and producer/DJ Lucas Goodman – announcing the release of their upcoming third album, ‘Rainbow Child’.Combination funk, hip-hop and electronic sounds, the breezy ‘Frida Kahlo’ draws on Hervey’s enduring appreciation for the iconic Mexican artist, as well as tapping into your own creativity and self-expression as a way of finding direction and nurturing self-development.Speaking on the track, Hervey called it “a song that honours the spirit of Frida Kahlo.

Wonho is like the Harry Styles of K-Pop!

coronavirus in the last 24 hours, the Scottish Government has confirmed. The latest figures for Scotland showed that 177 new cases had been identified overnight.

Christine McGuinness put on an eye-popping display in her latest Instagram upload.Paddy McGuinness's wife, 33, looked sensational as she shared a short video of herself in the shower.Christine dared to bare in the racy video as she dropped her robe in flesh-flashing fashion.In the clip, Christine lathered up a storm with some Baylis and Harding body wash, as she enjoyed some pamper time.Despite stepping in to the shower for a cleanse, Christine couldn't abandon her signature glamour and styled her blonde locks into voluminous curls which cascaded past her shoulders.She also went all-out in the makeup stakes, adding a heavy smoky shadow and a muted-pink to her plump pout.

THINGS seem to be hotting up between Phoebe Dynevor and her "new boyfriend" Pete Davidson. The Sun exclusively revealed last month how the Bridgeton actress and the SNL star had grown close.

weight loss programme that works for you. Whether you change your nutrition or try a new training regime, everyone has their own way.So when the first coronavirus lockdown was announced in 2020, Paulo Vaa had to get himself motivated.After years of trying, he got weight and mindset under control, before becoming the global winner of F45's 8-Week Challenge.

Logic and Madlib have joined forces to form a new duo called MadGic – listen to their first track below.The surprise team up comes after Logic announced last year that he would be retiring from music following the release of his latest album, ‘No Pressure’, which arrived in July.However, the Maryland rapper did joke in a previous interview that Madlib would be the only person who could bring him out of retirement.To accompany the announcement, the pair have shared a new track, ‘Mars Only Pt.3’.

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Meghan Markle, 39, and Prince Harry, 39, sat down for a landmark interview with Oprah Winfrey, 67, back in March.The award-winning interviewer has now opened up on the conversation, and what they told her before they sat down to talk.Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah contained some huge bombshells about their time in the Royal Family.Some watching the interview would have been curious to know how much of it was planned before it was filmed.Now Oprah has cleared this up during a meditative look back at the chat.She explained: “Whenever I'm doing interviews with anybody for anything that is significant, I have a conversation with them before.“I didn't see Harry and Meghan before but I did text them and say intention is very important to

A student opened the doors to his fantastic garden bar just as thousands struggle to get a table at their local.

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You has officially wrapped up filming on season three of the hit show.

Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson has flown to the UK to spend some time with his girlfriend, actor and Bridgerton Star Phoebe Dynevor.

The season finale of MTV’s The Challenge: Double Agents scored a 1.12 adults 18-49 Live+Same Day rating and 5.2 share, marking the popular reality franchise’s highest rated episode in over one year and the best share in 15 years. The finale’s total L+SD viewership was 990K.

Ben Platt lives out his Wicked dreams and defies gravity like Elphaba in the music video for his new song “Imagine.”