That is all for our UEA Journalism news day. Make sure you check out the rest of our website for the full stories from today.

Tonight is a big night for cricket… the Hundred draft is returning.

So what do you need to know?

The draft will start at 4pm- so there’s not much time left to wait.

For the first time ever, a women’s Hundred draft will be held. A total of 63 players will be drafted this year- 33 women and 30 men.

The Hundred begins on Thursday 1st August, and both the men’s and women’s final will be on Sunday 27th August.

The House of Common and the House of Lords have announced TikTok will be blocked on ‘all parliamentary devices and the wider parliamentary network’, for reasons of cyber security.

Last week the social media app was banned from UK government phones.

Currently TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is being questioned by US lawmakers in Congress over what data TikTok collects. Chairwomen Cathy Rodgers says the US should ban the app due to security concerns over its connections to China and the privacy of people’s data. However in his opening statement, Shou Zi Chew says all data is safely stores in the US.

With the rise in the UK’s interest rate, many of us are worried about how this could affect our mortgage. We spoke to a financial advisor at Alexander&Co estate agents to explain the possible effects on mortgages:

Our reporter Annabelle Hutcherson is at a new ‘Empowering Art’ exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre. Here is some of the art on display:

The exhibition brings together contemporary and historical pieces from across the Northwest Coast of North America.

It will be on display until 30th July.

Norwich has the highest rate of divorce across England and Wales. 1 in 8 people aged 16+ in Norwich are divorced or were formally in a civil partnership.

Pauline Godfrey, psychosexual and relationship therapist, explains that relationships can breakdown for a number of reasons. These can include:

• Financial problems
• Work/Life balance
• Becoming new parents
• Affairs

“Couples go into a negative way of communicating. As they stop listening clearly to each other they pick up on the negative parts of the conversation instead of the positive.”

Alice Muncer (above) runs the English Exchange at the Millennium Library in Norwich.

Their sessions aim to help people to improve their English when it is not their first language. They had an increase in Ukrainian refugees access the service as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Bank of England have raised interest rates to 4.2 per cent. Our reporters Jasmin Jessen and Alex Adams went out in Norwich to find out what you think.

You can let us know what you think on Twitter- just tag @ueajournalism

Junior doctors in England have announced a second round of strike action in April.

Members of the British Medical Association will walk out from 11th until 14th April, in a continuation of disputes over pay and working conditions. The BMA are insisting only a 30 per cent increase will make up for previous below-inflation rises.

There was a previous 72-hour strike that took place at the beginning of last week.

BMA leaders met Health Secretary Steve Barclay on Wednesday. He says that a pay rise of 30 per cent is “unaffordable”.

The Bank of England has raised the interest rate to 4.25%. This is the 11th month in a row that the interest rate has increased.

More to come on this story at 4pm.

The Bank of England is expected to increase interest rates. The UK interest rate is currently 4% but this could rise to 4.25%- this would be the 11th rise in the row.

What are interest rates?

The interest rate is the amount you are charged for borrowing money. When interest rates go up, you pay more interest on borrowed money.

The Bank of England increases interest rates when prices are going up too quickly- and this is what inflation is.

Recent figures show that inflation in the UK jumped from 10.1% in January t 10.4% in February.

Local elections will be happening at the start of May. This year will be the first time you will need voter ID.

Our reporter Lauren Aarons will be explaining more about this at 4pm.

An NHS Tracker by The Telegraph newspaper shows the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust response times compared to the national target in February 2023.

Councillor Edward Back asked why there was a longer response time for category two emergencies when compared to the national target, and whether there were any underlying reasons causing this.

Category two emergencies make up the bulk of the calls for ambulances.

David Allen explained that there is a “direct correlation between delays at hospital and our category two response. We can’t get away from that.”

12.8% of people aged 16+ in Norwich are divorced- the highest rate proportionally across England and Wales.

There was a 9.6% increase in divorces between 2020 and 2021, according to the most recent census.

Our reporter Phoebe Lucas will explain more on this later.

Morning everyone- Paris is live blogging our news day. Here are our top stories:

Ambulance response times in the East of England are above the national target of 15 minutes.

Interest rates in England are expected to rise to 4.25%.

Norwich has the highest divorce rate in the UK- why is this?

More to come on these stories throughout the day.

We have come to the end of our Good News news-day, so thanks for keeping up to date with us.

You can check out some of our reports in full by going to our home page or follow our UEA Journalism socials!

Our reporter Josh Gregory-Barnes went to Italy and indulged in the European culture and of course the food.

Check out his TikTok below!

25-year-old Ellie Bandy from Norfolk won a silver medal in both the 60 metre and 200 metre South of England championship at the weekend.

Jasmin Jessen spoke to Ellie about her win and being motivated in sport.

Take a listen to the full report below.

Throughout this week UEA have been hosting sporting activities for women to get involved with in celebration of national women’s history month.

Libby and Annabelle went to film the UEA dance squad yesterday to get a taster of what the activities involve.

Today’s events include a session in karate and triathlon circuits.

https://www.instagram.com/uea_journalism/

The play area closed on January 16 for a £100,000 revamp, and has now officially reopened.

The improvements include a new six-metre tall slide tower, a rope swing, a multi-unit climbing frame, and spinning seats for children to enjoy.

Alex will have more on this story later!

Image: Ruby and Poppy, taken by Sonya Duncan. Originally published in Norwich Evening News.

Sports reporter, Jack Maclean spoke to head coach Shaun Howes, and mid-fielder Katie Knights about playing at Carrow Road for the first time ever next month.

Listen below!

Researchers at UEA have said CADD522 works against all the main types of primary bone cancer.

The team behind the research have said: “it could be the most important drug discovery in the field for more than 45 years”.

Image: google pexels

Bone cancer is primarily found in children, and the CADD522 drug is set to improve survival rates. It also means patients are less likely to need surgery that can cause disabilities as they can rely on the drug instead

Human trials have yet to begin but after discovering the survival rate of mice with bone cancer went from 42% to 50%, UEA researchers are awaiting confirmation to begin human trials.

Reporters, George Cooke and Louise Graham have been to Fakenham this morning to the Cavies and Cake cafe.

Image: George Cooke

The idea is to encourage people who may be lonely, or are in need of respite, or have additional needs to go to the establishment for some furry fun.

See a sneak peak of the full report below!

Our reporter, Cerys Baker, has looking into the event which celebrates the contributions of women and their achievements in history and society.

Norwich’s, University of East Anglia (UEA) is holding events throughout the month. Including a workshop later today focussing on sex and consent in a safe place.

Cerys Baker spoke to Evie Drennan, the activities and opportunities organiser at UEA.

Hear what she had to say by keeping updated with our live page.

The marble statues, including a brain and eye are currently located on Hay Hill, opposite Primark.

Image: George Thompson, LDR

The pieces, by Patrick Poirier are called Homage To Sir Thomas Browne and was designed for people to contemplate about life in the 17th century in a busy modern city.

Following a City Council meeting this morning, all of the marble pieces have been approved to be removed.

We will have more on this story later today.

Paris Maben-Hume has been looking into whether there are any truths behind superstitious links with a full moon.

Later today we will be speaking with meteorologist, Mark Thompson, to see if werewolves are among us!

We experienced the last full moon of winter on Tuesday and you’ve sent in your photos.

Image: Paris Maben-Hume in Norwich, Norfolk

Image: Pete Curle in Terrington St Clement, Norfolk

Image: Harry Frazer in Weasenham, Norfolk

Norwich City Women, will be playing their first ever league game at Carrow Road next month.

The Canaries will be playing against Ashford town on the 16 April this year.

Norwich City general manager, Flo Allen said: “The players and the staff are buzzing!”

Image: General Manager, Flo Allen

Our sports reporter, Jack Maclean, has been speaking to the team about the upcoming game.

Keep updated this story throughout the day to find out more.

Seaside town, Wells-next-the-sea has been named the second ‘coolest’ place to live in the UK.

Image: The Sun, Cavendish

In first place was the Cornish fishing village, Polperro.

The rankings were decided according to the number of independent shops per head of population, the range of cultural events, how ‘instagrammable’ the area is, and the popularity as a TV and film location.

Wells is known for its picturesque stretch of beach and for the location as Oscar winning movie, Shakespeare In Love, starring Gwyneth Paltrow.

Andy Duckworth, organiser of the survey, said: “What is interesting is how influential Instagram has become in boosting tourism in many of our top 50.

“It is a massive help for visitor numbers, too, if a popular film or TV show uses a town as a location.”

Morning everyone, welcome to our Good News, news day!

Today we will be covering only positive stories, so keep up to date throughout the day here on our live page.

That’s all for today. Thank you for following our blog about the anniversary of the Ukraine war. Today’s blog was brought to you by Cerys Baker and all the team at UEA journalism.

Tomorrow there will be a national one-minute silence for Ukraine to mark a year since Russia invaded. This was published on the UK government website.

This moment pays tribute to their bravery and to show the UK’s solidarity. This one minute silence will take place tomorrow at 11am, which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will lead with the nation.

Individuals and organisations across the UK are urged to participate.

Pixabay

After a year since Russia invaded Ukraine, a Norfolk MP has asked that people take in refugees with their “eyes open.”

Read more here: Norfolk MP says families thinking of rehoming Ukrainian refugees must “take care of them properly.” – UEAJournalism.com

The community church in Aylsham, jubilee family centre, are helping Ukrainians learn English.

More on this story later.