Latest news with #Andrew
The Star
9 hours ago
- General
- The Star
Meet the 'Python Huntress', who has more than 600 dead pythons under her belt
Siewe is a professional hunter of the invasive Burmese python in Florida. — Photos: Reuters Amy Siewe was a successful real estate agent – but her life changed after she captured her first python in Florida's Everglades in the United States. 'I just had this fascination with snakes. So when I learned that there was a python problem here in Florida... I went on a hunt, I caught a 2.75m python, and that was it. I was hooked!' she said. Within two months she had sold her business in Indiana and moved to Florida to become a python hunter. Now, with more than 600 dead pythons under her belt, she is known as the 'Python Huntress' – one of a handful of women among hundreds of men hunting the invasive Burmese python in Florida's Everglades wetland ecosystem. 'This python is about 3m long,' she says as she wrestles a snake she has just captured in the tall grass in the middle of the night. 'It's probably about three years old, and to date it's eaten about 200 of our native animals, including mammals and birds.' The snakeskins are tanned into leather and dyed, then turned into fashion accessories and other goods. Burmese pythons have been spreading through the Everglades National Park since Hurricane Andrew in 1992 destroyed a breeding facility for the pet trade, freeing some 900 snakes. Originally native to South-East Asia, the python can grow up to 5.5m long and has a voracious appetite, consuming the local wildlife, including mammals, birds and even alligators. The Everglades is a unique subtropical ecosystem, with the largest continuous mangrove ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere. It is home to a vast array of unique species, including the endangered Florida panther, the American alligator and the American crocodile. But it provides no natural predators to the Burmese python, allowing the population of the invasive species to balloon. Scientists have noted dramatic declines in raccoons, opossums, bobcats, and rabbits in the region. 'There's an estimated 500,000 pythons out there,' Siewe said. Siewe and her boyfriend Dave Roberts measuring a python they caught in Ochopee, Florida. The pythons, which are hunted by night, cannot legally be transported alive, so they are killed on site after being captured and measured. Once home, Siewe skins the dead snakes, and then has the skins professionally tanned into leather to be made into purses, wallets, watch bands and other goods. It takes an average of 12 hours to catch one. 'So it's not that effective, right,' she admits. 'We're always going to have pythons in Florida. What we're trying to do is figure out how to decrease their numbers. Hunting right now is the most effective tool that we have.' – Reuters
West Australian
13 hours ago
- Politics
- West Australian
Royal Lodge standoff: Why Prince Andrew won't ‘downgrade' to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle's former cottage
Prince Andrew is reportedly embroiled in a long-running dispute over his future at Royal Lodge, the 30-room Windsor estate he has called home since 2004. According to UK media reports, King Charles has been encouraging his younger brother to vacate the property in favour of Frogmore Cottage — the former residence of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle — as part of efforts to slim down royal expenses. The smaller home would be a significant downgrade from Prince Andrew's current residence, but the Duke of York has refused to budge. The 64-year-old royal holds a 75-year lease on Royal Lodge, signed in 2003, and is said to have spent more than £7.5 million (A$15.5 million) on renovations. He currently lives there with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson. However, a fresh disagreement has emerged over who is responsible for the estate's costly external repairs. While Prince Andrew is believed to have maintained the interior of the property, Daily Mail columnist Ephraim Hardcastle reports there is a 'rumbling dispute' about funding major upkeep on the mansion's exterior. Prince Andrew isn't the only royal to pour millions into maintaining and renovating royal residences. Reports suggest Prince Harry and Meghan were never reimbursed for the personal funds they spent on modernising the Grade-II listed property Frogmore was originally intended as a long-term base for the couple, but just months after completing major renovations in 2019, initially funded in part by a Sovereign Grant and later fully reimbursed by the Sussexes, they stepped back from royal duties and relocated to California. That includes everything from an eco-friendly boiler system delivering low-carbon heat and endless hot water to top-tier security features, now lost to the Crown Estate. The couple had previously reimbursed £2.4 million in public funds used for the initial renovations after facing public criticism. Prince Andrew, once a dashing naval officer who served in the military during the Falklands War with Argentina in the early 1980s, has now become a royal pariah over his friendship with the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He was forced to step down from a roving UK trade ambassador role in 2011, before quitting all royal duties in 2019 and then being stripped of his military links and royal patronages in 2022 amid allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has always denied. British media have reported that King Charles had cut off his allowance and wanted to oust the duke from his Royal Lodge. Despite mounting pressure, Prince Andrew is expected to remain at Royal Lodge until at least 2028. Under the terms of his lease, he may be entitled to a partial rebate on expenses if asked to vacate the property after 25 years of occupancy.
Perth Now
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
Prince Andrew in heated stand-off over $57m Royal Lodge
Prince Andrew is reportedly embroiled in a long-running dispute over his future at Royal Lodge, the 30-room Windsor estate he has called home since 2004. According to UK media reports, King Charles has been encouraging his younger brother to vacate the property in favour of Frogmore Cottage — the former residence of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle — as part of efforts to slim down royal expenses. The smaller home would be a significant downgrade from Prince Andrew's current residence, but the Duke of York has refused to budge. The 64-year-old royal holds a 75-year lease on Royal Lodge, signed in 2003, and is said to have spent more than £7.5 million (A$15.5 million) on renovations. The Royal Lodge Credit: The Royal Lodge / He currently lives there with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson. However, a fresh disagreement has emerged over who is responsible for the estate's costly external repairs. While Prince Andrew is believed to have maintained the interior of the property, Daily Mail columnist Ephraim Hardcastle reports there is a 'rumbling dispute' about funding major upkeep on the mansion's exterior. Prince Andrew is in an ongoing dispute over Royal Lodge. Credit: AAP Prince Andrew isn't the only royal to pour millions into maintaining and renovating royal residences. Reports suggest Prince Harry and Meghan were never reimbursed for the personal funds they spent on modernising the Grade-II listed property Frogmore was originally intended as a long-term base for the couple, but just months after completing major renovations in 2019, initially funded in part by a Sovereign Grant and later fully reimbursed by the Sussexes, they stepped back from royal duties and relocated to California. That includes everything from an eco-friendly boiler system delivering low-carbon heat and endless hot water to top-tier security features, now lost to the Crown Estate. The couple had previously reimbursed £2.4 million in public funds used for the initial renovations after facing public criticism. Prince Andrew, once a dashing naval officer who served in the military during the Falklands War with Argentina in the early 1980s, has now become a royal pariah over his friendship with the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He was forced to step down from a roving UK trade ambassador role in 2011, before quitting all royal duties in 2019 and then being stripped of his military links and royal patronages in 2022 amid allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has always denied. British media have reported that King Charles had cut off his allowance and wanted to oust the duke from his Royal Lodge. Despite mounting pressure, Prince Andrew is expected to remain at Royal Lodge until at least 2028. Under the terms of his lease, he may be entitled to a partial rebate on expenses if asked to vacate the property after 25 years of occupancy.
Metro
a day ago
- Business
- Metro
Savvy Brits are snagging cheaper homes thanks to new law
The upcoming Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act is set to make life easier for those wanting to get on the property ladder — and savvy buyers are taking advantage now. At the moment, homeowners with leasehold agreements – commonly seen in flats – don't own the land their property sits on, and need to make extra rental payments to the freeholder (sometimes known as a landlord). But the new act changes this, making it both cheaper and easier for people to either extend their leasehold, or buy the freehold themselves. While we're still waiting on the act to become law (it's recently been given Royal Assent), it means that people are now snapping up properties with short leases. Previously, these homes may not have been an attractive investment, given the considerable time, paperwork – and money – required to increase the terms of a lease. As such, they often stay on the market for longer than similar properties, or come with a lower price tag to reflect the additional cost to the new owner. You can access completely fee-free mortgage advice with London & Country (L&C) Mortgages, a partner of Metro. Customers benefit from: – Award winning service from the UK's leading mortgage broker – Expert advisors on hand 7 days a week – Access to 1000s of mortgage deals from across the market Unlike many mortgage brokers, L&C won't charge you a fee for their advice. Find out how much you could borrow online Mortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registered number: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. But with the changes outlined in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act expected to come into force at some point this year, some are now speculating that getting in on short lease homes before the change will pay off later. As Andrew Binstock, co-founder and auctioneer at Auction House London explains, buyers are increasingly keen to invest in homes that'll need the lease extending in a few years' time, in the hope that once this policy comes through, the renewal process will be a relative walk in the park. 'Short leasehold flats are attracting strong demand – we have offered over 150 so far this year,' Andrew told This Is Money, which he puts down to buyers' growing confidence around the reform. And, there are bargains to be had. A one-bedroom flat in upmarket Chelsea with just eight years left on the lease is up for auction with a guide price of just £120,000 – drastically below the area's average sale price of £1,272,260. Do we smell a potential steal? The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act was passed in May 2024, but many of the measures are being introduced gradually. In a nutshell, it will: Make it both cheaper and easier for leaseholders to either extend their lease or buy their freehold by removing the need to pay the freeholders' costs and eradicating the marriage value (AKA the automatic increase in a property's worth after the lease has been extended). At present, the leaseholder has to share 50% of the increased value with the freeholder, which can be costly . Increase the standard lease extension term to 990 years Give more leaseholders the right to take over management of their building Ban new leasehold houses (with a few exceptions) Require landlords to be more transparent about service charges. As property expert and Yopa's national franchise director, Steve Anderson, tells Metro, it takes a lot of effort to increase the terms of a lease – and it can also be expensive. He explains: 'The task becomes greater the shorter the lease term gets and, in worst-case scenarios, failure to extend a lease can not only hit the value of a home, but ultimately, see ownership transferred back to the freeholder.' After buying a property, homeowners can ask to increase the lease term at any point – but as Steve notes, after two years, you're entitled to a 90-year extension as long as you're the qualifying tenant (AKA, the leaseholder who owns the property's lease). 'This is almost always the case if your original lease was for more than 21 years,' he adds. So, how short is a short lease? Generally speaking, properties with less than 80 years remaining fall into this bracket. While the new law won't change the definition of a short lease, it'll increase the standard extension length to 990 years. Historically, there's been relative risk in buying a short lease home as it can make it harder to sell on in the future. However, once the new laws have come into effect, it'll be easier and cheaper to extend the lease anyhow. So, those buying a short lease home now might be hoping to snap up a cheap bargain, with the hopes of extending it and pocketing a profit later on. Extending a lease can take anywhere between three and 12 months and involves the following steps: Notifying the freeholder of your intention to extend the lease Hiring a solicitor who specialises in leasehold extension, as well as a surveyor Submitting an offer to the freeholder Negotiating the terms of the extension with the freeholder and agreeing a price Paying the deposit, which should be done within 14 days of giving the leaseholder notice. This usually costs either £250 or 10% of the lease cost agreed in the notice Completing the lease extension by paying the extension costs, as well as any fees (i.e. to the solicitor and surveyor). After the extension costs and legal fees have been accounted for, renewing a lease of 90 years can cost around £8,500. But with anything under 90 years, the fees can really start to stack up. 'If looking to extend a lease of just 60 years, this cost increases to as much as £32,000, so it really does make sense to do this earlier rather than later,' Steve says. However, standard lease terms will be increased to 990 years with Labour's new legislation (making a property more attractive to future buyers as they won't have to renew again down the line) and sometimes hefty ground rents could be 'essentially reduced to zero [known as a peppercorn] upon payment of a premium.' 'Leaseholders will be able to extend their lease by a new standard 990 years with a ground rent at zero,' Steve adds. 'This is a substantial increase from the previous 90-year extension for flats and 50 years for houses, thus providing greater long-term security.' In addition, the outlay associated with renewal would be lower, alongside the extra value added as a result of extending the lease no longer needing to be split with the freeholder (marriage value). For many, that could make the whole rigmarole more worthwhile. 'Purchasing a leasehold property could become more appealing to homebuyers and, in doing so, they could save themselves some money in the process,' Steve says. More Trending 'A property with 70 to 80 years remaining on the lease could be subject to discounts as high as 15% on average, which equates to £40,000 on the current average UK house price.' Buyers with a remaining lease term of around 50 years could nab themselves an even bigger bargain, as Steve predicts there could be discounts of up to 25% on market value, which equates to £68,000 off the average home. View More » But the bottom line is, while it might be tempting to bank on costs being lower in the future, you'll need to consider the risk in waiting for the law to come through in full. If things don't go to plan, you could be left hanging – and crucially, burdened with the cost of a leasehold extension. Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: Dad left 'in misery' after ceiling collapses three times in London home MORE: This 'soulless' UK town is being knocked down and locals are surprisingly on board MORE: The 'friendly' UK town homebuyers are flocking to — where properties cost £159,176
Daily Record
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
PE teacher aces testing London Marathon to raise nearly £3k for St Andrew's Hospice
Andrew Kennedy, 26, defied an injury suffered a few weeks before the event to complete the race in an impressive three hours, one minute and 15 seconds - and raise £2900 for the Airdrie charity. A Glenmavis PE teacher put himself through his paces as he aced the testing London Marathon in aid of St Andrew's Hospice. Andrew Kennedy defied an injury suffered a few weeks before the event to complete the race in an impressive three hours, one minute and 15 seconds - and raise £2900 for the Airdrie charity. The 26-year-old, who teaches PE at Calderhead High School in Shotts, has fundraised for the hospice since 2022 and has always been a keen runner. Andrew explained how he secured his spot at the London Marathon but then endured a setback during the build-up. He told Lanarkshire Live: "I saw that the hospice was advertising a place in the London Marathon and, six weeks before the event, I got a call from them saying I had secured the spot and they'd known had done a couple of previous marathons for the hospice. "I then got injured a couple of weeks before the marathon and was worried I wouldn't be able to do it. "But adrenaline kicked in on the day of the event, which helped the pain, and I ended up just suffering normal marathon pain, mainly cramps, during and after the race. "I was hoping to complete the marathon under three hours but did it in three hours, one minute and 15 seconds, which I was pleased with given my injury and the heat on the day." Andrew, who also took part in the Manchester Marathon last year, had a "wonderful" experience in the English capital. He said: "The London Marathon was absolutely brilliant and the excitement for it grew and grew in the build-up. "The crowds and support were unbelievable and the buzz outstanding; it gives you that extra bit of incentive. "I wanted to enjoy it and take everything in as you sometimes don't appreciate some of the landmarks you are running past. "My girlfriend travelled down to support me and when we met up afterwards it was a really humbling experience. "My legs were done and I got her on the phone and when we were walking down Whitehall I was in my socks and my legs had cramped up and I couldn't walk. "So people came to help me and I even asked a family if they had sugary sweets and they kindly gave me some. "Afterwards was the best cold pint of beer I've ever had in my life! "When I walked into school the next day I asked the kids if they could set up stuff for PE and they were glad to help as they knew I was done in!" Andrew is a passionate supporter of St Andrew's Hospice - and is extremely grateful for the financial backing he received from kind-hearted people during his latest fundraising effort. He said: "When I was a pupil at St Margaret's High in Airdrie the school had a lot of involvement with the hospice. "I am also an Airdrieonians fan and the club has a link with the hospice too, and used to have it as the team's shirt sponsor. "I hear of friends who know someone who has been in the hospice and the work they do is amazing. "I am always happy to give up my time for the hospice. "Running is easy; the hard bit is asking people to put their hands in their pockets, especially with the cost of living. "I managed to raise £2900 for the hospice this time around and I can't thank people enough for their contributions. "The hospice couldn't be more appreciative with the amount and it's great to be able to do something to help them out." *Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here. And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here.
