Local News
Jailed sex traffickers lived on Isle of Dogs
FOUR PEOPLE have been sentenced to a total of 23 years in prison for their parts in running a criminal network which trafficked 24 Thai women. The convictions came after a detailed investigation by the Metropolitan Police Slavery and Child Exploitation Team. The investigation began in 2025 after Met...
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New cargo bike arrives in Bow
IT’S SMALL, but perfectly formed – if, that is, you want a cheap and eco-friendly way of transporting goods (and, it seems, people) around the borough. It may be the answer to your problems. A cargo bike is a bike with a fitted wheeled container on the front. For residents, they bridge the gap b...
Trump cracks down on free press – but they fight back
US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP has picked a fight with the US media – but they are fighting back in the courts and with direct action to defend the principle of a free press. The context for the spat is that the US mid-term elections take place on Tuesday, 3rd November and Donald Trump’s approval rat...
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Mayor Lutfur Rahman congratulates winning students
IT WAS THE third Tower Hamlets Education Awards; it brought together 900 guests; and it recognised a wide range of achievement across Tower Hamlets by school and college students. Mayor Lutfur Rahman congratulated the winners and explained the reason for the awards. “We want every young person in ...
Family ask public to help find men after Bethnal Green rape
CAN YOU help the Metropolitan Police identify and find these men? The police wish to talk to them after a teenage girl was raped in Bethnal Green two years ago. At around 11.30pm on Thursday, 1st April police received reports that a 13 year old girl had been raped – and they immediately launched a...
Deputy Mayor thanks Summer Holiday Clubs
THANKS TO all the community organisations around Tower Hamlets which ran holiday clubs for children and young people around the Borough was the message from Deputy Mayor Cllr Maium Talukdar. The Deputy Mayor was addressing a celebration last week which thanked the local organisations provided for th...
Sounds on Sunday: 50 years ago – 1976-23
FIFTY YEARS AGO we were humming along to the hits of 1976. Some have magnificently stood the test of time; others have not. Join us on Memory Lane as we review them on their golden anniversaries. At this risk of sounding like a stuck record (pun intended), we have to report that Abba are still ... T...
Time to check you are on the electoral register
ACT NOW! It’s the week to make sure your name is on the electoral register. You should have received a letter from the Council this week explaining what you need to do. Local Councils are supporting the Voter Registration Week – a campaign run by the Greater London Authority (GLA) to encourage r...
Hackney men plead guilty to money transfer fraud
TEN VICTIMS of a money transfer scam saw justice done on 16th September when two men from Hackney were convicted for fraud. The criminals took £5,000 from the tricks they played on their victims. Patrick Mongan, 24, and James Maughan, 38, appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court. Mongan pleaded guilty t...
Deputy Mayor stands up for Neutron Tower residents
A MAN DIED in a fire on the 17th floor of a 22-story residential tower block on Saturday 12th September 2026. Now Cllr Maium Talukdar, Deputy Mayor of Tower Hamlets Council, has written to landlord Notting Hill Genesis about a range of alleged failures on their part. Faith Kitchen, an Asian Fusion r...
Man charged after attacks on Muslim venues in East London
A STRING of physical attacks on Muslim organisations and venues in East London has led to a man being charged with five counts of racially and religiously aggravated criminal damage. The man has been named as Illia Bilyk, 21, of Field Road, Newham E7. He is due to appear at Thames Magistrates’ Cou...
Brick Lane Curry Festival is back!
FOR ONE day only, Brick Lane will host the extravaganza that is the Brick Lane Curry Festival. It will be a day of great food, live music, dancing, costumes… and fun for all the family. The Festival will take place on Sunday, 20th September. Proceedings start at around 12 noon and will go on until...
Good Curry Guide calls on MPs to revive Tiffin Cup
The Parliamentary Tiffin Cup used to be described as an award which celebrated culinary diversity. Now George Shaw, Editor of the Good Curry Guide is calling on MPs to revive the Cup to help South Asian restaurants. The Tiffin Cup was created by a group of MPs chaired by Keith Vaz MP (before his fal...
Get support during Sexual Health Awareness Week
IT’S SEXUAL HEALTH Awareness Week. Tower Hamlets Council is marking the week by holding an event outside the Town Hall from 10.30am to 4pm on Thursday, 17th September. There will be a testing van outside the Town Hall and you can take a test for HIV or any Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI). The...
It’s official: Trump controls the weather
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump makes some pretty outstanding claims – but this one is surely a contender for “claim of the century”. A man called Chris Martz posted a comment on X on 12th September, commenting on the lack of hurricanes in the North Atlantic this year. Most meteorologists and weathe...
Deputy Mayor takes part in community health fair
DEPUTY MAYOR Cllr Maium Talukdar took time out of his busy schedule last Saturday to visit a health fair in Launch Street on the Isle of Dogs last Thursday, 10th September. And he joined in what was going on – by taking one of the free men’s health checks on offer. The event was organised ... Th...
Fire damages house in East Ham
A FIRE in Newham damaged most of the ground floor and a small part of the first floor on Tuesday. An outbuilding also suffered some damage. Calls came in to Fire Control Officers at 10.10pm. Four fire engines – from East Ham, Plaistow, Barking and Homerton – brought some 25 firefighters to the f...
Know your numbers – and look after yourself all year round
WE ALL fear falling ill – especially with those serious conditions such as a heart attack, a stroke or diabetes. However, there are ways to help yourself avoid the worst problems – by “knowing your numbers”. These serious conditions don’t usually appear just out of the blue. Usually your b...
Sounds on Sunday: 50 years ago – 1976-22
FIFTY YEARS AGO we were humming along to the hits of 1976. Some have magnificently stood the test of time; others have not. Join us on Memory Lane as we review them on their golden anniversaries. We’re back on track (no pun intended). On 31st August 1976 Abba knocked Elton John and Kiki Dee off .....
One fatality in Poplar hi-rise flat fire
A FIRE in a flat on the 17th floor of a 22-storey residential tower block has left a man dead. The alarm was raised in the early morning, with calls reaching the London Fire Brigade Control Centre at 4.35am. Ten fire engines – from Poplar, Whitechapel, Plaistow, Stratford, Shadwell, East Greenwich...