Orange prize
What is so special about the Garvaghy Road to Ulster Unionists? The area around Portadown attained significance for loyalists thanks to the Battle of the Diamond in 1795 when Protestant and Catholic forces clashed at a road junction. Twelve years later, Orangemen started their annual march from Portadown to the church at Drumcree, returning via the Garvaghy Road, which was then in the countryside. It wasn’t entirely peaceful then, with a Protestant magistrate remarking in 1835 that the Orangemen had gone out of their way to pass by a Catholic chapel, stirring up the locals. But the march became more of a flashpoint after a council estate inhabited mostly by Catholics was built along the Garvaghy Road in the 1960s.
Sailing by
The Chancellor, John Healey, announced £6 billion for shipbuilding as part of his attempt to reindustrialise Britain. Which countries produced the most merchant ships in 2024, by share of total global value?
China 54.6%
South Korea 28.0%
Japan 12.6%
Vietnam 1.01%
Philippines 0.93%
Italy 0.64%
Germany 0.26%
Turkey 0.12%
India 0.06%
US 0.04%
UNCTAD
Taking care
How much do local authorities spend on adult social care (at 2024/25 prices)?
2009/10 £23.2bn
2011/12 £22.1bn
2013/14 £21.2bn
2015/16 £21.7bn
2017/18 £22.1bn
2019/20 £23.3bn
2021/22 £25.2bn
2023/24 £26.9bn
2024/25 £27.8bn
Department for Health and Social Care
Still out there
Rod Stewart, 81, announced one final tour before he retires. Which other 1960s/1970s music acts are still on the road?
Van Morrison, 81, has a 12-date UK tour this autumn.
Bob Dylan, 85, has 30 European concerts this autumn.
Ringo Starr, 86, had a 12-date US tour in the spring.
Deep Purple (including early members Ian Gillan, 81, Roger Glover, 80, and Ian Paice, 78) have 37 dates in Europe this autumn.
Roger Daltrey, 82, is in the middle of a 20-date solo tour in the US.
Willie Nelson, 93, is booked at a festival in California next April.
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