A fluffy new arrival is melting hearts at the National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham after its parents crossed continents to conceive.

A rare Gentoo penguin has hatched at the centre’s ice adventure following a global breeding programme aimed at increasing the declining population. The chick is the first to be born in England in 2017 and a first ever at the National Sea Life Centre.

The chick, which has yet to be named, is being cared for by its doting parents, who have flown from opposite ends of the earth to find love in the Midlands.

Dad is Pablo, a 4 year-old Gentoo from New Zealand, whilst Mum, Arabel, is 6 and hails all the way from Calgary in Canada. The penguins arrived in 2014 and 2016 respectively, joined most recently by a group from Billund in Denmark as efforts to diversify the gene pool continue.

19 different Sea Life attractions and over 400 penguins, from 5 different species, are involved in the breeding programme, set up after Gentoo numbers declined rapidly and they became near endangered.

Factors include damage to their habitats from tourism, pollution and the illegal collection of their eggs, as well as the birds’ sensitive breeding nature.

Hayley Roberts, penguin specialist at the National Sea Life Centre, said: “We are overjoyed at the arrival of our first ever Gentoo baby – the first this year in England. Gentoos are notoriously tricky to encourage to breed because they are such sensitive birds and we have worked tirelessly from when the breeding programme was first conceived - more than three years ago now - to make sure every detail was perfect for our penguins.

“First we had to make sure we found the right genetic matches for each bird because if the gene pool isn’t diverse enough there can be big problems. We also had to make sure their environment was as close as we could make it to the most ideal conditions in the wild – we factored in temperature, lighting, colours, food, the right rocks and pebbles for use in social activities and the right amount of water for swimming.

“We then had to transport our penguins from three different continents, so our chick really is the most wanted baby we’ve ever tried to breed – we have moved mountains for its parents to conceive, so we are overwhelmed with delight at its arrival.”

The baby penguin is doing well. It weighed 91 grams at birth and will continue to eat from mum’s regurgitated food until it’s old enough to begin learning how to swim and feed. A DNA test will be carried out to determine the sex after three to four months.

It may soon be celebrating the arrival of a brother or sister too!

There will be something for all ages on Egyptian Day (13 August) including handling objects 3000 years old and listening to talks by a Professor of Egyptology. Meet Irethoreru - that's the newly-discovered name of the 2600 year old mummy that would have been inside the Castle's Ancient Egyptian coffin lid exhibited on the Great Hall Gallery.

Take part in a workshop to make a clay mummy with Kentish artist Brenda Burgess and listen to Egyptologist Mick Oakey who will deliver a talk about a day in the life of an Ancient Egyptian “What did Irethoreru have for breakfast?”

Don't forget to visit 'The Fields of Eternity' - the Castle's unique, award-winning Ancient Egyptian-themed conceptual grass maze too!

All activities are included in the usual Castle admission fee except face painting when a small charge will apply.

The event will take place on Sunday 13 August between 11am and 5pm.

The Castle will also be open for visitors to explore the exquisite Japanese and Egyptian museum Collections of the late owner Denys Eyre Bower together with Buddhist and Stuart treasures. Explore the original Victorian rooms inside the Castle, including the large kitchen and servants' quarters, and enjoy reading about the colourful and eventful life of Denys Eyre Bower in his study.

The UK’s major cities are experiencing a boom in house prices this summer, with new statistics showing property values in key conurbations have risen by 3.5 per cent in the last three months.

Figures from Hometrack show the significant rate of growth across 20 large cities has taken the average price to £210,200. Locations included in its study range from London to Cambridge, Oxford, Aberdeen, Portsmouth, Bristol and Sheffield.

It comes as Zoopla statistics show the UK as a whole has enjoyed a 1.01 per cent increase in house prices in the last quarter, adding more than £3,000 to the value of an average home.

Kevin Shaw, national sales director at property specialist Leaders, says: “Despite the uncertainty of Brexit and the recent general election, these figures show the property market remains incredibly strong and continues to grow at a fast pace.

“Half of the major cities included in Hometrack’s reports are seeing house prices grow at a higher rate than they were this time last year, with property values up by 3.9 per cent in Nottingham, 3.8 per cent in Birmingham, 3.5 per cent in Newcastle and Liverpool and 3.5 per cent in Manchester in the last three months alone.

“Interestingly, it is larger regional cities that are driving the market with the largest gains, whereas in London growth actually slowed. This pours cold water on the idea of the capital being responsible for the majority of growth and proves the entire country is performing well.

“Low mortgage rates continue to help buyers looking to take their next step and make moving home a more attractive proposition, although there continues to be a lack of supply of housing to fully satisfy demand.”

Hometrack added it does not expect London growth rates – currently 3.3 per cent over the last year and 1.9 per cent in the most recent quarter – to head into negative figures in 2017.

Jacksons Lane Arts Centre will enjoy continued support from Arts Council England until at least 2022, the organisation has announced.

The arts centre in Jacksons Lane, Highgate, is one of hundreds across the country to be announced as part of the Arts Council’s National Portfolio (NPO), which gives financial support to arts and culture organisations and helps to develop new cultural programmes.

Jacksons Lane, hailed as the country’s leading venue for contemporary circus, said remaining a part of the National Portfolio will enable it to develop and expand partnerships to support the future of the circus and arts sector.

The Arts Centre has also been awarded a £165,000 development grant to help it develop detailed plans for large-scale improvements to the building. The council has also committed to supporting Jacksons Lane’s improvements.

Haringey Council Leader Claire Kober said: “Huge congratulations to Jacksons Lane. Everyone in Haringey recognises the tremendous contribution the Arts Centre makes to culture not just in Highgate and Haringey but also across London, and throughout the country.

"It’s fantastic to see the Arts Council also recognising this with ongoing National Portfolio support and grant funding that will help Jackson Lane draw up more detailed improvement plans for this much-loved venue.”

City Wolverhampton Council and city partners have launched a website to offer residents, businesses, and providers improved access to skills, training and employment opportunities.

Employers and training providers today (Thursday) gathered at an event at Molineux Stadium to view and support ‘Workbox’, which will act as a one-stop hub, forming part of the wider Skills and Employment Action Plan to tackle unemployment in the city.

It will provide flexible and customised provision to prepare people better for work and employers will contribute by designing bespoke training to ensure a larger proportion of people become job ready over time - creating a more reliable local labour supply.

Employers, in the future will also be able to advertise local jobs on Workbox and it feeds into the Wolves@Work employment programme, where work coaches offer advice and support to residents.

This is the first phase of Workbox, with further development set to take place to make it more interactive and tailored to the user’s needs.

David Danger, Chair of Employment & Skills Group, and Managing Director of UTC Marston Aerospace, added: “Workbox is a priority of the city Skills and Employment Action Plan and aims to create a virtual system that makes it easier for local people to obtain information, advice and guidance.

“It is a tool to really help co-ordinate and connect people to local opportunities, and has been developed with many partners, residents and businesses, with further development to come in its offer and interactivity.”

Councillor John Reynolds, Cabinet Member for City Economy, added: ““Workbox will act as a ‘front door’ to information, advice and job opportunities.

“Organisations at today’s event were able to further input into the design as well as support the launch.

“This is the start of the journey for Workbox and it will continue to develop and change to reflect the needs of the city.”

Workbox has been co-designed with City of Wolverhampton College, University of Wolverhampton, Community Learning Platform, Department for Work and Pensions, Adult Education Wolverhampton, Connexions, schools, residents, employers and training providers.

It will provide an intensive local support system which has not existed before in Wolverhampton. Residents will be able to sign up to local information about opportunities and access support. It will also be a tool for frontline staff and a Workbox training programme will support those staff who are working with young care leavers and offenders so these young people can gain access to local training, apprenticeships and employment opportunities.

Qatar Airways has celebrated 10 years of unparalleled service to the United States by illuminating the Empire State Building in its signature burgundy and white colours. The airline will continue its celebrations with a series of activities including, special offers from the U.S. to more than 100 destinations worldwide, as well as bonus Qmiles for Privilege Club frequent flyer members.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive His Excellency, Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “We were honoured to display our colours on one of the most iconic skyscrapers in the world, and the headquarters of our USA and Americas Regional offices, the Empire State Building. We believe this is a true testament to our positive presence and fantastic support in the United States.

“Qatar Airways is proud to have provided a decade of quality international service for our valued travellers in the United States, and we are looking forward to serving the Americas for many more years to come.

“Qatar Airways continues to expand and grow; with upcoming planned services to both Las Vegas and San Francisco. Never has Qatar Airways’ commitment to the American market been stronger, and providing a vital international link between the USA to Qatar and beyond remains our goal.”

Qatar Airways’ first flight to the U.S., on 28 June, 2007, was to New York City, this was closely followed by service to Washington, D.C., the following month. 2016 was a particularly busy year in the U.S. for Qatar Airways as it launched flights to Los Angeles, Boston and Atlanta taking the total number of gateways into North America to 10, including Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Miami and Philadelphia.

As part of its continuing expansion efforts within the country, Qatar Airways is planning to launch services to San Francisco and Las Vegas in 2018. The American expansion is just part of the overall airline growth plans, which include new routes to Canberra (Australia), Chiang Mai (Thailand), Douala (Cameroon), Libreville (Gabon), Rio de Janeiro, (Brazil), Santiago (Chile), as well as many other exciting destinations.

To further strengthen its position as an industry leader, Qatar Airways has just launched the groundbreaking Qsuite to London and will bring the patented product to New York City in September.