World News
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ASEAN and UK collaborate on £25 million Economic Integration ProgrammeIn a joint effort to bolster economic growth in the ASEAN region, the UK Mission to ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat unveiled the ASEAN-UK Economic Integration Programme (EIP) in Jakarta.Read More...
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Foreign Office issues fresh warning for Brits traveling to popular destinationAs British tourists gear up for trips to Indonesia, the Foreign Office has issued a timely update to its travel advice, emphasizing the importance of passport validity. With over 335,209 UKRead More...
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High global food prices expected to stabilize in 2024, predicts Oxford EconomicsOxford Economics forecasts a decline in global food prices this year, signaling potential relief for consumers worldwide who have been grappling with rising food costs.Read More...
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Brits maintain interest in luxury property in PortugalThe United Kingdom continues to lead the pack in searches for luxury homes in Portugal, comprising 11.9% of total international demand at the start of 2024. Following closely behind are theRead More...
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PM Sunak reaffirms UK support for regional stability in call with King Abdullah II of JordanPrime Minister Rishi Sunak engaged in a conversation with King Abdullah II of Jordan earlier today, emphasizing the United Kingdom's unwavering commitment to bolstering Jordanian andRead More...
Culture
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Gustav Klimt portrait sells for £25.7 million at Vienna auctionA long-lost portrait by Gustav Klimt, depicting a young woman, fetched a staggering 30 million euros (£25.7 million) at an auction held in Vienna on Wednesday.Read More...
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Rishi Sunak: remembering those lost in terror attackIn his Passover message to the Jewish community, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledges the somber reality that "for too many families, there will be empty seats" at the Seder table thisRead More...
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Co-op Live: Manchester's new arena opens with high capacity and ambitionsA monumental addition to Manchester's entertainment landscape, the new £365m Co-op Live arena is poised to claim the title of the largest indoor arena in the UK. Nestled beside ManchesterRead More...
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Brontë birthplace unveils open day prior to renovationThe birthplace of the renowned Brontë sisters is set to welcome visitors for a special glimpse inside before embarking on a significant refurbishment.Read More...
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Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department' smashes Spotify recordTaylor Swift's latest album, "The Tortured Poets Department," has shattered Spotify's record for the most-streamed album in a single day, the platform has announced. Not only did Swift'sRead More...
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Historic London pub, linked to Royalty, ravaged by fire: a heartbreaking lossA renowned London pub, steeped in history dating back possibly to the 16th century, has suffered extensive damage in a devastating fire. The Burn Bullock, a grade II-listed establishmentRead More...
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Salvator Rosa painting stolen from Oxford, recovered in Romania, and returned to UKA painting valued at EUR 2 million, stolen from an art gallery at Oxford University approximately four years ago, has been recovered in Romania and returned to UK judicial authorities,Read More...
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Plans to demolish former Museum of London site put on pauseA last-minute intervention from Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove has halted plans to demolish the former Museum of London site.Read More...
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June’s London Fashion Week returns with fresh conceptThe British Fashion Council has unveiled an innovative approach for the upcoming London Fashion Week in June, aiming to spark a cultural phenomenon. Set to take place fromRead More...
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London's inaugural Taiwanese culture festival explores island's identity and historyLondon's vibrant Notting Hill district is about to experience a taste of Taiwanese culture with the launch of the 16-day Taiwan Festival on Friday, April 12.Read More...
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Soho showcase: The Art of Banksy unveils London's largest collectionThe largest collection of original Banksy artworks is set to make its debut in London's Soho, featuring over 150 pieces from the enigmatic Bristol-based artist. Opening at 100 CharingRead More...
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Taylor Swift joins billionaire elite: a look at the wealthiest of 2024Taylor Swift has ascended to the ranks of the world's wealthiest individuals, marking her debut on the billionaire list alongside luminaries such as Elon Musk. This revelation comes courtesy of aRead More...
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JK Rowling challenges police to "arrest her" amid Twitter controversy surrounding Scotland's Hate Crime ActThe Hate Crime and Public Order Act has officially taken effect in Scotland, sparking a fiery debate over free speech and expression. At the center of this controversy is renowned authorRead More...
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Sport
A second day of negotiations to make Jose Mourinho the next manager of Manchester United are taking place Wednesday ahead of an expected announcement that he will take the job this week.
The former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager has agreed personal terms on a three-year deal with a likely annual salary of more than £10 million (13 million euros, $15 million) but issues remain over image rights, Sky News reported.
Mourinho is mulling a move for Zlatan Ibrahimovic as one of his first moves in the job, according to media reports, after the star Swedish centre-forward played his last game for Paris Saint-Germain last week.
United finally sacked Louis van Gaal on Monday, two days after the club won the FA Cup with victory against Crystal Palace.
However, the Old Trafford club’s failure to qualify for the lucrative Champions League proved fatal to the Dutchman’s hopes of survival.
As talks between Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes and the club’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward were set to continue, Old Trafford legend Eric Cantona questioned whether he was the right man for the job.
“I love Jose Mourinho, but in terms of the type of football he plays, I don’t think he is Manchester United,” the Frenchman told the Guardian.
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew says he feels the “weight of history” on his shoulders as he tries to lead the south London side to the first major trophy in their 111-year existence.
Palace have the chance to claim that long-awaited piece of silverware when they face Manchester United in Saturday’s FA Cup final at Wembley.
The match is a repeat of the 1990 final when a Palace side featuring then central defender Pardew were beaten by United in a replay after the first match finished 3-3 following extra-time.
“I feel the weight of the history of not winning something,” Pardew said Friday.
“We take one final which we lost into the game, so this group of players have an opportunity to put something permanent there — a first major trophy for Crystal Palace.
“One or two of these players will never play in a final again and this is an opportunity to get a winner’s medal, which is so hard.
“Like the Leicester players (who won the Premier League), winning the FA Cup would mean the same for us.”
Pardew completed an unwanted “double” in 2006 when he was manager of the West Ham side beaten in that year’s FA Cup final by Liverpool.
He has now turned to Steve Coppell and Alan Smith, Palace’s manager and assistant manager respectively back in 1990, for advice.
“Steve Coppell was here; I’ve leant on him in a couple of bits,” former Newcastle manager Pardew explained.
“I’ve spoken to Alan Smith, looked at the history of 1990 and of the history since. It’s a club with a certain DNA. It would be good for the club and for our history for us to win something.
“(There was a) great camaraderie in that (1990) group. I hope this group has that same ongoing history as we had. We’re all very close friends, it bonded us. It made this club to a degree, that cup final.
“Friendships — I’d prefer those friendships to have carried through as winners. That’s the message I’ll give to my players.”
United will start Saturday’s match as favourites and Pardew was in no doubt all the pressure was on Louis van Gaal’smen following their failure to qualify for the Champions League.
“The pressure is on them all the time,” Pardew said.
Relegated Aston Villa could be sold to a Chinese consortium by the end of the week, according to British media reports on Wednesday.
Villa crashed out of the Premier League after a miserable season that saw the Midlands club win just three of their 38 matches.
US-based owner Randy Lerner has been trying to sell Villa without success for two years, but it appears a deal is finally close to completion after he lowered his asking price.
The BBC reports Lerner, who bought Villa in 2006, is willing to sell for as little as £60 million ($86 million, 76 million euros), with the unnamed Chinese investors said to be looking over the Championship team’s financial records.
As the Olympic Games loom ever closer, Europe's best swimmers gather in London on one of the final stepping stones to Rio de Janeiro.
When the European Championships start on Monday at the London Aquatics Centre – which staged the swimming at the 2012 Olympics – there will be just 82 days before the Games start in Brazil.
Given the proximity, few who are competing in Rio will have rested before the London meet, but are instead in heavy training, eyes planted firmly on what lies ahead in August.
Two years ago in Berlin, Great Britain topped the medal table with a haul of 24.
Prominent was 19-year-old Adam Peaty, a fortnight after beating Olympic champion Cameron van der Burgh to second in the 100m breaststroke at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Manuel Pellegrini has vowed to give Manchester City the perfect parting gift of a Champions League place at the expense of Manchester United, while champions Leicester will bring down the curtain on their astonishing season at Chelsea on Sunday.
With a memorable Premier League campaign coming to a conclusion with the final round of fixtures this weekend, the focus is split between the Manchester rivals’ battle for the last spot in Europe’s elite club competition and a fitting finale for Leicester as the fairytale champions bow out at the home of last year’s winners.
For City manager Pellegrini, his side’s trip to Swansea offers an opportunity to leave on a high note as the Chilean prepares to clear his desk ahead of the arrival of Pep Guardiola, who moves to Eastlands from Bayern Munich in the close-season.
Fourth placed City are two points clear of United and, with their goal difference at +30 compared to their fifth placed rivals’ +12, Pellegrini’s side need only to draw in south Wales to qualify for the Champions League and consign their neighbours to the drudgery of the Europa League.
After three years and three trophies with City, Pellegrini would love to say farewell in style.
“We have always been in the Champions League spots for 37 games, so I think we deserve to be there,” Pellegrini said.
“It’s about a style. For me it’s important to be the highest-scoring team for three seasons, to be always in the Champions League and to win three titles.”
United’s 3-2 defeat at West Ham in midweek took their European fate out of their own hands and Louis van Gaal’s men host Bournemouth knowing only a victory, combined with a City defeat at Swansea, will be enough to snatch a top four finish.
Despite the unpromising situation, United midfielder Michael Carrick, whose side face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on May 21, urged his team-mates not to coast through the Bournemouth game.
Saracens boss Mark McCall praised the performance of England full-back Alex Goode as the Premiership leaders warmed up for next week's European Champions Cup final with a 43-19 win away to Worcester on Saturday.
Victory saw the London club, bidding for a domestic and continental double, finish top of the Premiership regular season standings and set up a home semi-final against fourth-placed Leicester.
Saracens were 14-7 down against Worcester but, inspired by Goode, scored three first-half tries.
"Alex was rested last week but he was outstanding today and he's been the best full-back in England for some time," said McCall, whose side scored six tries in all including a hat-trick for wing Chris Ashton.
Several Saracens stars spent much of the season on international duty helping England win the Six Nations, with goalkicker Owen Farrell, the Vunipola brothers, Billy and Mako, plus locks George Kruis and Maro Itoje all key members of Eddie Jones's grand slam-winning side.
"To get 80 points, without our internationals (who were) away for such a long period is a tremendous achievement but the best is yet to come as we have a young squad," said McCall.
Syria's army said Wednesday it will abide by a two-day ceasefire in second city Aleppo agreed between the United States and Russia.
"A truce will be in place in Aleppo for 48 hours from 1:00 am on Thursday (2200 GMT on Wednesday)," a statement from Damascus's army command said, according to the official SANA news agency and state television.
Washington and Moscow agreed earlier Wednesday to work with Syria's warring parties to extend a shaky truce to Aleppo, which has seen more than 280 civilians killed in fighting since April 22.
Mercedes released an open letter to fans on Wednesday in which they dismissed social media claims that the German team are deliberately favouring Nico Rosberg over world champion Lewis Hamilton.
While Rosberg has won the first four races of the season, Hamilton has been bedevilled by mechanical problems and currently lies 43 points behind his German team-mate in second place in the drivers' championship.
Team boss Toto Wolff said after Sunday's Russian Grand Prix in Sochi that the conspiracy theorists were a "bunch of lunatics lying in their beds with their laptops on their chests".
And in a 1,100-word letter published on their website, Mercedes said: "To paraphrase Mr Toto Wolff, we have worked our a**es off to get where we are today -- and we have done so as a team.
Britain's Anthony Joshua could yet defend his International Boxing Federation world heavyweight title at Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium, promoter Barry Hearn said Monday.
Hearn said he was talking to Chinese officials about a contest involving the 26-year-old Joshua, who won his version of the heavyweight crown when he defeated previous title-holder Charles Martin in London last month.
If the plans become reality it would mean Joshua, a gold medallist at the London 2012 Olympics, fighting in the stadium that was the centrepiece of the 2008 Games.
"When you plan someone's career like Joshua you tend to plan in advance and I think we're two years away from saying we can sell out the Bird's Nest in China," explained Hearn.
China's Ding Junhui became the first player to reach the semi-finals of this year's World Snooker Championship after thrashing Mark Williams 13-3 inside two sessions on Tuesday.
Williams, world champion in 2000 and 2003, was largely reduced to the role of a spectator, as Ding -- who had to come through qualifying -- made short work of seeing off the Welshman.
Ding scored at least a half-century in every frame he won as he increased his first-session lead from 6-2 to 10-2 at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre in northern England.
Williams potted a mere two balls before the mid-session interval and, although he won the 13th frame, the two-time champion could not stop Ding's march to victory.