World News
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Starmer: US-UK trade talks 'well advanced' as Trump tariffs loom
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said that trade negotiations between the UK and the US are "well advanced," even as new tariffs from Donald Trump are expected to take effectRead More... -
France's Le Pen convicted of embezzlement, banned from office for five years
Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party, was convicted Monday of embezzling European Union funds. She received a five-year ban from holding public office, aRead More... -
Austrian player wins record £209m EuroMillions jackpot, UK misses out
A record-breaking EuroMillions jackpot of £209 million has been claimed by a lucky winner from Austria, marking the biggest-ever prize in the game’s history.Read More... -
Poland and the UK see record growth in trade and investment
In 2023, trade between Poland and the United Kingdom hit an all-time high, reaching €36.4 billion—a 35% increase since 2018. The services sector stood out, with its value soaring by 70%Read More... -
Trump-era immigration crackdown affects British and European tourists amid tighter US border controls
Tourists heading to the United States are being warned of stricter and more aggressive border checks that have already led to several detainments and deportations under former PresidentRead More...
Culture
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£1bn Chinese ceramics gift to British Museum approved
The Charity Commission has officially approved the largest donation in the British Museum’s history—a collection of Chinese ceramics valued at around £1 billion.Read More... -
UK to return Nazi-looted painting to Jewish family
A 17th-century painting stolen by the Nazis in 1940 from a Jewish art collector in Belgium is set to be returned to the collector’s descendants, the British government announced on Saturday,Read More... -
Queen Camilla launches new Reading Medal to celebrate literary champions
Queen Camilla has unveiled The Queen’s Reading Room Medal, a new honor recognizing individuals who have made significant contributions to promoting books, reading, and literature in theirRead More... -
Blackpool Pleasure Beach to cut hours and close rides after £2.7m loss
One of the UK’s most iconic theme parks, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, has announced it will be closing some rides and reducing opening hours following a £2.7 million pre-tax loss.Read More... -
Charity shop stunned as rare Chinese Bible fetches £56,000 at auction
Staff at an Oxfam bookshop in Chelmsford were left "absolutely speechless" after a donated Bible sold at auction for an astonishing £56,280—far exceeding its estimated value of just £800.Read More... -
London Marathon 2025: a historic milestone for the UK’s capital race
The 2025 TCS London Marathon is gearing up to make history. Celebrating its 45th edition, the event is set to become the world’s largest marathon, surpassing the New York City Marathon'sRead More... -
British Museum tops UK visitor charts again in 2024
For the second consecutive year, the British Museum has claimed the title of the UK’s most-visited attraction. The iconic London institution welcomed an impressive 6,479,952 visitors in 2024,Read More... -
Britain's Bloomsbury Publishing expects annual trading to exceed forecasts
Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY.L) announced on Thursday that its annual trading performance is set to surpass market expectations, driven by strong demand for its fiction titles and anRead More... -
£1.1bn British Library expansion moves forward
Plans for a £1.1bn extension of the British Library are officially moving ahead, with completion expected by 2032, the developer has confirmed.Read More... -
Waterstones to leave historic Oxford bookstore for new Queen Street location
Oxford’s iconic Waterstones bookstore is set to leave its historic home in William Baker House and relocate to a new premises in the city centre.Read More... -
Edvard Munch’s portraits take center stage in new London exhibition
A new exhibition at London’s National Portrait Gallery is shining a light on Edvard Munch’s mastery of portraiture, revealing a deeper side to the artist best known for The Scream.Read More... -
This is London’s best bookshop, according to Time Out
Daunt Books in Marylebone takes the top spot, thanks to its stunning Edwardian interiors and exceptional book selection.Read More... -
King Charles shares the soundtrack of his life for Commonwealth Day
From the legendary reggae rhythms of Bob Marley to the chart-topping hits of Kylie Minogue and the soulful melodies of Raye, King Charles has unveiled a selection of songs that have shapedRead More...
British Queen celebrates
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Sport
Oscar Pistorius has apologised for the timing of his comments about the running blades used by T44 200 metres gold medallist Alan Fonteles Oliveira immediately after Sunday night's race.
The South African hit out at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for failing to act over the length of some athletes' blades after Oliveira, wearing noticeably longer ones, came from way back to pip him at the line.
The Brazilian took gold in 21.45 seconds, leaving Pistorius to settle for silver, coming home in 21.52secs with stunned quiet from the 80,000 spectators greeting the result.
In a statement released to Press Association Sport, Pistorius said: "I would never want to detract from another athletes' moment of triumph and I want to apologise for the timing of my comments after yesterday's race."
The statement continued: "I do believe that there is an issue here and I welcome the opportunity to discuss with the IPC but I accept that raising these concerns immediately as I stepped off the track was wrong. That was Alan's moment and I would like to put on record the respect I have for him. I am a proud Paralympian and believe in the fairness of sport. I am happy to work with the IPC who obviously share these aims."
Pistorius, who was the reigning T44 200m champion, cannot alter the length of his blades if he wants to continue to compete in non-disabled competition because they have to conform to IAAF regulations.
And he claimed he was not competing on a level playing field, even though the new blades, which are about four inches taller than those used by Pistorius, are within the rules.
He said on Sunday night: "I've never seen a guy come back from eight metres (behind) on the 100m mark to overtake me on the finish line. The guys are just running ridiculous times and they're able to do so. We've known (about the longer blades) for about a month. I've brought it up with the IPC but nothing's been done about it. I believe in the fairness of sport, I believe in running on the right length."
Ireland's Jason Smyth on Saturday retained his T13 100m title, breaking his own world record in the process to become the fastest Paralympian in history.
The 25-year-old, who trains with US sprint star Tyson Gay and is visually impaired, clocked 10.46sec to break the 10.54sec mark he set in Friday's qualifying heats.
Luis Felipe Guttierez of Cuba won silver in 11.02sec, one-hundredth of a second ahead of South African bronze medallist Jonathan Ntutu.
Smyth's time is 0.03sec faster than Florence Griffith-Joyner's non-disabled women's record over the distance.
German club Stuttgart qualified for the group phase of the Europa League on Tuesday after a 1-1 draw at Dinamo Moscow gave them a 3-1 aggregate win in their play-off tie.
Vedad Ibisevic opened the scoring for the visitors in the 64th minute, with Dinamo -- who are bottom of the Russian top flight after six matches -- equalising through Russian international Aleksandr Kokorin with 13 minutes to play.
The rest of the play-off round second legs take place on Thursday, when Liverpool, Newcastle United, Inter Milan, Lazio, Marseille, Athletic Bilbao and Sporting Lisbon will be among the teams bidding to go through.
Sir Alex Ferguson will wait until the last minute before deciding whether new striker Robin van Persie is fit enough to make his debut in Manchester United's Premier League opener at Everton on Monday.
Van Persie, signed for £24 million from Arsenal, rushed back from international duty with Holland in midweek to undergo a medical in Manchester that went into the early hours of Friday before completing the most eye-catching Premier League transfer of the year.
After such a hectic schedule, and just a handful of training sessions with his new team-mates, United manager Ferguson is uncertain if he should throw van Persie straight into his starting line-up at Goodison Park.
"He hasn't played much. We are going to assess him the next couple of days and chat with him, see how he feels himself," Ferguson said.
"Adrenalin will help, if I choose to start him, but I think it's important he had a training session on Friday morning and hopefully the weekend will give me a good idea on whether he should start or I should put him on the bench."
Van Persie's arrival gives Ferguson, who could already call on Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck, an impressive collection of attacking talent and the Scot believes Welbeck is just one player who will benefit from playing alongside such a world-class performer.
"It's been a long haul but the point I'm making about maturity is we needed a finished player," Ferguson said.
"(Paul) Scholes and (Ryan) Giggs are coming to the end and I need mature top players to replace them.
"The young ones don't have what Scholes and Giggs do at the moment and that's very important.
"We have had several players who have been that sort of catalyst, starting with (Eric) Cantona, I don't think we're short of all that, I think we were still capable of winning the title without Robin but he gives us a sort of certainty for the future.
"You always learn from great players, if you look at what Cantona did, he was a tremendous teacher for the all the young players and I think Danny will welcome that.
"He will learn he won't play every week because he will get little niggles and strains, but when he's 23 or 24 he'll be a fantastic player and will learn from the other strikers here.
"We've got a great combination of strikers now, it will be difficult for me but it's better to have another great player rather than worrying if you've got the right player."
In the eyes of one rival manager, at least, the van Persie signing makes United strong favourites for the title although Ferguson was placing little credibility in the claims of Roberto Mancini, manager of defending champions Manchester City, who said precisely that.
Usain Bolt declared himself "the greatest" after becoming London 2012's history man with a second double gold performance.
And British fighter Nicola Adams also entered the record books, becoming the first Olympic woman boxing champion as Team GB's golden girls delivered again.
Jamaican Bolt sprinted into history on the track as the first man to win a Games 100m and 200m sprint double at two separate Olympics. The 25-year-old, who could win yet another gold in the 100m relay, said: "I'm now a living legend, I'm also the greatest athlete to live.
"Now I am going to sit back, relax and think about what's next. But I am not ready to retire. I love this sport. The rest of the season I am just going to have fun because I did what I came here to do."
Team GB's female athletes led the way again by adding three more golds and a bronze to the medal haul. Adams's victory came along with rider Charlotte Dujardin winning her second gold medal of London 2012 in the dressage which also saw a bronze for Laura Bechtolsheimer. And in a dramatic late-night triumph, 19-year-old Jade Jones won Britain's first taekwondo gold medal. The victories take Team GB's medal haul at London 2012 to 52 - 25 gold, 13 silver and 14 bronze.
Adams, a one-time extra in soaps such as EastEnders and Coronation Street, was roared to victory by chants of "Nicola, Nicola, Nicola" from 10,000 ringside fans at London's ExCeL arena. The 29-year-old sealed her win with an Ali shuffle as she comprehensively overcame China's double world champion Ren Cancan in front of a crowd including the Duchess of Cambridge.
School sports provision is patchy in some places at the moment, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has admitted.
To continue the British successes of the London Olympics, it is important to ensure best practice is followed around the country, and to have more investment at primary school level, he said.
His comments follow the call by Lord Moynihan, the head of the British Olympic Association (BOA), for a major increase in Government funding to build on the success of Team GB at the London Games.
The BOA chairman accused the current and previous governments of "treading water" in terms of increasing participation. The peer, a former sports minister under Margaret Thatcher, claimed school sport policy is "bureaucratic" and needs more money to fund a major expansion.
Lord Moynihan said: "There is a need for radical reform and I am calling for more money. There needs to be a total commitment to ensuring a sports participation legacy that has to focus on schools and clubs. We have tens of thousands of kids watching great moments which will live with them for ever. The Government should step up to the mark."
Mr Hunt told BBC Breakfast: "I think at the moment school sport provision is patchy in some places, and we need to do what we can to make sure that the very best examples are spread throughout the whole country, and this is absolutely going to be a focus over the next few months and one of the things that we really want to take away from these Games
Hopes for Great Britain's first gold medal-winning performances of London 2012 are pinned on the cycling, rowing and swimming.
Bradley Wiggins is aiming for his fourth Olympic gold when he takes part in the men's road cycling time trial, while Helen Glover and Heather Stanning are going for a win in the women's pairs rowing.
Swimmer Michael Jamieson is also in with a chance of a top podium finish after setting a new British record to reach the men's 200m breaststroke final where he will be joined by teammate Andrew Willis. Another Briton, Jemma Lowe, will compete in the 200m butterfly final.
The hopefuls may well look towards the Aquatics Centre for inspiration, after American Michael Phelps won a sensational record-breaking 19th Olympic medal on Tuesday night, while 16-year-old Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen - who denied taking performance enhancing drugs after a US coach branded her first win "disturbing" - scored a second gold.
Wiggins, 32, is looking to add to his recent success at the Tour de France, and a podium place in the 44km time-trial around Hampton Court would give him a record seventh Olympic medal, one clear of rower Sir Steve Redgrave, who has six.
Fellow Briton Chris Froome is also in contention for a medal, while Emma Pooley, aims for the podium in the women's 29km time trial alongside Lizzie Armitstead, who on Sunday claimed Britain's first medal of the Games with silver in the road race.
Glover and Stanning will be hoping they beat Wiggins in the race to deliver GB's first gold when they race in the women's pairs at Eton Dorney. A win would bring home Britain's first ever Olympic gold in women's rowing.
There are also medal chances for the men, with the final of the men's eight. A win here would be special moment for Greg Searle. The 40-year-old came out of retirement in an attempt to become an Olympic champion for a second time, two decades after winning gold in Barcelona.
More than two million spectators have turned out to watch the first three days of London 2012, organisers have said.
Some 856,000 fans, including the football crowds and a "conservative" estimate of 500,000 for the road race, watched on Saturday, with a further 900,000 turning out on Sunday, Locog said.
China's Cao Yuan and Zhang Yanquan won 10m platform diving gold Monday after Britain's Tom Daley and Pete Waterfield fell from the top spot and out of the medals following a botched fourth dive.
The Chinese teenagers tallied 486.78 points from their six dives to win the event from Mexio's Ivan Navarro and German Sanchez, who took silver, and American bronze-medallists David Boudia and Nicholas McCrory.
Cao, 17, and Zhang, 18, who won both the Beijing and Moscow legs of the 2012 world series and also triumphed in February's test event, claimed gold on their Olympic debuts.
It leaves China, seeking the first sweep of eight Olympic diving titles, with two golds from the opening two events after Wu Minxia claimed her third synchronised 3m springboard Olympic victory alongside partner Hi Ze on Sunday.
A mistake on their fourth dive cost British pin-up Daley and his partner dearly as they surrendered their lead to finish the round, and ultimately the competition, in fourth.
"We had the highest score we have ever got after the first three, but at this level of competition, you can't afford to miss a single dive," said Daley, who will compete in Friday's individual platform.
Waterfield later admitted it was his mistake which cost the pair dearly, but Daley refused to point the finger of blame.
"We're a team, that's it, full stop," said the 18-year-old. "You win as a team and you lose as a team."
A black footballer was unfairly sacked by Gillingham FC after being racially victimised, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Former Barbados international player Mark McCammon, 33, took legal action against the League Two side after being dismissed for alleged misconduct last year.
The 6ft 2in striker told a hearing in Ashford, Kent, that he and other black players at the club were treated differently from white players. McCammon said he was ordered to come into the ground amid "treacherous", snowy driving conditions while some white players were told they were not required.
He also said the club tried to "frustrate him out" by refusing to pay private medical bills to help him regain his fitness following injury.
Instead, he claims he was offered the same operation on the NHS rather than privately, a move he described as "completely out of character" for a Football League club, and that he was fined two weeks' wages when he paid a visit to a private consultant. In contrast, the former Charlton, Swindon, Millwall and Brighton player said, a white team-mate was flown to Dubai for treatment by an eminent physiotherapist at the club's expense.
In a letter sent to the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) outlining his grievances, McCammon also claimed he was told not to blog while others were permitted to.
Officials at Gillingham said they were "staggered" by the ruling, saying the club had employed thousands of staff of different races and religions.