Culture
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Wiener Holocaust Library reopens after major renovations with exhibition on Jewish émigré sculptor Fred KormisThe world’s oldest Holocaust studies library and research center, the Wiener Holocaust Library, is set to reopen its doors on September 20th following extensiveRead More...
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Van Gogh's 'Les Canots Amarrés' expected to fetch $50 million at Hong Kong auctionA painting by Vincent van Gogh, titled "Les canots amarrés" (The Anchored Boats), is set to be auctioned at Christie's 20th and 21st Century Evening Auction inRead More...
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Silk Roads at the British Museum: a first glimpse at a route of vast historical importanceThe upcoming "Silk Roads" exhibition at the British Museum promises to be an expansive exploration of one of history's most significant trade networks.Read More...
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Library closures are a 'decimation,' says former Children's LaureateFormer Children's Laureate Michael Rosen has strongly condemned the closure of libraries across the UK, describing it as a "decimation." Rosen, who grew up in Harrow,Read More...
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Historic painting once owned by Britain's first Prime Minister faces export riskA temporary export bar has been placed on Le Rêve de L’Artiste, a painting by the influential 18th-century French artist Jean-Antoine Watteau, to allow time for a UK galleryRead More...
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National Gallery enlists social media influencers to attract Gen Z and shed 'stuffy' imageIn an effort to draw in Gen Z visitors and refresh its image, the National Gallery has teamed up with social media influencers to promote its art and engage with aRead More...
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Liverpool library rises from the ashes: community defies UK riotsAmid a wave of community support, a library in Liverpool is rebuilding after being set on fire during a series of racist riots that swept across England last week.Read More...
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Banksy's latest artwork in London stolen just hours after unveilingAnother of Banksy's animal-themed artworks was stolen in London only hours after it was unveiled. The piece, which featured a stencil of a wolf howling towards the sky, was painted on whatRead More...
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UK museums introduce child-friendly hours for summer visitorsSeveral museums and galleries across London and the UK are introducing designated child-friendly hours this summer to make parents feel more comfortable bringingRead More...
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Cineworld to close six UK cinemas in major restructuring effortCineworld has announced its decision to close six cinemas across the UK as part of a comprehensive restructuring plan. The closures come as the world'sRead More...
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Unseen letters from Diana, Princess of Wales, to be auctionedPreviously unseen letters from Diana, Princess of Wales, are set to be auctioned this weekend, offering a rare glimpse into her personal correspondence withRead More...
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JSO activists face jail time for soup attack on Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers'Two activists from Just Stop Oil (JSO), Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland, both 22, have been found guilty of criminal damage after throwing tomato soup overRead More...
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Harold Wilson sold papers to fund care amid Alzheimer's battleHarold Wilson, who served as Prime Minister during the 1960s and 1970s, sold his personal and political papers to fund his care in his later years, as revealed byRead More...
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UK news
Britain will team up with the United States and European partners to exchange its nuclear waste for material to be used in the fight against cancer, Prime Minister David Cameron will announce Thursday.
The British leader is expected to unveil the plan at a two-day international summit in Washington, beginning Thursday, aimed at ensuring that nuclear material in the world's roughly 1,000 atomic facilities is secured.
The deal will see Britain send waste from nuclear facilities in Scotland for processing in US reactors in the "largest-ever movement of highly-enriched uranium out of the UK," according to a British government source.
In exchange, the US will send uranium for use in reactors in the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).
Indian steel giant Tata Steel on Wednesday put its British business up for sale, placing thousands of jobs at risk and striking a heavy blow to the crisis-hit steel industry.
Tata said in a statement that trading conditions had "rapidly deteriorated" in Britain and Europe due to a global oversupply of steel, a "significant increase" in cheaper imports into Europe, weak domestic demand, high costs and currency volatility.
"These factors are likely to continue into the future and have significantly impacted the long term competitive position of the UK operations," read the statement issued in Mumbai.
The company's European arm Tata Steel Europe will now "explore all options for portfolio restructuring including the potential divestment of Tata Steel UK, in whole or in parts" -- including Britain's biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in Wales.
"Given the severity of the funding requirement in the foreseeable future, the Tata Steel Europe board will be advised to evaluate and implement the most feasible option in a time-bound manner," it said.
Tributes were paid to a Muslim shopkeeper killed in what police described as a "religiously prejudiced" attack, as a Muslim suspect remained in custody.
Asad Shah, 40, died after being found with serious injuries outside his shop in Glasgow on Thursday evening.
He was believed to be a member of the minority Ahmadi Muslim community, and media reports said he was originally from Pakistan.
Police arrested a 32-year-old Muslim man on Friday, and a spokeswoman said: "A full investigation is underway to establish the full circumstances surrounding the death which is being treated as religiously prejudiced."
Cambridge ended a run of three straight defeats by Oxford with victory in the 162nd edition of the University Boat Race in London on Saturday.
The heavier and more experienced crew, Cambridge were the favourites for this year's renewal on the 4 miles, 374 yards (6.8 km) course between Putney and Mortlake on the River Thames.
Victory saw the Light Blues extend their overall lead in a race first run in 1829 to 82 wins to 79.
On a day when rough water had played havoc with the preceding women's race, Cambridge were ahead almost from the start and although Oxford hung on grimly they never looked at any stage as if they would overtake their ancient rivals in this latest contest between England's two oldest universities.
Cambridge, who won the toss, had the early advantage of the Surrey bend in their favour were sufficiently far ahead of the Dark Blues to make it across to the safety of the Middlesex riverbank in increasingly choppy water.
Britain's press regulator on Saturday censured Rupert Murdoch's The Sun tabloid for a "significantly misleading" story claiming one in five British Muslims sympathise with jihadist fighters.
The ruling on the front-page story from November comes amid heightened community tensions following the Brussels attacks this week claimed by the Islamic State group, which left 31 people dead.
The mass-selling daily claimed an exclusive poll revealed "1 in 5 Brit Muslims' sympathy for jihadis", and published a picture of Mohammed Emwazi, the British IS executioner known as Jihadi John, alongside the shock headline.
The story generated more than 3,000 complaints to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), most of them challenging the coverage on the grounds of accuracy.
The final print edition of The Independent newspaper went on sale Saturday, ending its 30-year appearance on British newsstands with an exclusive on an assassination plot against a former Saudi king.
A poignant wrap-around front page carried the words "STOP PRESS" in red lettering on a white background, followed by the words "Read all about it in this, our final print edition - 1986- 2016".
The newspaper will now be available online only, with its final editorial claiming history would be the judge of its "bold transition....as an example for other newspapers around the world to follow".
In its final front-page exclusive, the "Indy" reported that British-based dissident Mohammed al-Massari was being pursued through the courts over a plot ordered by former Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi to assassinate Saudi king Abdullah.
Journalists earlier posted footage online of the team "banging ourselves out" -- an old tradition of banging the desks to mark the departure of a colleague.
"Today the presses have stopped, the ink is dry and the paper will soon crinkle no more," it said.
"But as one chapter closes, another opens, and the spirit of The Independent will flourish still."
Amnesty on Tuesday urged Washington and London to halt arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia, which is leading a military coalition against rebels in Yemen, for the sake of saving civilian lives.
In a statement released one year into the Saudi-led intervention and titled "Reckless arms flows decimate civilian lives," the rights watchdog urged the two Western powers and other states to "halt all transfers of arms for use in the Yemen conflict".
"Saudi Arabiaâs international partners have added fuel to the fire, flooding the region with arms despite the mounting evidence that such weaponry has facilitated appalling crimes and the clear risk that new supplies could be used for serious violations," said James Lynch, Amnesty International's regional deputy director.
Amnesty said that Washington and London, the largest arms suppliers to Saudi Arabia, "have continued to allow transfers of the type of arms that have been used to commit and facilitate serious abuses, generating a humanitarian crisis on an unprecedented scale."
London's Gatwick airport stepped up security on Tuesday after a string of explosions in Brussels as British Prime Minister David Cameron prepared to hold an emergency cabinet meeting on the attacks.
"As a result of the terrible incidents in Brussels, we have increased our security presence and patrols around the airport," the airport said in a statement.
Cameron earlier said on Twitter he was "shocked and concerned" by the events in Brussels. "I will be chairing a COBRA meeting on the events in Brussels later this morning," Cameron said.
A judge at England's High Court on Monday pleaded with US pop megastar Madonna and her British film director ex-husband to resolve a legal dispute over their son Rocco amicably.
Alistair MacDonald said it would be a "very great tragedy" if any more of the 15-year-old's childhood was lost in the spat between Madonna and Guy Ritchie over where he should live.
Judges have heard that Rocco had remained in London with his father after a visit in early December. Madonna wants the teenager to return to live with her in the State of New York.
MacDonald made his plea for peace after ruling that the proceedings in the English courts could be halted. Litigation is also under way in New York.
"At the root of these proceedings... is a temporary breakdown in trust," the judge said.
"I renew, one final time, my plea for the parents to seek, and to find, an amicable resolution to the dispute between them. Because agreement is not possible today does not mean that agreement will not be possible tomorrow.
"The boy very quickly becomes the man. It would be a very great tragedy for Rocco if any more of the precious and fast receding days of his childhood were to be taken up by this dispute.
"Far better for each of his parents to spend that time enjoying, in turn, the company of the mature, articulate and reflective young man who is their son and who is a very great credit to them both."
A top British eurosceptic minister who quit over welfare cuts launched a damaging attack on Prime Minister David Cameron on Sunday, exposing serious tensions in his government ahead of June's referendum on EU membership.
In his first interview since resigning as work and pensions secretary Friday, Iain Duncan Smith accused Cameron of trying to reduce Britain's budget deficit through benefit cuts which hurt poorer voters while protecting older, often richer ones.
Duncan Smith, who last month became one of the most senior Conservatives to say he would campaign against the premier for Britain to leave the EU on June 23, denied his shock resignation was about Europe.
But the former army officer known as IDS who led the ruling party from 2001 to 2003 admitted that Cameron and his finance minister and close ally George Osborne had stopped listening to him.
"This is not some secondary attempt to attack the prime minister or about Europe," Duncan Smith said in a BBC television interview, adding he quit because he was "losing that ability to influence events from the inside".
Duncan Smith also said that Cameron's government was "in danger of drifting in a direction that divides society, not unites it".
The resignation of Duncan Smith is perhaps the biggest blow Cameron has suffered since being re-elected last year.