Culture
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Honiara: London Fashion Week show Blo Iumi returns bigger and better in 2024The British High Commission in Honiara hosted its second edition of the popular London Fashion Week Show Blo Iumi on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, featuringRead More...
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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...
British Queen celebrates
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UK news
Counter-terrorism police captured the youngster at a location in east London toward the beginning of today.
She is as of now in guardianship at a focal London police headquarters where she is being addressed on suspicion of readiness of terrorism under area five of the Terrorism Act 2006.
The Bank of England today raised the caution over homebuyers tackling greater home loans presently keep on taking off in London.
In a sensational intercession, Sir Jon Cunliffe, the bank's representative senator for money related solidness, cautioned of the "danger" to Britain's economy from individuals heaping on obligation which they may battle to reimburse.
"Our worry is less about house costs, it is the chain between high house costs, costs becoming speedier than individuals' earnings, and individuals needing to take out greater and greater home loans and the obligation that families then have in respect to their wage development," he told BBC radio.
A female security watchman is battling for her life subsequent to being attacked by a detainee at a London court today.
The male detainee assaulted the Serco guard at Blackfriars Crown Court at around 1.30 this evening, police said.
Scotland Yard said the episode happened as the lady, thought to be in her 50s, escorted the detainee in the middle of court and a holding up van stopped outside.
The casualty was dealt with by doctors from the London Air Ambulance group before being taken to an east London healing facility.
She stays in a basic condition after the occurrence, police said.
A 103-year-old man and a 91-year-old woman held their wedding in Britain on Saturday, becoming the oldest couple to get married in the world.
George Kirby and Doreen Luckie – together for 27 years – looked delighted as they tied the knot at a hotel in the seaside town of Eastbourne, southern England, before close friends and family.
The bride wore a white dress with blue flowers while the groom, a former boxer, was dressed smartly in a suit and tie, and was in a wheelchair – bedecked with the logo of the London 2012 Paralympics – after sustaining bruising during a recent fall.
With a combined age of 194 years, the pair beat the previous record held by a French couple, Francois Fernandez and Madeleine Francineau, who had a combined age of 191 years.
Speaking ahead of the ceremony, Luckie said the couple had “no regrets” about not doing it earlier. “We didn’t want to bother about marriage before but eventually we did it,” she said.
The couple reportedly have seven children, 15 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren between them.
Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, the latest addition to Britain's royal family, will be christened on July 5 near Queen Elizabeth II's Sandringham estate in rural eastern England, the royal press office said on Friday.
Prince William and his wife Kate's daughter, who is fourth in line to the throne after the couple's first child Prince George, was born on May 2.
"The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are pleased to announce the christening of Princess Charlotte will take place on Sunday 5th July," read a statement from Kensington Palace, the couple's London residence.
Charlotte's middle names Elizabeth and Diana are a tribute to her great-grandmother the queen and the woman who would have been her grandmother, William's late mother Diana who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
Tony Blair resigned Wednesday as the Quartet diplomatic group's envoy, his office said, with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict he worked to end as troubled as ever.
There was some praise for the former British prime minister's work over eight years as delegate of the Quartet -- the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia.
But events on the ground showed how far away is peace -- although the goal of a two-state solution remains.
Israel carried out four air strikes on militants in the Gaza Strip, witnesses said. That came hours after a cross border rocket attack on Israel.
The situation on the ground is "not sustainable," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini warned.
The US State Department was among those thanking Blair, calling him a "valued partner" who has worked tirelessly to advance economic growth in the West Bank and Gaza.
But it acknowledged the Quartet's goal of a two state solution has not been met.
"So until that's achieved, you know, I don't think any of us can say that we've succeeded," State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said.
Mogherini called on the two sides to resume peace talks.
The last ones fell apart in April 2014. And prospects for their renewal seem bleak with a lack of trust between the sides exacerbated by the formation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new hardline coalition.
Blair tendered his resignation in a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, an official in Blair's office told AFP.
Sources close to Blair said he would step down officially next month.
An abandoned subway station used by Winston Churchill as a bunker during World War II could become London's latest go-to bar or gallery under a plan launched by the city's transport agency.
Tucked away in the luxury Mayfair area in the centre, Down Street was opened in 1907 but closed in 1937 and its dark warren of tunnels have gathered a thick layer of black dust in the 83 years since.
The facade has lost its sign but kept the traditional crimson-red tiles once used for stations on the Underground, the oldest metro system in the world.
Now Transport for London (TfL) hopes it will be the first of seven or eight off-limits empty stations under the capital to be leased for commercial use.
"Disused stations tend to be difficult, complex environments," Graeme Craig, TfL's commercial development director, told AFP in a tunnel with cracked tiles and peeling paint.
"They are not easy to bring back to use," he said, as the eery sound of Piccadilly Line trains going through nearby Green Park station could be heard echoing through the tunnels.
"For me it would be brilliant if we can find a use for this station that reflects its history, its location, the unique space that we have," he said.
During the war, the station was first used as the emergency headquarters of the British rail system.
It was then used by Churchill and his war cabinet for meetings to avoid Nazi bombing before the better known Cabinet War Rooms in Whitehall were built.
The station is equipped with a kitchen, a dining room and a bathroom used by Churchill and his staff.
Officials believe that a jumble of telephone cables lying in a corner also points to the station's use as an underground communications centre.
"Living here can seem quite horrendous. But when the bombs were falling, you could probably feel safe," said Niall Brolly, project manager for TfL, who supervised a feasibility study for the station.
A London taxi driver who made bombs targeting coalition troops in Iraq, one of which killed a US soldier, was jailed for life with a minimum of 38 years after being convicted of murder.
Anis Sardar, 38, built an improvised explosive device (IED) which killed Sergeant First Class Randy Johnson of 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment when it exploded under his armoured vehicle outside Baghdad on September 27, 2007.
Sardar was arrested in London in September 2014 after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation found his fingerprints on two bombs which were planted in the area at the time, although not the one which killed Johnson.
Sentencing him at London's Woolwich Crown Court, the day after a jury found him guilty of murder, Judge Henry Globe told Sardar that the soldier's death "was a loss for which you are directly responsible".
The judge rejected Sardar's defence that he had only been involved once in making a bomb, to protect the Sunni community from Shiite militias.
"I am satisfied that at the material time of the offences you had a mindset that made Americans every bit the enemy as Shiite militias. Both were in your contemplation at all times," he said.
Britain's Crown Prosecution Service said it had been a "landmark" case, showing that "international borders are no barrier to terrorists in the UK being brought to justice".
Britain's Prince Harry wrapped up a visit to New Zealand and Australia on Saturday by scoring the winning goal in a football match and proving he can help capture a crocodile.
The 30-year-old prince spent a week in New Zealand, which started with a pub quiz on an outer southern island, included learning a traditional haka at a military camp, and finished with a day of sport at Auckland.
He also revealed during the official visit that he wants to have children and would like a partner to "share the pressure" of royal duties, but is still waiting for the right woman.
As New Zealand prepares to hold a referendum on whether to change its flag, which features the British Blue Ensign, Harry used a farewell reception to highlight his family's ties with the country.
"These links are of course central to the constitution of this nation, but they go much deeper than that," he said.
"They are built on a profound personal fondness for this captivating country and its charming, talented people."
He also touched on his love of rugby and although the sport featured prominently during his visit, he joked that he was not on a spying mission ahead of the World Cup in England later this year.
"I've always wanted to know how you can be so damned good with such a small population. But don't worry, I am not here to spy on you. I come in peace, despite what people think."
But it was with football that the fifth-in-line to the throne closed his public duties.
- 'Plays all right for a prince' -