Category
Sport
Postecoglou: Spurs must strengthen in January
Postecoglou: Spurs must strengthen in January
London poised to become the global hub for women’s sports in 2025
London poised to become the global hub for women’s sports in 2025
Usyk triumphs over Fury to retain world heavyweight titles
Usyk triumphs over Fury to retain world heavyweight titles
Man City's troubles worsen with loss to Villa
Man City's troubles worsen with loss to Villa
Chelsea сonfirm FA сontact Mudryk over adverse anti-doping result
Chelsea сonfirm FA сontact Mudryk over adverse anti-doping result
Monaco designated World Capital of Sport for 2025
Monaco designated World Capital of Sport for 2025
Manchester City announces record Premier League revenue of £715m
Manchester City announces record Premier League revenue of £715m
Saudi Arabia confirmed as 2034 World Cup host, likely to be held in January
Saudi Arabia confirmed as 2034 World Cup host, likely to be held in January
Man Utd sporting director Ashworth departs after just five months
Man Utd sporting director Ashworth departs after just five months
Chelsea surpassing expectations, but Maresca demands more
Chelsea surpassing expectations, but Maresca demands more
Education
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Government calls on YouTube to highlight 'high-quality' children's programming
The UK government has urged video platforms like YouTube to give greater prominence to "high-quality" children's content, emphasizing its importance for educational andRead More... -
State schools to gain £1.7bn annually from VAT on private schools
Labour’s decision to impose VAT on private schools has sparked controversy, but state schools stand to benefit significantly.Read More... -
Pope Francis shares New Year message on BBC Radio, invited by Oxford Vice-Chancellor
Pope Francis delivered an inspiring New Year message as a guest of Professor Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, during the Thought for the Day segment on BBC RadioRead More... -
Oxford faces criticism over diversity scheme reserving places for disadvantaged students
Oxford University has come under scrutiny from some academics who claim that the institution is lowering its standards to meet diversity targets. The university’s Opportunity Oxford programRead More... -
Tory MP and ex-Oxford Union president highlights ‘antisemitism issues’ at debating club
Gregory Stafford, MP for Farnham and Bordon and former treasurer of the Oxford Union, has called on Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to address allegations of antisemitism following aRead More... -
William Hague elected chancellor of Oxford University
Former foreign secretary and Conservative Party leader William Hague has been elected as the 160th chancellor of the University of Oxford. Lord Hague, an alumnus of Magdalen College, willRead More... -
The University of Edinburgh to cut staff amid financial pressures
The University of Edinburgh has announced plans to reduce staffing levels in response to significant financial challenges. A voluntary redundancy scheme is being introduced, with the possibilityRead More... -
School closed after discovery of 'mystery metal' near grounds
Millbay Academy in Plymouth, often referred to as the "Red School," has been closed as a precaution after the discovery of two mysterious metal objects buried nearby. The items, suspected toRead More... -
Michael Heseltine walks out of Oxford Union after students ‘hijack’ debate
Michael Heseltine walked out of an Oxford University debate, calling it “disgraceful” after students “hijacked” the event with internal political disputes.Read More...
Our poll
Culture
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Hanukkah and Christmas align for the first time since 2005
This year marks a rare calendar coincidence as the first night of Hanukkah aligns with Christmas Day, an overlap that has not occurred since 2005. Such intersections happen roughly five timesRead More... -
‘Brain rot’ named Oxford Word of the Year 2024
After a public vote involving over 37,000 participants, Oxford Languages has officially named ‘brain rot’ as the Oxford Word of the Year for 2024. This decision reflects the evolvingRead More... -
Final tickets for London’s iconic New Year’s Eve fireworks go on sale Monday
The last chance to secure tickets for the Mayor of London’s renowned New Year’s Eve fireworks display arrives on Monday, 2 December, with sales opening at midday.Read More... -
London's pie and mash makers push for protected status to preserve Cockney tradition
Rick Poole, who grew up in his family’s pie and mash shop in London, is hopeful that a new campaign to secure protected status for the traditional Cockney dish will ensure its survival forRead More... -
Two Roman mosaics face risk of leaving the UK
Two Roman mosaics, valued at a combined total of £560,000, have been placed under a temporary export bar in an effort to give UK museums, galleries, or institutions the opportunity toRead More... -
UK author Samantha Harvey has won the Booker Prize for her ‘amazing’ space station novel ‘Orbital’
Samantha Harvey poses with the prize and her book "Orbital" at the Booker Prize Awards 2024, in London.Read More... -
Wales advances with tourism tax proposal
This month, the Welsh Parliament will begin considering a new law that could introduce a tourism tax for overnight visitors in certain areas of Wales. The proposal would grant local councils theRead More... -
Buckingham Palace to reveal more of Its hidden secrets to visitors
Buckingham Palace is set to reveal even more of its iconic spaces to the public during its traditional summer opening, offering an unprecedented experience for visitors.Read More... -
Book reveals King has cut off Prince Andrew’s funding
Prince Andrew’s financial support from King Charles has been terminated, claims a newly updated royal biography. The Duke of York, who has been facing significant financial challengesRead More... -
Renovation costs for Norwich Castle soar to £27.5m
The cost of a major restoration project at Norwich Castle, which aims to revitalize parts of the 900-year-old landmark, has significantly increased as the project nears completion.Read More... -
London's oldest garden centre with 'top-notch plants' ranked among the UK's best
Two of London’s beloved garden centres have earned spots on Mail Online’s list of the best in the UK, highlighting popular destinations for both plant enthusiasts and casual visitors alike.Read More... -
UCL staff raise alarms over ‘dismantling’ of University Art Museum
University College London (UCL) staff have expressed strong objections to the institution’s plans to repurpose its historic Art Museum, voicing concerns that the proposal disregards theRead More... -
Discover Ufford: Suffolk's charming village with an award-winning pub and scenic walks
Suffolk is known for its charming towns and villages, but this week we’re highlighting Ufford, a village that offers more than just picturesque scenery. With an award-winning pub and plenty ofRead More...
British Queen celebrates
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UK news
International Food Photography Day is to take place on Thursday 14 November 2013 - a day to celebrate food photography in all its tasty and delicious glory.
This is a day to embrace and champion an art form that has become such a big part of our lives. Everyone is encouraged to have lunch with a friend, colleague or family member and take a photo.
All images posted on Twitter with the hashtag #FoodPhoto13 on 14 November will be automatically entered into a draw to win exciting photography-related prizes, including Photo Plus X5 software from Serif to edit, enhance and organise images, as well as a website hosting package from Zenfolio.
Anyone who registers for Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2014 on 14 November is in with a chance to win dinner for two at an exclusive London restaurant.
Growth in the Group of 20 emerging and advanced economies accelerated in the second quarter of this year to 0.9 percent from 0.6 percent in the previous three month period, the OECD said Thursday.
Most G20 members saw growth pick up momentum in April through May, with Turkey posting the highest quarter-on-quarter expansion of 2.1 percent, said the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
China followed with a marginal increase to 1.7 percent growth, followed by fellow emerging market nation Brazil at 1.5 percent.
President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview with Russian television Thursday that Syria would place its chemical weapons under international control in line with a proposal from Moscow.
The British banking giant Barclays wants to cram with a capital of 5.8 billion pounds a part of its seven-billion pound financial gap. Barclays boss Antony Jenkins also wants to increase the capital base with division sales and reduce risk.
Seven billion pounds large is the capital gap, the UK’s Financial PRA has recently been identified in the United Barclays Bank – now the Bank is responding. With multi-billion dollar capital measures Barclays boss Antony Jenkins wants to plug the hole. A capital increase to 5.8 billion pounds, the equivalent of 6.7 billion Euros to contribute, the bank said on Tuesday. “Once we have thoroughly examined all the options, we decided to react quickly and determined,” Jenkins said.
Accordingly, the shareholders have the right to one new share for four old pence for 185 shares. This represents a significant discount of 40 percent to the closing price of Monday evening. So that their interests are not diluted, shareholders will receive a purchase right first. In addition, the sale of convertible bonds in the amount of two billion pounds is provided. For Jenkins, the capital is so far the biggest setback since the end of August 2012; he assumed leadership of the bank.
The IPC world athletics championships in Lyon next month are an opportunity to build on the success of last year's Paralympics and build awareness about disabled sport, the head of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) told AFP in an interview on Tuesday.
French para-athletes have been critical in the past about the status accorded to them in relation to their non-disabled counterparts, while the amount of coverage on French television of last year's sell-out Games across the Channel was also questioned.
But with a new domestic television deal signed for the July 19-28 championships in eastern France, IPC president Philip Craven said the greater exposure could challenge traditional attitudes and improve media exposure.
"I think already with the Games in London that's what's changed perceptions of the people who saw it and that will continue," he said on a visit to Paris.
"More people will watch Lyon, hopefully, and then looking forward to the next world championships in Qatar in 2015 then moving on to (the 2016 Paralympics in) Rio, it's going to be fantastic."
Last year's Paralympics were the biggest since the event began in Rome in 1960, with more than 4,200 athletes from over 160 countries, including reclusive North Korea, competing to packed venues after a successful Olympics.
In a sign of the expansion of para-sport, 1,200 athletes from 97 countries will take part in Lyon, compared with 950 competitors from 78 nations at the last world championships in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2011, the IPC said.
Among them will be Brazil's Alan Oliveira, who just last week lowered the 100m world record to 10.77secs, breaking the world record for both the T43 double, below-the-knee and T44 single, below-the-knee amputee classes. T44 Paralympic 100m champion -- the previous world record holder Jonnie Peacock -- will be out for revenge.
Other competitors include Britain's multiple gold medallist wheelchair racer Hannah Cockcroft.
Three top European defence firms called on Sunday on governments to launch a programme to manufacture drones that European countries are currently having to buy from Israel or the United States.
France's Dassault Aviation, European aerospace giant EADS and Italy's Finmeccanica argued such a joint programme would "support the capability needs of European armed forces while optimising the difficult budgetary situation through pooling of research and development funding".
They said in a statement they were prepared to work together on the creation of a European MALE (medium-altitude, long-endurance) drone, which allows surveillance of vast areas over 24 hours.
The trio declared their "readiness to coordinate on such a programme supporting the security needs of our European governments and armed forces."
The pledge to work together appeared to be a sign that Dassault and EADS were burying the hatchet after years of difficult relations, notably over MALE drones.
The drones, until now manufactured only by Israel and its chief ally the United States, have been used in modern warfare, notably in Afghanistan and Mali.
French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday that Paris intended to buy 12 "Reaper" observation drones from the United States in a deal worth some 670 million euros ($894 million).
He criticised the fact that these could not be manufactured and bought in Europe, estimating that European countries need as many of 40 of the high-tech craft.
British Prime Minister David Cameron meets Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday for key talks about the conflict in Syria which could set the tone for the G8 summit next week.
Cameron will seek to forge a consensus on how to deal with Syria when he hosts the leaders of the world's most industrialised nations in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, from Monday.
Washington has upped the ante on Syria by vowing to send military aid to rebel forces trying to unseat President Bashar al-Assad after saying it had proof that the regime had crossed a "red line" by using chemical weapons on a small scale.
A powerful committee of British MPs called on Thursday for a tax probe into Google, after concluding that the US Internet giant sought to avoid paying corporation tax on profit earned in Britain.
The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee revealed its findings in a report which attacked Google for claiming that sales were conducted in Ireland -- which has the lowest corporation tax rate in the eurozone -- and not in Britain.
Google reacted by saying that it abided by the law and that politicians, not companies were responsible for how tax law was drafted.
The cross-party committee said it had received information from ex-Google employees that Britain-based staff were directly engaged in selling services.
In reaction, Google insisted that it had cooperated with tax laws, but welcomed any moves to make the system "simpler and more transparent".
The committee's report was published ahead of next week's G8 summit in Northern Ireland, where host Britain will seek to tackle tax avoidance, which is legal, and tax evasion which is not.
"To avoid UK corporation tax, Google relies on the deeply unconvincing argument that its sales to UK clients take place in Ireland, despite clear evidence that the vast majority of sales activity takes place in the UK," the report said.
"The big accountancy firms sell tax advice which promotes artificial tax structures, such as that used by Google and other multinationals, which serve to avoid UK taxes rather than to reflect the substance of the way business is actually conducted."
The report concluded that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) -- Britain's taxation authority -- needed to probe and challenge what it called "artificial" tax arrangements.
"HMRC is hampered by the complexity of existing laws, which leave so much scope for aggressive exploitation of loopholes, but it has not been sufficiently challenging of the manifestly artificial tax arrangements of multinationals," the report said.
"HM Treasury needs to take a leading role in driving international action to update tax laws and combat tax avoidance."
The committee found that Google had generated $18 billion of revenue in Britain between 2006 and 2011. No information on profits was available.
However, during this time, it paid just $16 million in corporation taxes in the country.
The committee concluded that it was "extraordinary" that British authorities had failed to challenge the tax structure of Google, and other multinationals operating in Britain.
"We accept that HMRC is limited by resources but it is extraordinary that it has not been more challenging of Google's corporate arrangements given the overwhelming disparity between where profit is generated and where tax is paid," it added.
"HMRC needs to be much more effective in challenging the artificial corporate structures created by multinationals with no other purpose than to avoid tax.
"HMRC should now fully investigate Google in the light of the evidence provided by whistleblowers," it added.
Britain's national security chiefs met on Thursday as counter-terrorism police investigated the murder of a soldier who was hacked to death in a London street by two suspected Islamic extremists.
The suspects were shot by police after the "appalling" attack and spent the night in hospital under armed guard.
Wielding knives including a meat cleaver, two men carried out the attack in broad daylight near the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, southeast London, then delivered an Islamist tirade to passers-by.
The victim has yet to be formally identified, but government sources confirmed that he was a member of the armed forces.
Prime Minister David Cameron condemned the "appalling crime", adding: "There are strong indications that it is a terrorist incident."
He cut short a visit to Paris to fly back for a meeting of the government's emergency response committee, COBRA, which had already met in the hours following the attack.
The head of MI5, the domestic intelligence agency, was expected to attend Thursday's meeting along with the head of Scotland Yard, interior minister Theresa May and London mayor Boris Johnson.
Chilling amateur footage of one of the suspects shows him with bloody hands and still holding a blood-stained knife and meat-cleaver, telling a member of the public: "You people will never be safe."
"We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you," adds the man, who is black and speaks in a London accent.
He went on to make various political statements in the video, including a demand for Cameron to "bring our troops back".
Eyewitnesses described how after the killing, at around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the men stayed at the scene asking passers-by to photograph and film them.
"I apologise that women have had to witness this today, but in our lands our women have to see the same," said the suspect, who was wearing a hooded jacket and a black woolly hat.
"We must fight them as they fight us. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
Media reports citing witnesses said the men first ran over their victim in a car before finishing him off with the knives.
Several eyewitnesses said he had been decapitated.
Rapper Boya Dee, who witnessed the incident, wrote on his Twitter account: "Ohhhhh myyyy God!!!! I just see a man with his head chopped off right in front of my eyes!"
Reports said the victim was wearing a t-shirt bearing the logo of the British military charity Help for Heroes.
Meanwhile a female scout leader has shot to fame after she confronted the assailants shortly after the attack, telling them: "It is only you versus many people. You are going to lose."
Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, 48, told the Daily Telegraph that when she asked one of the suspects why they had carried out the attack, he told her: "We want to start a war in London tonight."
She told the newspaper: "He was not high, he was not on drugs, he was not an alcoholic or drunk, he was just distressed, upset.
"He was in full control of his decisions and ready to everything he wanted to do."
Late Wednesday around 250 members of the anti-Islamist English Defence League were involved in minor scuffles with police at Woolwich Arsenal train station, near the scene of the attack.
British Prime Minister David Cameron and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday discussed joint options for ending the crisis in Syria amid a new diplomatic push to resolve the two-year conflict.
Cameron's rare call on Putin at his summer vacation residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi came three days after top US and Russian diplomats agreed to make a joint effort in search of a solution.
The West and Russia have been repeatedly at odds over the Syria conflict, with the United States and Europe accusing Moscow of seeking to prop up President Bashar al-Assad and supplying it with military hardware.
Amid signs of growing international cooperation on ending the conflict, Putin said the two leaders discussed possible options and joint measures for finding peace. However there was no sign of an immediate breakthrough.
"At the initiative of the prime minister, we spoke about the possible options for a positive development of the situation and about practical steps in this regards," Putin said after the talks in comments carried by Russian news agencies.
"We have a joint interest in a swift halt to the violence and the creation of the process for a peaceful solution that keeps Syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty," said Putin.
Cameron for his part said Russia, Britain and the United States should facilitate the creation of a transitional government and expressed support for a new push by Moscow and Washington to try to end the bloodshed in Syria.
He said it was "no secret" that Russia and Britain had different positions on the Syria conflict but said they shared an ultimate aim of halting the conflict, allowing the Syrian people to elect a government and preventing a growth in extremism.
Cameron flew to Putin's palm-dotted residence before the British premier's planned meeting with US President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday.
The meeting also allowed Russia and Britain to coordinate positions ahead of the next Group of Eight summit which Cameron is hosting at Lough Erne in Northern Ireland on June 17-18.
The war in Syria has cost an estimated 70,000 lives and displaced millions of people, including hundreds of thousands who have fled to neighbouring countries.
The talks with Putin came amid concerns that Russia may be preparing to sell Syria sophisticated surface-to-air missiles which will significantly strengthen its defences and complicate any foreign intervention.
US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that any such sale would be "potentially destabilising" for the region.
But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on a visit to Warsaw on Friday, refused to rule out supplies of weapons to Syria according to existing contracts.