UK News
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New skills hubs to boost construction workforce and drive housing growth in BritainA major new initiative aims to accelerate homebuilding in the UK by creating thousands of construction apprenticeship opportunities annually. Backed by a £140 million investment from industryRead More...
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Energy bills set to rise for most Britons following 1.2% price cap increaseMillions of households across Britain will face higher energy bills from January as Ofgem, the UK energy regulator, announced a 1.2% increase in its domestic price cap. The adjustment reflectsRead More...
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More women hired in senior UK fund roles, but top-paid positions still male-dominatedThe representation of women in senior roles within the UK investment management sector improved in 2023, though top-paid positions remain overwhelmingly held by men, according toRead More...
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Government rolls out Warm Homes Plan: cleaner heat and cost savings for householdsThe government is set to upgrade up to 300,000 homes next year as part of its Warm Homes Plan, aiming to reduce energy bills and deliver cleaner, more efficient heating solutions.Read More...
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Nine water companies blocked from using customer funds for £6.8m in executive bonusesNine water firms, including the heavily indebted Thames Water, have been stopped from using customer funds to pay “undeserved” bonuses to top executives, worth a total of £6.8 million.Read More...
Culture
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London's pie and mash makers push for protected status to preserve Cockney traditionRick 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...
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Two Roman mosaics face risk of leaving the UKTwo 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...
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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...
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Wales advances with tourism tax proposalThis 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...
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Buckingham Palace to reveal more of Its hidden secrets to visitorsBuckingham 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...
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Book reveals King has cut off Prince Andrew’s fundingPrince 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...
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Renovation costs for Norwich Castle soar to £27.5mThe 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...
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London's oldest garden centre with 'top-notch plants' ranked among the UK's bestTwo 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...
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UCL staff raise alarms over ‘dismantling’ of University Art MuseumUniversity 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...
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Discover Ufford: Suffolk's charming village with an award-winning pub and scenic walksSuffolk 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...
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UK’s National Gallery implements liquid ban following activist attacks on artworksThe National Gallery in London has introduced a ban on liquids in response to a series of activist attacks on its artworks, including Vincent van Gogh's iconic Sunflowers.Read More...
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Little Portugal: three restaurants to experience in London's Portuguese communityThe Portuguese population in this area of South Lambeth boasts a variety of exceptional dining options.Read More...
British Queen celebrates
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World News
Four children and an adult were killed when a fire engulfed a social housing block in the French city of Mulhouse on Sunday night, authorities said.
Eight others were injured, three critically, in the blaze that began in the basement of a four-storey building in the northern Bourtzwiller district, the fire service said.
The fire broke out shortly before midnight.
On September 28 2017 at 10am, the Conference Room of European’s People Party will hold a round table on the matter “Justice, Human Rights and Due Procedure in EU – the Case of Vladimir Kokorev,” presided by MEP Fulvio Martusciello.
Vladimir Kokorev, his wife Yulia and their son Igor, have been held for over 2 years in a prison of Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain) on a suspicion of money laundering in favor of the President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang. Despite the unusually prolonged detention without a trial, and the fact the investigation has supposedly started back in 2009, Mr. Kokorev and his family has not yet been formally indicted, nor presented with evidence of any wrongdoing.
Moreover, the attorneys of Kokorev family have provided the judge in charge of investigation with exhaustive documentary proof of legality of transactions deemed “suspicious” by the prosecution office of Las Palmas, and thus attesting to his innocence.
Furthermore, the case itself presents strong evidence suggesting severe police manipulation, such as deliberate mistranslations and misrepresentation of documents pertaining to the case, interference with IT devices and the reliance on a witness indicted for embezzlement and forgery.
Azerbaijan's ruling elite ran a secret 2.5 billion euro ($2.9 billion) slush fund to pay off European politicians and launder money, according to an investigation by a group of European newspapers published Tuesday.
The fund operated for two years from 2012 to 2014 through bank accounts of four shell companies registered in Britain, according to the investigation by papers including The Guardian and France's Le Monde and published by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
Nicknamed the "Azerbaijan Laundromat", the origin of the fund is unclear "but there is ample evidence of its connection to the family of President Ilham Aliyev", the report said.
An Australian woman who fled in fear from the Barcelona attack has told how she was caught up in two other recent terror incidents in Paris and London during her European travels.
"I was in London at the time of the London Bridge attack, and we were also at Notre Dame the day the attack took place there too," Julia Monaco, a 26-year-old from Melbourne, told BBC Radio 5 Live.
She recounted how she and her friends took refuge inside a shop as crowds ran from a vehicle as it ploughed through pedestrians on the famous Las Ramblas boulevard in Barcelona on Thursday afternoon.
An Australian woman who fled in fear from the Barcelona attack has told how she was caught up in two other recent terror incidents in Paris and London during her European travels.
"I was in London at the time of the London Bridge attack, and we were also at Notre Dame the day the attack took place there too," Julia Monaco, a 26-year-old from Melbourne, told BBC Radio 5 Live.
She recounted how she and her friends took refuge inside a shop as crowds ran from a vehicle as it ploughed through pedestrians on the famous Las Ramblas boulevard in Barcelona on Thursday afternoon.
President Donald Trump on Friday turned up the heat on North Korea, warning Pyongyang that the US military is "locked and loaded" in the event of a misstep by the totalitarian state, despite mounting international calls for restraint.
Trump launched another salvo at the regime of Kim Jong-Un to keep its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs in check, as the North's official news agency accused the US of driving the situation "to the brink" of war.
The latest Twitter threat from the Republican billionaire leader came as concerns swelled worldwide that a miscalculation by either side could trigger a catastrophic conflict on the Korean peninsula.
"Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!" Trump wrote from his golf club retreat in New Jersey, where he is spending two weeks.
The official KCNA news service countered in an editorial that "Trump is driving the situation on the Korean peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war," calling the US "the mastermind of nuclear threat, the heinous nuclear war fanatic."
Earlier Friday in Beijing, China -- Pyongyang's main diplomatic ally -- had urged Trump and Kim to tone down the saber-rattling.
A clean-up operation was under way in Hong Kong Monday after a massive palm oil spillage from a ship collision in mainland Chinese waters clogged some of its most popular beaches.
The coast was coated with rancid-smelling sticky white clumps of the oil as it washed in Sunday, with 11 beaches still closed to swimmers Monday in the height of a summer heatwave.
There are still lumps of the solidified oil on the beaches and the sea water in some areas is greasy.
Hong Kong comprises more than 200 islands with glittering bays, but there are increasing concerns about pollution and rubbish blighting its shores.
On Pui O beach, on the island of Lantau, cleaners raked through the famous black sand Monday morning retrieving lumps of palm oil mixed with other trash, from plastic water bottles to children's toys.
Although there is still a red flag up and the beach is officially closed, some people still ventured into the water.
One 61-year-old surfer, who gave his name as Simon and is a regular at the beach, said there was still oil in the water.
"It got under my feet and on my board. It's all slippery," he told AFP.
"Yesterday there was big chunks along the beach and in the water."
He added that there was often rubbish on the beach, often left by visitors.
"I live here now, I have to put up with it. I don't like it," said Simon, who is an airport worker originally from Hawaii.
Beach announcements told determined swimmers at the closed beaches to get out of the water Monday.
But Agnes Mercado, 49, a regular at secluded South Bay on Hong Kong Island, was determined to take her morning dip, although she said she would not submerge her upper bod
"Of course I'm worried about it, but it's even worse than this on some days," she said of the pollution.
Southeast Asian nations feuded Sunday over how to respond to Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea, with Vietnam insisting on a tough stance but Cambodia lobbying hard for Beijing, diplomats said.
The debates among foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a security forum in the Philippines were the latest in years of struggles to deal with competing claims to the strategically vital sea.
The ministers failed to release a customary joint statement after meeting on Saturday because of their differences on the sea issue, and follow-up negotiations on Sunday did not end the stand-off, two diplomats involved in the talks told AFP.
Ransomware demands which hit a clutch of multinationals Tuesday are the latest in a wave of international cyberattacks in recent months.
In Europe, Danish sea transport company Maersk, British advertising giant WPP and French industrial group Saint-Gobain all came under attack as did US pharmaceutical group Merck.
The attacking tool is believed to be ransomware of the so-called Petya malware type, which earlier affected firms in Russia including oil giant Rosneft and Ukraine.
The latest wave comes just six weeks after what the EU's law enforcement agency described as an "unprecedented" attack by WannaCry ransomware which hit more than 100 countries -- notably Britain's National Health Service.
The repeated waves of attacks have raised questions on how companies can protect themselves effectively.
- What is ransomware? -
Hungary's populist prime minister said Monday he sees no chance for a single EU-wide migration policy, just days after the bloc launched legal action against Budapest for refusing refugees under a controversial solidarity plan.
"To say that there will be one integrated, single European migration policy, I do have my doubts and I do not see any chance for this," Viktor Orban told the Benelux and Visegrad group premiers meeting in Warsaw ahead of an EU summit in Brussels later this week.
"Hungary is open to any negotiations to this end but we would like to continue to remain realists," the Hungarian PM added.
The EU launched legal action last week against Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic for refusing to participate in relocating 160,000 refugees under a 2015 plan set up when more than one million people landed on Europe's shores, mainly in Italy and Greece.
Brussels had set a June deadline for Warsaw and Budapest to start accepting mainly Syrian, Eritrean and Iraq asylum seekers. Prague has also come under pressure after effectively dropping out of the relocation plan.
Orban argued Monday that his government's rejection of refugees and migrants was intended to preserve the central European country's identity.