Category Archives: UK news

Post-Brexit visa rules a ‘disaster’ for arts, says Edinburgh festival director

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Fergus Linehan calls for visa-free travel for British artists to solve logistical problems of touring

The outgoing director of the Edinburgh festival has called for the UK’s visa and exports rules to be greatly simplified to allow musicians and artists to travel overseas far more smoothly.

Fergus Linehan, who directs his last international festival next month, said the UK’s post-Brexit visa rules had been a “disaster” for the arts and for artists by stifling collaboration and making it harder for British artists to tour abroad.

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Jeremy Hunt to pick Esther McVey as deputy PM if he becomes Tory leader

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Former foreign and health secretary attempts to broaden his appeal through alliance with McVey

Jeremy Hunt has said he would make Esther McVey his deputy prime minister if he won the Conservative leadership campaign, as a string of contenders reiterated promises to cut taxes, while being largely vague on how this would be financed.

As a series of the hopefuls toured the TV studios for the Sunday broadcast rounds, Hunt, Grant Shapps, Tom Tugendhat and Sajid Javid all repeated promises to cut taxes, saying this could be funded from efficiencies or growing the economy.

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UK school Latin course overhauled to reflect diversity of Roman world

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New edition of Cambridge Latin Course to include more prominent female characters and better reflect empire’s ethnic mix

A popular Latin course used to teach generations of British schoolchildren has undergone its biggest overhaul in 50 years to include more prominent female characters and better reflect ethnic diversity in the Roman world.

A fifth edition of the Cambridge Latin Course (CLC), a mainstay of mainly private schools since the 1970s, is being published later this month, in response to concerns from teachers, academics and students about the representation of women, minorities and enslaved people in earlier versions.

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Row over UK child visas as Ukrainian violinist’s three-month wait continues

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Talented musician, 17, stuck in Russian occupied area after British government changes policy on travel rules

A talented 17-year-old violinist living on the frontline in south-east Ukraine has been left waiting three months for a British visa, revealing serious flaws in government promises to help unaccompanied children.

Anastasiia, who lives in the Russian occupied Zaporizhzhia region, where fighting has been intense, has faced constant shelling while waiting to join a family in Hertfordshire.

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Boris Johnson facing accusation he tried to get job for woman claiming affair

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PM pushed candidate forward for role in City Hall while he was mayor of London, report claims

Boris Johnson is facing new allegations he lobbied to get a job for a woman who claimed to be having a sexual relationship with him while he was London mayor.

It is alleged that Johnson lobbied for the woman to have a City Hall job during his time as London mayor and MP for Henley.

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Boris Johnson accused of trying to derail Rishi Sunak’s bid to be next PM

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Senior Tories say the former chancellor is the main focus of the ousted leader’s anger as bitter infighting breaks out

Senior Tories accused Boris Johnson of trying to torpedo Rishi Sunak’s bid to succeed him as prime minister – and of refusing to leave No 10 with good grace – as the leadership race descended into bitter infighting.

As a trio of cabinet ministers entered the contest last night, senior MPs said the battle now risked inflicting even more damage on the party than the fall of Margaret Thatcher more than three decades ago.

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Liz Truss, Nadhim Zahawi and Grant Shapps join race to be next Tory leader

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Cabinet trio add names to increasingly crowded field of candidates to replace Boris Johnson

A trio of cabinet ministers declared they were running for the Tory leadership on Saturday night, amid calls to alter party rules to thin out the increasingly crowded field of candidates.

Foreign secretary Liz Truss, chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and transport secretary Grant Shapps all threw their hats into the ring.

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Bournemouth council accused of ‘casino capitalism’ over beach hut sale

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Holidaymakers are worried about plans by council bosses to cash in by selling the huts – to boost their budget with a £54m windfall

The multicoloured wooden beach huts lining the golden sands of Bournemouth and Poole were in full use once again this weekend as adults basked in deckchairs and children built sandcastles.

These simple structures on this famous stretch of the Dorset coastline are highly sought-after, with typical waiting times for a long-term rental ranging from five to 20 years. However, some users are now worried about plans by council bosses to cash in on the huts by selling them to a “special purpose vehicle” (SPV) to boost their budget with a £54m windfall.

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Protesters at Wimbledon urge end to all-white dress code due to period concerns

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Campaign wants rule change to allow female players to put on coloured underwear when needed

Campaigners are urging Wimbledon organisers to drop the tournament’s strict all-white dress code over concerns for female players who are menstruating.

A group of protesters wearing white skirts with red undershorts arrived at Wimbledon’s main gate on Saturday, before the ladies’ singles final between Ons Jabeur and Elena Rybakina.

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Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid become latest Tories to declare leadership bids – UK politics live

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String of candidates announced on Saturday including Kemi Badenoch, Liz Truss, Grant Shapps and Nadhim Zahawi

Tory MP Rehman Chishti has confirmed he is “actively considering” running for leader.

The newly appointed Foreign Office minister retweeted quotes attributed to him by the BBC, stating: “We need leaders who best reflect modern Britain and can provide solutions to the challenges our nation is facing now.”

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UK heatwave: parents urged to keep children out of sun

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Temperatures predicted to hit 33C on Tuesday, with level 2 heat health alert issued for south-east England

Parents are being advised to keep children out of the sun as the UK braces for a heatwave.

With temperatures predicted to hit a high of 33C (91.4F) on Tuesday, Sheffield children’s hospital says children should wear sun cream, light-coloured clothing and stick to the shade to avoid overheating.

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Tory MPs hit back at ‘treacherous’ Rishi Sunak as leadership race begins

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Conservative MPs fear the race to replace Boris Johnson risks becoming a drawn-out, bitter battle

The race to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister was already slipping into acrimony on Saturday as Conservative factions briefed against Rishi Sunak, the early favourite, while one senior MP called for “no hope” candidates to drop out.

With four candidates confirmed, but predictions that up to 15 could put themselves forward as the next Conservative leader, Tory MPs expressed concern at the potential timetable for the race, and the prospect of bitter infighting.

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Ukrainian soldiers arrive in UK for training with British forces

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Up to 10,000 new recruits will train for several weeks to help in their country’s fight against Russia

British forces have begun training Ukrainian soldiers in a new programme to help in their fight against Russia.

Up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers will arrive in the UK for specialist military training lasting several weeks. The first cohort met the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, on Thursday, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed.

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Met police officer charged with rape after incident in Shropshire

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Special constable Paul Hoile, 40, will appear in court on Saturday after he was arrested earlier this week

A serving Metropolitan police officer has been charged with rape after an incident near Newport, Shropshire.

Special constable Paul Hoile, 40, based on the force’s north-west command unit, was arrested in Benfleet, Essex, at about 10.30pm on Wednesday on suspicion of rape and was charged on Friday.

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Pheasant shoots scaled back across UK after bird flu import bans

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RSPB calls for greater regulation of industry to avoid putting native wildlife at risk

Pheasant shoots across the UK are being shut down or dramatically scaled back this year because of import bans on the birds after an outbreak of bird flu.

A huge number of the gamebirds shot in the country are imported from factory farms in Europe. Experts have said this practice should stop or be reduced because it risks spreading disease and has troubling implications for native nature and biodiversity.

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Fears environment bills could be sidelined amid Tory leadership race

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Campaigners warn crucial legislation must not be abandoned while the UK government is distracted

Crucial environment legislation must not be allowed to be sidelined or abandoned amid the distraction of a Tory leadership race, campaigners have warned.

Ministers openly admit they do not know what is going on with much of the legislation, but those who remain in government are working with skeleton teams to get bills in shape to be passed.

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Rishi Sunak launches bid to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative leader – live

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Former chancellor says it it time to restore trust, rebuild the economy and reunite the country

More now from the 1922 Committee’s Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who says that while in an “ideal world” deputy PM Dominic Raab would have been made caretaker prime minister after Johnson’s speech yesterday, “that ship has sailed”.

I think in an ideal world, Dominic Raab, as deputy prime minister, should have been the caretaker prime minister, but that ship I think has sailed and we must we must now live with the fact that Boris Johnson will be prime minister until a successor can be voted on.

[Johnson] has said very clearly that he won’t be making any major changes during that period. And I think that is a good thing.

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Hummus supplies to dip as weather and Ukraine war cause chickpea shortage

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Drop in chickpea crop could have serious impact on countries such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan

Growers are warning of a global chickpea shortage, endangering supplies of hummus just as barbecue season gets into gear, in a development which could have serious consequences for countries that rely on the pulses as an essential source of protein.

Supplies of chickpeas could drop as much as 20% this year, according to the Global Pulse Confederation, as difficult weather conditions and the war in Ukraine hit production.

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Rishi Sunak to stand for Conservative party leader

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Former chancellor throws his hat into the ring in race to succeed Boris Johnson

Rishi Sunak, who resigned as chancellor this week, has formally announced he is standing to succeed Boris Johnson as Conservative party leader, joining the race as one of the favourites.

The announcement came in a slickly edited three-minute video posted on Twitter that emphasised the story of his parents, who emigrated to the UK from India.

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Nick Kyrgios says Australian tennis greats have ‘sick obsession’ with tearing him down

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Remarks come after Pat Cash accused Kyrgios of ‘cheating, manipulation and abuse’ at this year’s championships

The Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios has said that Australia’s tennis legends have a “sick obsession with tearing [him] down”.

The 27-year-old claimed he was “the outcast” of his compatriots before describing himself as an inspiration to others who have been surrounded by “negative headlines and clouds”.

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