Edinburgh fringe event organisers urged to capitalise on Oasis and AC/DC gigs

Fringe Society CEO says venues could offer concertgoers ‘morning after’ shows or tempt residents who ‘want to hide’

Organisers of Edinburgh fringe events have been urged to be “pretty smart” and capitalise on the decision by Oasis and AC/DC to play gigs in the city midway through the festival.

There was surprise and irritation when it emerged the bands would be staging four concerts at Murrayfield stadium in mid-August when the world’s largest arts festival is in full flow.

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English mayors push for visitor levy to boost income from tourism

Group led by Steve Rotheram says introducing local tourism tax would empower regional growth

A coalition of mayors from across England are urging the government to allow local authorities to bring in a Barcelona-style visitor levy to generate income from tourism.

The group, led by the Liverpool city region mayor, Steve Rotheram, argues that a visitor levy would unlock vital funding for tourism and cultural infrastructure, empower regional growth and reduce dependence on central government funding.

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Italy’s Mount Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano, spews plumes of ash – The Guardian

  1. Italy’s Mount Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano, spews plumes of ash  The Guardian
  2. Huge eruption on Italy’s Mount Etna leaves tourists fleeing volcano  CNN
  3. Italy's Mount Etna is erupting again. Stunning photos show the volcano sending ash into the sky and turning into a 'lava fountain.'  Yahoo
  4. Italy's Mount Etna volcano erupts with a massive ash cloud and a "lava fountain"  CBS News
  5. An Eruption at Mount Etna Sends Hikers Scrambling for Cover  The New York Times
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Outrage over Peru’s decision to nearly halve protected area near Nazca Lines

Shock decision has raised fears ancient site with almost 2,000-year-old geoglyphs will be exploited by illegal miners

Archeologists and environmentalists have expressed their outrage at a shock decision by Peru’s culture ministry to cut by nearly half the protected archaeological park around the iconic Nazca Lines, excluding an area nearly the size of urban Lima, the country’s capital city.

The Unesco world heritage attracts thousands of tourists to see the massive hummingbird, monkey and whale figures in the desert in Peru’s second-biggest tourist attraction after Machu Picchu. Last year, archaeologists using AI discovered hundreds of new geoglyphs dating back more than 2,000 years, predating the famous lines in the sand.

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South Korea goes to the polls to elect new president after Yoon crisis

Election pitting liberal Lee Jae-myung against conservative candidate Kim Moon Soo comes after months of chaos following Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived imposition of martial law

Millions of South Koreans are voting for a new president in a snap election triggered by the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative who now faces an explosive trial on rebellion charges over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December.

Pre-election surveys suggested Yoon’s liberal arch-rival, Lee Jae-myung, appeared headed for an easy win, riding on deep public frustration over the conservatives in the wake of Yoon’s martial law debacle.

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Pentagon to redraw command map to more closely align Greenland with the US – Politico

  1. Pentagon to redraw command map to more closely align Greenland with the US  Politico
  2. Trump administration plans to move Greenland from U.S. European Command to Northern Command  CBS News
  3. Trump admin. intends to move Greenland from U.S. European Command  MSN
  4. United States plans to transfer Greenland to new command  AzerNews
  5. Pentagon to shift Greenland oversight to Northern Command  Harici
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Iran on brink of rejecting US proposal on nuclear programme

Offer gives no ground on Tehran’s demand to continue to enrich uranium inside country, sources say

Iran is on the brink of rejecting US proposals on the future of its nuclear programme after the US draft insisted that Tehran would have to suspend the enrichment of uranium inside Iran and set out no clear route map for lifting US economic sanctions.

The US proposals were the first in written form since five rounds of indirect talks started, but Iranian diplomatic sources said the US proposals gave no ground on Iran’s demand to continue to enrich uranium inside the country.

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Human remains found in search for Derby woman missing since 2010

Police believe remains are of Izabela Zablocka, from Normanton, and have launched murder investigation

Human remains have been found in a search for a woman missing for more than 15 years as police launch a murder investigation into her disappearance.

Izabela Zablocka, from Normanton in Derby, was 30 when she went missing in 2010. Originally from Poland, she had last made contact with family on 28 August 2010.

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Gaza Cease-Fire Negotiations Hit A New Impasse Over An Old Dispute – The New York Times

  1. Gaza Cease-Fire Negotiations Hit A New Impasse Over An Old Dispute  The New York Times
  2. White House envoy says Hamas response to U.S. proposal "takes us backward"  Axios
  3. Hamas responds to Gaza ceasefire proposal  CBS News
  4. Ex-Israeli Negotiator Daniel Levy: Netanyahu Wants “Permanent War” in Gaza, Not a New Ceasefire  Democracy Now!
  5. Coming days 'critical' for Gaza deal progress, Qatar, Egypt hold significant weight  The Jerusalem Post
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Mexican president hails ‘complete success’ after just 13% vote in judicial elections

Claudia Sheinbaum defends decision to put 2,600 judges’ posts to vote despite record low turnout

Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum has defended the country’s unprecedented judicial elections after just 13% of Mexicans turned out to vote, a record low in a federal election.

Roughly 2,600 posts, from local magistrates to supreme court justices, were up for grabs on Sunday, as an entire judicial system was put to the vote for the first time in the world.

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Clint Eastwood calls viral interview a fabrication: ‘Completely phony’

The actor and director claims that an Austrian newspaper invented a recent interview with him

Clint Eastwood has released a statement to claim a recent interview with him is a fabrication.

Quotes from an alleged interview with the Oscar-winning actor and director had gone viral over the weekend and were picked up by a number of sites. Yet Eastwood has now said that he never spoke to anyone from German-language Austrian newspaper Kurier.

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