British Museum given its most valuable gift ever with Chinese ceramics
PA Media Two 600-year-old David Vases are part of the £1bn gift The British Museum is to receive what is believed to be the highest-value gift ever received by a UK museum with the acquisition of £1bn worth of Chinese ceramics. Trustees of the Sir Percival David Foundation, which owns the works, are to donate […]
Asda and Boots urge reform of ‘broken’ rates system
Getty Images Bosses of more than 50 retailers including Asda and Boots have written to the chancellor urging him to change tax rules to boost the UK High Street. The group said it wanted him to fix the “broken business rates system”, which it called outdated. It said the tax had jumped by 50% since […]
Australians get ‘right to disconnect’ after working hours
A “right to disconnect” rule has come into effect in Australia, offering relief to people who feel forced to take calls or read messages from employers after they finish their day’s work. The new law allows employees to ignore communications after hours if they choose to, without fear of being punished by their bosses. A […]
Bristol nightclub Motion may close due to lease expiration
One of the UK’s most renowned nightclubs has announced that it may be forced to close in 2025. Bosses at Motion, located in the centre of Bristol beside the river Avon, announced on Instagram earlier that its lease will end in July 2025. Motion is a Grade II listed industrial warehouse which has hosted events […]
NI top auditor criticises Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute over rehiring
BBC Kieran Donnelly is Northern Ireland’s most senior auditor and leads the NI audit office Northern Ireland’s top auditor has criticised a government body for the way it rehired former staff let go under a redundancy scheme. The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) re-employed 11 people who had taken a package to leave the civil […]
Essex Police uses live facial recognition CCTV at Clacton Airshow
Essex Police Live facial recognition technology was used by Essex Police for the first time at Clacton Airshow Live facial recognition (LFR) technology used for the first time by a police force helped lead to three arrests during an airshow. Essex Police made use of the technology for the first time at the Clacton Airshow […]
The masked act freshening up Download festival
Getty Images Sleep Token have kept their identities secret by wearing masks on stage When it comes to your favourite music artists, chances are you probably know a lot about their lives. But there is an air of mystery around one of the headline acts for next year’s Download festival. Masked mystery. British metal group […]
Beluga whale was Russian military asset
Norwegian Orca Survey The tame beluga whale approached Norwegian fishermen in 2019, wearing a harness, leading to speculation that it was an escaped Russian “spy whale” The mystery as to why a beluga whale appeared off the coast of Norway wearing a harness may finally have been solved. The tame white whale, which locals named […]
Brexit farming fund ‘income support for super rich’
PA The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee is made up of five Labour members, four Tories and one each from the SNP and DUP A special fund to prepare farmers for Brexit would in some cases be “income support for super rich”, an MP says. Newport West’s Paul Flynn sits on the Commons’ environment […]
EE tells parents not to give smartphones to primary-age children
One of the UK’s largest mobile network providers is advising parents not to give primary school-aged children their own smartphone. EE, which is owned by BT, said it aims to improve children’s “digital wellbeing” after receiving increasing requests for guidance from parents. It said that under-11s should be given “non-smart” devices that have similar capabilities […]