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Business rates will be cut by 20% for pubs, clubs and live music venues across England from April next year, Downing Street has announced.The discount will apply to nearly 32,000 hospitality businesses and is expected to save a typical pub about £1,100 annually, but will not be available to the very largest live music venues.The overhaul of business rates will be funded through a review of reliefs for businesses that “do not make a positive contribution to local communities” such as vape shops and a crackdown on online marketplaces that do not comply with tax obligations, No 10 said.The prime…

“We’ve had really dry weather but also it’s been really hot – and those things combined if you’re a livestock farmer means excessive pressure on livestock,” said Abi Reader, president of NFU Cymru.”You have to make sure they have enough water and shade, and we are getting farms with springs and streams drying up,” she told BBC Walescast.”If you’re an arable farmer the heat and dry weather have also forced a lot of the crops to come to ripening a lot earlier than they normally would.”It’s unprecedented early harvesting this year and farmers are going to see lower crop yields.”Welsh…

Arsenal, the Premier League champions, have been dealt a big injury blow after the centre-back William Saliba was ruled out for “an extended period” with a back injury.Saliba played with a back problem during France’s run to the World Cup semi-final and, although he will not require an operation, the 25-year-old is set for a significant spell on the sidelines. He was forced off with the injury after just 30 minutes of France’s last-four defeat by Spain.“Subsequent specialist reviews on William’s return to London this week have confirmed that he has suffered a back injury which will require a period…

On the first anniversary of Ozzy Osbourne‘s death, his wife Sharon revealed the advice the metal legend gave her to help remember him when he was gone. Sharon, who was in Ozzy’s hometown of Birmingham on Wednesday as the city celebrated its first Ozzy Day, spoke with BBC about how she hoped to continue his legacy. “As Ozzy would say, ‘When you want to remember me, just yank up the music really loud, as loud as you can get it, and just head bang,’” Sharon said. “He was authentic,” she continued. “He never tried to be anything other than what…

We swapped the heatwave and melting pavements in Rome for a similar situation in London, which meant catching a train to Dorset felt something of a relief. Not that it wasn’t hot there too, but it was offset by the sea, a garden and a dark, cool house. The weather also meant that the always good July produce was superb and abundant: all the berries, cherries, peas, runner and french beans; but also potatoes, aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes and herbs – all of which go into this week’s recipe.My template for ratatouille is a mix of Jane Grigson’s recipe in her…

We live in an age of the camera. The camera as reporter captures the serious and the mundane, the beauty and the beast, the decent and the pornographic. Those who intuitively and consciously understand the visual language, aesthetics and logic of photography have been translating the world they know into compelling stories. And these translations into images of human thoughts and experiences, of faces and places, of ideas and events, have had huge impact on humanity. Laura Morton, a San Francisco-based award-winning documentary photographer, says that cameras are tools of exploration and passports to the deep. And Mary Golon, Assistant…

Officials say 76 of the roughly 179 people believed to have been aboard survived, and 53 bodies have been found so far.Published On 23 Jul 202623 Jul 2026The expected death toll from Guyana’s ferry disaster over the weekend has climbed to around 100, with the authorities facing mounting pressure to explain how the country’s worst maritime disaster in decades occurred.Officials said on Tuesday that 76 of the roughly 179 people believed to have been aboard survived, while 53 bodies have been recovered as divers continue searching for the remaining missing.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listFamilies have gathered in…

Kayode Tokede  The Nigerian stock market took a pause to its recent gains, closing lower as the overall capitalization declined by N800 billion on losses in BUA Foods (10 per cent),  Nestle Nigerian Plc (-10.0per cent),  and 25 others.  The Nigerian Exchange Limited  All-Share Index (NGX ASI)  dipped by 1,241.19 basis points or 0.50 per cent, to close at 245,418.37 basis points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value shed N800 billion to close at N158.319 trillion. Sectoral performance was mixed as the Consumer Goods (-5.0per cent) index declined, while the Insurance (+1.6per cent), Banking (+1.5per cent) and Industrial Goods (+0.8per…

There have been numerous accounts in recent years of orcas ramming boats—and sometimes sinking them. Scientists believe this may be a form of culturally learned behavior passed down through generations. Now we have fresh examples: orcas in the Gulf of California were filmed teaming up to ram sunfish with so much force that the carcasses exploded into small fragments. While orcas have been known to use force to remove flesh from prey, this is something different, according to a new paper published in the journal Frontiers in Ethology. “We think this may help younger orcas feed more easily, or it…

Adedayo Akinwale and Juliet Akoje in Abuja The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the activities surrounding the alleged establishment and operations of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), has expressed its disappointment in the failure of some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)  to honour the Committee’s invitations. This was as the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has dissociated itself from the controversial PFIPC, stating that it had never officially engaged with the organisation or its purported Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, who security authorities reportedly confirmed was not known to the federal government. The House Committee in a statement yesterday…