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☆ BBC engulfed in an impartiality storm of its own making
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

“There is a long-established precedent in the BBC that if you’re an entertainment presenter or you’re a football presenter, then you are not bound by those same rules” on impartiality, former director-general Greg Dyke told BBC Radio 4 over the weekend. BBC Director General Tim Davie has made protecting impartiality one of his major priorities. Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty ImagesMore problematic still is that the same thorny questions about impartiality extend to the BBC’s leadership. “It’s a mess, isn’t it?” former BBC executive Peter Salmon told the cooperation’s flagship political presenter Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday. “He’s got views, he’s got passions … it may be that Gary has outgrown the job, and his role in the BBC.”

☆ Ukraine is vowing to defend 'fortress' Bakhmut as Russian forces surround it: Here are 3 reasons why
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Ukrainian infantrymen with the 28th Brigade view damaged buildings while driving to a frontline position facing Russian troops on March 05, 2023 outside of Bakhmut, Ukraine. Russian forces appear to be tightening the noose around the city in Donetsk. "The fall of Bakhmut won't necessarily mean that the Russians have changed the tide of this fight," he added, noting that he would not predict when Bakhmut might fall to Russian forces. Ukrainian military vehicles drive along a road outside of the strategic city of Bakhmut on January 18, 2023 in Bakhmut, Ukraine. On Tuesday, Zelenskyy warned that Russian troops will have "open road" to key cities in eastern Ukraine if they seize Bakhmut.

☆ Someone donated $400,000 to save an apartment that an artist spent 33 years filling with bizarre works including a lion's head fireplace
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Ron Gittins meticulously decorated his rented apartment from 1986 till his death in 2019. Friends feared the art-filled apartment would be lost after it was put up for auction. The apartment's former resident was artist Ron Gittins, who died in 2019. After his death, friends and family came together to pay Gittins' rent and try to preserve his art-filled home. Nothing is yet known about the individual who made the donation or why they decided to make it.

☆ Northern Ireland's DUP: New deal does give Stormont ability to apply brake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The leader of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said a new provision to stop new European Union trade rules from applying to goods in Northern Ireland did appear to give its Stormont regional assembly the ability to apply a brake. "I do think that what has been proposed at first reading does give Stormont the ability to apply the brake where the application of EU law for the purposes of facilitating cross-border trade impacts on our ability to trade with the rest of the United Kingdom," Jeffrey Donaldson told BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday. We continue to have some concerns," he said of the new post-Brexit deal struck between Britain and the EU on Monday. The Stormont brake, unveiled as part of the deal, enables the British government to stop new EU laws from applying to goods in Northern Ireland if requested by a third of lawmakers in Stormont, the British province's regional assembly. Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar, Editing by Kylie MacLellanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK commentator John Motson dies aged 77
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Soccer Football - Premier League - Everton vs Crystal Palace - Goodison Park, Liverpool, Britain - February 10, 2018 Commentator John Motson leaves after the match Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith/File PhotoLONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - British soccer commentator John Motson has died aged 77, his family announced in a statement on Thursday. "It is with great sadness we announce that John Motson OBE died peacefully in his sleep today (Thursday)," said a statement from Motson's family. "Deeply saddened to hear that John Motson has died," former England striker and current Match of the Day commentator Gary Lineker said on Twitter. Motson joined the BBC on a full-time basis as a sports presenter on Radio 2 in 1968, having been at BBC Radio Sheffield beforehand. John Motson was an ever present fixture in so many of our lives.

☆ Britain's salad vegetable crisis its own fault, says former Sainsbury's boss
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The crisis has been exacerbated by less winter production in greenhouses in Britain and the Netherlands due to high energy costs. "We could have chosen to subsidise the energy this winter as we have done for other industries." Horticulture has been excluded from a government Energy and Trade Intensive Industries scheme (ETII) that provides help with energy costs. King said that most UK supermarkets still had "very good" supply of salad vegetables coming in but overall the country is short. "That's why supermarkets introduce fair purchase policies so that 'real' customers are able to buy the one or two that they really need."

☆ Parthenon marbles could be seen both in London and Athens, museum chair says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The UK is working on a new arrangement with Greece through which the Parthenon Sculptures could be seen both in London and in Athens, British Museum chair George Osborne said on Thursday, describing it as a win-win situation. Osborne, a former finance minister, reiterated that the museum was having constructive talks with the Greek government about the marbles which have been a source of dispute between the two European countries for centuries. "But I think there is a way forward where these sculptures, the Elgin Marbles, the Parthenon Sculptures, could be seen both in London and in Athens, and that will be a win-win for Greece and for us." "If we wanted to send all the Elgin Marbles back then that would require an act of parliament, and that would be beyond my authority," he said. "But what the museum can do is try and form a new relationship with Greece."

Less than three years later on Wednesday, tens of thousands of nurses in England are estimated to have walked off work as part of an unprecedented strike shaking the country’s much-loved but troubled National Health Service. They are also striking to highlight the long-term deterioration of the service amid a chronic shortage of health care staff and ballooning living costs. Meanwhile, the health service, normally a huge source of pride for Britons, has spiraled into crisis due to long- and short-term factors including the fallout of the pandemic. As of September, there were a record 132,000 unfilled health service jobs — almost 10% of the total workforce of more than 1.3 million — according to figures released by NHS England. She described one shift in which three nurses and two student nurses looked after 15 patients.

☆ Greek PM dashes hopes of swift return of Parthenon marbles
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Renee Maltezou | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ATHENS, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday dismissed reports of an imminent repatriation of the Parthenon sculptures known in Britain as the Elgin marbles. Greece has accused Lord Elgin of theft and does not recognise the British Museum as owner of the sculptures. [1/3] A man looks at the Parthenon Marbles, a collection of stone objects, inscriptions and sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, on show at the British Museum in London October 16, 2014. The British Museum has always rejected returning the parts in its collection, which include about half of the 160 metre (525 ft) frieze that adorned the Parthenon. Many countries have pressured British institutions to return looted artefacts, especially given that the British Museum only displays about 1% of its collection.

☆ Ukraine's cities begin 2023 under attack from more Russian missiles and drones
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

We already know the sound of rockets, we know the moment they fly, we know the sound of drones. Ukrainian forces reclaimed the city in November after Russia's forces withdrew across the Dnieper River, which bisects the Kherson region. The Ukrainian forces have had the momentum for several months but we also know that Russia has mobilized many more forces. "We already know the sound of rockets, we know the moment they fly, we know the sound of drones. Couples participate in a traditional dance gathering in an underground mall on New Year's Day, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine.

☆ UK ambulance staff follow nurses in striking over pay
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Ambulances are parked at the Hollymoor Ambulance Hub of the West Midlands Ambulance Service, operated by the West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, in Birmingham, Britain June 5, 2020. Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said the National Health Service (NHS) would prioritize those with life-threatening needs. "Ambulance workers – and the public – deserve better. An independent pay review body has awarded more than 1 million NHS workers a pay rise of at least 1,400 pounds ($1,704), equating to an increase of at least 4% for most ambulance staff, according to the government. The NHS Confederation, which represents national health service organisations, said the strike risked patient safety.

☆ 'Deeply damaging mistake': UK's decision to approve a new coal mine criticized as misguided
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

In a statement reacting to the news, the firm behind the development said it was "delighted with the decision." West Cumbria Mining said the Woodhouse Colliery, in the county of Cumbria, would supply "the critical steel industry with a high-quality metallurgical coal product." The U.K. has a long association with coal mining, but the industry's decline hit many communities hard and is an emotive subject. The approval for the Woodhouse Colliery was welcomed by Mike Starkie, the elected mayor of Copeland Borough Council in Cumbria. "I've been inundated with messages from across my community tonight, and we've got a community in celebration about one of the biggest positive economic impacts on our area in a generation," he added.

☆ An airline told a couple's teenagers to fly from Ireland to Florida alone after it overbooked a flight, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A family traveling from Belfast to Florida via London was reportedly split up after an airline oversold a flight. They were due to fly to London and then onwards to Orlando, but check-in staff told them their Aer Lingus flight from Belfast to London was overbooked. Kitchen told "On Your Behalf" that airport staff told her there was no room for two of the children. We had no say in this decision and that upset me," she told the radio show. They weren't given any flight details – they were just told to go to an Aer Lingus desk," she said.

☆ UK's Labour comfortably beat PM Sunak's Conservatives to retain parliamentary seat
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour Party retained a parliamentary seat in the northwest of England on Friday, comfortably winning the vote in the first electoral test for Rishi Sunak as prime minister. Labour candidate Samantha Dixon won the City of Chester constituency, securing 61% of the vote, compared to 22% for the candidate from Sunak's Conservatives. The next national election is expected in 2024. Curtice said the scale of the swing could indicate Labour winning an outright majority in parliament at the next national election, but noted that local elections were rarely a good guide. Labour have held the Chester seat since 2015, when it was the most marginal seat in the country.

Hunt, reminding lawmakers of his own past as an entrepreneur in marketing and publishing, made accelerating economic growth a priority in his budget speech to parliament on Thursday. Britain is badly in need of a growth fillip. It also cut its growth forecast for 2024 to 1.3% before a better couple of years thereafter with growth at 2.6% and 2.7%. It said Hunt's plan to cut public investment from 2024 would probably weigh on productivity growth - key to an economy's long-term prospects - beyond its five-year forecasts. "I have tried to avoid anything that damages long-term growth," Hunt told the BBC.

Hunt said he deferred most of the curbs on spending because cutting now would make the current recession worse. "There is nothing Conservative about spending money that you haven't got," he said. The front page of the Financial Times declared "Hunt paves way for years of pain". "All of that borrowing we've done over the last many years is coming home to roost," Johnson told BBC radio. "We're going to be stuck at 100 billion pounds a year being spent on debt interest in the medium term.

☆ I built a name and career on Twitter. I'm worried Elon Musk will destroy opportunities for creatives like me.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Scott Bryan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Scott Bryan used Twitter to build a career as a journalist writing and commentating about TV. He fears Musk's takeover will drive people from the platform, which would deny others its benefits. For people interested in entering journalism, Twitter provides a network of pretty much every single editor and journalist in the country. Beyond my following, I use Twitter to sense how much the wider public is reacting to a new TV story. My tweets show editors and producers what I'm knowledgeable about and have led to invitations to go on radio and TV.

Leslie Phillips, the British actor in the “Harry Potter” and “Carry On” films, has died following a long illness. Phillips, who was the voice of the Sorting Hat in the “Harry Potter” films, starred in over 200 movies, TV and radio series during a career that spanned more than 80 years. From left, actors Jodie Whittaker, Leslie Phillips and Richard Griffiths on Feb. 8, 2007, in London. He was mobbed everywhere he went,” Zara said to the newspaper. Leslie Phillips and Jon Pertwee promote their BBC radio show 'Navy Lark' in London on March 26, 1969.

☆ Analysis: UK's Hunt faces triple threat from debt, recession and Conservative rebels
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Hunt, re-appointed to his job by new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday, is due to announce a budget plan on Oct. 31. Hunt, a former foreign and health minister, was rushed in as Truss's new finance minister after she fired her friend and fellow low-tax disciple Kwarteng less than two weeks ago in a bid to appease the markets. Hunt immediately ripped up Truss and Kwarteng's programme, reversing most of its 45 billion pounds of tax cuts, and he warned of tough decisions ahead to restore Britain's economic credibility. But the scale of the problem remains huge, with health, education and other public services in Britain under huge strain after more than a decade of tough controls on public spending. Just as important in the short term, Hunt and Sunak must decide what to do with Britain's hugely expensive energy price cap for homes and businesses.

☆ Matthew Perry opens up about serious addiction problem and how his ‘Friends’ castmates ‘saved’ him
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Drew Weisholtz | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

It could be said that (doing the show) saved me,” he told the magazine in advance of the book’s release. When he got the part, his alcohol addiction was just starting, but it was only the beginning of his troubles. “If you gauge my weight from season to season — when I’m carrying weight, it’s alcohol; when I am skinny, it’s pills. Perry has been to rehab 15 times and undergone 14 surgeries related to his addiction. In 2021’’s “Friends” reunion, Perry opened up about the stress he felt to perform while on the show.

"I do want to accept responsibility and say sorry for the mistakes that have been made," Truss told the BBC late on Monday. The Daily Mail, which had hailed Truss's plan, ran a front page with the prime minister leaving parliament on Monday underneath the headline "In office, but not in power" while the also supportive Sun newspaper called her "The Ghost PM". James Heappey, a minister for the armed forces, said on Tuesday Truss, his boss, could not afford to make any more mistakes. With Britain's economic reputation shattered, Hunt may now have to go further in finding public spending cuts than the government would have done had Truss not unleashed her economic plan at a time of surging inflation. One area of spending already to go is Truss's vast two-year energy support package that was expected to cost well over 100 billion pounds.

The former foreign and health minister was appointed on Friday after Truss sacked Kwasi Kwarteng, her close ally. Under the new policy, most of Truss's 45 billion pounds of unfunded tax cuts will go and a two-year energy support scheme for households and businesses - expected to cost well over 100 billion pounds - will now be curtailed in April. Hunt said halting the planned tax cuts would raise 32 billion pounds ($36 billion) every year. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoBut the response from bond investors who would fund the tax cuts was violently negative and borrowing costs surged. After scrapping one of the tax cuts, Truss fired Kwarteng on Friday, saying she accepted her plans had gone "further and faster" than investors were expecting.

Just three months after he all but admitted his ambitions to get the top job in politics had ended, Hunt was appointed finance minister, propelled into the job to clean up the market mess created by his boss, Prime Minister Liz Truss. "No one camp of the other candidates who went further can feel too sore and bad about not having their man or woman as prime minister," he told BBC radio. In a room on the so-called Committee corridor in parliament, Hunt told colleagues that tough decisions would have to be made to balance the books. Another joked: "It was good to hear from the new prime minister." Some are still not convinced his latest appointment will bring him the prize he has pursued for so long - to become prime minister.

The battered pound and government bonds rallied on Thursday as Prime Minister Liz Truss's government began re-examining a package for unfunded tax cuts that has sent borrowing costs surging and forced the Bank of England to intervene. Asked if the government was preparing to change course, he told Sky News: "I saw the prime minister yesterday. The prime minister and the chancellor are absolutely determined to deliver on the growth plan. The sense of chaos at the heart of government has fuelled speculation as to whether Truss and Kwarteng can survive. Truss was elected by the members of the party, and not the broader electorate, as the fourth prime minister in six politically turbulent years in Britain.

"The chancellor will come to the despatch box," he said when asked by Sky News whether the corporation tax plan would definitely stay. Newspapers reported that some lawmakers who never wanted Truss to replace Boris Johnson as leader in the first place already wanted her out. "I think that changing the leadership would be a disastrously bad idea, not just politically but also economically, and we are absolutely going to stay focused on growing the economy," Cleverly said of Truss. But a fire-sale in the government bond market has driven up borrowing costs and mortgage rates and forced the Bank of England to intervene to protect pension funds. read moreMeanwhile, as Truss battled with the turmoil, she met King Charles for a weekly audience at Buckingham Palace between monarch and prime minister on Wednesday.

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