The Magical Lantern Festival returns to London for a spectacular Chinese New Year celebration January 26, 2017 The Magical Lantern Festival has returned to illuminate Chiswick House Gardens with a spectacular fairytale world of light inspired art and sculptures. Taking place until 26 February – the garden’s 65 acres have been decorated with over 50 illuminated, brand new installations in celebration of the Chinese New Year of the Rooster. This year’s theme [...]
No haggis for Trump as 45-year import ban remains in force January 25, 2017 Not even half-Scottish US President Donald Trump will be able to tuck into an authentic haggis this year as the 45-year ban on haggis imports continues. Trump will be amongst the roughly 10 million Americans that claim Scottish heritage deprived of their national dish on the 258th birthday of Robert Burns. The US Department for [...]
Southern rail says it’s still on track to run over 70 per cent of its trains, despite today’s train strikes January 23, 2017 Southern rail has buckled down for today's latest strike action and said it remains on track to run over 70 per cent of its trains. That means more than 1,600 trains will run today – and Southern has reiterated its pledge to return a full service from tomorrow. There was nevertheless total chaos at Clapham Junction Station this [...]
US President Donald Trump’s White House describes policy priorities on trade, foreign policy, and the economy January 21, 2017 Donald Trump’s team have taken over the levers of power, with the new President looking to reshape Washington politics in his image. Among the first actions once Trump was sworn in was taking control over the official White House website, where his team have given some signs of their priorities in office. While Trump has [...]
Full steam ahead: Tunnelling for the £1.2bn Northern Line extension starts in March January 20, 2017 The first extension to the Tube network since the Jubilee line in the late '90s kicks off in March, as tunnelling gets underway to branch out the Northern line. Sadiq Khan has announced that tunnelling will get underway to create the £1.2bn extension of the line between Kennington and Battersea. Two 650-tonne boring machines (each the length [...]
West Ham set to sign £8m defender, former Tottenham midfielder poised to join West Brom for £10m and ex-Arsenal winger hooks up with Bury January 19, 2017 West Ham are poised to bolster their defensive options by signing wantaway Southampton skipper Jose Fonte for an initial fee in the region of £8m, which could rise to £10m with add ons. The Hammers are set to stave off late interest from fellow Premier League side West Brom for the 33-year-old Euro 2016 winner, [...]
Manchester United replace Real Madrid as richest club in the world in Deloitte Football Money League January 19, 2017 Manchester United have been named the world’s richest club after they ended Real Madrid’s 11-year stranglehold on top spot in Deloitte’s Football Money League. United’s 2015-16 revenues of €689.0m (£515.3) – an all-time record for a football team – lifted them ahead of both Real and Barcelona for the first time since 2003-04. Neighbours Manchester [...]
Not so sunny: Low demand pushed profits down for Caribbean travel group Elegant Hotels January 17, 2017 Elegant Hotels faced a tough year as profits fell during 2016 due to the weak pound and lower demand for luxury accommodation. The figures The Caribbean travel group, which owns six upscale hotels and a beachfront restaurant on Barbados, said revenue was down 5.2 per cent in 2016, at $57m (£46.3m). Adjusted pre-tax profit for year to [...]
Oxfam is wrong to imply free markets make the rich richer at the poor’s expense January 17, 2017 Every year Oxfam releases statistics comparing the wealth of the global poor and the global rich, showing a stunning, often widening, gap between the two. They heavily imply that the poor are getting poorer while the rich are getting richer – but only half of this is correct. The lot of the world’s worst off [...]
Here are 29 reasons to be cheerful on Blue Monday January 16, 2017 It's Blue Monday, the day officially designated as the most miserable day of the year. Yes, it's raining and yes, you may well be off to see the divorce lawyers today – but that's no reason to be sad, daddy-o. Here are 50 reasons to turn that frown upside-down… 1. The FTSE 100 is on [...]