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‘A small snippet’: what pubs make of Burnham’s £100m rates giveaway
Andy Burnham’s new government has announced a 20% business-rates reduction for pubs, clubs and live music venues, costing £100m, as part of efforts to support high streets and slow pub closures. Publicans welcomed the signal of support but said the relief would make only a limited difference because VAT, wages, employer taxes, energy and other…
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Pictured: Saudi prince found dead in luxury London hotel room with cocktail of party drugs in his system after detoxing at the Priory
A Saudi prince has been found dead in a luxury London hotel room, with a post-mortem examination reportedly revealing a combination of party drugs in his system. The death is understood to have occurred not long after he had undergone a detox programme at the Priory, the private clinic well known for treating addiction and…
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Families still search for bodies a month after Venezuela earthquakes
A month after twin earthquakes struck Venezuela’s coastal La Guaira region, families are still searching through the remains of flattened apartment buildings for missing relatives. The continuing searches underline the scale of the disaster and the uncertainty faced by survivors as many bodies have yet to be recovered. The earthquakes occurred on 24 June and…
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Rubio says U.S. is ready to help end war in Ukraine but no quick deal ahead
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration is prepared to help end Russia’s war in Ukraine, but that no rapid agreement is in prospect. His comments underline that previous US-mediated efforts have stalled and that any settlement would need terms acceptable to both Moscow and Kyiv. Rubio spoke after meeting Russian Foreign…
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Uniqlo Launches New Pokémon 30th Anniversary T-Shirt Collection
Uniqlo has released a second Pokémon UT T-shirt collection as part of the franchise’s 30th anniversary celebrations. The range draws on the series’ early Game Boy era through pixel-art designs, offering fans anniversary-themed clothing that references the original generation. The Japan-only collection contains four adult and four children’s designs. Adult shirts feature the Game Boy…
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Seth Green’s Star Wars: Detours Will Finally See the Light of Day
Seth Green’s long-shelved animated sitcom Star Wars: Detours will be shown publicly for the first time as part of an exhibit at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. The screenings give audiences access to a project cancelled after Disney acquired Lucasfilm, and mark a rare revival of material that had remained unseen…
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The Rolling Stones’ ‘Foreign Tongues’ Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales Chart
The Rolling Stones’ new studio album, Foreign Tongues, has debuted at number one on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, giving the band its first leader on the 35-year-old pure-sales ranking. The result also reinforces the group’s unusually long chart legacy, as the album enters the Billboard 200 at number seven and delivers their record-extending 39th…
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U2 and Martin Garrix release collaborative single Fireflies
U2 and Dutch DJ Martin Garrix have released “Fireflies”, a collaborative single that blends the band’s anthemic rock style with contemporary dance-pop production. It marks the first direct collaboration between Garrix and all four members of U2, and arrives as the band prepares to release a new album later in 2026. Garrix premiered the song…
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‘It’s more than backcombing a beehive!’ How tribute acts got massive – and put the live music scene back in the black
Tribute acts are thriving across the UK, filling festivals and music venues by offering audiences familiar songs at far lower prices than concerts by original artists. The trend is helping financially strained live-music venues and creating lucrative careers for performers, while also raising questions about the personal demands of impersonation and whether original musicians are…