London's luxury retailers fear the city is losing its pull as a shopping destination, with tourists from the United States, China and the Gulf flocking instead to Paris and Milan where tax breaks still offer a way to cut the cost of their purchases. With finance minister Jeremy Hunt set to present the government's budget statement on Wednesday, the industry wants him to reinstate sales-tax-free shopping for overseas visitors, which ended in 2020 when Britain left the European Union. Big names including department stores Harrods and Harvey Nichols, Chelsea property manager Cadogan and The Lanesborough Hotel have joined forces with hundreds of retailers to urge Hunt to change the rules. "We've heard from some brands that they're prioritising Paris for investment in stores," Steve M...
Read MoreCategory: ब्रिटेन
travel articles and news about United Kingdom
The British Museum said on Wednesday it was holding "constructive discussions" with Greece over the Parthenon Sculptures amid renewed speculation that the 2,500-year-old marbles could soon be returned to Athens. Greece has repeatedly called for the permanent return of the sculptures that British diplomat Lord Elgin removed from the imposing Parthenon temple in Athens in the early 19th century, when he was ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, which then ruled Greece. FILE PHOTO: 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. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez The Greek government said last month it was in talks over their repatriation, and Britain's Daily ...
Read MoreHeavy snowfall blanketed parts of Britain on Monday, disrupting airports, train networks and roads, and three young boys died after falling into an ice-covered lake as the country recorded its coldest night of the year so far. Parts of London's underground network were suspended or faced delays, while motorways were gridlocked due to snow. London's Gatwick and Stansted airports warned flight schedules could be disrupted. A person walks through the snow as cold weather continues, in London, Britain, December 12, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for snow and ice in London and south-east England, with ice and fog warnings in other parts of England and the whole of Northern Ireland. Temperatures dropped below -15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees...
Read MoreThe British Museum has pledged not to dismantle its collection, following a report that the institution’s chairman has held secret talks with Greece’s prime minister over the return of the Parthenon Sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles. The report by the Greek newspaper Ta Nea is the latest twist in the long-running dispute over ownership of the ancient sculptures, which originally stood on the Acropolis in Athens and have been a centerpiece of the British Museum’s collection since 1816. Ta Nea reported Saturday that negotiations between museum Chairman George Osborne and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis have been taking place since November 2021 and are at an advanced stage. While the museum didn’t deny that talks have taken place, a spokesman refused to discuss t...
Read MoreFrench fashion label Christian Dior kicked off the holiday shopping season in London, unveiling a Christmas spectacle at Harrods – with tennis star Emma Raducanu presiding over the event. The LVMH-owned brand outlined the London department store's façade with lights, emblazoning the entrance with an enormous star and filling the windows with sugar sculptures and merchandise. Gingerbread themed decorations presented as part of ‘The Fabulous World of Dior’ installation hang from the facade of the Harrods store in London, Britain, November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls "This is one of the biggest things we ever did together," Pietro Beccari, Dior's chief executive officer told Reuters, noting the brand first took over a corner of the classic British upmarket store in the 1950s. ...
Read MoreThey are two photos taken exactly seven weeks apart, capturing the traditional and ceremonial rites of the monarch meeting the British prime minister-in-waiting to ask them to form a new government. They are also bookends. Between the taking of the first and of the second, much elapsed, throwing a nation into mourning and then into an acute, turbulent economic crisis — tectonic shifts, one after the other, that many in the country had never experienced. In this two-picture combo, top photo; Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, left, welcomes Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become Prime Minister and form a new government, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, and Britain's King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak,...
Read MoreQueen Elizabeth’s loved home has been final resting place of more than dozen kings and queens At the end of a state funeral watched by millions of people the world over, Queen Elizabeth was being brought home to her beloved Windsor Castle to be buried in a small chapel in a private ceremony. Originally built by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest in 1066, Windsor Castle has been rebuilt and remodelled over the centuries but is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. A Union Jack flag outside Windsor Castle is reflected on an image of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, following the death of the queen, in Windsor, Britain, September 17, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge Just outside London, it was the queen's main weekend retreat and in the later years of her rei...
Read MoreRoyal fans have poured into the heart of London to experience the flag-lined roads, pomp-filled processions and, above all, brave a mileslong line for the once-in-a-lifetime chance to bid adieu to Queen Elizabeth II, who died after an unprecedented seven decades on the throne. And while they’re here, they’re packing hotels, restaurants and shops. Visitors crowding into central London from as far away as the U.S. and India for the historic moment are giving a boost to businesses at a time when the British economy is facing a cost-of-living crisis fueled by the highest inflation in four decades and predictions of a looming recession. FILE PHOTO: People sit at a terrace bar next to a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in central London, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, ...
Read MoreAt the London Coliseum theatre, a cast of Ukrainian dancers rehearse a new production of "Giselle", as Russian-born choreographer and former Bolshoi Ballet director Alexei Ratmansky watches from the sidelines. The performers are part of The United Ukrainian Ballet, a company of 60 refugee Ukrainian dancers, technicians and creatives who fled their home country after Moscow launched its invasion in February. "The company was formed to give these dancers... a job, to give them something to do and to rehearse, to dance, to receive money," Ratmansky told Reuters. "And to tell the world that Ukraine is strong, Ukrainian culture lives on." Formed in the spring, the company is based in the Netherlands and draws dancers from all over Ukraine. Ratmansky, who was born in Russia and liv...
Read MoreA team of scientists, led by the University of Bristol, has uncovered intriguing new insights into the diet of people living in Neolithic Britain and found evidence that cereals, including wheat, were cooked in pots. Using chemical analysis of ancient, and incredibly well-preserved pottery found in the waters surrounding small artificial islands called crannogs in Scotland, the team were able to discern that cereals were cooked in pots and mixed with dairy products and occasionally meat, probably to create early forms of gruel and stew. They also discovered that the people visiting these crannogs used smaller pots to cook cereals with milk and larger pots for meat-based dishes. The findings are reported in the journal Nature Communications. Aerial view of the crannog at Loc...
Read More
You must be logged in to post a comment.