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A luxury cruise ship which was stranded in Belfast for four months is to return to the city just hours after it finally set sail. Chief executive of Villa Vie Residences Mike Petterson said the liner still had to complete administrative paperwork before it could finally depart to undertake a three-year round-the-world cruise. Villa Vie Odyssey had been scheduled to leave the city in May but was delayed as it […]

The UK Government has chartered a flight out of Lebanon for Britons wanting to leave as Israel said it had begun a “limited, localised” operation in the southern part of the country. Foreign Secretary David Lammy described the situation in Lebanon as “volatile” and with the “potential to deteriorate quickly” as the flight, due to leave Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport on Wednesday, was confirmed. Earlier, Mr Lammy reiterated calls for Britons in Lebanon to […]

New rules have come into force banning businesses from withholding tips or service charges from their staff. Firms including restaurants, pubs, hairdressers and taxi operators are set to be impacted by the new law requiring 100% of tips to be shared between employees from Tuesday. However, hospitality industry bosses have cautioned that the move could hit under-pressure businesses with an “additional cost”. The law means that tips must be passed […]

The most accurate ultrasound test can detect 96% of ovarian cancers in postmenopausal women, new research suggests. The findings indicate that the test should replace the current standard of care test in the UK, experts say. A new study compared all the tests that are currently available to diagnose the condition and found that one in particular was more sensitive than the others. Of the six diagnostic tests investigated, the […]

The Israeli military launched small ground raids against Hezbollah and sealed off communities along its northern border as artillery pounded southern Lebanon and signals grew that more forces could soon be sent across the border to fight the Iran-backed militants State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Israel informed the US about the raids, which he said were described as “limited operations focused on Hezbollah infrastructure near the border”. There were […]

There is still “much to do” to improve gender diversity among England and Wales’ top barristers, despite recent progress, the nations’ leading judge has said. The Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, who became the first woman to hold the office last year, said on Monday that a “modern judiciary should reflect the society it serves” as it improves confidence in the court system and is “just the right thing to […]

Members of the largest education union in the UK have voted to accept the Government’s 5.5% pay rise for teachers in England. Members of the largest education union in the UK have voted to accept the Government’s 5.5% pay rise for teachers in England. In a National Education Union (NEU) snap poll, 95% of members who responded voted to accept the 2024/25 pay offer. Schools will receive £1.2 billion of […]

It is a “difficult” day for steel workers in Wales, the chief executive of Tata Steel acknowledged as the shutdown of the last blast furnace in Port Talbot began. The company started winding up operations at blast furnace number four at the UK’s largest steel plant on Monday, bringing an end to ironmaking on the site. The move will see nearly 2,000 jobs lost at the plant, which will transition […]

Strictly Come Dancing contestant Amanda Abbington says she feels “vindicated” by the BBC assessing and upholding “some, but not all” of her complaints about Giovanni Pernice’s behaviour during her time on the show. Sherlock actress Abbington, who pulled out of the BBC One show last year citing “personal reasons”, later claimed she was subject to a “toxic environment” and “inappropriate, mean, nasty bullying”. There were no findings relating to physical […]