CAN you imagine, an English coach tour company regularly running holiday trips to tulip bulb fields, and festivals etc, into Europe.
They advertise months in advance tours to the fabulous Christmas Markets in Germany, only to arrive and find it closed.
They have booked hotels, for maybe two or three days, but find it’s the one day that the Christmas Markets are closed because blue badge users need to visit the city centre in that German city.
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York had nine million visitors last year, we need those visitors, that is why we are, in York, building more and more hotels to accommodate them, not to mention the bars and restaurants, that depend on them.
I would ask our City of York Council to be very careful before closing our very successful Christmas Market on Tuesday as proposed, there will be a very large ripple effect on many other local and European businesses.
Stuart Wilson,
Vesper Drive,
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Acomb
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Where is the pride in Britain?
AN indication of how low morale and pride in one’s country has sunk was revealed this week when a survey of under 30s has shown half of them would not be prepared to fight for their country.
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This is a shocking indictment on those politicians and their policies from all parties which have governed in recent years.
Also, one has to ask all the Labour MPs who appear on the media saying they believe Starmer over his version of the Mandelson affair, are you purposely being blind, deaf or totally dumb to what is happening in the real word in which the rest of us inhabit, or do you enjoy being puppets on a string in Labour’s circus of a government?
Peter Rickaby,
Moat Way,
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When a road was built through the forest where the orangutans lived in Indonesia’s Sumatra, it split the Sumatran orangutan community in two and lead to fears that inbreeding could cause health implications and eventual extinction.
Conservation groups the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS) and Tangguh Hutan Khatulistiwa, with the help of the government, built a canopy bridge in the hope the orangutan communities would use it to pass between the two forest sides.
However, the bridge remained unused for two years – that was until one orangutan braved the crossing and made it to the other side.
Helen Buckland, chief executive of SOS, told the BBC how the long anticipated and exciting crossing could vastly change things for the primates.
We want to know which pub offers the best beer garden
Warmer temperatures and lighter evenings mean many of us will be enjoying a pint or two at a pub. There’s nothing quite like sitting back and enjoying the spring and summer sunshine in a beer garden.
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Perhaps your ideal drinking spot has a beautiful view of the River Cam – or maybe you prioritise room for children to play in a play area. Your perfect seat might be under the shade of a tree or next to a heater, ready for when the temperature drops off in the evening.
Cambridgeshire has many amazing and special pubs to shout about – but only one can be named the best. Wherever your best beer garden can be found, CambridgeshireLive wants to know about it.
Vote for your favourite Cambridgeshire beer garden below. If the interactive below doesn’t work, click here to place your vote.
Donald Trump is set to make his inaugural appearance as president at Saturday’s annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, an event poised to cast a stark public light on his administration’s often-strained relationship with the media.
His presence at the gathering, hosted by the very journalists who cover his administration, will be under intense scrutiny. Historically, presidents attending this dinner have used the platform to champion free speech and the First Amendment, often interspersing their remarks with good-natured jabs at individual reporters.
Notably, the Republican president bypassed the event throughout his first term and the initial year of his second. His previous appearances include a guest appearance in 2011, where he was the subject of jokes by then-President Barack Obama, and another as a private citizen in 2015.
Trump was the subject of jokes by then-President Barack Obama in the White House Correspondents’ dinner in 2011 (Local Library)
Past dinners have also featured comedians who poke at presidents. This year, the group opted to hire mentalist Oz Pearlman as the featured entertainment.
Trump’s planned appearance is rekindling a longer-running debate about the dinner and events like it — in particular, whether it is poor form for journalists to be seen socializing with the people they cover. The New York Times, for example, stopped attending the dinner more than a decade ago for that reason.
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“What was once (a fairly long time ago) a well-intended night of fundraising and camaraderie among professional adversaries is now simply a bad look,” wrote Kelly McBride, ethics expert at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank.
A contentious relationship
Between berating individual reporters, fighting organizations like the Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press in court and restricting press access to the Pentagon, the administration’s animus toward journalists has been a fixture of Trump’s second term.
On the eve of the dinner, nearly 500 retired journalists signed a petition calling on the association “to forcefully demonstrate opposition to President Trump’s efforts to trample freedom of the press.”
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“The White House Correspondents’ dinner reinforces the importance of the First Amendment in our democracy,” said the WHCA president, Weijia Jiang, a CBS News reporter. “As we mark America’s 250th birthday, our choice to gather as journalists, newsmakers and the president in the same room is a reminder of what a free press means to this country and why it must endure. Not for the media or the president, but for the people who depend on it.”
Many reporters who attend, however, consider it a valuable opportunity to get story ideas and establish personal connections with those in government, one that may pay dividends with returned telephone calls in the future.
Some news organizations invite sources as guests
Journalists often invite sources as guests at the dinner. It will be noticed on Saturday whether administration officials who have also expressed hostility to the press will attend, and with whom they will be sitting.
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The AP has invited Taylor Budowich, a former White House deputy chief of staff who left last fall for the private sector. The invitation is notable because Budowich, in his role crafting White House communications policy, was a named defendant last year when the AP sued the administration after it reduced its access to the president because the news outlet did not follow Trump’s lead in renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
“We maintain professional relationships with people across the political spectrum because we are nonpartisan by design — focused on reporting the facts in the public’s interest,” AP spokesman Patrick Maks said.
The White House correspondents will also hand out awards for exemplary reporting. That includes some stories that displeased Trump, such as one from the Journal about a birthday message Trump once sent to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The story led to a presidential lawsuit.
More revelations about Peter Mandelson’s failed security vetting have raised concerns among Labour MPs, who are also worried about the party’s prospects in the May elections
19:29, 25 Apr 2026Updated 19:33, 25 Apr 2026
Keir Starmer has vowed he can win the next election and that it will be a battle between Labour and Reform.
More revelations about Peter Mandelson’s failed security vetting had raised concerns among Labour MPs, who are also worried about the May elections.
However, speaking with The Times, the embattled PM insisted Labour could defy the odds and turn things around.
Asked about winning the general election, he said: “I think we can. I think it’s going to be a very important general election. It’s likely to be Labour versus Reform. An election where the defining question is, what is it to be British? An election where what I would call patriotic values of tolerance, decency, live and let live, diversity, are under challenge like we’ve never seen before.”
The PM claimed “of course” he’s going to continue as leader, and that he had a mandate from voters. He said: “We didn’t wait 14 years to get elected, we didn’t change the Labour Party, we didn’t do all that it entailed to win the election and the mandate for change, not to deliver on it.”
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It comes with his former top aide Morgan McSweeney set to appear before the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, a week on from Sir Olly Robbins, the permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, who claimed he was put “under pressure” in relation to the Mandelson appointment.
Dismissing talk over his future, the PM argued these things happen in politics “all of the time”. He continued: “There is always talk. What you never hear from are all the people who are supportive, loyal and just want to get on with the job. And that is the vast majority of people in the parliamentary Labour Party.
“They’re pleased to be in power. They’ve waited a long time to be in power. And they just want to get on with their job. They don’t make a lot of noise about it. They don’t talk to journalists about it. It’s really important that is reflected in these debates.”
A taste of Japan arrived on Boucher Road of all places
17:59, 25 Apr 2026
We tried the Japanese restaurant Osaka
I put together a list of restaurants that opened in 2025 that we all needed to check out in 2026, and I finally took my own advice and gave this Japanese restaurant a go.
Set just off the Boucher Road, it is quite an unusual spot, but it has been regularly popping up on social media with every influencer heading along to it.
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What we ordered:
Teriyaki Chicken Roll
Pork Gyoza
Sizzling Duck with Teriyaki Sauce
Honey Chilli Chicken
Fried Rice
Chips
Japanese Cheesecake
2 cocktails
What we liked:
I always start with how the restaurant looks, and this one really surprised me because it looked amazing. Clearly, so much time had gone into sourcing all the decor to make it feel like you had just stepped into Japan with something new to look at from floor to ceiling.
The staff were brilliant and chatted us through the very extensive menu, helping us pick a few things we would like. I believe this is why we ended up with so many great dishes that we really enjoyed.
What we didn’t like/ would change:
I got a bramble when I headed in, and I didn’t really enjoy it that much because it was a little too strong in my opinion. However, I will say that the other cocktail we got was really delicious.
How much it cost:
Everything we got, excluding the cocktails, came to £62.50, and I think that’s pretty good value for everything we got. The amount of food we got, plus the portion sizes, matched up to the price in my opinion here. There were 2 of us, but realistically, we could have split this amount between 3 people easily.
Osaka is a spot I kept putting off going to, and I regret it a lot because I wish I had tried it sooner for two reasons. The first is that it would have meant I could have gone again a few times. The second is that I could have recommended it to you sooner, so you could check it out.
I think when you hear it is on the Boucher Road, it does seem odd, but when you see past that, you will find a really lovely restaurant with great staff and really good food to boot. I can’t wait to go back, and I hope to see some of you heading along!
Salah was able to walk from the field unaided but took his time as he did so and turned to applaud all sides of Anfield.
Salah joined Liverpool in 2017 and has won two Premier League titles, the Champions League, Fifa Club World Cup, Uefa Super Cup, FA Cup and two EFL Cups, as well as the Community Shield, in an iconic career.
His tally of 257 goals in 435 appearances for the Reds has him third on the club’s goalscorers list, behind Ian Rush (346) and Roger Hunt (285).
Slot said he believed the fact it could be the Egyptian’s final game for the club will have been on his mind as he was substituted.
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“My honest answer is yes, the way he came off,” Slot told Sky Sports.
“It went through his mind because there are only a few weeks to go but we are hoping he plays for us again.
“You have tests to do and then we have to wait for the prognosis.”
Any issue would likely rule Salah out of a final Liverpool appearance away against rivals Manchester United next Sunday. He has scored 16 goals in 18 Liverpool appearances against United.
Rory McIlroy will reportedly not play in the Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral in Miami
18:34, 25 Apr 2026Updated 18:38, 25 Apr 2026
A Donald Trump-owned golf course will host a PGA Tour event for the first time in a decade next week – but Rory McIlroy will be absent.
The six-time major champion hasn’t competed since successfully defending his Masters title on April 12. Now he’s said that he’s postponing his comeback by giving next week’s Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral in Miami a miss.
McIlroy has been open about his wish to reduce his PGA Tour commitments, and the Cadillac Championship has fallen foul of an awkward positioning in the calendar. World number 12 Robert MacIntyre, who’s also sitting out the event, characterised this stretch of the PGA Tour schedule as “carnage”.
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Most golfers prefer to avoid playing consecutive weeks ahead of a major championship, yet the PGA Tour has scheduled back-to-back $20 million signature events in the Cadillac Championship and the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow directly before next month’s PGA Championship at Aronimink.
McIlroy’s choice, consequently, comes as little shock, with Ludvig Aberg, Xander Schauffele and Matt Fitzpatrick also opting to rest rather than compete in Miami, reports the Mirror US. MacIntyre shared his thoughts on the schedule before Friday’s field announcement.
He told The Scotsman: “I’m meant to go away on Sunday, but I might take Doral off just to have a little bit more time at home. I will play the Truist at Quail Hollow, and then I’ll play the PGA.
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“The schedule is so tightly packed now – it’s carnage – that you just feel as though you can’t take a week off. So it’s about trying to manage myself.
“Obviously, living [in Scotland], it’s difficult with the travel and stuff. But it’s what I want to do, it’s what I’ve picked to do. Yeah, I just need to give myself enough time to recover and calm down and get ready to go again.”
McIlroy reaped the rewards of an extended hiatus from competitive golf before the Masters, focusing on behind-the-scenes preparation, and it appears this approach will become his standard practice going forward.
“I think it’s a good blueprint. I’m not going to take three weeks off before every major, but to get to the major venues early, do your preparation, play. And not just play and look at things, but actually play. Go out there with one ball, shoot a score, and try to do it that way,” he said in his champion’s press conference at Augusta National.
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“When I’ve talked to Jack Nicklaus over the years about how he prepared for majors, he would go the week before, and he would simulate a tournament. He’d play one ball for four days, shoot scores. So then, when he got to the tournament, it felt second nature to him.”
“I did a little bit of that leading up to here, and I think that’s certainly a good way to prepare going into the next majors.”
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Activists say Charles ‘should order’ his disgraced brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to give evidence on what he knows about Jeffrey Epstein as the monarch and Queen Camilla are due visit the US
19:02, 25 Apr 2026Updated 19:10, 25 Apr 2026
King meets Trump in high-stakes US visit
The King must protect the honour of the monarchy and get Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to testify in the US – even if he has to drive him to the airport, say protesters.
This was the plea of US feminist organisation Women’s March, as it organised a vigil at the Washington Monument today for late Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre to mark the first anniversary of her death. Activists attended the event alongside members of Giuffre’s family, including her brother and sister-in-law, two days before Charles and Queen Camilla start a four-day state visit to the US and meet President Donald Trump.
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Protesters say the Royals’ failure to meet Epstein survivors has left a dark cloud hanging over their trip. However, the Queen is due to meet other survivors of sexual abuse during the visit.
Last week Buckingham Palace defended the decision for the King and Queen not to meet paedo Epstein’s victims, citing the risk of prejudicing ongoing criminal investigations. But Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of Women’s March said: “We are sending a powerful message.
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“King Charles should order his brother to do the right thing. He should drive him to the airport himself if need be and put him on that plane to the US, so he can sit in a room with those investigating Epstein’s crimes and tell them what he knows. The King will be in the US dining with Trump and speaking about the special relationship between our countries, but a dark cloud hangs over this visit.
“Andrew is the King’s brother and regardless of whether he has a conflict of interest, he should tell him to speak up to protect the honour of the monarchy. Andrew should have volunteered to be interviewed long, long ago. There should be no preferential treatment for him. He should not be subject to any immunity. He should be subjected to the law of the land, whether in the US or UK.”
She added: “The brave survivors of Epstein’s appalling crimes are here and feel abandoned. King Charles and Queen Camilla have a duty and a moral obligation to hear them.”
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Among at least nine Epstein survivors at today’s vigil was Anouska de Georgiou, the first known British accuser of Epstein. The former model, now 49 and living in Los Angeles, grew up in the UK and attended Marlborough College, the same school as the Princess of Wales. She said that, aged 19, Epstein lured her into his dark world and abused her for years when she was “full of hope and the foolishness of a teenager”.
Sky Roberts, Virginia’s brother, who also attended alongside his wife Amanda, said the King and Queen should meet the victims” to acknowledge the “pain and journey that they’ve gone through”. Ms Giuffre took her own life last April, after spending years battling for justice against her abusers. The mum-of-three accused theformer Prince Andrew of sexually assaulting her on three occasions in 2001, when she was just 17.
She had been trafficked around the world by Epstein and his lover Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence in the United States after a 2020 conviction for sex trafficking. Andrew has always denied the allegations and despite suggesting that he could not recall meeting Ms Giuffre, reached a £12million settlement with her in February 2022 to stop a civil trial taking place.
The former Duke of York formed a close personal relationship with Epstein, staying at his home and inviting him to his daughter Princess Eugenie’s 18th birthday, but he has refused to co-operate with US investigators who want to interview him. Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing regarding his relationship with Epstein.
The King took action in October to finally strip his brother of all his royal titles and honours in disgrace, following lurid allegations of his closeness to the late paedophile. Charles and Camilla stated their “profound concern” regarding fresh allegations involving the former Duke of York specifically concerning his ties to Epstein and potential misconduct in public office.
The King also pledged to support police inquiries involving his brother following his arrest on claims that he passed confidential information to his financier Epstein during his role as a UK trade envoy. In February, after Andrew’s arrest at the King’s Sandringham estate, where he now lives, on allegations of misconduct in a public office, the King said in a statement: “The law must take its course”.
In response to the King and Queen not meeting survivors, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “We fully understand and appreciate the survivors’ and their advocates’ position. But can only reiterate that anything arising from such a meeting that could potentially impact on ongoing police inquiries and assessments, and any potential legal action that could result from that, would be to the detriment of the survivors themselves in their pursuit of justice.”
The Palace added: “His Majesty’s constitutional position, not least with regards to the judicial process, is such that even though the risk may be small that a meeting or any public comments could impact on the proper course of the law, that is a risk that we simply can’t take, for the best interest of the survivors.”
The King and Queen kick off their visit on Monday by taking tea with the President and First Lady at the White House. Amid a chorus of calls across both the UK and the US for the visit to be scrapped, due to Trump waging war against Iran and criticising Britain’s lack of support for the conflict, the monarch is expected to call for unity in an address to Congress on Tuesday. The royals will return to the White House in the evening for a glittering State Dinner, where the King and Trump will deliver separate speeches. On Wednesday they will visit New York to mark the upcoming 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
The entire film was later leaked in full – garnering so many views that it began to show up on Letterboxd’s ‘most popular’ list.
A man has now been arrested and detained for accessing a media server without athorisation.
The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender was set to continue the Avatar universe (Picture: Paramount)
The film was set for release later this year (Picture: Paramount)
According to The Strait Times, Singapore police received a report on April 16 that parts of an unreleased film had been uploaded to the Internet.
The man was identified and arrested within a day of the report, while various electronic devices belonging to him were also seized.
Police said that preliminary investigations had revealed that the man gained unauthorised access to the studio’s server, from which he downloaded the film.
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If found guilty of gaining unauthorised access to computer material, he now faces a maximum jail term of seven years, and a fine not exceeding $50,000 – potentially even both.
The popular Nickelodeon series follows young warrior Aang, who attempts to stop a hundred-year strong war by mastering the elements (Picture: Paramount)
Originally set for theatrical release on October 9, the film was hit with backlash after the studio decided to release the film exclusively on Paramount+ instead.
It had also received criticism from fans for replacing its voice cast – with alexisplaysvg asking on X: ‘Wasn’t there anyone who stood up and said replacing the original cast was a terrible idea?’
Reiterating that they’d see the film nothing less than theatrically, TheManInYourPC1 branded it ‘plain wrong’ that it should have been hidden behind a subscription service in the first place.
However, many were sympathetic to the animators’ plight, with MrJulianR1 noting that the creators ‘deserve a lot of appreciation’ for their effort.
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The cast of the iconic TV series have been replaced for the new movie (Picture: Paramount)
Following the leak, Variety recorded a spokesperson as saying: ‘It was heartbreaking to see footage from ‘The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender’ leak online. This leak did not originate from Flying Bark.
‘Our studio proudly partnered on the production until the very end and we acknowledge the filmmakers, cast, artists and animators who worked tirelessly to produce this incredibly crafted film.’
In a post to X, animator Julia Schoel said: ‘We worked on the Aang movie for years with the expectation that we’d get to celebrate all of our hard work in theaters… just to see people unceremoniously leak the film and pass our shots around on Twitter like candy.’
Another artist who worked on the film, Tom Barkel, admitted that he ‘understood’ fans who engage with leaks, but shared his frustration at both Paramount and the leakers for their treatment of the film.
He continued: ‘It could have been a moment for all fans, but the rug was pulled and now there is division on whether to watch or wait. To those who say: “who cares, the artists were paid,” The ugly truth is that by not supporting the official release you bite the hand that feeds someone else.’
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The person responsible for the leaks is believed to have been arrested (Picture: Paramount)
Prior to the whole film being uploaded, the initially leaked material is said to have included older versions of the cast, including Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko.
First announced in 2024, The Legend of Aang was expected to be the start of a new trilogy of animated films within the Avatar universe.
The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender is set for release on Paramount+ on October 9, 2026.
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Eze eased nerves around the Emirates with a stunning strike after just nine minutes on Saturday evening, finding the top corner with an exquisite strike from just outside the box.
Havertz, preferred to Viktor Gyokeres up front against Manchester City last week, kept his place in the side and was involved in the build-up for the opener.
But the Germany international’s evening came to an early end when he was forced off after 34 minutes.
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The former Chelsea star appeared to be clutching his groin area as he left the pitch, heading straight down the tunnel for treatment.
Gyokeres was brought onto replace him.
As Arsenal looked to build on their lead in the second-half, Eze was also seen struggling.
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