At 9:46 a.m. on Sept. 28, 2023, police officers in Northumbria, England, received a call about an unusual crime. A majestic, broad-leaved sycamore tree that had stood for some 150 years in a dip along Hadrian’s Wall had been cut down. By the time the first officer arrived on the scene two hours later, several local people had gathered at the site, and news of the destruction was spreading. Body-cam footage recorded by a local police officer, Peter Borini, showed him cordoning off the felled tree with blue and white police tape. The gray trunk had been sheared off close to the base, and the rest of the trunk and its dense canopy of leaves lay where it fell, sprawled over a portion of Hadrian’s Wall, the Roman fortification that stretches 70 miles across northern England.

"Asylum decisions are some of the most serious that the government makes - the wrong decision can put lives at risk. There are therefore potentially lethal consequences resulting from these faulty summaries," said Martha Dark, founder of tech rights group Foxglove. "People have to undergo so much re-traumatisation with these processes ... and then you reduce it to a summary. So that's a testament to the dehumanisation of the asylum system. "These types of applications are just the tip of the iceberg," she said.

Write to letters@thetimes.co.ukSir, I was disturbed that all migrants will have to be fluent in English (news, May 8) and will be required “to express themselves fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions”, to speak English “flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes” — and that the required standard is to be “almost the equivalent of a foreign language A-level”. My paternal grandparents arrived here in 1900 and spoke no English all their lives. My father only spoke English fluently after attending school at the age of five. My three brothers and I share between us four doctorates: two were university professors, one a principal lecturer and another a Hunterian professor at the Royal College of Surgeons of

Arne Slot has compared Conor Bradley to the Paris Saint-Germain right back Achraf Hakimi and said Liverpool’s history shows they will cope with the loss of Trent Alexander-Arnold. Slot said “we always know this club will generate new stars again” as he expressed his disappointment at Alexander-Arnold’s decision to leave his boyhood club at the end of the season. For the Liverpool head coach to point out the similarities he sees between Bradley and Hakimi, who this week scored as PSG beat Arsenal to reach the Champions League final, highlighted the faith the club have in the Northern Ireland international. Liverpool are keeping tabs on Frimpong, who has a release clause of £30m, as a potential new arrival at full back REXHe also confirmed that Bradley would start against Mikel Arteta’s side on Sunday as the club turn to the future. Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong, who

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Manchester United will take a full-strength squad to southeast Asia for their post-season tour — even though it means that they will return to the UK less than 48 hours before the beginning of the international break. Ruben Amorim said it was important that all the United squad, including senior players such as the captain Bruno Fernandes, make the seven-day, 14,000-mile round trip to the Far East, where the team will play a southeast Asian all-star side in Kuala Lumpur on May 28, before taking on a Hong Kong XI in Hong Kong two days later. Players have complained of burnout in the past, but Amorim said that the tour would be beneficial to the club financially — United are expected to pocket £8million —

UK should rebuild EU trade relations: Bank of England chief (Photo: AP)Britain should rebuild its trading relationship with the European Union , having struck a trade agreement with the United States, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said Friday.Bailey told the BBC that it "would be beneficial" for Britain to have "a more open economy to trade with the European Union".US President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled a "breakthrough" trade agreement with Britain, the first deal with any country since he launched his global tariffs blitz.The EU remains Britain's trading partner despite Brexit, which saw Britain depart the EU in 2020.However, "there has been a fall-off in goods trade with the EU over recent years", Bailey told the broadcaster regarding Brexit's impact on Britain.Bailey added in the interview that he hoped Britain could "start to rebuild that relationship" with its neighbour.His comments come ahead of a EU-UK summit on May 19 due to reset ties with the 27-nation bloc.The US deal reduces tariffs on British cars and lifts them on steel and aluminium, while in return Britain will open up markets to US beef and other farm products.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed it as a "historic day", although the agreement is thin on details and both sides said there would be more negotiations.Britain this week also struck a free-trade agreement with India , its biggest such deal since it voted to leave the European Union in 2016.

Live EventsNew Delhi: Indian students considering higher studies abroad may find the UK more attractive now, as the new bilateral trade deal promises smoother visas, better job prospects, and lower financial hurdles. The India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signals a new era of opportunity for over 150,000 Indians already studying there and thousands more preparing to join them-with a bevy of indirect but substantial benefits.These include exemptions from social security contributions for temporary workers for three years; enhanced post-study job opportunities in services sectors like IT, educational, financial and professional services; mutual recognition of qualifications; and easier intra-company transfers, experts said.The FTA commits to reducing paperwork and streamlining visa procedures , and will also help in mutual recognition of qualifications-especially in fields like law, architecture, and accounting, said Akshay Chaturvedi, founder and CEO of study abroad platform Leverage Edu. (Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates)"Expanded quotas and faster visa processing for Indian professionals could help students move into full-time roles more smoothly after graduation," he said.This will help those in sectors like IT, finance, healthcare, and engineering, said Chaturvedi.Increasing presence of Indian companies in the UK, too, will help. "While tuition fees may remain high, the FTA could lower indirect costs and make UK education more affordable over time," said Mary Gogoi, head of admissions at eduVelocity Global.Adarsh Khandelwal, cofounder of Collegify, said: "Even marginal financial relief, enhanced scholarships, or easier work rights post study can significantly change affordability and access. "The tuition fees in the UK range anywhere from £10,000 to £38,000 annually, he said.Sonal Kapoor, global chief business officer of fintech platform Prodigy Finance, said any direct impact on tuition fees will depend on future policy details.With the FTA, the UK may now offer Indian students not just world-class education, but a launchpad for a global career as well.

Publication of the Scheme DocumentThe Acquisition is intended to be effected by means of a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part VIII of the Companies Act 2006 (the "Scheme"). Action requiredNotices of the Court Meeting and the General Meeting set out in Parts IX and X respectively of the Scheme Document. In providing its advice to the De La Rue Directors, Deutsche Numis has taken into account the commercial assessments of the De La Rue Directors. Scheme Shareholders should carefully read the Scheme Document in its entirety before making a decision with respect to the Scheme. De La Rue shall prepare the Scheme Document to be distributed to De La Rue Shareholders.

Gurvinder Johal, a 37-year-old Indian-origin man, was fatally stabbed inside a Lloyds bank branch in Derby on Tuesday afternoon. Haybe Cabdiraxmaan Nur, a 47-year-old Somalian man, has been charged with Johal’s murder and appeared in court. Another man initially arrested in connection with the case has been released without further action, as confirmed by authorities.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONSKevin D. and Gina L. Hennessy to Graebel Relocation Services Worldwide Inc.; a property at 933 Newton Road, Newton Twp., for $580,000. Graebel Relocation Services Worldwide Inc. to Robert Mazzatta and Patricia A. Mazzatta; a property at 933 Newton Road, Newton Twp., for $580,000. DIVORCES SOUGHTJoseph Kapalko, South Abington Twp., v. Jamie Kapalko, South Abington Twp. ; married April 12, 2014, in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands; Brian J. Cali, attorney. Ian Kennedy, Thornhurst Twp., v. Veronica Kennedy, Thornhurst Twp.

Live Events(You can now subscribe to our(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channelIndian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, has raised critical questions about Pakistan's claims of retaliation following India's Operation Sindoor , emphasising that Pakistan's actions are a response to strikes on terrorism infrastructure "If Pakistan says it's retaliating... What are they retaliating about? They're retaliating against attacks on terrorism infrastructure... What does that tell you of their relationship with the terror groups?" "The original escalation is Pakistan's sponsored terror groups' attack on our civilians in Pahelgam on April 22... Our response thereafter was precise, targeted, reasonable, and moderate. "This has been the problem even with materials supplied by the UK or by the US in the past. Essentially, it's been taken on the guise of fighting terror," he noted.

THE response of McDonald’s to the discovery that trafficking and exploitation were taking place in one of its restaurants in Cambridgeshire has been “poor”, the director for modern slavery at CCLA, Dame Sara Thornton, wrote in The Times on Tuesday. There had also been “a lack of engagement with CCLA as an investor after we contacted them about rectifying damage done to the victims”. The franchisees who had run the branch during the exploitation now had almost 50 branches between them, she wrote. CCLA, which began as the Church of England investment fund, is now the UK’s largest charity fund manager. “In addition, last year, we started our partnership with Unseen, a leading expert organisation that specialises in addressing modern slavery issues.

TO THE end of his life, Dix resisted the lure of Rome personally while longing for reunion. Always the historian, and also a son of the vicarage and a father steeped in 19th- century Anglo-Catholicism, Dix yearned for the Church of England to rediscover its sacramental nature. If you have received well, you are that which you have received.”IN 1945, Dix completed his most accomplished work, The Shape of the Liturgy. The Times portrayed him as “extreme”, but also acknowledged his “impish sense of humour and a streak of sheer naughtiness”. His endearing qualities aside, and taking into account his many and varied contributions to the Church, The Shape of the Liturgy constitutes his singular and most enduring legacy.

Davey demands the detailSir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, has said his party has “lots of questions” over the US-UK trade deal. Together with our strong ally, the United Kingdom, we have reached the first, historic trade deal since liberation day. ‘An honour doing business’It has been an “honour” doing business with the UK, President Trump says. No hint on details from defence ministerJohn Healey, the defence secretary, refused to comment on reports of a UK-US trade deal. US expected to confirm dealPresident Trump is expected to confirm the UK-US trade deal later on Thursday afternoon.