Everton in line to host Fiji ‘home’ match against England in Nations Championship
Everton have been offered the chance to host England’s Nations Championship game against Fiji in July at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in what would be their first match in England held away from Twickenham since 2019.The 11 July Test against Fiji is an away fixture for England in their second game of the inaugural Nations Championship after they face South Africa in Johannesburg the previous week.However, the host union wants to move it to a neutral venue to maximise the revenue they receive from gate receipts.Steve Borthwick’s side had originally been scheduled to play Fiji in South Africa before travelling to Argentina to play the Pumas for their final summer fixture on 18 July, but the Fiji Rugby Union is understood to have asked permission from the Nations Championship organisers to switch it to England.World Rugby, the Six Nations and Sanzaar have all given their blessing on the proviso that the game is not held at England’s home ground of Twickenham for integrity reasons.
While the contract has yet to be signed, Everton’s new stadium is understood to be the preferred option for all parties, with negotiations over the terms of the agreement still ongoing.There are relatively few other options available, as Wembley, the Emirates Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium all have gigs booked during July, while neither Manchester United or City have been approached.England games away from Twickenham are relatively rare, and the Rugby Football Union is privately delighted at being given an unexpected opportunity to take the national team on the road.England played a World Cup warm-up match at Newcastle’s St James’ Park in 2019, and a pool game in the 2015 competition against Uruguay was held at the Etihad Stadium.World Rugby is understood to have sanctioned the switch due to the lack of suitable venues in Fiji and a desire to help the financial growth of the smaller unions.
The venues for Fiji’s other notional Nations Championship home games this summer against Wales and Scotland have also yet to be announced,Everton have moved quickly to establish Bramley-Moore Dock as a leading multi-sport venue since the 53,000-capacity stadium at the start of the season,A rugby league Ashes Test match between England and Australia attracted a sell-out crowd in November, the sport’s Magic Weekend involving all 14 Super League clubs will take place there in July, while Scotland this week announced it as the venue for an international friendly against Côte d’Ivoire on 31 March as they prepare for this summer’s World Cup,Everton and the Six Nations declined to comment,England’s preparations for the upcoming Six Nations have suffered a setback with the announcement that second-choice loosehead Fin Baxter must undergo foot surgery.
Baxter was set to travel to Girona for the squad’s pre-tournament training camp before their opener against Wales on 7 February after being included on a list of five players who were to undergo rehabilitation for injuries in the hope they would recover in time for the opening rounds.However, no date for Baxter’s return has now been set.Senior tighthead Will Stuart had already been ruled out of the entire Six Nations because of a ruptured Achilles while Asher Opoku-Fordjour is also unavailable for the campaign after undergoing shoulder surgery.Harlequins back row Jack Kenningham has been added to England’s training squad for the trip to Spain with Ben Curry staying at Sale as part of his rehabilitation from injury.
Pubs and live music venues to get support after business rates backlash
The Treasury has announced a support package worth more than £80m a year for pubs and live music venues in England, in a climbdown that follows a fierce backlash against plans to overhaul business rates.Trade bodies had warned that Rachel Reeves’s changes to business rates, announced at the chancellor’s November budget, would trigger widespread closures and job losses in the hospitality sector, particularly in pubs.On Tuesday, the government announced financial support to mitigate the effect of the rates shake-up, after officials admitted they had not foreseen its total financial impact.The package is expected to be worth more than £80m a year, over three years, for pubs and gig venues. It will only apply to England but the government said extra funding would be freed up for Scotland and Wales to follow suit
Treasury announces business rate support package worth more than £80m a year – as it happened
The Treasury has unveiled a support package worth more than £80m a year for pubs and live music venues in England and Wales, in a climbdown that follows a fierce backlash against plans to overhaul business rates.Trade bodies had warned that Rachel Reeves’s changes to business rates, announced at the chancellor’s November budget, would trigger widespread closures and job losses in the hospitality sector, particularly in pubs.On Tuesday, the government announced financial support to mitigate the effect of the rates shake-up, after officials admitted that they had not foreseen its total financial impact.The package, final details of which were still being hammered out on Monday night, is expected to be worth more than £80m a year, over three years, for pubs and gig venues.Dan Tomlinson, the exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said every pub in England and Wales would get 15% off its new business rates bill from 1 April, worth an average of £1,650 for each
The value of the Australian dollar is high right now. So should you book that overseas trip?
In a year of extraordinary global news, and more of it bad than good, it may be surprising that the Australian dollar is proving a world beater.The Aussie has hit some impressive milestones of late: the strongest against the US dollar in nearly two years, the highest against the euro in 10 months, and approaching the strongest in decades against the yen.Ray Attrill, the head of foreign exchange strategy at National Australia Bank, says the Aussie has outperformed every other major currency in 2026.“So far this year it has been a case of there’s nothing not to like about the Australian currency,” Attrill says.It’s been good news for overseas travellers and shoppers looking to buy from overseas websites
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In the beginning, collecting a takeaway was the epitome of a lazy night in. Then delivery apps saved some more energy. Now, consumers can skip even bothering to read the menu as AI takes over the job of choosing the perfect evening meal.Just Eat is introducing an AI voice assistant that lets customers discuss what they might be interested in eating, and then offers personalised recommendations.The food delivery company is launching what it calls a “personal food concierge” within Just Eat’s existing chat function on its UK app on Tuesday
‘Mother of all deals’: EU and India sign free trade agreement
India and the EU have finalised a landmark free trade agreement, which the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, hailed as the “mother of all deals”.The agreement comes after almost two decades of on-off negotiations between India and the EU, which vastly accelerated in the past six months and were finally concluded late on Monday night.The deal is expected to open up India’s vast and traditionally tightly guarded market to the 27 nations in the bloc, with a focus on manufacturing and the services sector. It will ease market access for key European products, including cars and wine, in return for easier exports of textiles, gems and pharmaceuticals.The agreement is expected to double EU exports to India by 2032 by eliminating or cutting tariffs in 96
First of its kind ‘high-density’ hydro system begins generating electricity in Devon
A hillside “battery” outside Plymouth in Devon has begun generating electricity using a first of a kind hydropower system embedded underground.The pioneering technology means one of the oldest forms of energy storage, hydropower, can be used to store and release renewable energy using even gentle slopes rather than the steep dam walls and mountains that are usually required.The design means the principles of hydropower could be used as a form of “long duration energy storage” in many more locations across the UK, and the world, than traditional hydropower dams. The projects could be quicker and cheaper to build too.Engineers at RheEnergise built the project to mimic the UK’s traditional hydropower plants, which have powered the grid for decades by using electricity to pump water uphill when power supplies are abundant, and later releasing the water back down through turbines to generate electricity when supplies are short
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