British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is threatening the UK government with "the mother of all legal cases" if theatres do not fully reopen on June 21.
Lord Lloyd Webber said he was determined to open his theatres without social distancing, and he is prepared to be arrested if authorities try to stop him.
Theatres were allowed to partially reopen in England from May 17 but social distancing measures left many theatres making a loss.
The Phantom of the Opera composer said he may have to sell his six venues in London's West End if the government does not relax restrictions.
He said he had already remortgaged his London home.
"We are going to open, come hell or high water," Lloyd-Webber told The Telegraph.
Asked what he would do if the government postponed lifting lockdown, he said: “We will say: ‘come to the theatre and arrest us'.”
Several British newspapers reported on Wednesday that Chancellor Rishi Sunak was willing to accept a four-week delay to the final stage of reopening as the government considers extending restrictions beyond June 21.
Mr Sunak was previously keen to lift lockdown restrictions to allow the economy to flourish, but a Whitehall source told the newspapers he is now more concerned that the final step can be permanent.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will consider data on Covid cases and hospital admissions over the coming days before an announcement is made on Monday.
Lloyd Webber said he had seen scientific proof that theatres do not cause coronavirus outbreaks.
His new production, Cinderella, is due to begin previews on June 25 ahead of its world premiere three weeks later.
“If the government ignore their own science, we have the mother of all legal cases against them,” he said.
"If Cinderella couldn't open, we'd go, 'Look, either we go to law about it or you'll have to compensate us'."
The fourth and final stage of lockdown easing in England is in doubt because of the spread of Covid-19 variants.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Tuesday there was a “challenging decision” to be made over the final step.
However, former health secretary Jeremy Hunt said any delay to the road map would be for only a couple of weeks due the success of Britain's vaccination programme.
Mr Hunt, chairman of the Commons Health and Social Care Committee, said he was “feeling quite optimistic that we are going to see the restrictions lifted” because “being double-jabbed” works against the Indian variant.
“If freedom day ends up being put back a couple of weeks so we can get more people double-jabbed, I think it will only be a temporary setback,” he told Times Radio.
RESULTS
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Winners: Hyde Park, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
2.15pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,400m
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2.45pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m
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3.15pm: Shadwell Jebel Ali Mile Group 3 (TB) Dh575,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Blown by Wind, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
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Winner: Mazagran, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh64,000 (D) 1,950m
Winner: Obeyaan, Adrie de Vries, Mujeeb Rehman
4.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
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Power: 134bhp
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AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
India cancels school-leaving examinations
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
GCC-UK%20Growth
%3Cp%3EAn%20FTA%20with%20the%20GCC%20would%20be%20very%20significant%20for%20the%20UK.%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20My%20Department%20has%20forecast%20that%20it%20could%20generate%20an%20additional%20%C2%A31.6%20billion%20a%20year%20for%20our%20economy.%3Cbr%3EWith%20consumer%20demand%20across%20the%20GCC%20predicted%20to%20increase%20to%20%C2%A3800%20billion%20by%202035%20this%20deal%20could%20act%20as%20a%20launchpad%20from%20which%20our%20firms%20can%20boost%20their%20market%20share.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Abu Dhabi World Pro 2019 remaining schedule:
Wednesday April 24: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-6pm
Thursday April 25: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-5pm
Friday April 26: Finals, 3-6pm
Saturday April 27: Awards ceremony, 4pm and 8pm
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Jawan
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
