UK's Healey on Defense Spending, Russia Sanctions, Ukraine
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Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Liverpool REJECTED Alexander Isak agreement
Liverpool fans have known for a long time that asking prices are a rough valuation of a player. Teams rarely get the exact amount they're after. A negotiation takes place and eventually, each side has to make a compromise in order to get what they want. It's a fundamental business principle. 🔴 Shop the LFC 2025/26 adidas home range 🚨2025/26 LFC x adidas range🚨 LFC x adidas Shop the away range TODAY LFC x adidas Shop the home range today! LFC x adidas Shop the goalkeeper range today LFC x adidas Shop the new adidas range today! Valuations alongside 'gentlemen's agreements' and 'promises' are easily bypassed and it's easy for teams to become hypocritical - this is an idea that Anfield Watch has explored in more depth through the prism of Newcastle's approach for Yohan Wissa, in connection with their Alexander Isak situation. Earlier this year, in a high profile move for Florian Wirtz, the Reds successfully managed to agree a deal of £100m plus £16m in add-ons instead of caving in and paying Leverkusen's £126m valuation. As such, it should come at no surprise that Isak was never going to leave for £150m and while a deal looks to be off this summer, insider information has been revealed regarding how much Newcastle were willing to sell him for, had they have subsequently brought in a new striker this summer. 13% discount for Isak was available According to Craig Hope, the 'not for sale' stance coming out of Tyneside was actually a massive lie. In his latest report, he said: "The club have pursued alternatives to Isak all summer. Had one of Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, Hugo Ekitike or Benjamin Sesko been signed, Newcastle would have explored his sale. "Sources believe a deal in the region of £130m plus add-ons would, in the end, have seen an agreement reached between them and Liverpool. However, with each passing day and target gone, that likelihood has decreased." As such, the Reds would have needed to put up more money, but both sides would have compromised, which is exactly how all pieces of transfer business unfold. As said, it's a negotiation. To suggest that Liverpool have rejected an agreement to sign him is perhaps a little twisted, since the club had received no encouragement that a new bid would have been successful, new strikers needed to be signed at Newcastle before the green light to his move could have been signalled. But since that's not happening, you can't help but wonder if a £130m bid would at all be tempting at this stage, despite him not having been replaced. After all, since he's gone AWOL, the Magpies don't exactly have a striker at the club despite keeping him. His prerogative is to not play for them again. On the basis that we've been left waiting so long for a second bid, it would certainly be wishful thinking to consider a move like that being sanctioned by FSG, which in turn would be Liverpool rejecting an attempt at reaching an agreement, primarily because of how far-fetched it would be. Reason currently suggests that January might be the most opportune moment to consider Isak again, once he and Newcastle have had a chance to stew on their incredibly toxic circumstances. A further discounted move from the £150m pipe-dream might then be promising and Liverpool would have a lot more time to finalise all the details, with Newcastle more open to hearing their approach.
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Badenoch urges Tory councils to challenge asylum hotels in court
Kemi Badenoch has called for more Conservative councils to launch legal challenges over asylum hotels as the Government faces a potential revolt from its own local authorities. In a letter to Tory councils, Mrs Badenoch said she was 'encouraging' them to 'take the same steps' as Epping Council 'if your legal advice supports it'. Labour dismissed her letter as 'desperate and hypocritical nonsense', but several of its own local authorities have already suggested they too could mount legal action against asylum hotels in their areas. Epping secured a temporary injunction from the High Court on Tuesday, blocking the use of the Essex town's Bell Hotel as accommodation for asylum seekers on planning grounds. The decision has prompted councils controlled by Labour, the Conservatives and Reform UK to investigate whether they could pursue a similar course of action. These include Labour-run Tamworth and Wirral councils, Tory-run Broxbourne and East Lindsey councils and Reform's Staffordshire and West Northamptonshire councils. But Labour's Newcastle City Council and Brighton and Hove City Council have both ruled out legal action. Tuesday's High Court decision has also caused a potential headache for the Home Office, which has a legal duty to house destitute asylum seekers while their claims are being dealt with. If planning laws prevent the Government from using hotels, ministers will face a scramble to find alternative accommodation, potentially in the private rented sector. In her letter, Mrs Badenoch praised Epping Council's legal challenge and told Tory councils she would 'back you to take similar action to protect your community'. But she added that the situation would 'depend on individual circumstances of the case' and suggested Tory councils could pursue 'other planning enforcement options'. She also accused Labour of 'trying to ram through such asylum hotels without consultation and without proper process', saying the Government had reopened the Bell Hotel as asylum accommodation after the Conservatives had closed it. The hotel had previously been used as asylum accommodation briefly in 2020 and then between 2022 and 2024 under the previous Conservative government. A Labour spokesperson said Mrs Badenoch's letter was a 'pathetic stunt' and 'desperate and hypocritical nonsense from the architects of the broken asylum system', saying there were now '20,000 fewer asylum seekers in hotels than at their peak under the Tories'. The letter comes ahead of the publication on Thursday of figures showing how many asylum seekers were being temporarily housed in hotels at the end of June this year. Home Office figures from the previous quarter show there were 32,345 asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March. This was down 15% from the end of December, when the total was 38,079, and 6% lower than the 34,530 at the same point a year earlier. Figures on those staying in hotels date back to December 2022 and showed numbers hit a peak at the end of September 2023, when there were 56,042 asylum seekers in hotels. Data is not released on the number of hotels in use, but it is thought there were more than 400 asylum hotels open in summer 2023. Labour has said this has since been reduced to fewer than 210.
Business Insider
9 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Parts of Europe are suspending postal shipments to the US — and your order may not arrive
Postal services operated by Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Belgium — Posten Bring, PostNord, and bpost — said they will suspend parcel shipments to the US ahead of the end of a customs exemption that allows low-value packages to enter the country duty-free. The conundrum facing postal operators comes as the Trump administration prepares to suspend the " de minimis" exemption starting on August 29. The exemption used to allow international shipments under $800 to cross the border with minimal paperwork and no duties. Now, these shipments will face tariffs, and not every operator can handle the customs declaration paperwork, have a payment mechanism in place, or be responsible for returns should a receiver refuse to pay tariffs. It's unclear when the temporary freeze on shipments will resume. "Due to the short timeframe to adapt to the new specific requirements, PostNord will temporarily halt shipments to the United States and Puerto Rico until a compliant solution has been developed and implemented," wrote the operator owned by the Swedish and Danish governments in a statement on Wednesday. Separately, Posten Bring, Norway's primary postal provider operated by the government, said in a statement that postal services have not been given clear instructions and solutions on how the duties will be paid or who would be responsible for returns. Therefore, Posten Bring sees suspension as the "only option." All three European postal services will suspend shipments starting August 23, which applies to all packages other than letters. This means that if you have a pending purchase that is not shipped by the deadline, your seller may need to cancel your order or arrange alternatives. But even if you're not purchasing from these specific European countries, your shopping options might still dwindle and become more costly. Etsy, the US e-commerce giant and a hub for independent crafters, posted a notice Wednesday that shipping label purchases for Australia Post, Canada Post, Evri, and Royal Mail for US-bound packages will be temporarily suspended starting August 25. Etsy wrote in a statement that these operators are unable to support prepaid duties at the moment, which may result in a large number of rejected packages due to unpaid duties and surprise costs for buyers not listed at checkout. Across social media platforms, many independent sellers based in the UK are also announcing that they can no longer support orders to the US, citing the introduction of an $80 flat fee plus handling charges for using Royal Mail to ship parcels to the US. "We hope to resume shipping as soon as we can, but we really don't want our customers to be hit with an $80+ fee," wrote the Citrine Circle, a UK-based crystal shop, on Instagram. "It feels like the world is getting smaller and smaller."
