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Greene King set to change pub’s ‘racist’ name despite backlash from localsA 350-year-old pub in West Lothian, Scotland has been given permission to change its name from The Black Bitch over growing fears that the name could be seen as racist.Owners Greene King will now rename the pub to The Willow Tree following a public consultation, despite facing backlash from local residents.More than 11,000 people from the local community signed a petition to stop the name change and some 500 objections were submitted. The pub’s name comes from a local legend about a black dog, which features on the town’s heraldic crest, that brought food to its starving owner. A statue commemorating the legend still stands in the town centre today.The West Lothian History and Amenity Society said the term “black bitch” had been associated with the town for over 700 years, with natives of Linlithgow “proud” to be known as “black bitches”. They said: “The term describes a female canine, rightly called a bitch which is black in colour – nothing offensive, no misogyny involved.”
Monkey business: Puppy becomes a macaque's best friendPrimate takes dog under its wing in Dhaka, Bangladesh - before carrying it into the treetops
UK strikes revised deal with France on Channel migrantsThe UK will pay France £8m more a year under a revised deal to try to stop people crossing the English Channel in small boats.The money will pay for increased surveillance of French beaches, whilst UK police officers will also be able to observe patrols within France.French officers patrolling the coast to try to stop people setting off will rise from 200 to 300 over five months.PM Rishi Sunak said he was "confident" the crossings could be brought down.However, he warned there was no "single thing" that could "fix" the situation, promising "even greater cooperation" with France in the months ahead.
Italy, Greece, Malta and Cyprus say they can’t take so many migrant arrivalsFour Mediterranean European Union nations have issued a joint statement on a dispute over a deal for Europe to jointly help asylum-seekers.In their statement Saturday, Italy, Greece, Malta and Cyprus repeated their positions that they “cannot subscribe to the notion that countries of first entry are the only possible European landing spots for illegal immigrants.” They added that the number of migrants taken in by other EU member states “only represents a very small fraction of the actual number of irregular arrivals.”The four countries condemned the operations of private charity vessels “acting in total autonomy from the competent state authorities” to save hundreds of migrants rescued at sea.