Hospitality and leisure bosses in England are urging the government to scrap proposed plans for a tourist tax, while Bangladesh held its first general election since the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024. Meanwhile, Apple's revamped Siri is facing further delays, and the British Royal Family is navigating the fallout from the Epstein scandal.
According to BBC Business, over 200 hospitality and leisure bosses are pushing back against the government's consideration of a "modest" tourist tax, or visitor levy, that would allow mayors and local leaders to raise revenue. Major holiday providers, including Butlin's, Hilton, and Travelodge, have voiced concerns that the tax would drain money from local businesses. "Holidays are for relaxing, not taxing," a representative from one of the providers stated.
In Bangladesh, more than 127 million eligible voters participated in parliamentary elections, marking a significant moment following a period of political upheaval and violence, as reported by Sky News and Al Jazeera. The election, which took place on February 12, 2026, was the first since the government collapsed in 2024 during a crackdown on protesters, sometimes referred to as the "Gen Z uprising." Polling stations filled with voters by mid-morning in Dhaka and across the country, with results anticipated on Friday. The election pitted the Bangladesh Nationalist Party against its former ally, the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, according to Sky News.
Elsewhere, Apple's plans to launch a new, AI-powered Siri have been delayed yet again, according to TechCrunch. The company, which first unveiled Apple Intelligence in 2024, has continuously pushed back the release date. The new Siri, initially expected to launch with the upcoming iOS 26.4 update in March, will now roll out more slowly, with some features potentially postponed until the May iOS update or even the release of iOS 27 in September. Apple reportedly encountered issues during software testing, necessitating the further delay.
The British Royal Family is also facing scrutiny, as reported by Sky News. The demand for statements from the royals has been enormous, and the calls for them to tell more risk overshadowing how huge it was to get those statements earlier in the week from both William and Kate and Buckingham Palace.
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