15 h. ago Calls for private UN Security Council meeting over spiralling violence in war

The US and Russia have jointly called for the United Nations Security Council to meet over the spiralling violence in Syria, after over 1,000 people were massacred this week.  

Events

25 h. ago Syria's worst violence in months reopens wounds of the civil war

An ambush on a Syrian security patrol by gunmen loyal to ousted leader Bashar Assad escalated into clashes that a war monitor estimates have killed more than 1,000 people over four days

Events

68 h. ago Reform civil war breaks out as Rupert Lowe suspended over 'threats of violence' against party staff

Rupert Lowe branded the allegations of physical threats ‘outrageous and entirely untrue’

Events

3 d. ago Walgreens executive looks to reassure Boots staff after Sycamore deal

Ornella Barra calls take-private deal a ‘strategic milestone’ for UK pharmacy chain

Economics

3 d. ago Musk calls for Amtrak and the Postal Service to become private entities

Donald Trump has long been critical of Postal Service

Politics

4 d. ago Who owns Britain? In large part, other countries – and that should set alarm bells ringing | Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah

This mass selling off of assets to foreign investors will lead to economic disaster. Labour needs to reset the UK’s courseIn 1994, I joined a march protesting against how the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund – backed by the US – were forcing governments in the global south to follow what was called the “Washington consensus”.We argued that privatising state assets, deregulating markets, and liberalising financial services to attract external investment was leaving countries more unstable, more unequal and more dependent on foreign actors. Decades on, I am horrified that an approach that wreaked havoc in the global south is still being pursued in the UK.Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah is the chief executive of the New Economics Foundation and author of Power to the People. He is a former chief executive of Oxfam GB and secretary general of Civicus, a global alliance of civil society organisations Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Britain is now following a developing country economic model – and we know where that leads | Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah

Selling off assets to foreign owners, deregulating markets, and liberalising financial services only leads to inequality and instabilityIn 1994, I joined a march protesting against how the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund – backed by the US – were forcing governments in the global south to follow what was called the “Washington consensus”.We argued that privatising state assets, deregulating markets, and liberalising financial services to attract external investment was leaving countries more unstable, more unequal and more dependent on foreign actors. Decades on, I am horrified that an approach that wreaked havoc in the global south is still being pursued in the UK.Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah is the chief executive of the New Economics Foundation and author of Power to the People. He is a former chief executive of Oxfam GB and secretary general of Civicus, a global alliance of civil society organisations Continue reading...

Economics

6 d. ago Bridget Phillipson faces pressure to scrap VAT raid on private school fees as Labour MP calls for U

Dr Rupa Huq (pictured), the Labour MP for Ealing Central and Acton, said putting 20 per cent VAT on independent school fees was punishing 'working people'.

Events

9 d. ago ‘A bigger victory for Putin than any military battle’: Russia gleeful after Trump

Putin stays silent but Russian politicians and media outlets crow with delight after the ambush of Ukraine’s leaderRussian officials and Moscow’s media outlets reacted with predictable glee to the dramatic clash between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump at the White House on Friday.Posting on social media, Dmitry Medvedev, Putin’s deputy on the security council and former president, called the exchange “a brutal dressing-down in the Oval Office”. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago ‘Trump is abandoning Ukraine and wants a weaker EU’: Dominique de Villepin on Europe’s moment of truth

The former French PM says the US is no longer an ally of Europe – but has joined Russia and China as an ‘illiberal superpower’Dominique de Villepin made his name with a memorable speech to the UN security council in February 2003, just before the US-led invasion of Iraq. De Villepin, the then French foreign minister, in effect signalled France’s intention to veto a UN resolution authorising the war, forcing the US and UK to act unilaterally. He warned that Washington’s strategy would lead to chaos in the Middle East and undermine international institutions. The prophetic plea was met with applause, a rare event in the security council chamber. It led to the career diplomat’s inclusion as a character in David Hare’s 2004 anti-war play, Stuff Happens.Now the veteran statesman, who warned about the risks of Europe’s over-reliance on the US many years before it became a mainstream opinion in Paris or Berlin, is back with advice on how to respond to the most serious breakdown in Europe’s...

Politics

1 week ago Trump tried to extort Zelenskyy and was impeached – now he may succeed

The Ukrainian president is expected at the White House on Friday to sign a multimillion-dollar minerals deal with echoes of a notorious 2019 phone callAlexander Vindman remembers the phone call – and what he did next. Serving on the national security council (NSC), he went to see his twin brother, who was the council’s senior ethics official, closed the door and told him: “Eugene, if what I’m about to tell you ever becomes public, Donald Trump will be impeached.”Vindman had set up a call between Trump and Ukraine’s new president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in July 2019. He heard the US president attempt to leverage US military aid to the country in return for Zelenskyy launching an investigation into Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, over his position at a Ukrainian gas company. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago The playbook for bombing hospitals in war: deny, deflect, justify. The law must close these loopholes | Maarten van der Heijden

Cynical actors exploit the legal ambiguities around targeting healthcare facilities, as seen in Gaza. Unequivocal protections are neededHospitals in Gaza have “turned into battlegrounds”, the World Health Organization’s representative for the West Bank and Gaza stated at the UN security council in January. He warned that the healthcare system was being “systematically dismantled and driven to the brink of collapse”.Israel’s attacks on medical centres in Gaza have prompted widespread condemnation from civil society, academics and news agencies, many labelling these strikes as breaches of international law or war crimes. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted that: “Any attack of healthcare facilities is a violation of international humanitarian law.” Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago US drives Ukraine war measure through UN with Russian backing

Security Council resolution calling for ‘swift end’ to conflict deals further blow to western unity

Events

1 week ago UN security council approves US resolution on Ukraine war that doesn’t mention Russia; Putin says Europeans can ‘participate’ in peace talks – live

The US-drafted resolution which, fails to mention Russian aggression, receives 10 votes, while five members including UK and France abstained from the voteThe EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas earlier said that she would be travelling to the US tomorrow to meet with US secretary of state Marco Rubio, adding that what she called the “Russian narrative” is “strongly represented” in comments being made by the second Donald Trump administration.She told reporters “I think it’s good that we have as many interactions with the new administration in US as possible. I’m also travelling tomorrow to the US to meet Marco Rubio and others there to discuss these issues, because it’s extremely important.” Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago UN Security Council passes US resolution calling for ‘swift end’ to war in Ukraine

Move that was backed by Russia and China deals further blow to western unity

Events

2 w. ago Surrey sinkhole probe delayed because area ‘not stable enough’, council says

The leader of Tandridge District Council, Catherine Sayer, said the area around the sinkhole was ‘not stable enough for borehole testing’.

Politics

2 w. ago Can Moldova – population 2.4m – show the world how to stand up to Putin?

The tiny former Soviet republic’s determination not to be cowed by the Kremlin could provide a template for the west on how to hold back the tide of subversion and corruptionHow can a democracy defend itself from an attacker who does not respect any democratic rules?When your assailant uses corruption, blackmail, economic war, cyber attacks, covert campaigns and street violence – while all you have are inefficient courts and even slower international institutions. Can you lose your sovereignty by being too soft? If you respond with censorship or even cancelling elections, don’t you lose your values? Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago US offers UN resolution on war in Ukraine that stops far short of competing European statement

The United States has proposed a draft resolution for the U.N. General Assembly that stops far short of a competing European-backed statement demanding an immediate withdrawal of all of Moscow’s forces from Ukraine

Events

2 w. ago Dragons' Den viewers left 'blubbing' after brothers raised by a single parent in a council house secured £90,000 investment following 'tear

Brendon and Jaydon Manders from Birmingham asked judges on the BBC show for £90,000 in exchange for 20 per cent stake of their BBQ sauce and seasonings company, LumberjAxe.

Economics

2 w. ago SNP gains council seat from Scottish Labour in Kilmarnock by

The Nationalists won the Kilmarnock North by-election for East Ayrshire Council, with Caroline Barton securing victory.

Politics