4 d. ago Just 2% of councils think Labour funding plan for struggling households is enough

Exclusive: The government’s spending pledge to support local authorities in England amounts to a real-terms cut

Politics

4 d. ago Britain would do well to remember where its power over China lies | Simon Jenkins

It’s ridiculous for the government to splurge on defence while it slashes spending on its most valuable asset: cultureThe US has backed down in its tariff war with China. Thanks to Donald Trump’s egotistical diplomacy, rare earths can again flow one way, soya beans the other, and less of the chemicals used to make fentanyl in between. No matter that the war was Trump’s own idea and seems to have been a stunt. The stunt is over. Trump has played his favourite game of dealmaker, much to the discomfort of millions.Meanwhile Britain still cannot make up its mind if China is its enemy. In 2008 British officials visited the Beijing Olympics authorities to discuss the next games in London in 2012. The government told them to “raise” human rights issues, about which the British government was most concerned. I am told the Chinese reacted with sympathy at the Britons’ embarrassment at broaching the matter, and then everyone got down to business. Soon China was a friend, certainly to David Ca...

Politics

5 d. ago DeSantis urges Florida universities to stop hiring foreign visa workers

Governor tells universities to end use of H-1B visas, though legal experts say states lack authority over federal programFlorida governor, Ron DeSantis, is urging the state’s universities to stop hiring international employees through the H-1B visa program.DeSantis said he wants the Florida board of governors “to pull the plug” on the practice. Nearly 400 foreign nationals are currently employed at Florida’s public universities under the H-1B visa program, reported the Orlando Sentinel. Continue reading...

Economics

5 d. ago Reed’s claims about Scottish water pollution could have misled public – watchdog

The SNP has now urged the former UK environment secretary to apologise.

Politics

6 d. ago An inside look at how London, Ont., police go from seizing illegal guns to finding out how they got here

An inside look at how London, Ont., police go from seizing illegal guns to finding out how they got here  CBC

Events

6 d. ago A look at the kind of info London police can extract from seized guns

A look at the kind of info London police can extract from seized guns  Yahoo News Canada

Events

7 d. ago Reform levies on developers as communities are denied amenities – MPs

A committee has called on the Government to ensure house builders contribute adequate funds as profits are boosted by land value increases.

Politics

7 d. ago 'Pupils’ learning has been torn apart,' say parents as teachers' strike drags on and they plan their own protest

With more strikes threatened after half term at Flint High one parent blamed the ongoing dispute not on teachers, but the local education authority and school governors

Events

8 d. ago Trump’s move to pay troops amid shutdown sets dangerous precedent, experts warn

Experts see move as Trump’s latest attempt to shift power of the purse away from Congress and into executive branchBy ordering that US military personnel receive paychecks even though the government is shut down, Donald Trump is seeing to the needs of a politically untouchable constituency that has been caught up in the congressional logjam over federal spending.But experts who spoke to the Guardian warn that he is doing so in a way that is almost certainly illegal and, if left unchecked, bodes ill for Congress’s constitutional authority to control government spending. Some fear it could set the stage for the president to unilaterally fund other contentious decisions in the future, such as the deployment of the military on US soil. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago Blood infection scandal victims demand Rachel Reeves changes rules so they don't lose millions in compensation payments

After a long battle beset with public authority cover-ups on a grand scale, the government agreed to set aside £11.8bn for the victims and their families last year.

Events

2 w. ago DWP account raid update as banks told 'not to tell customers' for three months

The Government has made amendments to the controversial Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill which is going through the Houses of Parliament

Economics

2 w. ago New calls for free bus travel for carers providing support for disabled people

Local authorities can use government funding to offer discretionary concession travel to people within their communities.

Transport

3 w. ago Against ‘chat control’: we can’t eliminate child abuse by eliminating privacy

Banning online anonymity tools like Tor won’t stop crime. It will only drive people underground and normalize government control over the internetLike the “war on drugs” or the “war on terror”, a “war on child abuse” has too often been used to justify authoritarian overreach. Governments across the world are expanding surveillance, weakening encryption, and curtailing freedoms under the guise of staunching the proliferation of sexual images and videos of children – but these measures don’t actually solve the problem.In Europe, the latest proposal for a “chat control” regulation put forward by the Danish presidency would require every internet-connected device to include government spyware, as easy to activate as Alexa or Siri. It would scan not only for known child sexual abuse material (CSAM) but also, in practice, would flag artwork, fan fiction, family photos and chats, relying on unreliable AI classifiers – which scientists warn can’t be implemented safely. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Hamas insists 'all factions reject' plans for Tony Blair to run Gaza despite agreeing to Trump

Donald Trump had proposed a transitional 'Board of Peace' headed up by himself and former prime minister Sir Tony Blair to oversee an interim governing authority in Gaza.

Politics

3 w. ago Q&A: A look at the National Guard's role as Trump seeks to deploy troops in Oregon and Chicago

President Donald Trump’s efforts to send National Guard troops into U.S. cities — including Los Angeles, Portland, Oregon, and Chicago — over the objections of Democratic mayors and governors have prompted a host of questions about the president’s authority and who controls the Guard

Politics

3 w. ago DWP will be able to snoop on pensioner bank accounts in new benefits crackdown

The new Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill will give the Government power to recover money straight from bank accounts of those who have committed benefit fraud

Economics

4 w. ago US shutdown enters second week as Senate votes again on funding bill

Democrats and Republicans apparently no closer to deal to restart funding as Trump warns of imminent job cutsThe US government shutdown entered its second week on Monday, with Democratic and Republican lawmakers making no apparent progress towards reaching a deal to restart funding, while the Trump administration warned it was moving forward with plans to slash the federal workforce.Many agencies and departments closed their doors and told employees to stay home last Wednesday, after Congress failed to approve legislation to continue the government’s authority to spend money. Continue reading...

Economics

4 w. ago Police seize guns from ‘sovereign citizens’ who reject government authority

The crackdown follows the fatal shooting of two police officers in Victoria in August

Politics

4 w. ago Police in Australia seize guns from dozens of owners who hold views rejecting government authority

Police in Western Australia have seized guns and suspended or cancelled permits for dozens of gun owners who are linked to sovereign citizen ideologies, which reject government authority

Politics