39 h. ago Kendall to add protections to welfare Bill amid backlash to cuts

Dozens of Labour MPs last month urged the Prime Minister to pause and reassess planned cuts, saying the proposals are ‘impossible to support’.

Economics

43 h. ago Corruption allegations intensify around Spain’s government as MP resigns

Spanish Socialist Workers’ MP resigns after judge finds ‘firm evidence’ of possible involvement in kickbacksThe swirl of corruption allegations surrounding the centre-left government of Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has intensified dramatically after a senior member of his Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE) resigned hours after a judge found “firm evidence” of his possible involvement in taking kickbacks on public construction contracts.Sánchez – who became prime minister in 2018 after using a motion of no confidence to turf the corruption-mired conservative People’s party (PP) from office – is already contending with a series of graft probes relating to his wife, his brother, his former transport minister, and one of that minister’s aides. All deny any wrongdoing. A former PSOE member was also recently implicated in an alleged smear campaign against the Guardia Civil police unit investigating the corruption allegations. Continue reading...

Politics

46 h. ago European journalists targeted with Paragon Solutions spyware, say researchers

Citizen Lab says it found ‘digital fingerprints’ of military-grade spyware that Italy has admitted using against activistsThe hacking mystery roiling the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s rightwing government is deepening after researchers said they had found new evidence that two more journalists were targeted using the same military-grade spyware that Italy has admitted to using against activists.A parliamentary committee overseeing intelligence confirmed earlier this month that Italy had used mercenary spyware made by Israel-based Paragon Solutions against two Italian activists. Continue reading...

Events

47 h. ago ‘People see government as the enemy’: Bangladesh’s interim leader on the legacy of a toxic system

A year after a student-led revolt unseated Sheikh Hasina, Muhammad Yunus is fighting to convince both sides of politics to agree to reformA year on from the political uprising that swept the prime minister of Bangladesh into exile, people still see government as the enemy, according to the country’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus.Rooting out corruption at every level, from village to government, is the only way for people to believe in a “new Bangladesh”, he says. Continue reading...

Politics

65 h. ago Government can hit NHS waiting times targets despite scepticism, says Reeves

The NHS has received a 3% increase in real terms per year in the Government spending review.

Events

2 d. ago Starmer says he could ‘go on all morning’ about Labour’s success

Sir Keir Starmer has said he could “go on all morning” about Labour’s achievements in government - in his Prime Minister’s Questions speech, which started at 12 noon.

Politics

2 d. ago PM picked ‘wrong Chancellor and wrong priorities’, claims Badenoch

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch accused Sir Keir Starmer of appearing at the despatch box ‘all puffed up and self-righteous’.

Politics

2 d. ago Netanyahu's government faces possible collapse as the opposition seeks to dissolve it

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government faces a major test on Wednesday after the opposition submitted a bill to dissolve the government

Politics

3 d. ago Starmer and Reynolds meet US commerce secretary in push to implement trade deal

The Business Secretary took the opportunity to meet Howard Lutnick to push for progress on the US-UK trade deal announced last month.

Economics

3 d. ago Ballymena violence highlights need for more PSNI funding – Robinson

Northern Ireland’s Health Minister Mike Nesbitt visited homes in Clonavon Terrace which were targeted on Monday night.

Events

3 d. ago Labour to end 200 years of injustice by ripping up 'shameful' rough sleeping law

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the Government is 'drawing a line under nearly two centuries of injustice' by abolishing the Vagrancy Act, which has been on the statute books since 1824

Society

4 d. ago DoJ urged to investigate US group accused of working as Modi

Prominent Sikh gurdwara says Pennsylvania-based Hindu American Foundation has promoted ‘interests of the BJP’One of the largest Sikh houses of worship in the US is calling on the Trump administration to investigate a non-profit it has alleged is working as a “foreign agent” on behalf of the the Indian government and prime minister Narendra Modi.The Fremont Gurdwara Sahib, which said it draws 5,000 Sikh worshippers every week and is a “fulcrum” of the Sikh community in the US and around the world, has asked the Department of Justice to launch a national security investigation into the Hindu American Foundation, to determine whether the Pennsylvania-based non-profit should be required to file as an Indian foreign agent. Continue reading...

Economics

4 d. ago Lack of recent meetings with Treasury an ‘issue of concern’, says Swinney

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will lay out her spending plans on Wednesday.

Politics

5 d. ago Could an alliance of eight small countries turn out to be Europe’s anchor? | Paul Taylor

Amid geopolitical storms and the rise of populism, the ‘Nordic-Baltic eight’ is gaining clout as a bulwark of western resolveWith Europe’s political kaleidoscope spinning wildly in the populist winds, a group of northern countries is gaining weight as a geopolitical anchor. Known as the Nordic-Baltic eight (NB8 in diplomatic jargon), it brings together small northern European states that, individually, might have little clout in international security and politics. But since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, they have wielded growing influence as a pressure group for western resolve, offering an attractive blend of democratic security, defence integration and societal resilience.Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden established their regional cooperation format in 1992, after the end of the cold war, with regular meetings of prime ministers, parliamentary speakers, foreign and defence ministers and senior government officials. It beg...

Politics

5 d. ago Thousands protest in Madrid against government of prime minister Pedro Sánchez

Ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ party has faced series of corruption allegations over past yearTens of thousands of people have gathered in central Madrid to protest against the government of Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, and to demand an early general election as his party, his administration and his family continue to be beset by a succession of corruption allegations.Sunday’s protest, called by the opposition conservative People’s party (PP) under the slogan “Mafia or democracy”, attracted between 45,000 and 50,000 people, according to the central government’s delegation to the region. Organisers, however, put the attendance at 100,000. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Thousands protest in Madrid against Pedro Sánchez’s government

Ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ party has faced series of corruption allegations over past yearTens of thousands of people have gathered in central Madrid to protest against the government of Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, and to demand an early general election, as his party, his administration and his family continue to be beset by a succession of corruption allegations.Sunday’s protest, called by the opposition conservative People’s party (PP) under the slogan “mafia or democracy”, attracted between 45,000 and 50,000 people, according to the central government’s delegation to the region. Organisers put the attendance at 100,000. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Molly Russell’s father urges PM to act over online harms as ‘app cap’ considered

Ian Russell told Sir Keir Starmer to ‘act decisively’ in toughening legislation to protect young people online.

Politics

8 d. ago Netanyahu defends arming Palestinian clans accused of ties with jihadist groups

PM says it ‘saves lives of Israeli soldiers’ despite accusations government is giving weapons to ‘criminals and felons’The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has admitted arming clans in Gaza that he says are opposed to Hamas, following accusations that members of these criminal gangs allegedly looted humanitarian aid and have ties to jihadist groups.Netanyahu’s comments came after Israeli media reports quoted defence sources as saying Netanyahu had authorised giving weapons to a clan reportedly led by a man known as Yasser Abu Shabab, a Rafah resident from a Bedouin family, known locally for his involvement in criminal activity. Israel allegedly provided Abu Shabab’s group, which calls itself the “Anti-Terror Service”, with Kalashnikov assault rifles, including weapons seized from Hamas. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Gaza facing ‘dark days’, Starmer says, as he vows to consider ‘further action’

At the despatch box, the Prime Minister described the Israeli government’s conduct in the 25 mile-long strip as ‘counterproductive and intolerable’.

Politics

1 week ago Tories brand blaming weather ‘lazy’ as likely days for Channel crossings double

The Government published the statistics after a record number of daily arrivals, as the Conservatives hit out at ministers for blaming the weather.

Politics