12 h. ago 'Too little, too late:' Former UK government slammed for its initial COVID

A public inquiry has criticized the U_K_'s initial COVID-19 response in early 2020 as “too little, too late.”

Politics

12 h. ago Covid response of ‘toxic’ UK government was ‘too little, too late’, inquiry finds

Report criticises culture in Downing Street during Boris Johnson’s tenure

Politics

13 h. ago Covid response of ‘toxic and chaotic’ UK government was ‘too little, too late’, inquiry finds

Report criticises culture in Downing Street during Boris Johnson’s tenure

Politics

13 h. ago Covid Inquiry concludes Boris Johnson’s late lockdowns killed thousands

The inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic says Boris Johnson’s ‘toxic’ government repeatedly acted ‘too little, too late’ and 23,000 lives could have been saved if the first lockdown had come a week earlier

Events

7 d. ago The unprecedented government shutdown will weigh on a US economy already under stress

The six-week government shutdown that came to an end late Wednesday will be another drag on an economy already facing many challenges, though the full impact will take months to measure

Politics

8 d. ago US House will vote next week on bill compelling release of Epstein files

Mike Johnson announced move hours after swearing in Adelita Grijalva, whose signature triggered vote Mike Johnson, the US House speaker, told reporters on Wednesday he will put the bill compelling the release of government files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on the House floor next week.“We are gonna put that on the floor for [a] full vote next week, soon as we get back,” the speaker told reporters, as the chamber gathered to debate legislation to reopen the government. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago US House to vote next week on bill compelling release of Epstein files

Mike Johnson announces move hours after swearing in Adelita Grijalva, Democrat whose signature triggered voteMike Johnson, the US House speaker, said on Wednesday he would put the bill compelling the release of government files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on the House floor next week.“We are gonna put that on the floor for [a] full vote next week, [as] soon as we get back,” Johnson told reporters, as the chamber gathered to debate legislation to reopen the government. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Tribes that restored buffalo are killing some to feed people because of the shutdown

A pending deal to end the government shutdown is too late for about 30 bison on the Fort Peck reservation in northern Montana

Events

8 d. ago Mike Johnson to swear in Democrat who could force Epstein vote after weeks

Arizona representative-elect Adelita Grijalva to be sworn in after House speaker prevented her from taking her seatMike Johnson, the US House speaker, is expected to swear in Democratic representative-elect Adelita Grijalva on Wednesday afternoon, ending a seven-week standoff that prevented the incoming Arizona legislator from taking her congressional seat and clearing the path for a vote to release the Jeffrey Epstein files.Johnson’s office announced Grijalva will take the oath of office on the House floor at approximately 4pm ET, ahead of a vote to reopen the federal government. The ceremony comes 49 days after Grijalva won a late September special election to succeed her father, the longtime congressman Raúl Grijalva, who died in March. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago SoftBank shares dive after Nvidia sale puts AI valuations in spotlight – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as investors ponder AI valuations and SoftBank’s growing funding demands for OpenAIJapan’s government is growing anxious about its weakening currency.The yen, which has been generally weakening since the start of October, is approaching the significant level of ¥155 to the dollar, a point where Toyko has intervened in the markets before“We’re seeing one-sided, rapid currency moves of late.The government is watching for any excessive and disorderly moves with a high sense of urgency.”The reopening of the U.S. government has been a bittersweet elixir for the greenback.On one hand, risk is back on — stocks have caught a second wind, buybacks are flowing, and high-beta FX like AUD are catching the same tailwinds that power stocks. On the other hand, the same optimism that revives equity appetite also reawakens the yen’s old nemesis: carry.“We have delivered a resilient performance thanks to the hard work of our teams on the gro...

Economics

2 w. ago Seth Meyers on Mamdani’s win: ‘The kind of energy Democrats have been desperately seeking for years’

Late-night hosts discussed Democrats’ wave of election wins, from governorships to New York City’s mayorLate-night hosts reacted to Democrats’ slate of wins across the country and Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory in the New York City mayoral race. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Palestine 36 review – impassioned epic set during the Arab revolt against British colonial rule

Annemarie Jacir’s emotionally stirring drama follows a year of brutal conflict in the Middle East with a huge cast of characters caught up in the turmoilAnnemarie Jacir’s film about the Arab anti-colonial uprising in the late 1930s arrives in the UK just as the British government has declared recognition of a Palestinian state. It’s a film to compare with Michael Winterbottom’s Shoshana and Cherien Dabis’s All That’s Left of You, dramas that reopen the fraught issue of Britain’s own colonial history in Palestine.This is a heartfelt film, if rather stolidly paced and sometimes pedagogically conveyed. The cast includes such Palestinian heavyweight actors as Hiam Abbass and Saleh Bakri as passionate rebels. Jeremy Irons plays the high commissioner Sir Arthur Wauchope who presides with bland complacency over this troublesome possession. The other colonials are divided, in the traditional style, into “good British” – Billy Howle as a troubled and ineffectually pro-Arab civil servant – an...

Politics