Plymouth MP Luke Pollard has returned to Labour’s Shadow Cabinet, after a month stepping back from frontbench duties to support the community in Keyham after the tragic mass shooting in August. Labour Leader Keir Starmer had agreed to a request from Luke to spend more time focusing on the communitiesContinue Reading
The Taoiseach has said there has been “significant progress” in negotiations on a new global corporation tax deal. Micheál Martin also said Ireland will still see a “strong pipeline” of investment from foreign companies. The Government is expected to agree to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)Continue Reading
It’s often suggested that UK prime minister Boris Johnson uses his distinctive hair as a political device. His trademark untameable mane disarms critics and belies his powerful position. A quick ruffle when the cameras are on enables Johnson to assume the role of a casual “man of the people”, especiallyContinue Reading
One of the more distressing things about the savage riots that engulfed the Litoral prison in Ecuador on September 28 was that, several days after the violence was brought under control, the final death toll was still unknown and many of the victims had still to be identified. The mostContinue Reading
The UK government is reportedly considering bringing back national curriculum tests (known as Sats) for 14-year-olds in England. The reasons cited were that, without formal assessment to mark the end of key stage three (KS3 – years seven, eight and nine of secondary school) children were at risk of losingContinue Reading
A 100-year-old man is on trial in Germany this month. The man, who has not been named due to German privacy laws, is charged with “knowingly and willingly” assisting in the of murder of 3,518 people as a former SS guard at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. He is far from theContinue Reading
A protest movement founded in Uganda in 2016 has exploded into a 7,000-strong force of eco-feminists to be reckoned withContinue Reading
After a year and a half, the temporary £20 increase to universal credit introduced during the pandemic is coming to an end. The adequacy of benefits has deteriorated gradually over the past decade. In 2010, the family safety net was worth about two-thirds of the minimum income standard for familiesContinue Reading
olesea vetrila / Shutterstock Nearly 6 million people claiming universal credit will soon see their payment cut by £20 a week, as the temporary “uplift” in response to the pandemic is removed. Analysis from the anti-poverty charity Joseph Rowntree Foundation described it as “the biggest overnight cut to the basicContinue Reading
Harsh punishments: the Taliban have announced they will reinstate execution and amputations. EPA-EFE/stringer The Taliban are back in the saddle and, with them, the dreadful spectre of the harsh punishments meted out in their previous time in power: public hangings and stonings, amputation of hands and public floggings. Veteran TalibanContinue Reading
