UK judge reviews Terrorism Act ban on Palestine Action
Judges are reviewing the UK government’s decision to ban the activist group Palestine Action under counter-terror laws.
Russia says talks to end Ukraine war ‘serious’ but rules out concessions
Kremlin spokesman says talks ongoing as US President Donald Trump pushes for an end to the conflict.
Properties worth more than £2m in England face new tax – BBC
- Properties worth more than £2m in England face new tax BBC
- ‘I don’t live in a mansion. It’s a 1930s house’: Richmond residents react to council tax rise The Guardian
- Chancellor swoops on landlords and wealthy homeowners Financial Times
- Reeves Hits UK Property With Annual Tax on £2 Million Homes Bloomberg.com
- UK Mansion Tax—The Beginning Of A British Wealth Tax Regime? Forbes
Rachel Reeves targets UK’s wealthiest in £26bn tax-raising budget
Chancellor axes two-child benefit cap and cuts energy bills paid for by mansion tax and freezing tax thresholds
Rachel Reeves targeted Britain’s wealthiest households with a £26bn tax-raising budget to fund scrapping the two-child benefit policy and cutting energy bills.
On a chaotic day that involved key details of her budget accidentally being released early by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the chancellor defended the measures, saying she was “asking everyone to make a contribution to repair the public finances”, but that she wanted the wealthiest to pay the most.
Continue reading...Georgia judge dismisses 2020 election interference case against Trump
The state charges were the last remaining criminal case against the US president stemming from the 2020 election.
Two National Guard members reportedly shot in Washington DC
Two National Guard members have been shot near the White House in Washington, DC. Police said a suspect is in custody.
Two US National Guard troops injured in Washington, DC, shooting
Police say they have one suspect in custody as Donald Trump promises 'very steep price' for perpetrator of shooting.
Can the US get all sides to end the Russia-Ukraine war?
Transatlantic diplomatic efforts intensify over Trump peace plan.
Peruvian ex-President Martin Vizcarra sentenced to 14 years in prison
Vizcarra, a leader in the Peru First party, was found guilty of leading a corruption scheme when he was a governor.
India ‘examining’ Bangladesh extradition request for convicted ex-PM Hasina
Indian officials say they are examining Dhaka's latest request, made after Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia.
Ireland tightens immigration rules to check population growth
The tough new measures come amid record numbers of asylum claims and growing tensions over immigration.
Deadly floods swamp homes in Thailand as residents wait for aid
Heavy rainfall in southern Thailand has caused flooding that left thousands stranded and at least 33 people dead.
How Rachel Reeves’s budget was leaked 40 minutes early
By the time the chancellor reached the dispatch box, the OBR had accidentally published its verdict in full online
Shortly before midday on Wednesday, a series of headlines about Rachel Reeves’s budget began appearing on the Reuters newswire, sending instant ripples though financial markets.
The details were jaw-dropping: they appeared to spell out the key policies of the chancellor’s budget more than 40 minutes before she was due to deliver them to a crowded Commons chamber.
Continue reading...How Rachel Reeves’s budget was leaked 40 minutes early
By the time the chancellor reached the dispatch box, the OBR had accidentally published its verdict in full online
Shortly before midday on Wednesday, a series of headlines about Rachel Reeves’s budget began appearing on the Reuters newswire, sending instant ripples though financial markets.
The details were jaw-dropping: they appeared to spell out the key policies of the chancellor’s budget more than 40 minutes before she was due to deliver them to a crowded Commons chamber.
Continue reading...Trump administration nixes temporary immigration protections for Haitians
Homeland Security Secretary Noem determines it is safe for Haitians to return home, despite widespread gang violence.
Trump officials halt protected status for Haitians in US
Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem says allowing Haitians to remain is ‘contrary to US national interest’
The Trump administration has once again moved to halt humanitarian protections for Haitians living in the US, this time announcing that their temporary protected status (TPS) will expire on 3 February.
According to a new Department of Homeland Security notice issued on Wednesday, TPS for approximately 340,000 Haitian migrants will be terminated next year.
Continue reading...Bamboo scaffolding may be to blame for spread of Hong Kong tower block fire
Hong Kong is one of the last places in the world where bamboo is widely used by construction workers
A deadly fire in an apartment complex in Hong Kong appears to have spread in part because the buildings were sheathed in bamboo scaffolding, a traditional building material that the authorities have been phasing out for safety reasons.
Dozens of people died on Wednesday in Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades. The blaze tore through the Wang Fuk Court residential complex in Tai Po, in the northern New Territories. The complex is made up of eight 31-storey towers containing about 2,000 flats that house about 4,800 people.
Continue reading...Aftermath of Homs killings may mark turning point for Syria’s government
Syrian government security deployments helped avoid sectarian violence, unlike previous incidents this year.
‘Living an American nightmare’: LA hearing details lasting trauma of ICE raids
Southern California residents shared disastrous effects of Trump’s immigration crackdown at a congressional hearing
The Trump administration’s ICE raids across southern California have had disastrous effects on the region’s immigrants and swept up US citizens in the process, community leaders and residents said at a congressional hearing in Los Angeles on Monday.
Andrea Velez, an American arrested by US immigration officials over the summer, described how she was accosted by masked agents while on her way to work. She said she was charged with assaulting an officer and held for two days in a federal detention center, where detainees had to pay for a cup in order to have water. The charges against her were ultimately dismissed due to what her attorney described as a lack of evidence.
Continue reading...‘Living an American nightmare’: LA hearing details lasting trauma of ICE raids
Southern California residents shared disastrous effects of Trump’s immigration crackdown at a congressional hearing
The Trump administration’s ICE raids across southern California have had disastrous effects on the region’s immigrants and swept up US citizens in the process, community leaders and residents said at a congressional hearing in Los Angeles on Monday.
Andrea Velez, an American arrested by US immigration officials over the summer, described how she was accosted by masked agents while on her way to work. She said she was charged with assaulting an officer and held for two days in a federal detention center, where detainees had to pay for a cup in order to have water. The charges against her were ultimately dismissed due to what her attorney described as a lack of evidence.
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