Japan’s conservative attitude to cannabis is softening August 6, 2019 Cannabis has long been part of traditional medicine in Asia. In Japan, the earliest traces can be found as far back as 8,000 BC – this may be the earliest ever recorded. It is only since the mid-twentieth century that usage has become heavily restricted, due to changing western opinions and the enforcement of UN [...]
Government sticks to Halloween Brexit date as IDS slams ‘conniving’ Remainers August 5, 2019 A Halloween Brexit will take place “whatever the circumstances”, Downing Street has insisted, as rebel MPs up the rhetoric about blocking the process through a vote of no confidence. “The UK will be leaving the EU on 31 October, whatever the circumstances. There are no ifs or buts,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman told journalists [...]
Donald Trump admits ‘more has to be done’ in wake of mass shootings August 5, 2019 Donald Trump has admitted that “perhaps more has to be done” to tackle America’s gun problem after two mass shootings took place over the weekend. The president was speaking after two separate incidents in the US claimed the lives of 29 people. Read more: Far-right website 8chan down as Cloudfare pulls support after mass shootings [...]
How the Anglosphere philosophy will fuel the new Prime Minister’s foreign policy August 5, 2019 It is often important to look at a leader’s idols for clues as to what makes them tick. British critics of Boris Johnson, rather than dismissing him as a cut-rate Winston Churchill tribute act, would do far better looking at what it is about the great man that so impresses the current Prime Minister. The [...]
DEBATE: Should we be worried about police use of facial recognition technology? August 5, 2019 Should we be worried about police use of facial recognition technology? Silkie Carlo, director of privacy and civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, says YES. A society where we’re watched, tracked, and identified by facial recognition cameras was once the stuff of dystopian fiction – and for good reason. In a free society, citizens [...]
Remain-backing MPs say there is still time to block a no-deal Brexit August 4, 2019 Remain-supporting MPs have rejected reports that they have missed the chance to block a no-deal Brexit. Dominic Cummings, the architect of the Vote Leave campaign who is now the Prime Minister’s top adviser, is believed to have told ministers that MPs have run out of time to prevent the UK leaving the EU without a [...]
Andrew Bailey warns government to keep hands off the Bank of England August 4, 2019 A frontrunner in the race to become the next governor of the Bank of England has warned politicians not to meddle with its independence. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) chair Andrew Bailey said the Bank’s independence was a “core underpinning” of economic stability, the Sunday Times reported. Bailey is among the favourites to take over in [...]
Stephen Barclay urges Barnier to seek new mandate for Brexit talks to avoid no deal August 4, 2019 EU leaders must give their chief negotiator Michel Barnier a fresh mandate to change the withdrawal agreement if they do not want to end up with no deal, Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay has said. Barclay, who kept his position in Boris Johnson’s Cabinet overhaul, said MEPs in the European Parliament had changed since the European [...]
US threatens ‘no free trade deal’ unless UK scrap digital tax plans August 3, 2019 The US is set to demand that the UK drop a new digital services tax if a free trade deal is to be agreed between the countries The measure, introduced by former chancellor Philip Hammond in 2018, is due to come into effect in April next year. Read more: Global markets recoil and China wants [...]
Government to announce emergency £2bn NHS funding injection August 3, 2019 The government will announce an emergency injection of cash into the NHS this weekend as Boris Johnson puts the public health service at the centre of his appeal to voters. Some of the plans are set to be revealed on Sunday as the Prime Minister looks to make an impact in his first 100 days [...]