The Great Russian Firewall: Putin’s unplugging his country from the internet February 11, 2019 Russia is preparing to detach itself from the rest of the world by briefly disconnecting from the internet, as it readies for future cyber warfare. The test, due to be held before 1 April, will keep all data circulating between Russian citizens and organisations within the country's borders rather than passing through international routes. The move [...]
Britain must ‘enhance lethality’ amid growing cyber threat, says defence secretary February 11, 2019 Defence secretary Gavin Williamson will this morning crank up his military rhetoric, saying Britain cannot be seen as a “paper tiger” and must be ready to take action against countries that “flout international law”. The more aggressive tone, which comes ahead of the UK striking out on its own outside the European Union, will be [...]
Immigration proposals will cost employers more than £1bn in red tape February 11, 2019 The government’s new immigration proposals could cost employers more than £1bn by 2025 due to red tape, a report has found. Under the plans thousands of European workers will be required to secure a sponsored visa from their employers, creating a “bureaucratic headache” for businesses, according to analysis of the government’s Immigration White Paper by [...]
Chancellor needs to find extra billions to end austerity February 11, 2019 The chancellor Philip Hammond will have to find billions of pounds to prop up public spending to deliver on promises of ending austerity. According to a report from think tank the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), over the four years from 2019-20 to 2023-24, Hammond would need to find a further £2.2bn to avoid cuts [...]
Quit nostalgic navel-gazing and get excited for the future February 11, 2019 The thing about the 1970s – if you lived through them – is that they were for the most part dull and dour years, devoid of political and economic energy. And as for the fashion, don’t even go there. Yet there seems to be no shortage of fresh-faced tweets proclaiming those years to be something [...]
Despite Brexit uncertainty, City links across the Irish Sea continue to flourish February 11, 2019 Amid the ongoing debate about the Irish border and the Brexit backstop, it would be easy to lose sight of the City’s flourishing links across the Irish Sea. Both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland share a long history with the Square Mile. These ties have grown in recent years as the City Corporation [...]
UK and Switzerland strike post-Brexit continuity agreement February 10, 2019 Britain and Switzerland have signed a continuity agreement that will allow the two countries to trade with each other once the UK leaves the European Union. The agreement will allow the countries to continue to trade freely without the imposition of new tariffs and will also mean no duties will be imposed on the vast majority [...]
May softens up to Corbyn talks as she pleads with MPs on Irish backstop February 10, 2019 Theresa May has moved to break the Brexit deadlock by inviting Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for fresh talks on the UK's membership of a customs union with the European Union. In a letter to the Labour leader, published late last night, May said she was prepared to hold further talks on a permanent customs union [...]
The Democrats’ rising star is borrowing policies from Ned Flanders February 10, 2019 The rockstar of the Democratic party, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, published House Resolution 109 of the 116th Congress last week, an ambitious non-binding resolution dubbed the Green New Deal, and over the weekend economists and academics went over it line by line. The historian Niall Ferguson summed up much of the hostile reaction: “This is what you [...]
James Brokenshire defends Chris Grayling after government scraps no-deal ferry contract February 10, 2019 Housing minister James Brokenshire this morning defended transport secretary Chris Grayling from calls that he should be sacked over the collapse of a no-deal Brexit ferry contract with a firm that had no ships. Asked by the BBC whether he had confidence in Tory MP Grayling following the cancellation of the contract, Brokenshire replied: "Chris Grayling [...]