President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address will be streamed on Amazon, YouTube, and the White House’s own website January 11, 2016 US president Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address will be available to stream on Amazon Video, YouTube, and the White House’s own website. The move comes in response to dwindling figures for the annual speech; while 52m people tuned in to Obama’s first address to Congress in 2009, figures for last year's speech slumped [...]
Kyriakos Mitsotakis clinches victory in Greek opposition leadership election January 10, 2016 The Greek opposition party New Democracy tonight elected underdog Kyriakos Mitsotakis as its leader. With 75 per cent of the vote counted, Mitsotakis, son of former Greek Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis, had secured 51.6 per cent of the vote. His opponent, Evangelos Meimarakis, has called him to congratulate him. Mitsotakis had lost the first round of voting in December, when [...]
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says he wants to impose local income taxes as shadow chancellor John McDonnell repeats commitment to restoring 50p top rate January 10, 2016 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has reportedly suggested imposing local income taxes, telling a private lunch in Westminster that he wants "genuine regional taxation powers" in England. Corbyn's apparent proposed levy would be on top of existing national income tax and council taxes. According to the Mail on Sunday, Corbyn has yet to specify how much tax regions [...]
Northern Ireland secretary Theresa Villiers under pressure to resign post if she campaigns for Brexit January 9, 2016 Northern Ireland secretary Theresa Villiers has been called on to resign if she ends up campaigning for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union ahead of the upcoming referendum. Villiers is said to be ready to campaign for Brexit, which would likely damage the economy in Northern Ireland, making her position untenable, opponents claim. [...]
Paris terror attacks: Belgium police find possible bomb factory in Brussels during December raid January 8, 2016 Belgian police have found an apartment in Brussels where they believe explosives used in the Paris terror attacks were manufactured. Traces of explosive acetone peroxide and handmade belts were found in a dawn raid at the apartment in the district of Schaerbeek on 10 December, prosecutors said in a statement on Friday. The finding adds [...]
British National Party removed by Electoral Commission from its official list of political parties after BNP fails to register January 8, 2016 The Electoral Commission has removed the British National Party (BNP) from its official list of registered political parties after the BNP failed to confirm its registration details with the commission. Registering details of a political party with the Electoral Commission on an annual basis is a legal requirement. "The BNP’s statement of accounts were due on 7 July [...]
Vodafone joins Apple and Google in slamming UK government’s Investigatory Powers Bill, warning that the snoopers’ charter risks undermining trust January 7, 2016 Vodafone has slammed the government’s so-called snoopers’ charter, warning that the proposed legislation to monitor communication risks undermining trust in British telco firms. Vodafone has expressed concern that authorities’ power to tap into and access its network would be a “major imposition on the freedom of an operator”. In a submission to the Draft Investigatory [...]
Prime Minister David Cameron says he will not rule out imposing a new tax on sugary drinks January 7, 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron has left the door open to putting a new tax on sugary drinks, telling reporters this afternoon that he would not be "in the business of ruling things out" when it comes to tackling obesity. At a press conference in Hungary, Cameron said that while he would like to avoid imposing any [...]
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn meets with British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and Confederation of British Industry (CBI) nearly four months after taking the reins of the Labour party January 7, 2016 Jeremy Corbyn is apparently launching a charm offensive to woo British businesses this week, meeting with executives at both the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and the Confederation of British Industry for the first time since being selected as Labour leader last September. A BCC spokesman confirmed to City A.M. that Corbyn met privately with BCC director [...]
EU referendum: BMW executives say they want the UK to stay in the EU as Prime Minister David Cameron continues tour of Germany and Hungary January 7, 2016 Bosses at the German car giant BMW warned against Britain leaving the European Union today, as Prime Minister David Cameron toured the car company's manufacturing plant in Munich. Ian Robertson, director of sales at the company, said BMW would "regret" seeing the UK leave the EU. "The UK has the most diverse car industry in [...]