MPs jump on Brown’s fuel rebate plans August 11, 2008 Gordon Brown’s plans for a fuel rebate for all families on child benefit were rubbished yesterday for being “indiscriminate”, with the payment set to help the rich as well as the poor. It emerged yesterday that the Prime Minister is mulling proposals to give £150 to the 7m families who receive child benefit, to help [...]
Georgia pulls forces out of rebel region August 11, 2008 Georgian forces pulled out of the breakaway South Ossetia region yesterday after three days of fighting, with Russia saying its troops controlled most of the separatist capital Tskhinvali. A Georgian convoy of troops and artillery left South Ossetia through Ergneti, a village just inside Georgian held territory south of Tskhinvali. “They have been withdrawn, completely,” [...]
Rivals move to impeach Musharraf August 8, 2008 Pakistan’s ruling coalition will move to impeach President Pervez Musharraf on charges of plunging the country into a political and economic crisis, party leaders said yesterday. They also warned Musharraf, a former general who first came to power in a 1999 military coup, against any attempt to dismiss the government. The move is likely to [...]
Informant says Maddy stolen to order August 8, 2008 An informant told police in London that Madeleine McCann was stolen to order by an international paedophile ring, according to newly released documents. The unnamed source said a spotter took photographs of her while she was on holiday with her family in Portugal and sent them to the group in Belgium. The ring then ordered [...]
Osama bin Laden’s driver is convicted August 7, 2008 A Military court yesterday convicted Osama bin Laden’s driver of supporting terrorism but acquitted him on the more serious charge of conspiring with Al Quaeda in the first US war crimes trial since World War Two. The trial of Yemeni captive Salim Hamdan at the remote US naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba was [...]
Darling mulls stamp duty suspension August 6, 2008 The Treasury yesterday refused to deny reports that the Chancellor has plans to temporarily abolish stamp duty on house purchases. Yesterday morning, Alistair Darling took to the airwaves and hinted he may try to jump-start the ailing housing market by bringing forward proposals to suspend stamp duty. Details of the move, which would bring much [...]
Rwanda has a pop at France for genocide August 6, 2008 Rwanda formally accused senior French officials yesterday of involvement in its 1994 genocide and called for them to be put on trial. Among those named in a report by a Rwandan investigation commission were former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and late President Francois Mitterrand. Kigali has previously accused Paris of covering up its [...]
It’s time to take a punt on politics August 4, 2008 The quick changes in the political landscape offer opportunities for spreadbetters, says Chris Shillington A week is a long time in politics, as Harold Wilson said, but the few minutes it takes to read a 1,000 word article can also be a significant period. Especially if the article in question is one written by foreign [...]
Cabinet backs Brown after Blair memo August 4, 2008 Three cabinet ministers threw their weight behind the embattled prime minister yesterday in an attempt to defuse the speculation surrounding his leadership. Chancellor Alistair Darling, deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman and Skills Secretary John Denham all endorsed Gordon Brown, insisting he is the right man for the job. Denham said Brown had the skills necessary [...]
A year on from Northern Rock, what next for mortgages? August 4, 2008 The question of whether the government can rescue the mortgage market is now being asked by its own advisers, as if the mortgage market can be sorted out in some kind of a vacuum, detached from the rest of the banking sector. I can understand ministers want to stabilise house prices, and that making more [...]