Covid-hit China: What is Britain and the rest of the world doing on travel restrictions? January 4, 2023 Covid-19 cases have shot through the roof in China – but Beijing premier Xi Jingping is still dead set on removing the zero-Covid policy, including removing restrictions on travel. Countries across the world are being forced to once again grapple with what restrictions to put in place to reduce the spread of Covid-19 and any [...]
Matt Hancock leaves Matt Hancock app – and tells followers they can find him on TikTok January 4, 2023 Matt Hancock has said “farewell” to his app after almost five years and told its users they will be able to get his latest updates on TikTok. The former health secretary and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! 2022 contestant launched the “Matt Hancock MP” app in 2018. At the time, Mr Hancock [...]
Maths to 18: Sunak’s “personal” mission to boost the nation’s numeracy – but Labour tell him to “show his working” January 4, 2023 The Prime Minister will set out his plan to ensure all pupils in England study some form of maths until aged 18 in his first speech of 2023. On Wednesday, Rishi Sunak will lay out his priorities and ambitions for the year ahead, which will include a new mission to combat high rates of innumeracy [...]
Osborne set to OK loan of Elgin Marbles to Greece: reports January 4, 2023 The so-called Elgin Marbles could soon be returned to Greece as the British Museum reportedly closes in on a landmark deal. George Osborne, chairman of the British Museum and former Tory chancellor, is understood to have drawn up an agreement with Athens as part of a “cultural exchange”, according to The Daily Telegraph. It comes [...]
New TUC boss demands urgent meeting with Sunak to resolve public sector strikes January 3, 2023 The new General Secretary of the TUC has called for an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister in a bid to break the deadlocked industrial disputes sweeping across the country. Paul Nowak called for a change in government direction, saying ministers should open pay negotiations with unions. In a letter to Rishi Sunak, Nowak said [...]
Barracks blast leaves 63 Russians dead as pressure on Putin grows over war in Ukraine January 3, 2023 A blast which killed 63 Russians in a temporary barracks has once again ignited anger at home – with nationalist bloggers putting pressure on Kremlin top brass and Vladimir Putin Russia acknowledged on Monday that scores of its troops were killed in one of the Ukraine war’s deadliest strikes, drawing demands from Russian nationalist bloggers [...]
Brexit: Protocol ‘too strict’ and mistakes made on all sides, Ireland’s Varadkar says January 3, 2023 Brexit mistakes were made on all sides according to Ireland’s Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, but vowed to be “flexible and reasonable” when attempting to solve issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol. He conceded that the post-Brexit protocol is “too strict” and said he understands unionist concerns that the treaty has made them feel less British. Mr [...]
Ukraine says 63 Russian soldiers were killed in strike on military base January 2, 2023 Some 63 Russian soldiers have been killed by a Ukrainian strike on a military facility in the eastern Donetsk region. Ukrainian forces fired six rockets from a HIMARS launch system and two of them were shot down, a Russian defence ministry statement said. The strike, using a US-supplied precision weapon that has proven critical in [...]
Tell-all book to reveal ‘blatant calumnies and dark manoeuvres’ against Pope Benedict XVI January 2, 2023 Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s longtime personal secretary has written a tell-all book that his publisher has promised would tell the truth about the “blatant calumnies”, “dark manoeuvres”, mysteries and scandals that sullied the reputation of a pontiff best known for his historic resignation. Archbishop Georg Gaenswein’s Nothing But The Truth: My Life Beside Pope Benedict [...]
MoD accused of ‘blowing millions’ on car hires while cutting Army size January 2, 2023 The Ministry of Defence has been accused of “blowing millions” of pounds on hire cars and taxis last year while cutting the size of the Army. A freedom of information (FoI) request by the PA news agency revealed the MoD spent £16.6m on hire cars for staff in the year to November, up from £12.9m [...]