About time too: Hong Kong set to reopen border with mainland China December 24, 2022 Hong Kong’s leader says China has agreed to a reopening of the city’s border with the mainland, which has been largely closed by pandemic restrictions, and that he is aiming for a mid-January start. Chief executive John Lee, returning from a trip to Beijing where he met President Xi Jinping and other officials, told reporters [...]
Rishi Sunak hires Spectator journo James Forsyth as key political aide December 24, 2022 Rishi Sunak has hired James Forsyth, the Spectator’s political editor and a Times columnist, as his new political secretary. The news was broken by The Times and the Spectator. Forsyth will bolster Sunak’s key Downing Street team as the Prime Minister seeks to overcome a double-digit deficit in most election polls. He is a long-standing [...]
London braced for transport chaos as Christmas Eve train strike begins December 24, 2022 Strike action could bring chaos to millions of people on Christmas Eve, as walkouts hit rail services and Border Force action enters a second day. With one day to go until Christmas, travellers were being issued with warnings of delays, congestion and disruption. Fears of disorder at UK airports and long queues at passport control [...]
Rishi Sunak to Keir Starmer: Five bold predictions for British politics in 2023 December 24, 2022 If a week is a long time in politics, as Harold Wilson once said, then what on earth was 2022? Rishi Sunak started the year as Chancellor, spent a strange summer on the backbenches, and returned to Downing Street with the top job by Christmas. In an exhausting and traumatic 12 months the UK witnessed [...]
US-China tension: Taiwan spending angers Beijing power brokers December 24, 2022 Beijing has condemned an annual US defence spending bill for hyping up the “China threat”, but Taiwan welcomed the legislation, saying it demonstrated US support for the self-governing island that China says must come under its rule. “China deplores and firmly opposes this US move,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted online on [...]
Two people killed in central Paris shooting December 23, 2022 Two people have been killed and four hurt in a Paris shooting, authorities in France said. Two of the four people who were injured are in a critical condition, officials said. A 69-year-old has been arrested, with officials working to confirm their identity. The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear. Anti-terrorism prosecutors are [...]
Strikes: Thousands of nurses to walk out again in January as ambulance strike date called off December 23, 2022 Nurses will once again walk out over pay next year while ambulance worker union heads have called off strike action scheduled for next week. Nurses will strike on 18 and 19 January and further dates will be confirmed next year, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has announced. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had “left us [...]
Britain baulks at Biden’s £330bn green subsidy package December 23, 2022 Britain has voiced its disapproval of Joe Biden’s extensive US package for green subsidies, warning they are protectionist and could harm UK energy firms. Kemi Badenoch, the UK’s international trade secretary has reached out to her US counterpart, criticising the Biden administration’s £327bn ($395bn) green economy package. In a letter seen by the Financial Times, [...]
UK condemns North Korea for supplying arms to Russian Wagner Group mercenaries December 23, 2022 The UK has condemned North Korea for completing an arms delivery to Russia’s mercenaries in the notorious Wagner Group. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly made his comments on Thursday after the US released information claiming Pyongyang had completed an arms delivery, which is in breach of UN Security Council resolutions. Cleverly said: “The UK supports the [...]
Rishi Sunak hires Evercore investment banker as new ethics adviser December 22, 2022 Rishi Sunak has hired a new independent ethics adviser, after the last two holders of the post quit during Boris Johnson’s premiership. The Prime Minister has appointed Sir Magnus Laurie CBE, a senior investment banker at Evercore and chair of Historic England, as Number 10’s new independent adviser on ministers’ interests. Sunak said in a [...]