Japan will keep hold of Russian LNG stake March 31, 2022 Japan will not abandon its stake in the Sakhalin-2 LNG project in Russia, which the prime minister argued is key for energy security.
Germany assured it will not have to pay for gas in roubles March 31, 2022 Germany will still to pay for Russian gas in euros or dollars, confirmed its government yesterday, despite Putin's push for rouble payments.
Homes for Ukraine scheme: Less than 10 per cent of visa applications approved March 31, 2022 Less than one tenth of visa applications have been approved through the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme, it has been revealed. The Home Office said it is “moving as quickly as possible” to make the process more efficient, as the UK handed out just 2,700 passes through its initiative, according to The Times. The programme pairs [...]
Truss to land in New Delhi to discuss closer defence ties with India March 30, 2022 Liz Truss will touch down in New Delhi today to speak to her Indian counterpart about strengthening defence ties with the Commonwealth country. The foreign secretary said in a statement today that deeper ties between India and Britain matter “even more in the context of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and underlines the need for [...]
Lord Nash steps down paving the way for new lead Whitehall director March 30, 2022 The government lead non-executive director resigned from his post yesterday. Lord Nash, who was appointed to the role by the Prime Minister in July 2020 for a three-year term, will be replaced in his Whitehall role by ex-director of Barclays Bank UK Michael Jary, according to Sky News’ Mark Kleinman. Insiders said yesterday that Michael [...]
Johnson says Ukrainian refugees can help ease UK labour shortages March 30, 2022 Tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees set to come to the UK will help ease the country’s labour shortages, Boris Johnson has said. The Prime Minister said “one of the problems our economy has” is “the need for more pairs of hands to do crucial jobs and one of the things the Ukrainians will be [...]
Raising taxes on working people is ‘bananas’, economists warn March 30, 2022 Raising taxes on working people while shielding other forms of income from levies is “bananas,” according to a top wonk’s analysis of chancellor Rishi Sunak’s spring statement. Hiking employers and employees national insurance contributions 1.25 percentage points in April instead of using income tax to raise revenue is the “opposite of what everybody thinks we [...]
Avocado price skyrockets to highest in two decades as Mexican drug gangs feud March 30, 2022 The price of avocados has skyrocketed to its highest for two decades, in part due to feuding drug gangs in Mexico which is one of the main global suppliers. The cost of the crop rose after a United States safety inspector in the country was threatened, leading to an import ban from the state of [...]
Netherlands stops short of emergency gas plans amid supply shortage fears March 30, 2022 The Dutch government will advise citizens and businesses to use less gas but has stopped short of activating emergency energy plans.
Kwarteng hires former BP boss to BEIS board amid energy security push March 30, 2022 Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has appointed Peter Mather, former UK boss of BP, onto the board of his department.