Afghanistan: Taliban announces ‘amnesty’ and claims women should join new government August 17, 2021 The Taliban has declared an “amnesty” for all government workers in Afghanistan and urged women to join their new government, in an effort to convince the domestic and international community of a more moderate approach as they take control of the country. Two days after the Taliban’s week-long blistering offensive across the country culminated in [...]
New Zealand to enter strict lockdown after single Covid-19 case detected August 17, 2021 New Zealand is set to enter its highest level of lockdown tonight after detecting a single case of Covid-19 in Auckland, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed. A 58-year-old man has been found to have the virus – the first coronavirus case within New Zealand’s borders for 170 days. The strict restrictions comes amid concerns [...]
Holidaymakers paying millions for PCR tests that ‘aren’t checked for new variants’, say Lib Dems August 17, 2021 UK holidaymakers are paying out millions of pounds for PCR tests that aren’t checked for new Covid variants, research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed. Holidaymakers paid an estimated £26.7m for PCR tests in July while only 293 positive tests were checked for variants, equivalent to around £90,000 for each sequenced result. Fewer than one [...]
PM set to unveil ‘bespoke plan’ to help settle vulnerable Afghans in UK August 17, 2021 The Prime Minister will unveil a “bespoke” resettlement scheme for vulnerable Afghans as efforts to get British nationals and other support staff back to the UK continue. Boris Johnson would give more information about the refugee scheme in the coming days, with the policy anticipated to be focused on helping women and girls, Number 10 [...]
Dominic Raab: Speed of Taliban takeover of Afghanistan took UK by surprise August 16, 2021 Dominic Raab has said the Taliban’s lightning quick takeover of Afghanistan took the UK by surprise as 150 UK nationals are set to arrive home early tomorrow morning. Raab, speaking after a Cobra meeting chaired by Boris Johnson, said a further 350 British nationals and Afghani visa holders would be evacuated to the UK in [...]
Joanna Lumley urges govt to meet with Gurkhas as hunger strike outside Downing Street enters ninth day August 16, 2021 A group of Gurkha veterans outside Number 10 is calling for equal pensions for Gurkhas who retired before 1997 and are not eligible for a full UK armed forces pension. As of Sunday, the Support Our Gurkhas protesters had reached their ninth day of not eating. Today, actress and campaigner Joanna Lumley has urged the [...]
Canada snap election: Justin Trudeau’s massive political gamble August 16, 2021 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday called an early election for 20 September, saying he needed a new mandate to ensure voters approved of his Liberal government’s plan to recover from the global health crisis. Is he taking a massive political gamble? Watch the full report.
Boris Johnson to chair Cobra meeting today as UK tries to get nationals out of Afghanistan August 16, 2021 Boris Johnson will hold a Cobra meeting at 12.30pm today as the government tries to get thousands of UK nationals and foreign visa holders out of Afghanistan. Number 10 said the current focus was on getting hundreds of people out of Kabul each day as the security situation becomes more dangerous in the Afghani capital. [...]
Government to review energy firms that exaggerate their green credentials August 16, 2021 The government is set to launch a review into energy tariffs that falsely claim to be green amid concerns that some firms are exaggerating their environmental credentials. Energy minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said 9m households are on energy tariffs that are branded as 100 per cent renewable or green, but industry figures have warned the claims may [...]
Group behind Hong Kong mass protests disbands amid police suppression August 16, 2021 Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), the pro-democracy group that organises some of Hong Kong’s biggest protests, will disband amid threats of police probe. Founded in 2002, the group organised its first rally on 1 July 2003, when half a million people took to the streets to protest against a draft national security law, known as [...]