PM reveals Russia World Cup boycott, diplomats to be thrown out of the UK, assets to be frozen, and a new law after Sergei Skripal “attempted murder” March 14, 2018 The UK will expel 23 Russian diplomats as part of a series of measures following the "attempted murder" of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, with Theresa May laying the blame for the attack at Russian President Putin's feet. According to the Prime Minister, the diplomats have been identified as "undeclared intelligence agents." The expulsion [...]
DEBATE: After the attack on Sergei Skripal, should England’s football team boycott the World Cup in Russia? March 14, 2018 After the attack on Sergei Skripal, should England’s football team boycott the World Cup in Russia? Robert Colvile, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, says YES. Russia is a gangster state. It has murdered on British soil, invaded its neighbours and annexed their territory, sponsored the partisans who shot down Flight MH17, interfered with [...]
The social media battle against fake news has begun – beware your own emotions March 14, 2018 Did Donald Tusk, the former Prime Minister of Poland and now president of the European Council, conspire with Vladimir Putin to murder the President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski? Many Poles believe this preposterous story, I learned last week at a fascinating conference on social influence at the University of Warsaw. In 2010, a Polish Air [...]
The big winners from an Aramco listing will be the bankers March 13, 2018 Britain’s bankers and City advisors are very excited about the mooted flotation of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Aramco. The potential fees – and therefore bonuses – generated are likely to be astonishing. It will be trebles all round, as they say in Private Eye. However, as an investment proposition there may be less to [...]
Rex Tillerson backs UK but Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov rejects Theresa May’s Skripal claims as “nonsense” March 13, 2018 Russia’s foreign minister has rejected the UK’s claims that Moscow was behind the attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia as “nonsense”, saying his country had “no relation” with the attempted murder. Sergei Lavrov this morning claimed the UK had blocked him from accessing materials relevant to the case, and said Russia [...]
Prime Minister Theresa May: “Highly likely” Russia was behind double agent Sergei Skripal poisoning with Novichok nerve agent March 12, 2018 The Prime Minister has said it is “highly likely” the nerve agent used against former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia last weekend. Speaking just hours after chairing a second National Security Council meeting, Theresa May told MPs the pair had been “poisoned by military grade agent, of a type developed by Russia”. [...]
Boris Johnson sparks speculation of England boycott of World Cup in Russia March 6, 2018 Foreign secretary Boris Johnson raised alarm bells in the House of Commons yesterday when he appeared to suggest that the England team could boycott this summer’s World Cup in Russia. Speaking following the collapse of former spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, Johnson told MPs that it would be difficult for England’s participation at the World [...]
Boris Johnson: Sergei Skripal case has “echoes” of Alexander Litvinenko’s poisoning March 6, 2018 Boris Johnson has said the apparent attempted poisoning of Sergei Skripal has “echoes” of the Alexander Litvinenko case more than a decade ago. The foreign secretary insisted he did not want to prejudge the ongoing police investigation into the events of Salisbury, which have left Skripal and his daughter critically ill and in intensive care. [...]
What happened when we got a job picking weed in California’s booming cannabis industry March 5, 2018 The rugged wilderness of Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity Counties, northern California’s “Emerald Triangle”, produces over half the cannabis consumed in the US. Every year, from September to December, the region swarms with seasonal agricultural workers known as “trimmers”, or “trimmigrants”, here to work the land to supply America’s legion of stoners. For years the going [...]
Last Week in the City: Trump threatens trade war March 2, 2018 This week US President Donald Trump threatened a trade war, a number of famous high street names, including Toys R Us and Maplin, got into serious trading trouble and upbeat assessments of the US economy from central bankers helped the US dollar to rally, reversing its recent trend. The FTSE 100 fell 0.2 per cent [...]