British public want deeper economic ties with EU, business secretary says pred 22 urami in 41 minutami Peter Kyle signs cooperation deal on competition and says it is not a case of being nostalgic for pre-Brexit pastThe British public are “not nostalgic” for the pre-Brexit past but are pragmatic and want to move forward and “deepen” ties with the EU on trade and the economy, the business secretary, Peter Kyle, has said.Signing an agreement in Brussels to cooperate closely on competition issues, Kyle said he thought the deal was “a real vindication of the reset and the relationships that have emerged between the EU and the UK” since Labour came to power. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Berlin film festival organisers to hold crisis talks amid Gaza rows pred 23 urami in 12 minutami Emergency meeting called to discuss festival’s ‘future direction’ after series of controversiesThe organisation that manages the Berlin film festival is to meet for talks amid reports that its American director faces dismissal after a series of rows over Gaza.In a statement on Wednesday, the office of Germany’s federal government commissioner for culture and media said the emergency meeting on Thursday had been called to debate the “future direction of the Berlinale”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Brazilian politician brothers convicted of ordering murder of Rio city councillor pred 23 urami in 23 minutami João Francisco Inácio Brazão and Domingos Inácio Brazão sentenced for murder of Marielle Franco, a gay Black woman and rising political star Two influential Brazilian politician brothers have been convicted by Brazil’s supreme court of ordering the murder of Marielle Franco, the Rio de Janeiro city councillor, nearly eight years ago.João Francisco Inácio Brazão, the former congressman known as Chiquinho, and the former adviser to Rio’s court of auditors Domingos Inácio Brazão were sentenced to 76 years and three months in prison for the murders of Franco, 38, and her driver, Anderson Gomes, 39. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US to offer passport services to citizens in illegal West Bank settlements pred 23 urami in 31 minutami Israel welcomes move described by Palestinian Authority as undermining possibility of an independent stateThe US will provide on-site consular services in two Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank for the first time, breaking with previous policy, in a move that has been criticised by Palestinian officials as “a clear violation of international law”.In a post on X, the US embassy in Jerusalem said that as part of an initiative to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence, it would provide Americans with routine passport services in the West Bank settlement of Efrat on Friday “for one day only”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Neuroscientist resigns from Columbia amid revelations about Epstein ties pred 23 urami in 56 minutami Nobel laureate Richard Axel announced resignation as co-director of Columbia University’s neuroscience instituteDr Richard Axel, a molecular biologist and Nobel laureate, has announced that he was stepping down as the leader of a prestigious neuroscience institute at Columbia University over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.Axel, who has taught at Columbia for 53 years, said in a statement on Tuesday that he would be leaving his post as co-director of the university’s Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute to “focus on research and teaching in my lab.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Treasury calls in Blair thinktank to advise on using AI across public services pred 1 dnevom in 1 minuto Tech equity campaigners compare move to ‘inviting in foxes to consult on the future of the henhouse’Ministers have called in Tony Blair’s thinktank and private tech companies to guide them on deploying AI across the UK government in a move campaigners compared to “inviting in foxes to consult on the future of the henhouse”.James Murray, chief secretary to the Treasury, chaired a meeting on Wednesday with the director of AI at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), the chair of IBM and senior executives at AI companies including Faculty AI, now part of Accenture, and Dex Hunter-Torricke, a former communications adviser at Google, Facebook and Elon Musk’s Space X. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Labour ministers explore ways of easing burden of plan 2 student loans pred 1 dnevom in 4 minutami Government looks at options such as increasing loan repayment thresholds amid growing pressureMinisters are examining ways to ease the burden of student loans after weeks of pressure over a policy pulling more people into repayments, the Guardian understands.The Treasury and the Department for Education are reviewing different options to offer relief to those with plan 2 student loans, which often leave graduates in England and Wales paying tens of thousands more than the original loan amount. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Confusion over Chagos Islands deal as Foreign Office denies handover ‘paused’ pred 1 dnevom in 9 minutami Minister ‘misspoke’ by telling MPs UK was ‘pausing for discussions with our American counterparts’, officials sayUK politics live – latest updatesPlans to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius are still on track, the UK government has insisted, after a minister caused confusion by telling MPs that the deal was “paused”.Hamish Falconer, a Foreign Office minister and former diplomat, was speaking on Wednesday as the deal came under increasing pressure from opposition parties in the UK and from Donald Trump. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
States sue Trump administration over changes to vaccine recommendations for children pred 1 dnevom in 35 minutami States call move an illegal threat to public health and argue CDC puts children’s lives at risk with new guidanceMore than a dozen states, including California, sued the Trump administration over its rollback of vaccine recommendations for children, calling the move an illegal threat to public health.The states argue that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put children’s lives at risk when it announced last month that it would stop recommending all children get immunized against the flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis and RSV. Under the new guidance, which was met with criticism from medical experts, protections against those diseases are recommended only for certain groups deemed high risk or when doctors recommend them in what’s called “shared decision-making.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Fly-tipping across England reaches record high pred 1 dnevom in 43 minutami Fines for illegal dumping decreased over past year with only 0.2% of incidents resulting in court actionFly-tipping incidents across England have reached the highest level since current records began, with most offences continuing to involve household waste.In 2024-25, 1.26m fly-tipping incidents were recorded by local authorities, an increase of 9% on the 1.15m reported in the year before, according to data released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on Wednesday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
