Ex-minister: Billions lost in Covid fraud ‘one of biggest cock-ups’ in recent history March 15, 2022 Billions of taxpayer money lost through Covid loan fraud is “one of the most colossal cock-ups in recent government management”, the ex-fraud minister has said. Lord Theodore Agnew told MPs on Westminster’s business committee that he was told to “butt out” by Treasury officials when he tried to crack down on fraudsters taking out Covid [...]
Major breakthrough in Iran: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe gets passport back as UK negotiators land in Tehran March 15, 2022 A British negotiating team is in the Iranian capital to discuss the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe while the British-Iranian mother has had her passport returned, her local MP has said. Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been detained in Iran since her arrest in 2016 on charges of plotting to overthrow the government – allegations she has always [...]
Onlookers expect Russia to default on £90m duo international bond repayments March 15, 2022 Onlookers are expecting Russia to default on its foreign creditors, as Moscow seeks to repay two bonds in roubles – which has fallen over 40 per cent against the dollar. It would be the first time this had occurred since the Bolshevik revolution in 1917 under Bolshevik Lenin, The Times first reported. Russia’s economy is [...]
New Zealand halves public transport fares amid soaring inflation, fuel prices March 15, 2022 New Zealand has halved prices for public transport in response to soaring fuel costs sparked by the war in Ukraine. Its Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the call saying the “global energy crisis has quickly become acute”. However, her government has been criticised for the rising cost of living even before the war started, with [...]
Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirms support for North Sea oil and gas industry March 14, 2022 Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave his backing to the North Sea oil and gas industry as the UK looks to ensure supply security.
Editorial: No sympathy for the sanctioned, but seizures are dangerous path to tread March 14, 2022 It is not easy to feel much sympathy for Oleg Deripaska, whose mansion on Belgrave Square was squatted by a group of protestors yesterday, ostensibly to reclaim it as a home for Ukrainian refugees. It is notably more than the Government itself has managed so far with regards to working out where and how the [...]
‘Like a rogue builder’: Inside the long-delayed City Hall relocation to the Crystal March 14, 2022 Sadiq Khan’s decision to move City Hall to the Royal Docks was always going to be a tough sell for Greater London Authority (GLA) staff used to the metropolitan surrounds of Southwark and a public largely apathetic toward local politics. The abject difficulties in renovating the Crystal, and the concomitant delays, have made this task [...]
Ukrainians will need to know prospective UK sponsor to get refugee visa, says Gove March 14, 2022 Ukrainians trying to come to the UK, without family already here, will need to have a “connection” with their prospective sponsor to get a refugee visa, housing secretary Michael Gove has said. Gove said Ukrainian refugees will need to organise a sponsor themselves before they get here, but that he wants to “rapidly expand the [...]
Home Office under investigation for searching hundreds of migrants’ phones March 14, 2022 The Home Office is under investigation after migration officers took data from hundreds of mobile phones seized from migrants who crossed the English Channel. As first reported by Sky News as part of a freedom of information request, the case relates to 850 individuals who were part of a departmental programme called Project Sunshine. It [...]
Israel will not be a ‘route to bypass sanctions imposed on Russia’ March 14, 2022 Israel’s foreign minister has insisted the country will not be a “route to bypass sanctions imposed on Russia”. Centrist politician Yair Lapid made his comments in Bratislava with his Slovakian counterpart, amid growing concerns that some Russian-Jewish oligarchs could use Israel to get around harsh sanctions. This come after the UK, US and European Union [...]
