However, prominent critics such as MP Joanna Cherry and Ash Regan, a former minister who quit to vote against the plans, have continued to speak out against party policy. Many more SNP figures are privately dismayed over Ms Sturgeon’s refusal to back down over an issue that opinion polling suggests puts her at odds with … Read more
The Bank of England has raised interest rates by 0.5 percentage points to 4pc, the highest level since the financial crisis. Last year rate increases across the globe triggered a stock market sell-off, as the rising cost of borrowing took the steam out of a decade’s worth of debt-fuelled growth. But some stocks are more … Read more
The compound consists of a dilapidated house with a rusty corrugated iron roof and about 20 thatched mud huts. The family has grown to be so vast that Mr Hasahya said he can no longer afford to look after them all. The 68-year-old has ordered his 12 wives to take contraceptive measures. “At first it … Read more
King Charles III will not feature on Australia’s new $5 banknote, which will instead have an Indigenous design, the country’s central bank said on Thursday. The mauve-coloured $5 bill was Australia’s only remaining bank note to still feature an image of the monarch. Australia’s Reserve Bank said the move would honour “the culture and history … Read more
According to Matthew Baylis, the Oxendale chair of veterinary epidemiology at the University of Liverpool, the combined circumstances of a widespread bird flu outbreak and non-biosecure mink farms present a clear danger. “We worry about influenza viruses that are a mix and affect different hosts, as we saw with H5N1 and swine flu [in 2009]. … Read more
“We’ve recently detected events both here in and around the world – evidence that this virus can on certain occasions jump into other species,” he said. “To be clear, though, this is still a bird virus essentially, that wants to be in birds.” There have been 279 cases of (HPAI) H5N1 in England since the … Read more
Her intervention came ahead of a vote by MSPs on whether Mr Swinney’s Budget for the coming financial year should clear its first parliamentary hurdle. The SNP and Greens, the two coalition parties in Ms Sturgeon’s government, together enjoy a majority at Holyrood that should ensure its passage. The National Care Service would transfer responsibility … Read more
Children should not have to spend time with their grandparents if they don’t want to, Italy’s highest court has ruled. In Italy, the bonds between children and their “nonni” are considered practically sacred, with grandparents often picking kids up from school and looking after them until their parents return from work. Grandparents dote on their … Read more
The Ukrainian-born businessman with Jewish heritage famously helped to bankroll Azov, a volunteer battalion, known for having far-Right leanings in its infancy, which over the years got rid of some of its most notorious elements and evolved into an ordinary military unit. The oligarch’s fortunes began to sour in 2021 when the US sanctioned him … Read more
The commission told the ambassadors it was keeping the details of the negotiations close to its chest to prevent leaks. It was confident the source of this leak was in London rather than European capitals. “Is this Westminster testing the waters towards Belfast and the DUP or trying to leverage negotiations with Brussels?” the diplomat, … Read more