House votes to end shutdown despite Trump veto threat over border wall January 4, 2019 The US House of Representatives has voted to end the partial government shutdown without funding President Donald Trump’s border wall. The congress, which is now under Democrat control, passed a bill to fund homeland security until 8 February, as well as measures to fund other federal agencies currently affected by the shutdown. But the move [...]
German politicians including Chancellor Angela Merkel have personal data hacked and published online January 4, 2019 The personal data of hundreds of German politicians has been published online following a targeted hacking attack, according to reports. Local media said hackers have released data from politicians across all major parties including credit card details and mobile phone numbers, with Chancellor Angela Merkel among those affected. The extent of the attack is not [...]
Mortgage approvals decline in November as Brexit uncertainty impacts housing market January 4, 2019 The number of mortgage approvals fell to a seven-month low in November as Brexit concerns continued to rattle the housing market. Mortgage approvals fell to 63,728 in November, down from 66,709 the previous month, according to new figures from the Bank of England (BoE) released today. Mortgage lending rose by £3.5bn in the same month, lower than the [...]
Poll: Most Tories would back a no-deal Brexit rather than support Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement January 4, 2019 More than half of Tory party members prefer a no-deal Brexit over Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement, a new poll today suggests. Around 57 per cent of Conservatives would support leaving the EU with no agreement compared to just 23 per cent prepared to back the Prime Minister’s vision. The Yougov poll, funded by the Economic and [...]
Alexa: Tell me why I can’t have a flying car like in Blade Runner January 4, 2019 Bad news: it’s 2019, and that means we are now living through the year in which the original Blade Runner film was set. Released in 1982, Blade Runner has some interesting ideas about 2019. Yes, it’s a post-apocalyptic dystopian hellscape where sentient bioengineered robots (“replicants”) must be hunted down against a backdrop of a dying [...]
Do not succumb to the ‘Fat Cat Friday’ outrage January 3, 2019 As if Greggs’ vegan sausage rolls hadn’t prompted enough misplaced shock and outrage for the start of a new year, you can expect more of the same this morning when campaigners declare it to be “Fat Cat Friday”. The High Pay Centre, which opposes current levels of executive remuneration, calculates that by this afternoon a [...]
Trump blames US government shutdown on Democrats’ 2020 election efforts January 3, 2019 US President Donald Trump has blamed the ongoing partial federal government shutdown on his opponents playing politics, as the new look Democrat-controlled congress convenes for the first time. Shortly before newly-elected members were sworn into the House of Representatives, including two Muslims, Trump said Democrats were “going all out on the desperately needed Wall and [...]
Oil price volatility driven by supply curbs and worries about economic contraction January 3, 2019 Oil prices were changeable today as evidence that production had dropped was counterbalanced by fears of an econonomic contraction that could hit demand. A survey from Reuters showed oil supply had its largest month-on-month drop since January 2017 in December. The 15 countries that make up the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) pumped [...]
DUP still has ‘principled objections’ to May’s Brexit deal after Downing Street meeting January 3, 2019 Theresa May’s hopes of winning key support for her Brexit deal appear to have suffered another blow after the DUP said its “principled objections” remain. Nigel Dodds, the DUP’s leader in Westminster, met with May in Downing Street on Thursday lunchtime as the Prime Minster sought to calm fears over the so-called ‘backstop’ in the [...]
Sir Terry Morgan to appear at London Assembly grilling over lead-up to Crossrail delay January 3, 2019 Former Crossrail chairman Sir Terry Morgan will give his account of the events leading up to the announcement of project's delay after Sadiq Khan accused him of "misremembering events". Morgan, who was ousted from his role in December, will appear before the London Assembly's transport committee next Wednesday as it probes his account of events leading [...]