-
Former Labour deputy Tom Watson joins Palantir as £330M NHS deal nears break point
Former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson has joined Palantir as UK senior vice president whilst the government considers ending the US tech firm’s controversial £330 million NHS contract. The appointment raises concerns about the revolving door between politics and technology companies, particularly as Palantir’s public sector contracts face increasing political scrutiny. Palantir has emphasised that…
-
Burnham faces demands to come clean with Brits about Russian ‘shadow war’ and hike defence spending – as France, Poland and Germany step up warnings
Andy Burnham and the Labour Government are facing pressure from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to explain how Britain will respond to Russia’s alleged “shadow war” against NATO countries. The calls follow warnings that Moscow could use drones, rockets and other hybrid tactics to intimidate European states supporting Ukraine, with…
-
‘We demand the truth’: Olga Tokarczuk and JM Coetzee lead calls for proof of life of disappeared Eritrean writers
More than 180 writers, including Nobel laureates Olga Tokarczuk and JM Coetzee, have renewed calls for proof of life from 12 Eritrean writers detained without trial since a 2001 crackdown on independent media. Organised by PEN International, the letter urges President Isaias Afwerki to provide verified information about their whereabouts, health and survival, highlighting the…
-
Giorgia Meloni scraps road tax for millions of Italians
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced the abolition of road tax for 14.5 million Italian cars and motorcycles from next year, at an estimated cost of over €2.3 billion. The policy applies to all motorcycles and over 70 per cent of small- and medium-sized cars, though citizens may use the exemption for only one insured…
-
Russians begin voting in staged election Putin is guaranteed to win – with parties that support his war the only ones allowed to enter
Russia began a three-day parliamentary election on Friday, with polling stations opening first in the Far East before progressing through the country’s eleven time zones. President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party is all but certain to win the vote for the 450 Duma seats, the first such election since the invasion of Ukraine in February…
-
Global leaders urged to join initiative to fight extreme inequality
More than 1,500 academics and economists from over 100 countries have signed an open letter urging global leaders to support the International Panel on Inequality (IPI), a new initiative being proposed ahead of next week’s UN general assembly. The signatories, including Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz and former US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen, argue that…
-
Former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson joins Palantir
Tom Watson, former Labour deputy leader and peer, has taken a full-time position as senior vice-president at Palantir, the controversial US artificial intelligence company. The appointment comes as Palantir faces pressure from Andy Burnham’s government to abandon its £330m NHS contract and battles Sadiq Khan in court over a blocked £50m Metropolitan police contract. Watson’s…
-
MPs urge ministers to break off Thames Water talks with US hedge funds
A cross-party group of MPs has called on the government to break off negotiations with US hedge funds controlling Thames Water and instead take direct public control of the company. The Efra committee, chaired by Alistair Carmichael, argues that ministers should consider emergency legislation to stabilise the financially troubled water company, which carries debts of…
-
Tony Burke claims Australia isn’t a mass migration nation. Here’s the data his critics say proves otherwise: PETER VAN ONSELEN
Immigration Minister Tony Burke has rejected the description of Australia as a “mass migration” nation, but columnist Peter van Onselen argues that population growth and migration figures support the term. The article says Australia’s population reached 28 million in June, far exceeding earlier projections, highlighting the pressure rapid growth may place on housing and infrastructure.…