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Disability benefit claimants should keep getting paid in cash and face only ‘light touch’ assessment of their claims – review
A government-commissioned review led by social security minister Sir Stephen Timms has recommended that disability benefit claimants continue receiving cash payments rather than services, and face only a “light-touch initial assessment” when claiming personal independence payment (Pip). The draft proposals, published ahead of a full report this autumn, come despite mounting political pressure over the…
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George W. Bush reflects on what REALLY happened between FBI and CIA in Oval Office after 9/11
Former US President George W. Bush and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave a candid account of the chaos inside the White House immediately after the 11 September 2001 attacks, speaking at his presidential library in Dallas as the 25th anniversary of the atrocity was marked. Rice recalled that the FBI and CIA had…
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Barraza sprints unarmoured after Bondi shots, markets slump, Zverev into US Open semis
Cesar Barraza details his split-second dash without vest or vest gear during the Bondi attack, as the ASX suffers its worst day in six months and Malinauskas defends migration; FitzSimons testifies at the Alan Jones trial and Zverev reaches the US Open semi-finals.
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Gleeful Scottish separatists seize on Burnham Indyref gaffe as election guru warns there may be enough support to justify new vote on his terms
Scottish nationalists have pounced on a comment by Andy Burnham during Prime Minister’s Questions in which he suggested there was no majority public support in Scotland for a fresh independence referendum, only for polling expert Sir John Curtice to say that claim could be challenged. Burnham had argued a new vote could only happen if…
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Ministers rejected NATS reimbursement plan before 2,000 UK flights were cancelled
The UK government opposed an amendment that would have forced air traffic control provider NATS to reimburse airlines for passenger compensation following its failures, only weeks before a major system outage this week led to roughly 2,000 flight cancellations and disrupted around 330,000 passengers. The revelation, raised by Liberal Democrat MP Luke Taylor in a…
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OpenAI not on track to reduce risk of ‘catastrophic’ loss of control, says board member
Paul Christiano, a US government technology adviser and former OpenAI alignment lead, has warned that OpenAI is not on track to reduce the risk of a “catastrophic” and irreversible loss of control over AI systems to an acceptable level. He made the comments as he joined the board of OpenAI’s non-profit foundation, where he will…
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Presidential flip? GOP insider predicts Trump change of mind on key AI policy ahead of midterms
A Republican insider and longtime Trump ally, Amy Kremer, predicts that President Donald Trump will soften his strong backing of AI data centre expansion once he hears directly from voters while campaigning for the midterms this autumn. Kremer, founder of the group “Humans First” and a Republican National Committee member, argues that Trump is currently…
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Public inquiry ordered for Haslar detention centre expansion
The Planning Inspectorate has ordered a public inquiry into government plans to reopen and vastly expand the Haslar Immigration Removal Centre in Gosport, Hampshire, as a 600-bed detention facility for men. The move follows sustained local opposition, with residents saying the Home Office used a “Crown Development” process to bypass normal council planning routes, denying…
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Labour picks Somali refugee to fight by-election for Starmer’s old seat… as Zack Polanski faces struggle to be Green hopeful
Labour has selected Camden Council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali, who arrived in the UK as a child refugee from Somalia in the 1990s, as its candidate for the by-election in Sir Keir Starmer’s former seat of Holborn and St Pancras, to be held on 8 October. The contest follows Starmer’s announcement that he is standing down…