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Reform-linked thinktank prepares policy cutting inheritance and capital gains tax
A thinktank with close links to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is preparing a major policy document that is expected to propose substantial tax cuts benefiting the wealthiest taxpayers, according to a Bloomberg report. The Centre for a Better Britain (CFABB) is reportedly set to call for the abolition of inheritance tax and the phasing out…
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Inflation up to 3.1% as Piddington votes to secede over asylum housing
Rate rises, pension boost and an Oxfordshire village’s protest secession dominate, alongside US-South Africa visa tensions, a teenager’s Bering Sea survival, Anthropic’s Australian datacentre deal, and rows around Ed Sheeran’s tour and Tony Christie’s dementia.
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Wandsworth to impose 94 per cent council tax rise over funding shortfall
Wandsworth Council has warned that council tax bills could almost double, with a proposed rise of £958 for a Band D property, as the Tory-run authority blames a Labour Government funding cut of £84million a year. The council says the shortfall exceeds its combined spending on parks, libraries, leisure centres, bin collection and street cleaning,…
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Obama announces death of Portuguese Water Dog Sunny, aged 13
Former US President Barack Obama has announced the death of the family’s Portuguese Water Dog, Sunny, at the age of 13, describing the loss as that of “a cherished member of our family”. He shared the news in an emotional Instagram post on Tuesday, paying tribute to the dog’s loyalty and lively character during her…
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Trump EPA’s arguments for letting power plants spew unlimited pollution ‘dead wrong’
The US Environmental Protection Agency has moved to scrap all limits on planet-heating pollution from coal and gas power plants, with administrator Lee Zeldin claiming the change will lower Americans’ electricity bills and pose little climate risk. Environmental lawyers and analysts say both justifications collapse under scrutiny, arguing the rollback instead entrenches costly, polluting fossil…
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Scotland imposes mandatory environmental assessments on new datacentres
The Scottish government has announced that any new datacentre project above 50MW will be required to submit an environmental impact assessment as part of the planning process, ahead of a Holyrood vote on a proposed moratorium on new hyperscale datacentres. The move comes amid a surge in planning applications driven by global investment in AI…
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British mother remains missing after armed abduction in Malawi
Nusrat Osman, a 47-year-old British mother from Leicester, was abducted by four armed men in Blantyre, Malawi five days ago and remains missing with no contact from the captors. Her family has made a public appeal, but h
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AI datacentre boom will triple toxic electronic waste within 25 years
A report by the environmental group Basel Action Network (BAN) warns that the global rush to build datacentres for artificial intelligence will triple the world’s annual output of toxic electronic waste within 25 years, creating enough discarded equipment to fill shipping containers that could circle the globe six times. The report highlights that there is…
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Polanski releases French campaign video following Urdu appeal backlash
Green Party leader Zack Polanski has released a campaign video appealing to French-speaking voters ahead of the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, days after facing criticism for campaigning in Urdu. The French-language clip, in which he apologises for his pronunciation, appears to be a pointed response to Conservative critics who accused him of pandering to…
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‘If you’re building Frankenstein, stop’: JD Vance dismisses calls for AI regulation
US Vice-President JD Vance has dismissed calls for global regulation of artificial intelligence safety risks, telling AI companies creating advanced models to address risks themselves rather than seek government intervention. His comments targeted Dario Amodei of Anthropic, who has called for international coordination to control AI systems, marking a key moment in an intensifying debate…