Thursday, February 13

Day: January 1, 2017

Ten Simple Political Predictions For 2017
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Ten Simple Political Predictions For 2017

    At the end of 2015 I made a number of predictions for UK politics. Of the ten predictions, around half came true. I was right about Jeremy Corbyn remaining leader of the Labour party and that his popularity in the party would increase. I was right that the Labour vote nationwide would decline and they would lose council seats. I was right that UKIP would become more popular (I'm basing that on polls at the moment, but it certainly isn't less popular than it was 12 months ago). I was half right that Boris Johnson would be moved to a senior post in government, but I never saw that it would be Theresa May doing it and not David Cameron. I was also quite wrong on a few things. I was utterly wrong about the EU referendum, the Mayoralty in London (Zac lost not one but two electi...
2017 could be the worst year ever for retirees
ENGLISH, Life Style

2017 could be the worst year ever for retirees

    While retirees have enjoyed a comparatively easy ride through the financial turmoil of the last few years, 2017 could be the year all that comes to an end. Pension cuts are coming: what's going to happen and when? In the recent Autumn Statement, Chancellor Philip Hammond pledged to keep the 'triple lock' on state pensions for the rest of this parliament, guaranteeing that they will rise each year either with inflation, in line with wage rises, or by 2.5%, whichever is higher. However, he made it very clear that this deal certainly couldn't be guaranteed if the Conservatives won another term in power. And, meanwhile, pensioners are facing more financial pressure than they have done for years. Pensions set to be a quarter of what current pensioners get In a new survey for in...
Queen could not attend New Year’s Day service due to heavy cold
ENGLISH, London

Queen could not attend New Year’s Day service due to heavy cold

    The Queen could not attend a New Year’s Day service at Sandringham after coming down the heavy cold. Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh were forced to delay their journey from Buckingham Palace to their Norfolk estate in the days before Christmas after she fell ill. The 90-year-old also had to miss the Christmas Day ceremony at St Mary Magdalene Church, which other members of the royal family attended. Buckingham Palace said the Queen was still suffering the effects of the cold and had decided not to attend the service with other members of the royal family. The Queen has had the cold for more than a week, although she is understood to be up and about. Prince Philip is expected to attend the service, led by the Bishop of Norwich, after fully recovering from his cold. It...
London’s Boris bus dumped as Sadiq khan halts purchases
ENGLISH, London

London’s Boris bus dumped as Sadiq khan halts purchases

    Sadiq Khan has dumped the Boris bus, a key part of the now foreign secretary’s legacy as London mayor, because it is too expensive to produce. The new generation of red double-decker Routemasters, with folding doors that allow passengers to hop on and off, was introduced by Johnson in 2012, to great fanfare. Designer Thomas Heatherwick was credited with giving the new Routemaster a modern London look. After the bus was first introduced, he said it was a compliment that it had so quickly become part of London’s landscape and personality. Heatherwick also designed the cauldron for the opening of the 2012 London Olympics as well as the so-called Garden Bridge, yet to be built across the river Thames. At the time, the London mayor described the new bus, built by Northern Irela...
ISIS planning mass attack in Britain and has no moral barrier to using chemical weapons
ENGLISH, Europe

ISIS planning mass attack in Britain and has no moral barrier to using chemical weapons

    ISIS is planning a mass casualty attack against Britain, with no moral barrier to using chemical weapons, a minister has warned. Security minister Ben Wallace said the chemical threat was the potential realisation of everybody's worst fear. Wallace said there were reports of IS using chemical weapons in Syria and Iraq, where it controls large areas, and that Moroccan authorities apprehended a cell in February which was harbouring substances that could be used to either make a bomb or a deadly toxin. Mr Wallace said: Experts have warned that their ambition is a mass casualty attack and they have no moral barrier to using whatever means possible. It came after he told the Sunday Times: The ambition of IS or Daesh is definitely mass casualty attacks. They want to harm as many...
Istanbul terror attack: Gunman dressed as Santa kills 39 in Reina nightclub
ENGLISH, Europe

Istanbul terror attack: Gunman dressed as Santa kills 39 in Reina nightclub

    At least 39 people were killed and another 69 wounded when a gunman opened fire at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey on Jan. 1, 2017, according to Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin called it a terrorist attack and told reporters the gunman first shot a police officer and a civilian as he entered the club in Ortakoy district. Police have cordoned off the area and ambulances are on the scene but the whereabouts of the attacker is still unknown. An armored police vehicle blocks a road leading to the club. A gunman reportedly dressed in a Santa costume killed at least 39 people, including 16 foreigners, at a famous nightclub in Istanbul during New Year's Eve celebrations. Armed with a long-barrelled weapon, the attacker shot a polic...