Tuesday, February 18

Day: June 30, 2018

NHS may cut unnecessary ops to save millions of pounds a year
Featured, United Kingdom

NHS may cut unnecessary ops to save millions of pounds a year

    Seventeen procedures have been earmarked for the chop Breast reductions, tonsil removals, and operations to stop people snoring are among several procedures that could no longer be offered by the NHS as part of a drive to save millions of pounds a year. Such treatments have been identified as risky or unnecessary, which the health service has said could be dealt with in a more cost-effective manner, including through injections, dietary changes and physiotherapy. The proposal to cut back on the number of operations offered will be discussed by the NHS England board of directors next week, after which it go out to consultation. NHS England drew up a list of 17 procedures including grommets for glue ear and the removal of skin lesions with input from the National Ins...
British people obtaining EU citizenship since referendum
Featured, United Kingdom

British people obtaining EU citizenship since referendum

    A surge has been recorded in the number of British people obtaining the nationality of another EU member state since the referendum, with German citizenship being the most frequently sought after. According to new data obtained by the BBC from 17 out of 27 EU member states, 12,994 British citizens obtained nationality from another member state in 2017. It claims this compares with 5,025 in 2016 a 158 per cent increase and just 1,800 in 2015. Germany was the most the popular member state for Britons seeking citizenship, with 7,493 people gaining nationality in 2017 compared with 2,702 in the previous year a 177 per cent increase. The BBC claims this dramatic rise is consistent among many EU member states, with France the second most popular and Belgium the third wi...
Can US tech giants continue their stellar rise
Featured, Technology

Can US tech giants continue their stellar rise

    The US technology giants collectively known as Faangs Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google. They are just five companies but they are together worth more than the huge international businesses that make up the entire FTSE 100, more than the companies that comprise Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, and more than Germany’s Dax and France’s Cac 40 put together. They are the US technology giants collectively known as Faangs Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google (owned by Alphabet these days) and their stellar stock market performances of the past few years has continued in the first six months of 2018 despite a number of serious headwinds. Technology companies in general have been buffeted by Donald Trump’s trade battles, in particular the idea of restricting C...
Migrant children will detain with parents, US government says
America, Featured

Migrant children will detain with parents, US government says

    The U.S. government said in a court filing on Friday that it has the right to detain children and parents caught crossing the U.S. border illegally for the duration of their immigration proceedings. A 1997 court settlement known as the Flores agreement has generally been interpreted to require the Department of Homeland Security to release illegal immigrant children from custody after 20 days. That case, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union in San Diego, challenged the recent government policy of separating families in order to detain parents for as long as necessary under President Donald Trump's "zero-tolerance" policy. Since that policy was implemented in May, families have been routinely separated after apprehension. Some 2,000 separated children are c...
Venezuela’s inflation hits more than 40,000%
America, Featured

Venezuela’s inflation hits more than 40,000%

    Venezuela's inflation rate has hit a new high, according to university research, with consumer prices in the crisis-ridden country rising by more than 40,000% annually for the first time on record. Steve H. Hanke, an applied economics professor at Johns Hopkins University, told Business Insider on Friday that annual inflation in the country has risen as high as 41,838%. Hanke, who calculated the inflation figure, has tracked prices in the country for more than two decades. Venezuela's government has largely stopped reporting economic data, including internal measures of inflation. The Central Bank of Venezuela, which did not immediately respond to request for comment, has not independently released inflation figures in at least a year. Venezuelan President Nicolas ...