United Kingdom

Russia is to be put on the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), meaning anyone working for the Russian state in the UK will need to declare what they are doing or risk jail, the government announced [...]

Introduced under the National Security Act 2023, FIRS is a tool to help protect our democracy, economy and society from covert, deceptive or otherwise harmful activities against UK interests. The enhanced tier has been specifically designed to shed light on activities directed by particular foreign powers which pose a threat to the safety or interests of the UK.

Russia is the second country to be placed on the enhanced tier, following the announcement in March that Iran would be specified. The government will designate all parts of the Russian state – including its president, its parliament, all Russian ministries and their agencies, and the Russian intelligence services.

The specification of the Russian state is in response to the significant and persistent threat Russia poses to the UK and our interests, which has only increased in recent years. Russian hostile acts on UK soil have ranged from the use of a deadly nerve agent in Salisbury, malign cyber incidents - which included targeting UK parliamentarians through spear-phishing campaigns - as well as espionage and arson.

[...]

Meanwhile, Russia continues to wage its unprovoked and illegal war against Ukraine, a war which Russia could end by tomorrow by withdrawing its forces. The UK remains committed to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and will continue to exert maximum economic pressure to stop Russia from threatening and undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, and to help ensure Russia pays for the damage it has caused.

[...]

Same old cycle the last few years, omg crazy flavour so funny hahaha... oh well you asked for it I guess here it is. Coprorations never fail to make something cultrual into some cold overplayed markting gimmick

London PhD student convicted of 10 rapes may have 60 more victims, force fears

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/19213440

The Socialist Equality Party condemns the attack on the Youth Demand organisation and demands the release and dropping of all charges against its members and supporters arrested over last Thursday and Friday by London’s Metropolitan Police.

The raid on the group’s publicly advertised meeting at Westminster Quaker Meeting House, a little over half a mile from Downing Street, is a major escalation in the Starmer Labour government’s assault on democratic rights. Up to 30 police officers, some armed, smashed their way into the meeting at St Martin’s Lane, central London Thursday evening (March 27).

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I just want to point out how the Quakers have been real OGs for the side of human rights, historically.

A woman who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault says she has four days to live after a car accident.

In a post on Instagram, Virginia Guiffre said she was in a car that was hit by a school bus "driving 110km [68.3mph] as we were slowing for a turn".

Ms Giuffre then said: "I've gone into kidney renal failure, they've given me four days to live, transferring me to a specialist hospital in urology.

...

A spokesperson for Ms Giuffre told Sky's US partner network in a statement: "Virginia has been in a serious accident and is receiving medical care in the hospital.

"She greatly appreciates the support and well wishes people are sending."

She sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

My opinion:

Telegraph just dosent get it. No one pays tax on savings.

Yeah they get it they just intentionally mislead in the title. Tax is paid on the income savings earn. Not your savings.

But the Telegraph has no interest in arguing why those who can afford to save should get that extra income tax free. When they know full well it helps the economy more when it is spent or invested in other ways.

Putting money into savings only helps the bank. It is safer for the saver. But only to a very limited point the best investment for them.

This is why ISA have always had limited maximums and often encourage investment with some risk. Rather then supporting a tax free passive income alone.

Any form of passive income can only be beneficial to a society as a whole. If the recipient is encouraging growth in the form of income for the rest of society iE jobs/inferstructure/or risk based investments. (At least assuming we stick to fiat based currency. )

Metropolitan Police launch ‘extensive search’ after child falls into water in east London

Thames Water has picked US private equity giant KKR as its "preferred partner" to buy the troubled water utility firm.

The planned investment by KKR would help it deal with its mountain of debt, and Thames is aiming for the transaction to be completed in the second half of this year.

Undercover at Reform UK’s biggest ever rally, I saw white men bond over fury at migrants, trans people and politicians

You think you are in the 21st century think about the 16th century. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_hunt

What’s the context?

Britain is switching to online-only immigration records but persistent tech problems with biometric permits fan fears over rights.

• Government extends eVisa rollout
• Funding, helplines not enough to resolve issues
• Rights groups want a physical back-up document

Quakers in Britain strongly condemned the violation of their place of worship which they say is a direct result of stricter protest laws removing virtually all routes to challenge the status quo.

Just before 7.15pm more than 20 uniformed police, some equipped with tasers, forced their way into Westminster Meeting House. They broke open the front door without warning or ringing the bell first, searching the whole building and arresting six women attending the meeting in a hired room.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023 have criminalised many forms of protest and allow police to halt actions deemed too disruptive.

Meanwhile, changes in judicial procedures limit protesters' ability to defend their actions in court. All this means that there are fewer and fewer ways to speak truth to power.

Quakers support the right to nonviolent public protest, acting themselves from a deep moral imperative to stand up against injustice and for our planet.

Many have taken nonviolent direct action over the centuries from the abolition of slavery to women's suffrage and prison reform.

Paul Parker, recording clerk for Quakers in Britain, said: “No-one has been arrested in a Quaker meeting house in living memory.

“This aggressive violation of our place of worship and the forceful removal of young people holding a protest group meeting clearly shows what happens when a society criminalises protest.

“Freedom of speech, assembly, and fair trials are an essential part of free public debate which underpins democracy."

The new owner will rebrand the High Street chain as TGJones, but said it would keep the Post Office outlets that operate in many branches.

I think they've missed a trick here. My uncle used to call it Smudgers. Much better name!

The body of a disabled man was found in his flat in distressing, squalid conditions, just weeks after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) wrongly removed his disability benefits because he had failed to return a claim form.

His sister, his only surviving close relative, believes he may have been left without enough credit on his phone to call for help, while he had not had enough money to fix his broken mobility scooter.

Susan believes the wrongful removal of his personal independence payment (PIP) played a significant part in his death.

She told Disability News Service (DNS): “He was already on the breadline, so I think it would have been devastating for him.”

She also believes DWP failed to make the necessary safeguarding checks before removing his PIP.

She has now warned that the death of her much-loved brother must act as a warning of the horrors to come if the government goes ahead with its planned £4.5 billion cuts to PIP.

Original link: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/a-quarter-of-britons-now-disabled-jhjzwcvbs

the current leader of the Fantasy Premier League... is not a data analyst, a football insider or a computer scientist, but a 67-year-old woman who uses a pen and paper to choose her team each week

The number of children living in poverty across the UK has reached a new record high, according to figures from the Department for Work and Pensions.

Some 4.45 million children were estimated to be in households in relative low income, after housing costs, in the year to March 2024.

This is up from the previous record of 4.33 million in the 12 months to March 2023. It is the highest figure since comparable records for the UK began in 2002-2003.

A household is considered to be in relative poverty if it is below 60 per cent of the median income after housing costs.