34+ min ago (161+ words) Rachel Reeves has blamed sexism for the mayhem surrounding her Budget as she begged Labour MPs to get behind the plans. The Chancellor made a desperate appeal to restive backbenchers as she prepares to deliver the long-awaited package tomorrow. Ms Reeves admitted that workers are looking down the barrel of another round of tax hikes, despite her explicit pledge a year ago that she would not return for more. Rachel Reeves has blamed sexism for the mayhem surrounding her Budget as she begged Labour MPs to get behind the plans. The Chancellor made a desperate appeal to restive backbenchers as she prepares to deliver the long-awaited package tomorrow. Ms Reeves admitted that workers are looking down the barrel of another round of tax hikes, despite her explicit pledge a year ago that she would not return for more. Or by…...

1+ hour, 54+ min ago (430+ words) Another of Conservative Home's shadow cabinet league tables and another where shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick tops the polls at +59.7 (a pattern that has continued since February). Only just, however, with a 2.5pt lead over shadow chancellor Mel Stride in a slight drop from Jenrick's previous rating of +60.2. Stride and Tory Party leader Kemi Badenoch swap places with the pair coming second (+57.3) and third (+56.2) respectively. Like Jenrick it marks a slight drop for Badenoch with -3.8, but it keeps her in a podium position. This comes during a big week for Badenoch, who is doing her final prep ahead of tomorrow's Budget response. But she had an unfortunate distraction yesterday as she was forced to respond to her party chairman's tweet linking the Reform UK logo to a Nazi party badge. The post was deleted, only to be put up again, this…...

1+ hour, 54+ min ago (264+ words) The United States has joined 14 nations in issuing a joint statement calling for the immediate release of all individuals unjustly detained by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for exercising their fundamental freedom. The statement highlights the CCP's persistent use of detention, forced labor, mass surveillance, and restrictions on religious and cultural expression, calling these practices a cause for concern. The nations also voiced concerns about the "continued dismantling of long-standing civil liberties and the rule of law in Hong Kong" as well as "the issuance of arrest warrants and bounties on individuals outside Hong Kong's borders for exercising freedom of expression." The CCP's suppression of journalists, human rights defenders, and lawyers'both within and beyond its borders'further exemplify a climate of fear designed to silence criticism," they said. "We call on the People's Republic of China to release all those unjustly…...

1+ hour, 54+ min ago (930+ words) Authored by Greg Collard via Racket.news, That's not to say America is perfect when it comes to free speech, but as Sen. Rand Paul'said in September, "throughout government, the censorship apparatus that Biden had put in place is gone." However, if you look to Germany, the strongest economic power in the European Union, it's easy to see where America was going. It has about 330 organizations working with federal and state levels of government to suppress speech and about 425 grants " mostly from the government " that fund this work, according to'research from liber-net, a free speech group that tracks censorship. The most high-profile cases of German censorship, at least in America, have been raids of people who authorities determined had engaged in "digital violence" for offenses that include insulting someone. These raids were the subject of a high-Zprofile60 Minutes" segment'last February....

2+ hour, 24+ min ago (849+ words) Peter Franklin is an Associate Editor of UnHerd. Last week we lost another two local by-elections (both to Reform). But this was balanced by two pieces of good news. Of course, that's a mixed blessing " because these numbers reflect our diminished status. Yet they also underline the benefit that could come our way from tactical voting. We're much less hated than Reform among Labour, Lib Dem and Green voters and barely hated at all among Reform voters (or, at least, they hate Labour a whole lot more). The other piece of good news from last week's locals was a Conservative gain on Trafford Council. Located in Graham Brady's old constituency,Haleis not the sort of ward we should have lost in the first place " but winning it back with almost half the vote is a cause for hope. What's more,…...

2+ hour, 43+ min ago (402+ words) Cllr David Rogers is the Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group on Cherwell District Council. The debate about local government reform is heating up. "Many local authorities are about to submit their proposals to Steve Reed and MHCLG. We stand, once again, on the brink of significant structural change, we must confront an uncomfortable truth: the timing could hardly be worse. The same is true of the Business Rates Reset. Business rates are a cornerstone of council funding, particularly for authorities with strong local economies. The uncertainty over how much will be retained locally and how much will be redistributed nationally leaves councils unable to plan confidently for the future. Without these numbers, local government reform becomes a leap in the dark. Those elected in 2027 will set the tone, priorities, and structures for the councils that follow. Their decisions will…...

3+ hour, 23+ min ago (325+ words) Just by living in 21st-century America, you have a lot to be thankful for. You live in the richest country in the history of the world - and one of the freest. Despite what the left claims, the benefits of wealth aren't limited to the 1%. The ameniti Tariff income is expected to surge as inventories of goods bought before the levies kicked in are depleted and importers face the full weight of trade policies. WASHINGTON - Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is my new hero. Duffy is promoting a "civility" campaign that urges passengers to be polite and dress up rather than wear sweatpants and slippers when they fly. If everyone dresses better, everyone wil The order established a national effort to leverage scientific datasets and train artificial intelligence models to help overcome technological challenges. Attorney General Pam Bondi defends prosecutor Lindsey Halligan…...

4+ hour ago (459+ words) The aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford and three warships have been sent to the Caribbean, where they are joining a dozen Navy warships already off the coast of Venezuela, in an unprecedented show of military force. President Trump and his administration are taking aim at the administration of Nicolas Maduro, over his alleged role in the drug trade which presents a national security threat to the United States. It's clear that if the US succeeds in destabilizing and displacing President Maduro's regime, it would be a blow to the region's drug traffickers. What is less known is that it would also hit Iran. Venezuela has long served as a launchpad for Iranian operations to establish a foothold in South America. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), its Quds Force, and Iran's Intelligence Ministry have all had a presence in Venezuela. The…...

4+ hour, 57+ min ago (185+ words) Sputnik International is a global news media keeping you updated on all the latest world news 24/7. Browse Sputnik for breaking news and top stories on politics, economy, social media and the most viral trends. Moscow and Beijing are discussing bigger oil exports, with deals via Kazakhstan extended to 2033 Cooperation on oil-and-gas equipment is expanding Russia stays a reliable power supplier to China.The Chinese leader sent a telegram to participants of the seventh China-Russia Energy Business Forum, currently underway in Beijing.Beijing is ready to strengthen the comprehensive energy partnership with Moscow, Chinese President Xi Jinping said."China is ready to work with Russia to further strengthen the comprehensive energy partnership and jointly maintain the stability and smooth operation of the global energy production and supply chain," China Central Television (CCTV) quoted the telegram as saying Xi Jinping emphasized that…...

5+ hour, 6+ min ago (282+ words) Judge ruled executive branch violated the Administrative Procedure Act, and the U.S. Constitution when it tried to dismantle the federally funded agencies without congressional approval. A federal court has issued a permanent injunction stopping the Trump administration from dismantling four federal agencies that deal with issues varying from libraries to homelessness. The district court ruling blocks the federal government from dismantling four of the seven agencies listed in President Donald Trump's March 14 executive order, "Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureacracy." The lawsuit was filed on April 4. The U.S. District Court for Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration's dismantling of the agencies on May 13. On Sept. 11, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit denied the Trump administration's stay on the injunction pending its appeal. In the new ruling, McConnell said the federal government is barred from acting to…...