Author: LoveWorld UK

Tobias Ellwood has quit as Defence Committee chairman ahead of an expected vote of no confidence. The Conservative former defence minister had faced a backlash over the summer from fellow committee members after claiming that security in Afghanistan has “vastly improved” and “corruption is down” since the fundamentalists returned in 2021. In a resignation statement, Mr Ellwood said “poor communications” about engagement with Afghanistan were “understandably criticised” and announced he would step down with “deep regret”. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he said: “It is with deep regret that I have tendered my resignation as Chair of the Defence…

Tory MPs have called into question a pledge of £1.62 billion to the Green Climate Fund, made by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during the G20 summit, in India last week. The funding was pledged with the aim of assisting vulnerable regions in coping with the effects of climate change. Critics argue that this allocation of resources could have been better spent domestically, addressing issues such as special needs education, healthcare, and housing. Craig Mackinlay, the MP for South Thanet, said he was concerned over Western nations redirecting aid funds from humanitarian efforts to climate initiatives. Funding Shift May Help China…

Threads, Meta’s recent competitor to Twitter, is facing harsh criticism for blocking search results for terms related to the pandemic, including vaccines. The new text platform, which is linked to Instagram, rolled out its new search function last week, a major step towards giving it more parity with X, formerly known as Twitter. After Thread’s July release, Meta has been rolling out several much needed updates in recent weeks, including a requested desktop version and user search functionality. However, within 24 hours of the recent update, the social media giant was hit with controversy, as the new search function proved useless…

Discount supermarket chain Lidl has revealed its British arm swung to an annual loss after battling to keep a lid on prices as its costs rose “across the board”. The group reported pre-tax losses of £76m for the year to 28 February against profits of £41.1m the previous year as it also invested heavily in the business. Sales jumped by 18.8% to £9.3bn over the year and the group said it increased its share of the supermarket sector. But it said the losses came as it faced a “challenging inflationary environment which led to an increase in costs across the board” and…

An entire American city has just voted to officially ban all future mask and vaccine mandates: Huntington Beach, California—which is quite notable because California had some of the most stringent mandates in the country. With the rekindling of mandates across the country, lawmakers in the city of Huntington Beach aren’t taking any chances. They have thus preemptively outlawed all future mask and vaccine mandates within their city limits. This decision comes at a time when many of the different COVID mandates are starting to return across the country. And so, the lawmakers in this city saw this action as, essentially,…

The UK economy shrank in July by 0.5% amid industrial action and extremely wet weather, official figures indicate, heightening fears of a recession in the second half of the year. Analysts expected gross domestic product (GDP) to fall back by 0.2% but the Office for National Statistics said that strikes by junior doctors reduced health service activity, while retailers who had benefited from a warm June suffered in July, which was the sixth wettest on record. However, the falls in output went beyond those sectors affected by strikes and rain, with all three major sectors – manufacturing, services and construction – contracting for…

So, this is what happens when Gareth Southgate plays Jude Bellingham as a pure No 10. Real Madrid have discovered that it is a pretty good idea to have him in a high position, their new darling slicing through La Liga defences since his big-money transfer from Borussia Dortmund, scoring in every game. Here, it was Scotland’s turn to suffer. England were excellent in the first half, Bellingham involved in Phil Foden’s deft opener and scoring the second himself. There is something irresistible about his fusion of twinkle-toed skill and driving power; his desire to be direct and hurt opponents.…

Speaking at Russia’s Vostochny cosmodrome, Kim said “Russia has risen to a sacred fight to protect its sovereignty and security. We will always support the decisions of President Putin and the Russian leadership … and we will be together in the fight against imperialism.” Putin welcomed Kim, saying: “We, of course, need to talk about questions of economic cooperation and questions of a humanitarian nature. We have a lot of questions.” The US has suggested that Russia is seeking North Korean military hardware to aid in the invasion of Ukraine. North Korea has previously denied supplying weapons to Moscow. A Kremlin…

Theresa May has backed the campaign for Martha’s rule in England to make it easier for patients and their families to get a second medical opinion when they believe their concerns are not being taken seriously by medical staff. The former prime minister said “more needs to be done” and that such a move “might see fewer deaths”. “It is so good that Martha’s mother, Merope, is actually out there campaigning for something to be done about this,” she told the BBC’s Political Thinking with Nick Robinson podcast. “I wish she wasn’t in the position of having to do that. “But she…

UK unemployment has risen, as more people lost their jobs over the summer. The latest labour market report, just released, shows that UK unemployment rose by 159,000 in the last quarter, taking the jobless total up to 1.464m. The increase in unemployment was largely driven by people unemployed for up to 12 months. That lifted the jobless rate to 4.3% in the May-July quarter, up from 4.2% a month ago, and 3.8% in the previous quarter. Employment fell, due to a drop in full-time self-employed workers, pulling the employment rate down to 75.5% in May to July 2023, 0.5 percentage points lower…