Author: Loveworld UK

Downing Street has insisted it still has “full confidence” in Philip Hammond, as the Chancellor doubled down on comments that sparked fury from Brexiteers. Speaking in Davos, Mr Hammond brushed away criticism for saying the UK and EU economies would move apart “very modestly” after separating. He said there were people on “both sides of the argument” who “do not support us in our intention to deliver the Brexit people voted for”. And the Chancellor revealed he had not spoken to Theresa May since Number 10 stepped in to avert a Conservative party civil war breaking into the open. He…

At least 41 people have died and dozens more are injured after a fire broke out at a hospital in South Korea. Firefighters said the blaze is thought to have started in the emergency room of the hospital in Miryang on Friday morning. Officials said there are around 79 people injured, eight of those in a critical condition. At least 41 people died in the fire, according to the Yonhap news agency. Sejong Hospital also has a nursing home for the elderly, and there were 194 people in the building when the fire broke out, police said. During the early…

British business leaders have lambasted Theresa May’s cabinet for infighting over the UK’s trade position, accusing ministers of putting ideology before jobs and investment. Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), will warn the Government that time is running out to make progress on Brexit and urge the Prime Minister to put replicating the customs union at the top of the trade agenda. “This is a time – we believe – for revisiting some of the red lines,” Ms Fairbairn told Sky News. “If there is one thing business knows about, it’s about negotiations and it’s…

Hundreds of thousands of workers will stay off work without pay for a third day after a late-night vote to end a US government shutdown was pushed back. The Senate will now vote on stop-gap funding at 12pm (5pm UK time) on Monday. The measure would pave the way to get the federal government fully up and running again until 8 February. The main stumbling block in agreeing a deal is immigration and the DACA programme to protect from deportation the so-called “Dreamers” – 700,000 immigrants who arrived illegally in the US as children. President Donald Trump said in September…

Britain risks falling behind her enemies if the Government doesn’t sufficiently invest in modern capabilities, the head of the Army will warn. General Sir Nick Carter will directly compare Britain’s military to Russia’s and say there are areas where the UK is worse off in a speech at the Royal United Services Institute today. “Our ability to pre-empt or respond to threats will be eroded if we don’t keep up with our adversaries,” he will say. “State-based competition is now being employed in more novel and increasingly integrated ways and we must be ready to deal with them. “The threats…

Saudi Arabia is expected to announce a multi-billion dollar aid package for Yemen, which it says will “alleviate the suffering” by opening land, sea and air routes into the war-torn country. Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia has been leading a coalition of nine Arab countries in airstrikes against Yemeni rebels and their allies. The aid money, around $1.5bn, will be distributed through humanitarian agencies and in co-ordination with the United Nations. A further $2bn will be given to the Central Bank of Yemen to promote economic stabilisation of millions will be set aside to improve the country’s ports. Seventeen safe-passage…

Catalonia’s parliament has met for the first time since the region’s failed bid for independence from Spain. The legislature was dissolved following the unsuccessful secession effort, with Madrid calling fresh elections in a bid by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to defuse Spain’s worst constitutional crisis in decades. But pro-independence parties are now in the majority and the session has seen separatists start the process of getting sacked regional leader Carles Puigdemont back into power. With 70 out of 135 deputies, they in theory have the votes necessary to nominate a separatist president, with Mr Puigdemont their favoured candidate. A first…

Britain‎’s biggest retail bank is to retain a £2,000 cap on cash bonuses even after being freed from the shackles of partial state ownership last year. Sky News has learnt that Lloyds Banking Group is expected to continue with the limit on ‎cash payouts, nearly a decade after it was imposed by the then-Labour government. The decision, which is provisional and remains subject to change, reflects a desire within Lloyds’ boardroom to demonstrate restraint on staff pay against a backdrop of improved financial performance, according to insiders. “There are no plans to change it,” said one insider. Sources said that…

Bosses at collapsed construction firm Carillion have had their bonus payments halted amid growing anger at bumper payouts. The Insolvency Service revealed payments had stopped when the major public service provider plunged into liquidation on Monday with debts of £1.3bn and a £600m pensions deficit. A spokesman said: “Any bonus payment to directors, beyond the liquidation date, have been stopped and this includes the severance payments which were being paid to some senior executives who left the company.” The news came after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn used Prime Minister’s Questions to tackle Theresa May over “wildly excessive bonuses” given to…

North and South Korea will form their first joint Olympic team and march together at the opening ceremony, Seoul says. The two countries will field a joint women’s ice hockey team at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, next month. They will also march under a unified flag, according to a statement from Seoul’s Unification Ministry. North Korea will send a 550-member delegation to the games, which includes 230 cheerleaders, 140 artists and 30 taekwondo players for a demonstration. They will begin arriving in South Korea on 25 January. Officials have also agreed that a 140-piece orchestra from North…