London

The U.S. is invited to attend an in-person meeting with the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G-7) countries in London next month, the first such meeting in two years. Secretary of State Antony Blinken Antony Blinken Overnight Energy: Treasury creates hub to fight climate change through finance | Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez introduce 'Green New Deal for Public Housing' | Blinken says US falling behind China as global leader on climate change White House defends 'aspirational' goal of 62,500 refugees MORE is expected to take part, although the State Department did not confirm if the secretary will attend virtually or in person. The announcement was made by the British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab during a meeting of Parliament. ADVERTISEMENT The G-7 summit will focus on ensuring equitable access to vaccines, reviving the economy from the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting education for girls in developing countries and tackling climate change. Blinken … [Read more...] about Blinken to participate in G-7 foreign minister meeting in London next month

LONDON (AP) – The number of workers on U.K. corporate payrolls dropped by 0.2% in March as young people were hardest hit by coronavirus restrictions that closed bars, restaurants and hotels, according to the latest government statistics. Company payrolls fell by 56,000 last month, pushing the decline since March of last year to 813,000, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. Workers under 25 accounted for more than half the decline, with the number of young people on company payrolls dropping by 436,000 over the past year. Payrolls in the accommodation and food service industries, which employ large numbers of young people, fell by 355,000 workers. Despite the drop in payroll figures, the unemployment rate for the three months through February fell to 4.9%, a decline of 0.1% from the November-January period. The figures don´t include furloughed employees, who continue to receive a portion of their wages under a government program designed to preserve jobs during the … [Read more...] about 400K Fewer Young People Employed in Britain Since the Lockdowns Began

A National Health Service hospital group has admitted in court the failure to provide safe maternity care to Sarah Richford and her baby son Harry, who died seven days after delivery, in the first prosecution of its kind. Representatives from East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust pleaded guilty to the charge at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court on Monday, in relation to the inadequate care at Margate’s Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital, which resulted in the “wholly avoidable” death of baby Harry in 2017. Figures from the trust admitted to failing to provide for care and treatment in accordance with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, with the Press Association reporting it was the first time a watchdog, the Care Quality Commission, had charged an NHS trust following safety failures. Details of the maternity care of Mrs Richford revealed that there were concerns around Harry’s delivery at around 2:05 am on the day … [Read more...] about NHS Hospital Pleads Guilty over Baby Death in Prosecution First

The United Nations has slammed a black-led report on British race relations which found that “institutional” or “systemic” racism does not in fact exist, claiming it normalised “white supremacy”. “In 2021, it is stunning to read a report on race and ethnicity that repackages racist tropes and stereotypes into fact, twisting data and misapplying statistics and studies into conclusory findings and ad hominem attacks on people of African descent,” read the astonishing intervention by the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, attached to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights), against the findings of Britain’s Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities. “The report cites dubious evidence to make claims that rationalize white supremacy by using the familiar arguments that have always justified racial hierarchy,” the so-called experts alleged of the “reprehensible” British report — which was led by black academic Dr Tony Sewell. … [Read more...] about Furious UN Says UK Govt Report Denying Systemic Racism ‘Normalises White Supremacy’

Muslim nations should band together to boycott Western countries if they fail to criminalise “insulting” the Islamic prophet Mohammed, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday. Amid growing tension between Pakistan and France over the controversy of supposedly blasphemous cartoons satirising Mohammed, Khan has called for a coalition of 50 Muslim countries to launch a trade war against countries that hide behind “freedom of speech”. “When 50 Muslim countries will unite and say this, and say that if something like this happens in any country, then we will launch a trade boycott on them and not buy their goods, that will have an effect,” the Pakistani leader said per Al Jazeera. “We need to explain why this hurts us, when in the name of freedom of speech they insult the honour of the prophet,” Khan added. In comments reported by the Pakistani newspaper The Nation , the Prime Minister said that the “West does not understand,” saying: “They do not even love the … [Read more...] about Pakistan Urges Muslim Trade War Against West for Allowing ‘Insulting the Prophet’ Blasphemy