Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez announces prisoner amnesty
Rodriguez calls for healing 'wounds left by political confrontation' and says notorious El Helicoide prison to shut.
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'A vaccine against murder'? Israel split over return of death penalty
In a highly controversial move, some Israeli MPs are trying to introduce the death penalty for Palestinian attackers.
LIVE: Iran announces live-fire naval drills near US warships amid tensions
US army warns Iran that it will not tolerate 'unsafe' manoeuvres such as flights over US warships.
Starmer hopes his China trip will begin the thaw after recent ice age
PM flies out after courting world’s second biggest economy aware of difficult balance of risks and potential rewardsThe last British prime minister to visit China was Theresa May in 2018. Before the visit, she and her team were advised to get dressed under the covers because of the risk of hidden cameras having been placed in their hotel rooms to record compromising material.Keir Starmer, in Beijing this week, was more sanguine about his privacy, even though the security risks have, if anything, increased since the former Tory prime minister was in town. Continue reading...
French MPs demand explanation over tech firm’s contract to help ICE in US
Revelation that subsidiary of Capgemini is to help trace and expel migrants in US provokes outrage in FranceFrench lawmakers have demanded an explanation after one of the country’s biggest tech companies signed a multimillion dollar contract to help the US enforcement agency ICE trace and expel migrants.The revelation that a subsidiary of Capgemini, a multinational digital services firm listed on the Paris stock exchange, had agreed to provide “skip tracing” – a technique for locating targeted people – with big bonuses if successful, has provoked outrage in France. Continue reading...
Cambridge university accused of ‘obfuscation’ over arms investment
Academics say £4bn investment fund is ‘designed to prevent any troublesome democratic interference’Cambridge academics have accused the university of “maximal obfuscation” in a row over its £4bn investment fund and how it profits from investing in arms manufacturers.The university’s governing body is expected to meet on Monday to consider a report on its financial ties to the defence sector, but some senior staff have said investments cannot be properly scrutinised because the institution has not been transparent about the companies involved. Continue reading...
‘Homes may have to be abandoned’: how climate crisis has reshaped Britain’s flood risk
As rivers swell and homes are cut off, scientists say UK winter rainfall is already 20 years ahead of predictionsWhen flooding hit the low-lying Somerset Levels in 2014, it took two months for the waters to rise. This week it took two days, said Rebecca Horsington, chair of the Flooding on the Levels Action Group and a born-and-bred resident. A fierce barrage of storms from the Atlantic has drenched south-west England in January, saturating soils and supercharging rivers. Continue reading...
How does ICE spend its budget? And who profits?
ICE now has a larger budget than the FBI, bigger even than the militaries of 170 countries. So where does that money go?
US government partially shuts down despite last minute funding deal
The soonest the US House of Representatives can vote on the funding deal and end the shutdown is Monday.
U.S. Allies Are Drawing Closer to China, but on Beijing’s Terms
As Washington unsettles its partners, Beijing is reaping diplomatic gains, without backing down on human rights, trade or security.