Free Republic

British lawmakers will soon consider whether to give terminally ill adults a choice to end their own lives with medical assistance, after what proponents say is a shift in public opinion since a similar measure was rejected a decade ago. Kim Leadbeater, a lawmaker from Britain's governing Labour Party who won a ballot giving her the right to introduce a bill on a subject of her choice, confirmed on Thursday that she would present a bill on assisted dying on Oct. 16. "I ... strongly believe that we should give people facing the most unbearable end to their life a...

Britain’s left-wing government announced a plan on Thursday to surrender sovereignty of a British Overseas Territory in the Indian Ocean that has hosted an important joint U.S.-UK military base and listening post for the past 50 years. The United Kingdom is giving the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, from whom it bought the archipelago in the 1960s. The announcement is the latest development in years of sovereignty claims by Mauritius, now drifting into China’s sphere of influence, which until recently were not even recognised as legitimate by the UK or its allies. Just last week, President of Mauritius Prithvirajsing Roopun barracked...

The deal on the Chagos Islands ends a battle over Britain’s last overseas territory in Africa and preserves the Diego Garcia air base but has been criticized as aiding China. Britain said Thursday that it would cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a deal it said secured the future of the UK-U.S. Diego Garcia military base, and which could also pave the way for people displaced decades ago to return home. President Joe Biden welcomed the deal, saying it would secure the effective operation of Diego Garcia, a strategically important air base in the Indian Ocean, into...

All over Europe, government officials and a complicit media have been trying to hide the reality of Muslim violence and crime. In the UK, it took years to finally reveal the full story of the Pakistani grooming gangs, whose existence, and extent, were for years denied by the police, who were afraid of being accused of “racism.” In France, the government does not allow the media to report on the ethnicity and religion of those accused of crimes, lest that disturbing chronicle of Muslim crime generate support for the “far-right” party — the anti-Muslim immigrant party Rassemblement National — led...

SFGATE senior culture editor Dan Gentile watched M.I.A.'s politically provocative set at Portola Music FestivalDespite being barely a month out from the election, not many musicians at Portola Music Festival had much to say about politics. But there was one exception: M.I.A. Since her debut mixtape “Piracy Funds Terrorism” in 2004, M.I.A. has always been a political provocateur. As a child, she was displaced by the Sri Lankan Civil War, and her art has always been steeped in revolutionary rhetoric, refugee undertones and nothing-to-lose swagger. Her combative attitude, paired with frenetic club beats from the likes of Diplo and Switch,...

Britons have suffered a slump in living standards, official data shows, as a surge in net migration wiped out any gains from economic growth. So-called real GDP per head shrank by 0.3pc between April and June compared with a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, suggesting living standards have slid backwards as the population grew. It comes after net migration hit a near-record 685,000 last year. Experts said the figures meant the population was growing faster than the economy, underlining the challenges facing Rachel Reeves ahead of her maiden Budget. Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital...

For Daniel Guerra, an aspiring Brazilian sailor keen to travel the world, the job ad was a dream come true. A British yacht owner was seeking two deck-hands to help sail his boat from Brazil across the Atlantic, one of the great ocean journeys. There would be no salary, but all expenses paid - and, crucially, Mr Guerra would gain some of the sailing experience he needed to qualify as a sea captain. "My dream was to become a captain and go work in Europe," remembers the 43-year-old, who saw the advert from an online sailing recruitment agency. "So I...

Britain’s only remaining coal power plant at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire will generate electricity for the last time on Monday after powering the UK for 57 years. The power plant will come to the end of its life in line with the government’s world-leading policy to phase out coal power which was first signalled almost a decade ago. The closure marks the end of Britain’s 142-year history of coal power use which began when the world’s first coal-fired power station, the Holborn Viaduct power station, began generating electricity in 1882. The shutdown has been hailed by green campaigners as a major...

The two leading candidates in the race to replace Rishi Sunak as Conservative Party leader have put immigration at the centre of their campaigns, with a focus on visa restrictions for Indians. This issue sparked intense debate at the start of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham on Sunday. Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick has called for tough visa restrictions on India unless the country takes back its nationals who are in the UK illegally. He claimed that, despite an agreement between the two countries, the number of deportations remains low, while India has benefited from 250,000 visas last year....

People are bringing views to UK that aren't welcome - BadenochPressed on migration, Badenoch says it is "clear" there are many people who have recently come to this country who have brought views that "have no place here". She says this is not just about conflicts in Middle East - citing her time as equalities minister when she says she saw people bringing cultural disputes from India "to the streets of Leicester". She says we need to ensure that migrants to the UK leave their "previous differences" behind. 'We are not a dormitory'The questioning on immigration continues. Badenoch says the...

After years of disruption and vandalism, consequences have finally arrived for "Just Stop Oil" protesters. I'm not just talking about some motorists throwing them out of the street either, as satisfying as that usually is. This time, actual prison sentences were handed down. In October 2022, two women entered the National Gallery in London and threw soup onto a famous Van Gogh painting. They then glued themselves to the wall while ranting about climate change. Video of the incident went viral at the time. Phoebe Plummer, 23, and Anna Holland, 22, were arrested for their deeds, though it wasn't immediately...

In a world of tight schedules, high-pressure talks, and scrutinised speeches, it seems even prime ministers aren’t immune to the occasional slip of the tongue. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivered one such blunder that’s been making headlines far and wide. During a Labour conference speech intended to address serious global matters, Starmer made an unfortunate error: while discussing the Gaza crisis, he mistakenly referred to “sausages” instead of “hostages.” The mistake sent waves of surprise and amusement across audiences. Keir Starmer’s refers to hostages as ‘sausages’ during speech It all happened during what was meant to be a sober...

The Prime Minister will meet former US president Donald Trump later. It will be the first time Sir Keir Starmer has met the Republican candidate for US president. Sir Keir is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, but will make time to meet Trump at his New York base - Trump Tower. The prime minister said it was “good” he had the opportunity to meet the Republican presidential nominee and that it was “really to establish a relationship between the two of us”. Speaking ahead of their meeting, Mr Trump said of the PM: "I actually think...

The long goodbye to blast furnace no. 4 is nearly over, as Port Talbot stands on the precipice of becoming a ‘steel town’ stripped of its ability to make its own ‘virgin’ steel. It is a huge moment. The sense of imminent – and irreversible – change is everywhere, not least in the wide expanse of the Tata Steel control room where they stand ready to trigger this final, seismic shutdown. “I started the day after my 16th birthday and I’ve been on the furnaces making iron ever since,” Wade Christensen says. Now 53 years old, he will be part...

Dozens of prisoners convicted of breaching restraining orders were mistakenly released from prison early, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed. It said 37 offenders were wrongly let out in recent weeks under a government scheme designed to reduce overcrowding, indicating the error was down to their offence being logged incorrectly. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said the majority had now been returned to prison and police are working "urgently" to locate the rest. Former chief inspector of prisons Nick Hardwick said the incident would be "very distressing and frightening for the victims".

During his remarks, Milei criticized the UN for its hypocrisies in criticizing Israel. . Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon thanked Argentine President Javier Milei for defending Israel in his speech before the General Assembly on Tuesday afternoon, the two leaders embracing for a handshake following Milei's speech. "Thank you, President Milei! You are a true friend of the State of Israel," Danon said in a statement. "In this hall where they slandered Israel all day, you showed courage and supported Israel!" During his remarks, Milei criticized the UN for its hypocrisies in criticizing Israel. "In this same house,...

Sir Keir Starmer faced down Russia over the war in Ukraine, accusing it of treating its own citizens as 'meat to be thrown in to the grinder'. Addressing the United Nations Security Council for the first time today, the Prime Minister asked Vladimir Putin's representative how he dare show his face in the building. He said the illegal invasion had caused 'colossal human suffering' with 35,000 casualties, 6million people forced to flee and almost 20,000 Ukrainian children 'kidnapped'. Sir Keir was also due to hold talks with Volodymyr Zelensky at the gathering of world leaders in New York as Ukraine's...

CV NEWS FEED // Legislation establishing 200-meter “protected zones” around abortion clinics in Scotland has officially gone into effect, banning activities such as prayer and protests in these areas as of September 24, according to a report from Glasgow Times. The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill was passed in June, and is “designed to protect women from harassment” according to the Times. It will affect 30 abortion facilities across the country. The bill, introduced by Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) Gillian Mackay, makes it officially “an offence for a person in a safe access zone to act...

Electric cars are up to twice as expensive as petrol or diesel vehicles to run... Running an electric vehicle (EV) can cost more than 24p per mile, while a diesel vehicle is 12.5p .. 80p per kilowatt hour ... A typical electric car will travel 3.3 miles for every kWh of electricity used, meaning rapid and ultra-rapid chargers currently cost the equivalent of 24.1p per mile. ... This is about double the average diesel car, which will do 43 miles per gallon, resulting in a cost of 12.5p per mile at current prices. A typical petrol car costs 14.5p per...

Union baron Mick Lynch has vowed to seize control of the UK economy. Mr Lynch, whose RMT union brought much of the country to a standstill through rail walkouts, said the “prize” is “universal” influence over all of the nation’s industries. The Royal College of Nursing left Chancellor Rachel Reeves red-faced after announcing it was rejecting the Government’s 5.5 per cent pay hike offer in the middle of her speech. And Mr Lynch called for a sweeping expansion of union powers which would make it easier to shut down industries if their demands are not met. He said: “The problem...