UK’s Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is under pressure over the new Department for Education (DfE) guidance that would require children as young as four to be assessed using touchscreen devices.
Author: Fatimah Idera
United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has affirmed Canada’s status as an independent, sovereign nation, in remarks widely interpreted as a pointed response to the U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly floated the idea of Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state. Starmer made the comments ahead of a significant diplomatic visit to Canada, where he will be the first British prime minister in eight years to travel to the country. His itinerary includes meetings in Ottawa and participation in the G7 summit in Kananaskis. The trip comes at a tense moment in U.S.-Canada relations. Trump’s continued assertions that…
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Sir Keir Starmer has announced a full statutory national inquiry into grooming gangs in England and Wales. This followed recommendations from Baroness Louise Casey’s independent audit. The inquiry, to be established under the Inquiries Act, will have legal powers to compel witnesses and demand evidence, marking a significant shift in the government’s approach to the long-standing and deeply sensitive issue of group-based child sexual exploitation. Speaking ahead of the G7 summit in Canada, Starmer told reporters he had accepted the findings of Baroness Casey’s audit into the nature and scale of grooming gangs across…
Nearly half a million British pensioners living abroad are missing out on annual state pension increases enjoyed by UK residents, according to research by Interactive Investor. These retirees, mainly based in Commonwealth countries, are excluded from the triple lock system that ensures it rises each year in line with inflation, wage growth or 2.5%, whichever is highest. Under current rules, the payments are frozen at the level they were when a person leaves the UK unless they move to a country with a reciprocal social security agreement. As a result, expats living in countries such as Canada, Australia, and New…
Rishi Sunak has called for a national rollout of targeted prostate cancer screening, urging the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) to act swiftly to save lives. In his first major public intervention since stepping down as prime minister, Mr Sunak advocated for proactive PSA blood testing for high-risk groups, particularly men with a family history of the disease or from higher-risk ethnic backgrounds, such as Black men. Sunak addresses the media When speaking to the media, he highlighted the low awareness among men that just 7% know that prostate cancer is often symptomless in its early stages and urged…
Sir Geoff Palmer, a trailblazing scientist, human rights advocate, and Scotland’s first Black professor, has died at the age of 85. Sir Geoff was a long-standing figure at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, where he served as professor emeritus and, more recently, as chancellor. He was widely respected both for his scientific contributions and for his tireless advocacy for racial equality and historical justice. Geoff Palmer’s background Born in Jamaica in 1940, Sir Geoff moved to London at the age of 14 as part of the Windrush generation. He relocated to Edinburgh in the 1960s, where he completed a PhD in…
The Scottish Conservatives have pledged £650 million in tax cuts, funded by a major shake-up of Scotland’s public sector, under plans to be unveiled at the party’s conference in Edinburgh. In his first keynote speech as leader, Russell Findlay will propose a Taxpayer Savings Act aimed at slashing waste and bureaucracy. The plan includes cutting quangos by 25%, reducing the number of ministers and advisers, and creating a new Scottish Agency of Value and Efficiency led by business experts. The savings would be used to simplify Scotland’s income tax system by replacing the current 20% and 21% tax bands with…
Global financial markets fell sharply on Friday after Israel launched a large-scale military strike on Iran, targeting what it said were nuclear facilities, missile factories, and key military figures. The attack triggered a dramatic response in global markets, with investors fleeing risk assets in favor of traditional safe havens like gold, the U.S. dollar, and the Swiss franc. Oil prices surged amid fears of prolonged instability in the Middle East, a region central to global energy supply. Crude briefly spiked by as much as 14% to nearly $79 per barrel, before easing slightly to around $74—still up over 5% for…
Meta has taken a bold step to reshape its artificial intelligence ambitions by acquiring a 49% stake in Scale AI, valuing the data-labeling startup at $29 billion. As part of the deal, Scale’s 28-year-old co-founder and CEO, Alexandr Wang, will join Meta to spearhead its new superintelligence initiative. While Meta did not disclose financial terms in its official statement, two sources familiar with the matter confirmed the $14.3 billion cash investment. The primary motivation behind the deal, according to insiders, was to bring Wang into Meta’s leadership fold to reinvigorate its AI strategy. “We will deepen the work we do…
A United States of America Appeal Court on Thursday granted President Donald Trump order to maintain his deployment of national guard troops in Los Angeles, temporarily pausing a lower court order that blocked the mobilization amid growing protests over intensified immigration enforcement. The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal does not resolve the legal challenge but allows Trump to retain control over the Guard, at least for now. The panel comprising two Trump-appointed judges and one appointed by President Joe Biden said it would hear arguments on the matter next Tuesday. Earlier the same day, U.S. District…
