Brexit: UK ministers falling like dominoes We was raabed Dominic Raab, the UK's Brexit secretary, who was nominally the chief British negotiator for the deal now on the table said on Thursday: " I cannot in good conscience support the terms proposed for our deal with the EU." Raab was reportedly disgruntled at being sidelined in the negotiations in favor of Olly Robbins — a civil servant who's close to May. … [Read more...] about Brexit: EU cautions Britain against seeking to renegotiate draft deal
Angela merkel
The starting gun has fired on Brexit trade talks – and we’re already running out of time
The final problem, which is outside the government’s control but should have been factored into its thinking, concerns EU politics. Senior EU officials are currently trying to agree the union’s budget blueprint and spending priorities through to 2028. EU leaders will meet in Brussels tomorrow to try and thrash out a deal. But they remain far apart, so agreement is only likely closer to summer or in the second half of the year. This is where leaders’ time, energy and political capital will be spent. The EU will also be attempting to negotiate more stringent 2030 climate targets, a mini-trade deal with the US, host a summit with China, and advance its plans for “digital sovereignty”. Trade talks with the UK, while important, are a distraction – “a pain in the neck”, in the words of one of the EU principals who will be on the frontlines in the negotiations. … [Read more...] about The starting gun has fired on Brexit trade talks – and we’re already running out of time
Top 10 random encounters in literature
2. The Virago Book of Fairy Tales, edited by Angela Carter (1990)In her introduction, Carter writes that “for most of human history, ‘literature’, both fiction and poetry, has been narrated, not written – heard, not read”. This pathbreaking anthology casts its net beyond Europe and, in centring the voices of women, changes how we read fairytales. Instead of Snow White, there’s Nourie Hadig, the princess of Adana, and a Chinese variant on Cinderella called Beauty and Pock Face. Life is wildly unpredictable, a random encounter with a witch or passing villager always about to change everything. … [Read more...] about Top 10 random encounters in literature
Eugenics refuses to die – and now Andrew Sabisky has put it back in the headlines
One might think that such a morally and scientifically vacuous ideology would be behind us by now, yet one of Dominic Cummings’ fresh new hires turned out to be something of a fan. The former Downing Street adviser Andrew Sabisky, a self-proclaimed political “forecaster”, argued that forced long-term contraception might help tackle the problem of a “permanent underclass”, or as early eugenicists termed it, the “residuum”. He also suggested that black people had innately lower average IQs. Downing Street initially stood by Sabisky’s appointment, with No 10 refusing to comment on whether Boris Johnson agreed with his views. After intense media scrutiny, Sabisky announced on Twitter that he was resigning. Who could have guessed that putting out a job call for weirdos and misfits would have led to this? … [Read more...] about Eugenics refuses to die – and now Andrew Sabisky has put it back in the headlines
UK flood warnings and weather forecast – Brits brace for worst floods in 200 YEARS as thousands are told ‘get out’
As hundreds of homes are evacuated amid severe flood warnings, a flood resilience expert from Kingston University is warning people facing imminent floods to protect their mental health as well as their property. … [Read more...] about UK flood warnings and weather forecast – Brits brace for worst floods in 200 YEARS as thousands are told ‘get out’
