France must work more, Emmanuel Macron tells ‘yellow vests’
Emmanuel Macron promised “significant” tax cuts for France’s middle classes while cutting public spending but told the French they must work like their “neighbours”, in a much-awaited response to five-months of “yellow vest” protests. In what the French media dubbed his “moment of truth”, the 41-year old centrist promised citizens a “new act in our…
Former Santander lawyer loses custody of her children for ‘working too much’
A successful female lawyer has vowed to take the Spanish state to court after losing custody of her children for allegedly working too much. Elena del Pilar Ramallo Miñán, a solicitor formerly of Santander Bank, was ruled to have “spent too much time away from the conjugal home” when she had child-sharing responsibilities for her…
In Siberia, climate change comes to the coldest village on earth
The Siberian village of Oymyakon is regarded as the coldest permanently-inhabited place on earth. Though it is only a few degrees of latitude further north than Aberdeen, the village of 500 residents is in a mountain valley where cool air pools, isolated from warmer currents by the “Siberian high” pressure system and the Chersky range.…
White supremacist executed in Texas, 20 years on from black man’s torture and murder
The first white man in Texas to be convicted of the murder of a black man was executed on Wednesday night, after 20 years on death row. John William King, a 44-year-old white supremacist, was put to death in the Texas death chamber in Huntsville with a dose of pentobarbital. He declined to give any…
Iran foreign minister offers prisoner swap deal for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
Click:Excavator Slew Bearing Iran’s foreign minister has offered a prisoner exchange of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and an Iranian woman held in Australia on “phony charges”. Mohammed Javad Zarif, speaking at an event held by the Asia Society in New York on Wednesday, said the proposal was made to the US six months ago but he was…
Brigitte Macron to return to class as French teacher for school dropouts
Brigitte Macron, France’s first lady, is to return to the classroom to teach French to adults who left school without qualifications. Mrs Macron, 66, was a French and drama teacher before stepping down in 2015 when her husband, Emmanuel, 41, hit the political high life as minister then president. Indeed, she even directed his stage…
US drug company executives charged with fuelling opioid crisis
Two former executives of a major US pharmaceutical company have been charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in an unprecedented case. The prosecution came as Donald Trump vowed to crack down on abuses by “Big Pharma" that have fuelled America’s opioid epidemic, which claims the lives of nearly 50,000 people a year. It was…
Democrats 2020: Joe Biden, Obama’s right-hand man hoping it will be third time lucky
Joe Biden has wanted to be president for at least 30 years. He first ran in 1988, crashing out in his bid for the Democratic nomination over a plagiarism scandal. In 2008, Mr Biden took on Barack Obama but again stumbled at the first hurdle, securing less than 1 per cent of the vote at…
Italy warns EU to brace for refugee surge as migrants flee Libya war
Italy’s government has asked the European Union to come up with contingency plans for a possible mass movement of refugees fleeing the fighting in Libya as diplomats struggle to rein in the burgeoning civil war for control of the country’s capital. The move came as human rights groups condemned a "horrific" attack by soldiers on…
Netflix wins battle to still enter its films at the Oscars
Films made by Netflix will still be allowed to compete for the Oscars, the Academy has announced, in a victory for the company and all streaming services. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – the body which awards the Oscars – voted early on Wednesday not to change its rules for winning an…