A government shutdown, big or small, is usually a front-and-center issue for lawmakers — but the most recent partial closure could be put on the back burner as Congress returns to several issues in Washington. Senate Democrats and the White House are still at odds over funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as the shutdown dragged into its 10th day. Neither side is budging, with the most recent concrete action coming early last week....
Improved mobile connectivity could help create 49,000 new businesses across the UK and add £6.6bn a year to the economy within a decade, according to research commissioned by VodafoneThree. The modelling, carried out by consultancy WPI Strategy, suggests that stronger and more reliable mobile coverage would unlock entrepreneurship in underserved areas, driving long-term economic growth by 2036. The findings come as VodafoneThree announced it had removed 16,500 square kilometres of mobile “not spots” by deploying...
Job vacancies in Britain have fallen to their lowest level in five years, with graduate recruitment bearing the brunt as employers contend with higher payroll costs and the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence. Data from Adzuna show that advertised vacancies dropped to 694,940 in January, down 16 per cent year-on-year and 3 per cent compared with December. It is the first time since January 2021 that the number of vacancies has dipped below 700,000. The...
An Argyll-based manufacturing firm is targeting 20 per cent year-on-year growth in the global awards sector after investing nearly half a million pounds in new production technology. Midton, headquartered in Lochgilphead, has installed a biomass-powered autoclave as part of a £429,000 upgrade designed to increase output and improve efficiency at its foundry. The move strengthens its position as one of Europe’s leading producers of cast acrylic products and one of only a handful of specialist...
Former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has been appointed a director of a new Middle Eastern-backed investment fund planning to deploy more than £1bn into luxury hospitality projects in London’s Mayfair. Evolution Investment Fund, launched in 2025 by the UAE-based Shanshal family, has acquired a leasehold interest in the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square alongside a development site near New Bond Street with full planning consent. The total capital commitment for the two projects, including development costs,...
Tracy Brabin has launched a five-day trade mission to Switzerland and Germany aimed at deepening economic ties, unlocking inward investment and creating new export opportunities for West Yorkshire firms. The mayor arrived in Zurich at the head of a 12-strong business delegation, marking the first leg of a visit that will also take in Karlsruhe, Heilbronn and Stuttgart. Organised by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and supported by KPMG, the mission focuses on three priority...
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has tightened control over Hezbollah in the Middle East amid looming prospects of potential U.S. strikes, according to reports. According to the Jerusalem Post, the tactical shift comes as Hezbollah and Iran prepare for military confrontation in the region, with analysts warning that if Washington specifically strikes the regime, Hezbollah is ready to be ‘activated.’ ‘If the regime in Tehran feels threatened, the likelihood of unleashing Hezbollah against Israel...
An emotional Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., attempted to blame critics – and even President Donald Trump’s own off-the-cuff agility – for the backlash she received for her response to a question at the recent Munich Security Conference on American defense of Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion. ‘If you think I don’t understand foreign policy, because of out of hours of discourse about international affairs, I pause to think about one of the...
President Donald Trump called on Netflix to fire board member Susan Rice immediately or ‘pay the consequences.’ Trump’s comments followed remarks Rice made Thursday on the ‘Stay Tuned with Preet’ podcast, hosted by former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. During the interview, Rice warned that corporations she said had ‘taken a knee’ to Republican pressure should not expect forgiveness from Democrats if they return to power. ‘This is not going to be an instance of forgive...
‘I can’t believe they just left!’ ‘Why didn’t they just stay until they fixed it?’ ‘Why didn’t they make them stay?’ I must have fielded forty questions last week from colleagues, friends and acquaintances. Even reporters and editorial staff from other news organizations. And that’s to say nothing of a few Congressional aides. Everyone had the same question. They were in disbelief that lawmakers just abandoned the Capitol a week ago Thursday and left the...
