Author: staff

Housing is a major influence on whether teachers will continue teaching as a career in the UK according to a 2023 survey by the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT).  In fact, more than half (57%) of teachers who wish to buy a home do not think this will be achievable on a teachers’ salary.So, how realistic is it for European teachers to buy a house? Euronews compared teacher salaries and house prices across Europe, and calculated how many months’ salary a teacher would need to buy a house or flat as in 2023. This estimate is…

De Beukelaer, who attempted to reboot coalition negotiations last month, is scathing. In all the months since the election, politicians haven’t even come around to talking substance, he told POLITICO. “It’s just political posturing that’s blocking Brussels,” he said. “‘You’re my friend. You’re not. I want to work with you. But not with you.’ It’s immature.” A capital liability The overly complicated political architecture confuses and frustrates even Belgians themselves. If the city had a government, getting Brussels’ spending under control would be its number one challenge. | Virginie Lefour/Belga/AFP via Getty Images Put (relatively) simply, Brussels is one of…

Musk’s AI startup xAI has been developing a group of AI models under the name Grok, which are used to power things like the AI chatbot available on the X platform. Grok’s gobbling of EU data was already the subject of scrutiny from the Irish regulator last year, when X — after a battle in the Irish courts — agreed to suspend the use of EU citizens’ data to train its AI models. The Irish regulator said on Friday that its new investigation will examine whether X has been complying with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including whether…

The U.S. has made no secret of its antagonism towards China, and Trump’s America First investment policy explicitly warns firms against getting too close to Beijing.  “There’s no doubt that taking British Steel back into British hands from Chinese ownership will be received favorably by the Trump administration, not least of all because the U.K. makes several steel components for the U.S. defense industry,” said Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) U.K. Foreign Policy Lead Sophia Gaston. Ministers insist that the deal is unrelated to tariff negotiations, but it could give the U.K. a stronger argument to say it should be…

The new restrictions will not apply to goods arriving from Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, or the Isle of Man.  While FMD doesn’t pose a risk to humans and there are no current cases in the United Kingdom, it’s a highly infectious disease that puts Britain’s farming industry at significant risk.  U.K. Farming Minister David Zeichner said: “This government will do whatever it takes to protect British farmers from foot and mouth. That is why we are further strengthening protections by introducing restrictions on personal meat and dairy imports to prevent the spread of the disease and protect Britain’s food security.” …

US Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is in Russia for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the third such meeting in a bid to get the Kremlin to accept a full ceasefire in Ukraine.Witkoff, who has been pressing the Kremlin to accept a truce, initially met with Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev. The meeting comes amid growing questions about Putin’s willingness to stop the more than three-year war.Earlier on Friday, US President Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social that “Russia has to get moving” towards ending the war, adding that it is “terrible and…

Former Conservative Chief Whip Simon Hart, who wrote revelatory diaries about managing Tory MPs, also received a peerage alongside former Scotland Secretary Alister Jack, former Transport Secretary Mark Harper, ex-Attorney General Victoria Prentis and former Tory Chief Executive Stephen Massey. Under British rules, a resigning prime minister can choose to make appointments to the upper chamber, subject to vetting from a House of Lords scrutiny body. Ex-Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, former Home Secretary James Cleverly and former Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell, who all remain in the Commons as backbenchers, received knighthoods. Former Defense Secretary Grant Shapps also got that honor alongside…

The U.K. earlier gave details of new support worth £450 million for Ukraine, about £350 million of which will be provided by Britain, with extra funding from Norway via the U.K.-led International Fund for Ukraine. It includes £160 million to provide repairs and maintenance to vehicles and equipment the U.K. has already provided Kyiv. Funding for radar systems, anti-tank mines and hundreds of thousands of drones worth more than £250 million is also part of the package. The German defense ministry said that Berlin’s package included guided missiles as well as 100,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, 300 reconnaissance drones, 25…

Ukrainian troops in the eastern Donetsk region report gains in the fight to repel Russian forces near the strategic city of Pokrovsk. The battle for the city, a key logistical hub in the Donbas region, has been ongoing for over nine months.Azhur, a battalion commander with Ukraine’s 117th Brigade, said, “Are we holding them? We are. Are we pushing them? We are pushing. Are we advancing? We are.” “We are not retreating now. At this moment, we have momentum.”Pokrovsk, situated northwest of the city of Donetsk, has become a focal point in Ukraine’s efforts to slow the Russian advance and…

The House of Lords has also been recalled, raising the prospect of emergency legislation moving through all required stages in a short space of time. A spokesperson for No. 10 Downing Street said Friday afternoon said the government would “always act in the national interest.” “Tomorrow Parliament will be recalled to debate the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill,” the spokesperson added. “The Bill provides the government with the power to direct steel companies in England, which we will use to protect the Scunthorpe site.” “It enables the U.K. government to preserve capability and ensure public safety. It also ensures all…