Majority british parliament

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian stocks edged up on Monday, catching some of Wall Street’s momentum after surprisingly strong U.S. jobs data although regional gains were capped by concerns about China’s economic slowdown due to the prolonged Sino-U.S. trade war. FILE PHOTO: A man is reflected on an electronic board showing a graph analyzing recent change of Nikkei stock index outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, January 7, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Japan's benchmark Nikkei .N225 added 0.4% while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS gained 0.3%, with Australian stocks and South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 up 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively. China's Shanghai Composite .SSEC stood flat and Hong Kong's Hang Seng .HSI rose 0.2%. Wall Street rose to near record highs on Friday on the strong jobs data and some signs of optimism about the U.S.-China trade talks, with the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX closing within 0.2% of its peak set in late November. … [Read more...] about Asian shares buoyed by Wall Street rally, but China worry caps gains

Britain is now just days away from a general election, which could seal the fate of Brexit, and the UK for years to come. While the polls still show Boris Johnson’s Conservatives ahead of the Labour opposition party, data released over the past few days suggested that gap is narrowing. Johnson called the early election in an attempt to resolve the Brexit crisis which has been ongoing since the referendum in 2016. The Prime Minister himself warned over the weekend that "the horses can still change place", as he urged activists not to be complacent in the hunt for the 320 or so seats he needs to win to ensure he can remain as Prime Minister and carry out of his promise to "get Brexit done". Here are the major developments from the last weekend before the election. Tories lead the narrowing polls Four opinion polls published on Saturday (December 7) put the Conservative ahead of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party by between eight and 15 points. Johnson’s lead has narrowed in … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson nervous as election looms, despite Conservative lead in the polls

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sees Britain's third general election in four and a half years as the only way to break the Brexit logjam. PHOTO: AFP LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveils his Conservative Party’s manifesto on Sunday, pledging to move on from Brexit and austerity in a bid to secure a general election victory. Having taken over a minority administration in July and unable to speed his EU divorce deal through parliament, Johnson is seeking a majority at the December 12 snap general election. He sees Britain’s third general election in four and a half years as the only way to break the logjam on Brexit, which 52 per cent of voters plumped for in the seismic 2016 referendum. Labour leader Corbyn would be ‘neutral’ in another Brexit vote Having got the Brexit date delayed three months from October 31 to January 31, opposition parties backed his call for an early general election. “I’m looking … [Read more...] about Johnson unveils manifesto for Brexit Britain

UK A group of volunteers stand in the FareShare depot in Deptford, south-east London, as shift coordinator James Souteriou calls out items. They are putting together grocery orders to be delivered to organisations across London – to a branch of the homelessness charity Thames Reach, to the Holborn Community Association and a local nursery and infants’ school. “Can I get a tray of pineapples? A tray of chicken madras? Three boxes of porridge?” James calls and the volunteers scurry off in their hi-vis vests and steel-capped boots to fetch the items from towering piles of food. The quantity of food in the depot is overwhelming. In the centre of one of the aisles is a delivery from a supermarket of about 500 jars of pasta sauce. Boxes of rice are stacked on shelves to the roof and the walk-in dairy fridge is so full that somewhere else has to be found to store excess yoghurt. The volunteers collect trays of pork sausages, potatoes, stir fry sauces, bread, … [Read more...] about Fighting food waste: four stories from around the world

Thousands of music fans will be invited to wear masks of David Bowie at the Isle of Wight festival, the first of a series of tributes to the late singer at events around the UK this summer. British festival season kicks into gear this weekend with Isle of Wight, Download, Meltdown and Field Day. Bowie’s last festival appearance was at the Isle of Wight in 2004. He died in January after a battle with cancer. The tribute on Saturday has been organised by Stand Up to Cancer, a joint fundraising campaign by Cancer Research UK and Channel 4, which is the Isle of Wight festival’s official charity partner for 2016. The festival’s chief, John Giddings, told the Daily Echo: “David was a true musical icon, an immense talent who as a performer was incredible. His energy, creativity and passion were incomparable and I feel very lucky to have spent so many years working with him. “His set at the Isle of Wight festival in 2004 was one of the highlights of my career, and … [Read more...] about Thousands will pay tribute to David Bowie at Isle of Wight festival