‏إظهار الرسائل ذات التسميات political. إظهار كافة الرسائل
‏إظهار الرسائل ذات التسميات political. إظهار كافة الرسائل

الثلاثاء، 3 يناير 2017

Political donations: Belfast City councillors back call to name donors



Image copyright Belfast City Council Image caption Belfast City Council passed the Alliance motion at a meeting on Tuesday night Belfast City councillors have voted in support of a call to reveal the names of those who make large donations to Northern Ireland politicians.
The Alliance Party motion was passed by 38 votes in favour to 13 against.
Unlike in the rest of the UK, Stormont parties are not required to reveal where their funding comes from, due to concerns about the security of donors.
Alliance wants NI to be brought in line with Great Britain where names of those who donate over £7,500 are published.
"No power to compel"The motion was proposed by Alliance councillor Kate Nicholl at meeting of the council on Tuesday evening.
It was supported by councillors from Sinn Féin, the SDLP, Green Party, the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV).
It was opposed by members of Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the Ulster Unionist Party (UU..

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Political donations: Alliance calls for change in law



Image caption The party will put forward a motion at a meeting of Belfast city council later The Alliance Party is calling for a change to legislation which keeps the source of donations to political parties in Northern Ireland secret.
Unlike in the rest of the UK, Stormont parties are not required to reveal where their funding comes from.
The Alliance party says it wants to put pressure on the secretary of state to review the law.
The party will put forward a motion at a meeting of Belfast city council later.
As an MP, Alliance leader Naomi Long secured legislative change meaning names of single donors of more than £7,500 since January 2014 can be published if the secretary of state lifts an exemption.
Speaking to the BBC"s Evening Extra programme, Mrs Long said there was no problem with political parties accepting donations, but that the Northern Ireland public should be given the same transparency as those in the rest of the UK.
She said it was time for parties to “open their ..

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الاثنين، 2 يناير 2017

Political lives (Part 3)



Image copyright Getty Images This year saw the loss of two heavyweights from the Thatcher era, Cecil Parkinson and Jim Prior, who had contrasting relationships with the prime minister. But they weren"t the only former MPs to pass away in 2015. Read part one and part two.
Cecil Parkinson: 1 September 1932 – 26 January 2016 Image copyright PA One of Margaret Thatcher"s closest confidantes throughout the 1980s, Cecil Parkinson was one of the nearly men of British politics.
Tipped as a possible successor to the prime minister, the married father of three resigned from the cabinet during the Conservative conference in October 1983 after it emerged that his secretary Sarah Keays was carrying his child – a daughter, Flora, who was born in 1984.
Although he returned to government four years later and remained an influential figure in Tory circles, his chance of attaining the highest offices had gone and he left the Commons at the 1992 election – however he later took a seat in the H..

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الأربعاء، 28 ديسمبر 2016

Political lives (Part 2)



Image copyright Getty Images This year saw the loss of a politician who pulled off one of the biggest upsets in by-election history, a key figure in the Northern Ireland peace process and a Tory MP born during World War One. But they weren"t the only former MPs to pass away in 2015. Read part one here.
Arthur Latham, 14 August 1930 – 3 December 2016Labour"s Arthur Latham was the MP for Paddington North, and then Paddington, from 1969 to 1979.
He entered Parliament in a by-election caused by the death of MP Ben Parkin.
His first parliamentary question was on the policing of cricket grounds, ahead of the planned tour of the UK by the South African team of 1970.
Among the subjects he focused on in Parliament were animal rights (on one occasion, complaining about the practice of fitting blinkers to pheasants) and sex and race discrimination.
Mr Latham also campaigned for tenants" rights, a particular issue in his part of London, in which slum landlords operated.
In 1972, he..

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الاثنين، 26 ديسمبر 2016

Political party conferences 2016: At-a-glance guide



Image copyright PA Here is an at-a-glance guide to the 2016 party conference season…
Conservative conference Media captionIn full: Theresa May"s conference speech The headlines:
In her first big conference as leader, the prime minister set out her vision for the party and country, as she vowed to build a “united Britain” in which “fairness is restored” Home Secretary Amber Rudd set out plans to make firms do more to employ British people – but they provoked a furious backlash from political leaders and businesses. Chancellor Philip Hammond said he was ready to boost spending and axe his predecessor George Osborne"s plans to balance the nation"s finances by 2020 to help guard against Brexit “turbulence” Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced plans to increase the number of medical school places by 25% – to 7,500 a year – from 2018, under plans to make England “self-sufficient” in training doctors Education Secretary Justine Greening announced six “opportunity areas” ..

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الجمعة، 16 ديسمبر 2016

Political party conferences 2016: At-a-glance guide



Image copyright PA Here is an at-a-glance guide to the 2016 party conference season…
Conservative conference Media captionIn full: Theresa May"s conference speech The headlines:
In her first big conference as leader, the prime minister set out her vision for the party and country, as she vowed to build a “united Britain” in which “fairness is restored” Home Secretary Amber Rudd set out plans to make firms do more to employ British people – but they provoked a furious backlash from political leaders and businesses. Chancellor Philip Hammond said he was ready to boost spending and axe his predecessor George Osborne"s plans to balance the nation"s finances by 2020 to help guard against Brexit “turbulence” Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced plans to increase the number of medical school places by 25% – to 7,500 a year – from 2018, under plans to make England “self-sufficient” in training doctors Education Secretary Justine Greening announced six “opportunity areas” ..

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الاثنين، 21 نوفمبر 2016

Torture evidence ignored by Home Office, says charity



Image copyright Will Baxter The Home Office is “disregarding and mistreating” medical evidence of torture in UK asylum claims, a report by a charity suggests.
Asylum seekers in the UK who say they are torture victims can have medical assessments to verify their claims.
But charity Freedom From Torture said judges were correcting poor judgements at “considerable cost to taxpayers”.
The Home Office said “an exceptionally small sample” was used in the report and all evidence was considered.
Sonya Sceats, director of policy and advocacy at Freedom From Torture, told the BBC"s Victoria Derbyshire programme its findings showed “egregious mishandling of medical evidence” in 50 cases over a two-year period, from January 2014 to December 2015.
Freedom From Torture produces medical reports when lawyers for asylum seekers who say they have suffered torture, instruct clinicians and other healthcare professionals at the charity to carry out detailed assessments.
But Ms Sceats said the Home ..

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"Mad dog" general tipped for Trump cabinet



Video: Donald Trump continues cabinet talks Donald Trump and Mike Pence are having further discussions at the President-elect"s New Jersey golf club over who should be in their cabinet.
Several senior posts in the administration have already been filled including US attorney general, CIA director, national security adviser, White House chief of staff and chief strategist.
But there are a number of top jobs still up for grabs and among those seeing Mr Trump have been former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
“Numerous patriots will be coming to Bedminster,” Mr Trump tweeted, adding that he is continuing to “fill out the various positions necessary to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Speaking to Fox News, Vice President-elect Mr Pence refused to be drawn on whether retired Marine Corps General James Mattis would become defence secretary.
Mr Trump had earlier tweeted that the four-star General had been shortlisted for the job of leading the Pentagon, ref..

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Who is Francois Fillon and why does he matter?



Image Caption: Francois Fillon is now favourite to be the centre-right"s candidate for the French presidency Mark Stone Europe Correspondent Twitter Follow Mark He was the third man in the race just a few weeks ago, trailing in the polls.
Now Francois Fillon has emerged as the landslide winner in what was a vital night for French politics.
A former prime minister, he has surged ahead in the first round of Les Republicains primaries, emerging as the front runner in the second round next weekend.
So what"s the vote for? Who is Mr Fillon? And what does the result mean – for France, for Europe and even for Brexit?
What are the Les Republicains Primaries?
Rather like the US primaries, France has now introduced elections for the public to choose the leaders of its political parties ahead of Presidential elections.
No longer are leaders decided on in closed rooms but by the voting public.
The centre-left Socialists have been doing it for several years. The centre-right Les Republi..

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