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12 EU states reject move to expose companies' tax avoidance Proposal would have forced firms to reveal profits made and taxes paid in each EU countryTwelve EU countries, including Ireland, have blocked a proposed new rule that would have forced multinational companies to reveal how much profit they make and how little tax they pay in each of the 28 member states.The proposed directive was designed to shine a light on how some of the world’s biggest companies – such as Apple, Facebook and Google – avoid paying an estimated $500bn a year in taxes by shifting their profits from higher-tax countries such as the UK, France and Germany to zero-tax or low-tax jurisdictions including Ireland, Luxembourg and Malta. Continue reading... Go to Source

Tories left on ice in TV debate as leaders vie for climate credentials Johnson’s absence in Channel 4 debate mars milestone for environmental politics Tories threaten Channel 4 after ice sculpture takes PM’s place Opposition leaders attempted to outbid each other on Thursday night with their climate credentials in the first ever election debate focusing on the environmental emergency, in which the absent Boris Johnson was replaced by a melting ice sculpture.In place of the prime minister, Channel 4 placed an ice sculpture, representing, they said, the emergency on planet Earth. A second ice sculpture took the place of Brexit party leader Nigel Farage, who also refused to take part. Continue reading... Go to Source

BBC tells Tories to take down Facebook ad featuring its presenters Laura Kuenssberg and Huw Edwards footage could damage perception of impartiality, says corporationThe BBC is demanding the Conservatives take down Facebook adverts featuring footage of its journalists Laura Kuenssberg and Huw Edwards, arguing that their inclusion could damage perceptions of the corporation’s impartiality.The paid-for advert uses footage of the BBC’s political editor and the News at Ten host to argue that chaotic debates over Brexit can be avoided if people vote Conservative. Continue reading... Go to Source

Donald Trump says Taliban talks back on in surprise Afghanistan visit President makes Thanksgiving visit to airbase near KabulConfirms talks with extremists have resumedDonald Trump made an unannounced visit to US troops in Afghanistan on Thursday, his first visit to the country where the US has been at war since late 2001. Related: Fired navy secretary blasts Trump over 'shocking' handling of Navy seal case Continue reading... Go to Source

Hillsborough: David Duckenfield found not guilty of manslaughter Former South Yorkshire police chief was on trial after new investigation and inquestsHow David Duckenfield’s trial left Hillsborough families distraught againThe former South Yorkshire police chief superintendent David Duckenfield has been found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter more than 30 years after he commanded the police at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, at which 96 people died.The verdict came in a retrial at Preston crown court that began on 7 October. A first trial on the same charge, heard by the same judge, Sir Peter Openshaw, ended on 3 April with the jury unable to reach a verdict. Duckenfield was charged in June 2017 following a new police inves...

'Our house is on fire': EU parliament declares climate emergency Bloc warned against making symbolic gestures not backed up by concrete actionThe European parliament has declared a global “climate and environmental emergency” as it urged all EU countries to commit to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.The vote came as scientists warned that the world may have already crossed a series of climate tipping points, resulting in “a state of planetary emergency”. Continue reading... Go to Source

Revealed: Tory candidates issued with attack manuals on how to smear rivals Party’s dossier contains dubious and outdated claims about Lib Dems and LabourConservative candidates in the general election have been issued with a detailed dossier on how to attack Labour and Liberal Democrat rivals which contains numerous rehashed and potentially misleading claims, the Guardian can reveal.The documents accuse the Liberal Democrats of pushing “pro-pimp” policies and sex work as a career for schoolchildren. Continue reading... Go to Source

Maltese PM's aide accused of being mastermind of Caruana Galizia killing Businessman Yorgen Fenech is telling police Keith Schembri was behind murder, sources sayPolice investigating the murder of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia have questioned the prime minister’s closest aide over claims he was the mastermind behind the killing, according to sources close to the inquiry.The allegations against Keith Schembri were made by a prominent businessman, Yorgen Fenech, who was arrested last week and is understood to be seeking legal immunity in return for his testimony. Continue reading... Go to Source

Three teenagers admit threatening women on London night bus Youths confronted Melania Geymonat and her partner, Christine Hannigan, early on 30 MayThree teenage boys have admitted threatening two women on a bus after they refused to perform a sex act.Melania Geymonat, 28, and her girlfriend, Christine Hannigan, were on the upper deck of a double-decker night bus in Camden, north London, when they were confronted by the youths in the early hours of 30 May. Continue reading... Go to Source

IFS manifesto verdict: neither Tories nor Labour have credible spending plan Respected thinktank describes stark choice between Labour’s sweeping change and Tories pledging nothing newLatest election news – live updatesThe Institute for Fiscal Studies has attacked the spending plans of the UK’s two main parties, saying neither election manifesto “is a properly credible prospectus”.Paul Johnson, the director of the respected thinktank, noted that the Conservatives’ election manifesto in 2017 pledged more austerity and spending cuts, but in reality public service spending had gone up, and was due to be around £27bn higher next year than implied by the manifesto. In fact, he said, it was closer to the 2017 Labour pledge than the Tories’ own manifesto. Continue reading... Go to Source...

'Bags for life' making plastic problem worse, say campaigners Calls for ban or higher prices as sales jump to 1.5bn, equivalent to 54 bags per householdPlastic “bags for life” should be banned or raised in price, campaigners say, as new figures reveal a surge in the bags is fuelling a rise in the plastic packaging footprint of leading supermarkets.Despite high profile promises by the country’s best known supermarkets to tackle the amount of plastic waste they create, their plastic footprint continues to rise, according to research from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Greenpeace. Continue reading... Go to Source