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'Allow no escapes': leak exposes reality of China's vast prison camp network Documents confirm largest mass incarceration of an ethnic-religious minority since second world warUighur’s 10-year term reveals level of repressionSecret memo on how to run campsThe internal workings of a vast chain of Chinese internment camps used to detain at least a million people from the nation’s Muslim minorities are laid out in leaked Communist Party documents published on Sunday.The China Cables, a cache of classified government papers, appear to provide the first official glimpse into the structure, daily life and ideological framework behind centres in north-western Xinjiang region that have provoked international condemnation. Continue reading... Go to Source

Prince Andrew to stand aside from all 230 of his patronages Move follows BBC interview about association with sex offender Jeffery EpsteinPrince Andrew is to withdraw from scores of charities in a move that appeared designed to protect the monarchy from further humiliation over his association with Jeffrey Epstein.Buckingham Palace confirmed on Sunday that the Duke of York was “standing back from all his patronages” but indicated he still hoped to return to a public role at some point by saying the move was only temporary. Continue reading... Go to Source

Boris Johnson launches Tory manifesto with restrained spending plan Tories’ election promise of £2.9bn extra public spending dwarfed by £83bn pledged by LabourConservative party manifesto: the key points and policiesBoris Johnson has launched a restrained manifesto that promises only £2.9bn extra in public spending a year by the end of the next parliament against £83bn a year outlined by Labour.Appearing in Telford in the West Midlands, the prime minister said his aims were not just to “get Brexit done” but to “level up across the country” by improving the NHS, schools and police. Continue reading... Go to Source

Trump impeachment: Schiff calls on Bolton to testify and slams Republicans Ex-adviser at heart of Ukraine affair has secured book dealSchiff: I would act same way against Democratic presidentReich: Impeachment shows US officials at their bestHouse intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff blasted former national security adviser John Bolton on Sunday, for failing to appear for testimony in the impeachment inquiry while teasing a forthcoming memoir. Related: Not just the facts: Republicans' top five impeachment falsehoods Continue reading... Go to Source

Film about warring gangs is pulled after machete brawl at Birmingham cinema Officers deploy Tasers and dogs to quell fight at Star City complex in NechellsA film about warring gangs has been pulled from nearly 100 cinemas across the UK after a mass brawl involving teenagers armed with machetes in Birmingham on Saturday night.Blue Story, which depicts violent street rivalries in south London, was removed from all 91 Vue Cinemas on Sunday following the riot. Continue reading... Go to Source

She loved him: Linda McCartney’s 1960s letters about Paul revealed In three handwritten notes, the late photographer writes about her budding romance with the BeatleHer marriage to Paul McCartney was one of pop’s great love stories for almost 30 years. Now, previously unpublished letters written by Linda Eastman in the 1960s reveal her excitement about dating the Beatles star and being commissioned to photograph “groovy” bands of the day.In June 1967, weeks after she had begun dating McCartney, Linda photocopied an American gossip column that had a sentence about her. She sent it to a friend with the passage underlined. It reads: “They say Beatle Paul McCartney’s latest favourite femme is Linda Eastman, a Yankee Doodle fan-mag [photographer].” Continue reading... Go to Source...

Power firms move ownership offshore to 'protect against Labour renationalisation' National Grid and SSE own Britain’s gas and electricity transmission networksTwo of the UK’s largest power companies have quietly transferred the ownership of their British operations to offshore companies to protect themselves against Labour’s plan for renationalisation.National Grid and SSE, which together own Britain’s gas and electricity transmission networks, confirmed on Sunday they had created overseas holding companies following Labour’s pledge to restore them to state ownership. Continue reading... Go to Source

Johnson tax pledge to ‘put money back in pockets’ At launch of manifesto, PM says he will not raise income tax, VAT or national insurance for five yearsLatest election news - latest updatesBoris Johnson will commit a Tory government to not raise income tax, VAT or national insurance for five years as he promises to “put more money back in people’s pockets” after Brexit.Launching the Conservatives’ general election manifesto on Sunday, the prime minister will also pledge to protect the value of state pensions, boost spending by £1bn on childcare during school terms and holidays, and cut energy bills by up to £750 a year for those in social housing. Continue reading... Go to Source

NHS winter crisis fears grow after thousands of EU staff quit Mass resignations after Brexit vote compound health staffing shortagesMore than 10,000 EU nationals have left the NHS since the Brexit referendum, including almost 5,000 nurses. These new figures will add fuel to concerns about a wider staffing crisis.So far this year more than 3,250 EU staff have left the NHS, according to data released under the Freedom of Information Act. The figures are from less than half England’s trusts and cover only 10 months, so the actual figure is likely to be higher. This year alone, 1,116 EU nurses have left. Continue reading... Go to Source

Hong Kong: protests prompt huge turnout for local elections Residents stand in long queues to have their say in polls expected to be a proxy referendum on pro-democracy campaignHong Kong residents have turned out in unprecedented numbers for local elections that many in the city are treating as a proxy referendum on months of anti-government protests.Hour-long queues stretched outside many polling stations and by early afternoon more than 1.5 million people had voted, exceeding the total ballots cast in the 2015 elections. Continue reading... Go to Source

Labour pledges £58bn for women caught in pension trap Shadow chancellor John McDonnell says party ‘owes debt of honour’ to 3 million over changes in retirement ageMore than 3 million women who believe they have been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after steep increases to the state pension age are being promised compensation by Labour as part of a £58bn scheme designed to end a “historic injustice”. Related: ‘The Tories stole my state pension when I was 60, now I want it back’ Continue reading... Go to Source

Met faces new questions over ‘trafficked’ teen in Epstein case Victims’ tsar to query Force’s decision not to act over Prince Andrew claimsThe Victims’ Commissioner is demanding that the Metropolitan Police explain its decision not to pursue a full investigation into claims a teenager was trafficked to the UK to have sex with Prince Andrew.The Observer understands that Dame Vera Baird QC, a former solicitor general and chair of the Board of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, has taken a close interest in the allegations, first examined by Scotland Yard in 2015. Continue reading... Go to Source

Trump impeachment: Giuliani plays down Parnas link and repeats 'insurance' claim Lawyer: Soviet-born go-betweens ‘weren’t James Bond’New revelations pitch Nunes into impeachment dramaImpeach: Neal Katyal makes strong case against TrumpTwo Soviet-born Americans who form a key link between Donald Trump and Ukraine “weren’t James Bond”, the president’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said on Saturday, insisting the men “didn’t have personal communications with the president” during a time period under intense scrutiny in the impeachment inquiry. Related: John Bolton announces his next move will be Pac amid calls to testify Continue reading... Go to Source