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☆ I’ve been to 100 countries. I didn't expect to want to return to these 5
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Todd Miller | Marylou Costa | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Here are the spots I thought would be "one and done" but that are on my list of return trips. A village in Rwanda, a country with a population of nearly 14 million people. Aerial view of Sveti Stefan, a fortified island village with 15th century stone buildings on the Adriatic coast of Montenegro. I am eager to return to the White Continent again to experience the planet's coldest, windiest, driest, and perhaps most serene place. VanuatuVanuatu is one of the least visited countries in the world, not because it isn't welcoming or rewarding, but because of its remoteness.

Persons: I'm, Edwin Remsberg, Wadi Al Disah, Todd Miller, Todd Miller Wadi, Disah, it's, Sveti, Feng Wei, Andrew Peacock, George Island, doesn't, Yasur Organizations: Bank, Getty, Rwanda, Saudi, UNESCO, Vanuatu Vanuatu, Air Vanuatu Locations: Turkey, Nepal, South Africa, Indonesia, Rwanda, Burundi, Lake Kivu, Africa's, Saudi Arabia, Kingdom, Saudi, Wadi Al, Jordan's Wadi, Petra, Saudia Arabia, Montenegro, Croatia, wallow, Kotor, Sveti Stefan, Stari, Serbian, Albania, Antarctica, George, Vanuatu

☆ Britain’s Labour Government Says It Inherited a $28 Billion Budget Hole
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Eshe Nelson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Britain’s Labour government said it was making “difficult decisions” concerning the budget, including cutting some road and rail projects and pension benefits, after accusing its predecessor, the Conservative Party, of leaving the country’s finances in a mess. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor of the Exchequer, said on Monday that there was a hole of 22 billion pounds (about $28 billion) in the country’s coffers this year because spending needs had exceeded expected revenue. Ms. Reeves accused the Conservative Party of making spending commitments on plans such as road repairs and building new hospitals “knowing the money wasn’t there.” Some of those plans would scrapped or reviewed. “The scale of this overspend is not sustainable,” Ms. Reeves told lawmakers in Parliament. She will present a full budget to lawmakers at the end of October.

Persons: Rachel Reeves, Reeves, Ms Organizations: Labour, Conservative Party Locations: Rwanda

☆ UK planned to spend 10 billion pounds on Rwanda asylum scheme, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Britain's previous government had planned to spend 10 billion pounds ($12.9 billion) on a now-scrapped plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda and it has already cost taxpayers 700 million pounds, new Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Monday. Cooper said the costs include money for chartering flights that never took off, paying for the work of government officials and 290 million pounds in payment to the Rwanda government. Cooper also said tens of thousands of asylum seekers left in limbo as they were threatened with deportation to Rwanda will now have their asylum claims processed. Instead, the government promised to process their claims, end the costly use of hotels to accommodate asylum seekers and clear a backlog of claims. The shift in policy would save taxpayers an estimated 7 billion pounds over the next 10 years, Cooper said.

Persons: Yvette Cooper, Keir Starmer's, Cooper Organizations: Labour, Conservative Locations: Kigali, Europe, Rwanda, Britain's, Britain, East, California

☆ A U.K. Deportation Plan Cost $900 Million. Only Four People Left.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Megan Specia | More About Megan Specia | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The previous British government spent far more than previously announced on a contentious plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, it was announced on Monday. The policy, which called for sending asylum seekers to the African nation for processing and resettlement, was championed by successive Conservative prime ministers as their flagship plan to tackle irregular migration. But no asylum seekers were ever deported to Rwanda under the initiative. Four people were put on planes to the central African nation this year, but they were asylum seekers who went voluntarily after being offered £3,000 each. The policy cost the government some £700 million, or just over $900 million, Britain’s new home secretary, Yvette Cooper, told Parliament on Monday.

Persons: Yvette Cooper Locations: Rwanda, African

☆ King’s Speech: Charles unveils Keir Starmer’s plans for Britain, in state opening of parliament
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The speech sets out the agenda of Keir Starmer, who defeated Rishi Sunak's Conservatives in this month's election. Starmer also formalized plans to renationalize Britain’s rail network in the coming years, and to create a publicly-owned renewable energy company. At home, a number of institutions were targeted for modernization – most awkwardly, the very room in which Charles gave his speech. “The party opposite has successfully tapped into the public’s desire for change, but they must now deliver change,” Sunak said. Those arguments will intensify in the coming weeks, as Labour introduces its first bills to Parliament – beginning with three priority measures from the speech later this week.

Persons: CNN — Keir Starmer, ”, King Charles III, ” Starmer, Starmer, Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak's, Dan Kitwood, Camilla, Black Rod –, Rishi Sunak, Kirsty Wigglesworth, Charles, Bill, –, Theresa May, ” Sunak, Sunak Organizations: CNN, Commons, Labour, Tory, Conservative, Reform UK, Getty, Border Security Command, National Health Service, NATO, – Locations: nationalize, Britain, Europe, Buckingham Palace, Westminster, Rwanda

☆ Rwandans vote in election expected to extend Kagame’s rule
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-15 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Kagame has won more than 93% of the vote at each of the three previous elections. Eight candidates had applied to run against him, but only two were retained in the final list validated by the electoral commission. The others, including Kagame’s most vocal critics, were barred for various reasons that included prior criminal convictions. At the Rwandexco polling center in the capital Kigali, people started queueing 90 minutes before polls opened. Kagame won nearly 99% of the vote in the 2017 poll, which followed a constitutional change removing term limits that would have prevented him from standing again.

Persons: Paul Kagame, Kagame, Pheneas, “, ” Pheneas, ” Kagame, Frank Habineza, Philippe Mpayimana, Karangwa Vedaste, ” Vedaste Organizations: Rwanda Reuters — Voters, Motorcycle Locations: Kigali, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo

☆ With Rivals Restricted, Kagame Looks Set for Another Term in Rwanda
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-15 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The winding roads to this town in northern Rwanda were lined with election posters for the man who has been president for decades: Paul Kagame. Businesses were ordered shut and women swept the streets before the president’s convoy swooshed by, heading for a huge rally in a stadium bedecked with the governing party’s red, white and sky-blue colors. A day later, Mr. Kagame’s main challenger, Frank Habineza, arrived in the same town without a fanfare. His party’s colors — green, yellow and white — were absent from the now-busy streets. A few dozen people, many of them his own election workers, gathered under a tent by the street to listen to him.

Persons: Paul Kagame, Kagame’s, Frank Habineza Organizations: Security Locations: Rwanda

☆ Rwanda Says It Doesn’t Have to Repay U.K. for Scrapped Migration Plan
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Rwanda does not have to repay the hundreds of millions of pounds it received from Britain as part of a contentious policy aimed at sending migrants on a one-way flight to the Central African nation, two senior Rwandan government officials say. As part of the deal, Britain was set to give Rwanda as much as about half a billion pounds in development funding in exchange for taking in the migrants. Britain’s independent public spending watchdog said in early March that the country had already paid Rwanda £220 million, about $280 million, even though no asylum seekers had been deported to the African nation. Britain’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer, scrapped the plan after taking over as the country’s leader last week. One of the Rwandan officials, Alain Mukuralinda, the government’s deputy spokesman, said on Wednesday that the agreement did not include a reimbursement clause.

Persons: Keir Starmer, Britain’s, Alain Mukuralinda Organizations: Central, Rwandan, Conservative Party, Channel Locations: Rwanda, Britain, Central African

☆ New UK leader Starmer declares Rwanda deportation plan 'dead and buried'
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers his speech outside Downing Street 10, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. Britain's new Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Saturday he would scrap a controversial plan to fly thousands of asylum seekers from Britain to Rwanda in his first major policy announcement since winning a landslide election victory. But no one was sent to Rwanda under the plan because of years of legal challenges. At his first press conference since becoming prime minister, Starmer said that the Rwanda policy would be scrapped because only about 1% of asylum seekers would have been removed and it would have failed to act as a deterrent. "The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started.

Persons: Keir Starmer, Starmer, It's, I'm, Tony Blair Organizations: British, Downing, Conservative Locations: London, Britain, Rwanda, East, British, Downing

☆ Opinion | Don’t Doubt NATO. It Saved My People.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Albin Kurti | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Many European partners worry that after the U.S. presidential election in November, the American commitment to the alliance will wane. Who among my people could forget the sight of NATO soldiers being cheered as they arrived? Over the past 25 years, as NATO helped liberate Kosovo and maintained the peace, we in return built democracy to foster this peace from within. We declared our independence in 2008, an idea that will resonate with Americans who have just celebrated their Independence Day. There was little doubt to us, given the fresh memories of genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia, that the situation in Kosovo would have deteriorated rapidly without NATO.

Persons: Slobodan Milosevic Organizations: NATO, U.S, Kosovar Locations: United States, Washington, Europe, Kosovo, Serbian, Kosova, Rwanda, Bosnia

☆ How Britain Changed Over 14 Years of Conservative Rule
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Josh Holder | Ademola Bello | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

How Britain Changed Over 14 Years of Conservative RuleSince Britain’s Conservative Party took power 14 years ago, most things have not gone the way it planned. The Economy Has StagnatedAverage productivity growth has declined since 2010…0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 2.0% 2010 2015 2017 2019 2024 Source: Office for National Statistics. 2010 2015 2017 2019 2024 Source: N.H.S. 50% 60% 70% 80% 2010 2015 2017 2019 2024 Source: N.H.S. 2010 2015 2017 2019 2024 Source: Trussell Trust … and thousands more people are sleeping on the streets than in 2010.

Persons: Conservatives ’, England …, Boris Johnson, —, Hong Kongers, Rishi Sunak Organizations: Conservative, Britain’s Conservative Party, Conservatives, Local, gov, Conservative Party, European Union, National Health Service, National Statistics, Institute for Public Policy Research, Public Services, Labour, Commons, Department, Loans Company, Higher Education Statistics, YouGov Locations: Britain, Thursday’s, Germany, United States, London, Ukraine, England, Rwanda, United Kingdom

☆ Experts are racing to contain 'the most dangerous' monkeypox virus yet before it causes a global outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewA deadly and fast-spreading new strain of mpox, the disease caused by the monkeypox virus, has global health officials ringing alarm bells. The new virus is called clade Ib, since it's a mutation of an even earlier form of mpox. AdvertisementThe new clade Ib virus could cause a global outbreak, experts fear, though they stopped short of warning of a pandemic. "The pandemic question is difficult," Trudie Lang, director of the Global Health Network at Oxford University, said in the briefing. The new clade Ib strain seems to do it all.

Persons: —, John Claude Udahemuka, Trudie Lang, There's, Lang, Murhula, mpox, Rosamund Lewis, Murhula Masirika Organizations: Service, University of Rwanda, Business, World Health Organization, Democratic, Global Health Network, Oxford University, Centers for Disease Control, WHO, Reuters Locations: Democratic Republic of, Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, Africa

☆ Sandy Hook victim's brother is 'shocked' that a letter Trump once sent him turned up in a Mar-a-Lago evidence photo
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewIn 2018, JT Lewis, whose little brother Jesse died in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, received a signed letter from Donald Trump. AdvertisementThis evidence photo from the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case shows a letter Donald Trump sent in 2018 to the older brother of a Sandy Hook shooting victim. In the letter, Trump thanks Lewis for coming to the White House "for discussions regarding the safety of our schools." AdvertisementThat “Sandy Hook” letter was a letter to me. I lost my brother in the Sandy Hook shooting and president Trump took the time to reach out.

Persons: —, JT Lewis, Jesse, Donald Trump, Jack Smith, Trump, Sandy Hook, Lewis, it's, wxcFGhvDAJ, FM8hDpAonk — JT Lewis, Scarlett Lewis, JT, Scarlett, Jesse McCord Lewis, Victoria Soto Organizations: Service, Elementary, Business, White, DOJ, White House, National School Safety Initiative, JT, Trump Locations: Sandy, Newtown, Rwanda, Parkland , Florida, New Orleans

☆ Former Colonies Want France Out. This African Nation Says, Bienvenue!
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | Guillem Sartorio | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After decades of wielding political, military and economic power across Africa, France is scaling back its presence on the continent as it faces significant resentment in many of its former colonies. Yet one nation has emerged as an exception: Rwanda. In return, French companies are scaling up their investments in Rwanda. The détente, which is being championed by Rwanda’s longtime leader, Paul Kagame, has garnered France a much-needed security partner in Africa and secured Rwanda millions of dollars in development and trade funds. “We have a partner in Kagame,” Hervé Berville, a French minister of state, said in an interview in the Rwandan capital, Kigali.

Persons: Rwanda’s, Paul Kagame, Emmanuel Macron, Kagame, ” Hervé Organizations: France Locations: Africa, France, Rwanda, Paris, French, Rwandan, Kigali

☆ Starbucks is teaming up with an Oscar-winning producer to make Hollywood-style movies and series
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewAdd Starbucks to the growing list of brands trying to crack Hollywood. The coffee company announced on Monday the creation of Starbucks Studios to create original entertainment. Related storiesIt's working with Sugar23 — the production company headed by Michael Sugar, best known for the Oscar-winning "Spotlight" — to develop projects. Starbucks' forays into original entertainment go back to 2016, when it released "Upstanders," a series of 10 written, video, and podcast stories about people creating positive change. "Starbucks is being very bold with this but really very smart … You can't reach 30 million people on NBC anymore."

Persons: —, Christy Cain, Sugar23, Michael Sugar, Sugar, Trevor Noah's, Max, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Reese Witherspoon's Organizations: Service, Starbucks Studios, Business, InBev, Procter & Gamble, Time Studios, Productions, Amazon's, Tribeca, NBC, Brands, Netflix, Apple Locations: Rwanda

☆ Starbucks is teaming up with an Oscar-winning producer to make movies and series
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

☆ This start-up is making artificial hair from bananas
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Leah Collins | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Some people complain that synthetic hair can irritate their scalp and a study of synthetic hair in Nigeria found the presence of potentially harmful heavy metals and chemicals. We want to empower women to make informed decisions about what hair they use and what’s best for them.”Tumusiime says that, unlike synthetic hair, her product is biodegradable, durable and can be easily styled, treated and colored. Since it’s made from discarded banana stems, she adds, it’s also a way to help curb that waste. In the US, St.Louis-based Rebundle also sells hair extensions made from banana fibers, while Nourie Hair offers a hair alternative for braiding made from Ginseng root extract and rosemary. But synthetic hair can be bought for as little as $1 for a bundle.

Persons: Juliet Tumusiime, Tumusiime, Cheveux, ” Tumusiime, it’s, Spiro, Clement Di Roma, Simon Maina, Prince William’s, James Oatway, there's, Edwin Maina, Cheveux Brown, Juliet, Cheveux Organique, “, I’m, ” Organizations: CNN, USAID, Research, Getty, Reeddi Technologies, The Royal Academy of Engineering, Kenyan, Economic Locations: Africa, Uganda, Nigeria, Benin, Kenya, AFP, China, Cameroon, Rwanda, France

☆ Nigel Farage enters UK election race, in more bad news for Sunak’s Conservatives
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Christian Edwards | Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

While that might not be enough to win Reform more than a few seats, it could contribute to the Conservatives losing dozens more seats to Labour. The Conservatives’ Farage problem will not fade soon. As well as becoming leader, Farage announced he is “coming back for the next five years.”“We already know that the Conservative Party will be in opposition. The weaker the Conservative Party is after the election, the more heat Farage can put on them. There are as many in the Conservative Party who find Farage appalling as there are who’d like to see him join the party.

Persons: Nigel Farage, ”, Farage, Rishi Sunak, Donald Trump, “, I’ve, It’s, Farage’s, Sunak Organizations: London CNN, Conservative Party, European Union, Reform, Independence Party, UKIP, Conservatives, Labour Party, Labour, Tories, Conservative Locations: Clacton, Manhattan, London, Rwanda

☆ Safaris aren't the only tourist attraction in Africa. From cruises to wine tasting, here's what else you can do
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Harriet Akinyi | Penny Sadler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Bungy jumping at Soweto Towers, a decommissioned power station in Johannesburg, South Africa. Explore the beachAfrican beach towns combine beauty and culture, in places like Seychelles, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Mozambique, Mauritius, Zanzibar, Ghana, Namibia and Egypt. In addition to being a popular stop for world cruises, East and South Africa have their own ocean cruise routes which follow the coastlines and visit offshore islands. But South Africa is the continent's crown jewel. The wine country of Franschhoek, outside of Cape Town, South Africa.

Persons: Toubkal, there's, Thomas Janisch, Zina Bencheikh, Madagascar's Tsingy, Carlo Morucchio, Kenya's Masai Mara, King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Mombasa's, Samir Hussein, Luciemarie Swanepoel, Jeremy Villasis, Peter Unger, Kate Powell, Intrepid's Bencheikh, Kevin Bubolz, Wrenelle Stander, Michele Westmorland Organizations: bungie, Getty, Intrepid Travel, UNESCO, Heritage, Wireimage, Diamonds, Sainte, Cruises, Stone, Queen, Cruise Line, MSC, Continental, Penguin Locations: Africa, Morocco's, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Nyangani, Zimbabwe, Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, Europe, East, Namibia, Victoria Falls, Zambia, Jinja, Uganda, Morocco, Seychelles, Kenya, Mozambique, Mauritius, Zanzibar, Ghana, Egypt, Mombasa, Mombasa's Fort Jesus, Fort Jesus, Kaya, Zanzibar's Stone, Madagascar, Swanepoel, Durban, Cape, Kivu, Silversea, Continental Europe, Middle East, Port, Ethiopia, Wesgro, Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Cape Town , South Africa

☆ Climate Change Added a Month’s Worth of Extra-Hot Days in Past Year
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Raymond Zhong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Over the past year of record-shattering warmth, the average person on Earth experienced 26 more days of abnormally high temperatures than they otherwise would have, were it not for human-induced climate change, scientists said Tuesday. The past 12 months have been the planet’s hottest ever measured, and the burning of fossil fuels, which has added huge amounts of heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere, is a major reason. Nearly 80 percent of the world’s population experienced at least 31 days of atypical warmth since last May as a result of human-caused warming, the researchers’ analysis found. The precise difference varies place to place. In others, including Colombia, Indonesia and Rwanda, the difference is upward of 120 days.

Locations: Colombia, Indonesia, Rwanda

☆ Why UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called an election he’s expected to lose
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

London CNN —When British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Wednesday that the United Kingdom would hold a general election on July 4, many observers wondered: why now? British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers a speech calling for a general election, outside 10 Downing Street, in London on May 22. Their time in office didn’t begin formidably. In 2010, after 13 years of Labour rule, David Cameron won the general election but didn’t win a majority in parliament. Eventually, the Conservative Party had enough of the chaos and put Sunak in charge as a safe pair of hands.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, Sunak, Maja Smiejkowska, he’s, we’ve, ’ ” Sunak, didn’t, David Cameron, Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Johnson, Henry Nicholls, Liz Truss, –, Starmer Organizations: London CNN, British, Conservative Party, Labour Party, Labour, International Monetary Fund, CNN, IMF, Liberal Democrats, Conservative, Vale, Glamorgan Brewery, Getty Locations: United Kingdom, London, Downing, Glamorgan, Barry, Wales, AFP, Rwanda, Sunak

☆ Shock summer election in Britain predicted to deliver 'historic' result
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak makes a statement in the rain outside 10 Downing Street, announcing the UK general election will take place on 4 July in London, United Kingdom on May 22, 2024. News of the vote came as a surprise to the public, the media and much of Sunak's own party. 'As good as it gets'Bronwen Maddox, director of Chatham House think tank, said the election date had shocked many Conservatives who thought it would be held nearer to the U.S. election in November. Market bets on an interest rate cut in the summer fell as a result, and it now looks unlikely the central bank will cut on June 20, its last meeting before the election. So if that translates to a general election as well, then that Labour landslide is looking much less certain."

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Price, Bronwen Maddox, I'm, Maddox, Rachel Reeves, Sir Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner, Leon Neal, James, Hannah Bunting, CNBC's, Tony Blair, John Major, Bunting, we've Organizations: British, Anadolu, Getty, Conservative Party, Conservatives, Labour Party, Downing, Bank of England, Chatham House, CNBC, Bank of England's, Labour, Centre, University of Exeter Locations: London, United Kingdom, U.K, Europe, Gaza, Rwanda, Purfleet

☆ UK election 2024: Everything you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Rishi Sunak’s rival for power is Labour leader Keir Starmer, who is heavily favored to become Britain’s new prime minister in July. Labour leader Keir Starmer -- the frontrunner in the election -- launches his campaign in Gillingham on Thursday. Given Labour’s standing in the polls, Starmer is more equipped to take the fight to other groups. In the UK, voters don’t elect a prime minister directly. But this is a formal role only; the King won’t contradict his prime minister or overrule the results of an election.

Persons: CNN —, Rishi Sunak, We’ll, Keir Starmer, Sunak, Downing, Maja Smiejkowska, – Sunak, Boris Johnson’s, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Johnson, Stefan Rousseau, Jeremy Corbyn, Theresa May, Sunak hasn’t, –, Starmer, Henry Nicholls, Rishi Sunak’s, Gareth Fuller, Reform Party –, David Cameron, King Charles III, won’t Organizations: CNN, CNN — Britain’s, Labour, Reuters, Sunak’s Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Conservative, Party, Getty, European Union, Reform Party, Scottish National Party, Green Party, National Health Service Locations: Westminster, Rwanda, England, AFP, Gillingham, Gaza

☆ Sunak Says U.K. Won’t Send Asylum Seekers to Rwanda Before Election
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In calling a general election, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain cast himself this week as a leader with a clear plan. That did not include carrying an umbrella during his remarks in front of 10 Downing Street, where Mr. Sunak was drenched in a spring shower that yielded a flood of snarky headlines. “Drowning Street,” said the tabloid City A.M. “Drown & out,” cried The Daily Mirror. Mr. Sunak signaled that his government’s signature political project — putting asylum seekers on one-way flights to Rwanda — would not be set in motion before voters went to the polls on July 4. Speaking to the BBC, Mr. Sunak cited the Rwanda policy to draw a sharp contrast with the opposition Labour Party, which he accused of having no plan to stop asylum seekers who make hazardous crossings of the English Channel in small boats.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, ”, “, Rwanda — Organizations: Downing, Daily Telegraph, BBC, Labour Party Locations: Rwanda

☆ Opinion: Rishi Sunak’s election looks like a final gasp
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Opinion Holly Thomas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

For those outside the Westminster bubble, the announcement felt less like a starting pistol than a final gasp. But unlike Sunak, who with his wife Akshata Murty is worth an estimated £651 million ($828 million), most of us can’t afford it. The British economy never fully recovered from the 2008 recession and, consciously or not, most people still feel the sting every day. As Sam Knight recently noted in the New Yorker, the average British worker is estimated to be £14,000 ($17,800) worse off per year now than they would be if earnings had risen at pre-crisis rates. Her disastrous mini-budget wiped £30 billion off the UK economy that autumn, according to independent think tank Resolution Foundation, and sent interest rates rocketing.

Persons: Holly Thomas, Katie Couric, Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, Tony Blair, Akshata Murty, Sam Knight, Brexit, Liz Truss, It’s, there’s, —, Boris Johnson, Johnson, who’d, that’s, Blair Organizations: Katie Couric Media, CNN, London CNN —, Conservative, Westminster, Labour, British Medical Association, BMA, Commission, Yorker, Evening, Office, National Statistics, Tory, Foundation Locations: London, Westminster, England, British, Europe, Rwanda

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