New tax law estate planning

Ministers will on Tuesday unveil plans for a new law to override parts of the post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland in a bid to revive power-sharing. After emergency talks, Boris Johnson said the legislation was needed as "insurance" in case talks with the European Union fail. But the move would effectively tear up the Northern Ireland protocol - agreed by the Prime Minister in 2019 - which sets trading rules on goods moving from Britain to Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland's institutions have been plunged into crisis with the DUP refusing to re-enter a devolved government in protest at the 'Irish Sea border' in the protocol. But EU leaders have warned Mr Johnson against trying to rewrite the treaty unilaterally - suggesting it could result in a damaging trade war with the bloc. Mr Johnson told reporters: "We would love this to be done in a consensual way with our friends and partners, ironing out the problems, stopping some of these barriers East-West. "But to get that … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson to ‘proceed’ with law axing parts of Brexit deal with statement tomorrow

Happy shoppers could soon be paying for their items by flashing a smile in an innovative new way to save time at the checkout. Credit card giant Mastercard has unveiled plans for a hi-tech biometric system that makes even contactless payments appear old fashioned as there is no fumbling in handbags or wallets for plastic. It is pioneering a global rollout where shoppers just have to grin or wave at a camera which recognises their features or fingerprints, tap a screen to confirm the payment and go. The “Payface” technology is set up through a mobile phone app with users putting in their details as well as taking a picture and scanning a fingerprint on the device. These are all added to their credit or debit card to set up an account which is linked to the user’s unique biometric data. The new technology could make the checkout process faster ( Image: Getty Images) Mastercard said: “With Mastercard’s new Biometric Checkout Programme, all you will need is … [Read more...] about Shoppers could soon pay for their items with a smile as new technology unveiled

President Yoon Suk-yeol, center left, and U.S. President Joe Biden, center right, speak to troops during a visit to the Korean Air and Space Operations Center (KAOC) at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, Sunday afternoon. Biden later concluded his three-day visit to Seoul and departed for Tokyo. [JOINT PRESS CORPS] U.S. President Joe Biden wrapped up a three-day trip to Seoul with a visit to the Korean Air and Space Operations Center (KAOC) alongside President Yoon Suk-yeol Sunday afternoon in a show of security coordination amid North Korea's missile threats. This marks the first visit to the center by a U.S. president and comes after the two leaders in their first summit talks Saturday agreed to expand the "scope and scale" of combined military exercises and training. They also committed to the deployment of U.S. strategic military assets "in a timely and coordinated manner as necessary" to reinforce deterrence in the face of North Korea's "destabilizing activities," … [Read more...] about Yoon and Biden agree to increase security and economic cooperation

Starting in the spring of 2020, school boards and superintendents across the country faced a dreadful choice: Keep classrooms open and risk more COVID-19 deaths, or close schools and sacrifice children’s learning. In the name of safety, many districts shut down for long periods. But researchers are now learning that the closures came at a stiff price—a large decline in children’s achievement overall and a historic widening in achievement gaps by race and economic status. The achievement loss is far greater than most educators and parents seem to realize. The only question now is whether state and local governments will recognize the magnitude of the educational damage and make students whole. Adults are free to disagree about whether school closures were justified or a mistake. But either way, children should not be stuck with the bill for a public-health measure taken on everyone’s behalf. I am part of a team from the American Institutes for Research, Dartmouth College, Harvard, … [Read more...] about Kids’ Learning Losses Are Worse Than Educators Are Acknowledging

Sri Lanka’s doctors warned on Sunday they were nearly out of life-saving medicines and said the island nation’s economic crisis threatened a worse death toll than the coronavirus pandemic. Weeks of power blackouts and severe shortages of food, fuel and pharmaceuticals have brought widespread misery to Sri Lanka, which is suffering its worst downturn since independence in 1948. The Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) said that all hospitals in the country no longer had access to imported medical tools and vital drugs. Several facilities have already suspended routine surgeries since last month because they were dangerously low on anaesthetics, but the SLMA said that even emergency procedures may not be possible very soon. “We are made to make very difficult choices. We have to decide who gets treatment and who will not,” the group said Sunday, after releasing a letter they had sent President Gotabaya Rajapaksa days earlier to warn him of the situation. “If supplies are not … [Read more...] about Crisis-hit Sri Lanka Nearly Out of Medicine, Doctors Warn of ‘Casualties Far Worse Than from Pandemic’

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung shakes hands with U.S. President Joe Biden during a meeting held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan, central Seoul, on Sunday. [HYUNDAI MOTOR] Hyundai Motor Group announced a $5 billion investment in the United States through 2025 for innovative mobility technologies, a day after announcing a similarly sized investment to build an electric vehicle (EV) plant in Georgia. The announcement was made by Chairman Euisun Chung Sunday morning during his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden held at Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan, central Seoul. "Hyundai Motor Group plans to invest an additional $5 billion through 2025, which will strengthen our collaboration with American enterprises in diverse technologies, such as robotics, urban air mobility, autonomous driving and artificial intelligence," said Chung. "In total, this makes the sum of our new U.S. investment to over $10 billion." "We also stand ready to work towards achieving the Biden … [Read more...] about Hyundai’s U.S. investment commitments double to $10.5 billion

Life is nothing if not diverse! And so is the world around us. From the thick, all-encompassing worldly banyan trees to the thin films of algae that floats on water surfaces, from the gorgeous, speckled butterflies to the slimy brown bugs that feast on garbage, all this and more fills up our life and the planet that we live on. And the numbers can be mind-boggling. India, for instance, is home to more than 45,000 species of plants and 91,000 species of animals. In just one spoonful of soil, close to 1 billion bacteria thrive. Each of these organisms is distinct and utterly unique, and we need every one of them to survive. The Web of Life Our whole planet is connected through invisible threads. Let the bees disappear, and we lose one out of every three bites of food that we eat. Chop the trees, and we lose clean air, the topsoil and are susceptible to water scarcity. As it is, our mindless, endless activity has already altered almost 75% of the earth’s surface, squeezing wildlife … [Read more...] about Why Community is Key to Making Biodiversity Conservation a Long-Term Success

The legal age of smoking tobacco in Britain could reportedly be raised to 21 years old under the latest nanny state move from the country’s nominally Conservative government. In the hopes of transitioning the United Kingdom into a smoke-free nation by the end of the decade, a “radical” review commissioned by Health Secretary Sajid Javid could see the government recommend raising the legal age of smoking from 18 to 21. Though 18-year-olds are legally allowed to vote and indeed to serve in the nation’s armed forces, Javid, who quit smoking upon his appointment as Health Secretary last year, supports imposing new limits on tobacco, The Telegraph reports . The British broadsheet, which is closely connected to the Tory government, claimed that the report — which is expected to be published within the coming weeks — will also advocate for wider proliferation of vapes and other electronic cigarettes as well as increased taxes on the profits of tobacco companies. A source … [Read more...] about UK Conservative Govt Looks to Raise Legal Smoking Age to 21

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom defended his administration’s work on housing and homelessness during an interview with The Chronicle’s editorial board Thursday, promising to crack down on local opposition to housing projects. “Taxpayers deserve more in terms of results, not just inputs,” Newsom said. “They want to see results.” In the last few years, Newsom has been responsible for putting more state funding into housing and homelessness programs than any other recent governor. His previous budgets have poured billions in funding to increase housing production and help get homeless people off the streets, but Californians aren’t yet seeing results they want, as they continue to rank housing and homelessness as top concerns. Three years into Newsom’s tenure, housing production remains sluggish. Although preliminary numbers show the homeless population has shrunk in San Francisco , it’s grown in almost every other Bay Area county that reported data last week. Where’s the … [Read more...] about ‘NIMBYism is destroying the state.’ Gavin Newsom ups pressure on cities to build more housing

The tears flow readily as Gemma Carlsson counts out the last of this week’s money. It’s coming to the end of the month, so she’s down to a pile of small change. “It’s not where I want to be,” she whispers. “I hate it. It feels like I’m getting depression just from being here. It’s damp, it’s falling apart. The kids hate it too.” She’s sitting in a room with damp walls, an ancient TV that only plays children’s channels, and the tell-tale smell of rat faeces wafting in from behind the sparse units in the kitchen beyond. Home for Gemma, 38, and her children, aged 20, 15 and 10, is a three-bedroom council house on Middlesbrough’s Grove Hill estate. The family have lived there – always in abject poverty – for the past 12 years. Gemma’s deprivation is what the experts classify as “in-work poverty” in Britain's biggest unemployment blackspot She earns £456 a month and gets £665 in Universal Credit . Yet the cost of living crisis means her £400 a month food bill – which … [Read more...] about Mum’s fight for survival as cost of living crisis leaves family unable to make ends meet