PM flies out after courting world’s second biggest economy aware of difficult balance of risks and potential rewards

The last British prime minister to visit China was Theresa May in 2018. Before the visit, she and her team were advised to get dressed under the covers because of the risk of hidden cameras having been placed in their hotel rooms to record compromising material.

Keir Starmer, in Beijing this week, was more sanguine about his privacy, even though the security risks have, if anything, increased since the former Tory prime minister was in town.

Continue reading...

Continue reading...

Ursula, 29, an events coordinator, meets Culann, 34, a charity worker

What were you hoping for?
To meet someone fun, maybe a bit of romance.

Continue reading...

Revelation that subsidiary of Capgemini is to help trace and expel migrants in US provokes outrage in France

French lawmakers have demanded an explanation after one of the country’s biggest tech companies signed a multimillion dollar contract to help the US enforcement agency ICE trace and expel migrants.

The revelation that a subsidiary of Capgemini, a multinational digital services firm listed on the Paris stock exchange, had agreed to provide “skip tracing” – a technique for locating targeted people – with big bonuses if successful, has provoked outrage in France.

Continue reading...

Sometimes, all that’s required for supper is simply stewed Mediterranean vegetables and potatoes with a dollop of yoghurt on top …

The world over, you’ll find home cooks trying to turn bags of potatoes into dinner, myself included. Sometimes, my answer is a Sri Lankan potato curry, or a Gujarati one. Perhaps a slow-cooked Spanish omelette if it’s a date night with Hugh at the kitchen island (like this Friday) but today, the solution is Greek. Yahni is the Greek word for a style of cooking: vegetables braised in plenty of olive oil and tomatoes, until tender. It’s a way of being, a vote for the simple and the slow and the good (but it is also dinner, if you wish).

Continue reading...

Academics say £4bn investment fund is ‘designed to prevent any troublesome democratic interference’

Cambridge academics have accused the university of “maximal obfuscation” in a row over its £4bn investment fund and how it profits from investing in arms manufacturers.

The university’s governing body is expected to meet on Monday to consider a report on its financial ties to the defence sector, but some senior staff have said investments cannot be properly scrutinised because the institution has not been transparent about the companies involved.

Continue reading...

As rivers swell and homes are cut off, scientists say UK winter rainfall is already 20 years ahead of predictions

When flooding hit the low-lying Somerset Levels in 2014, it took two months for the waters to rise. This week it took two days, said Rebecca Horsington, chair of the Flooding on the Levels Action Group and a born-and-bred resident. A fierce barrage of storms from the Atlantic has drenched south-west England in January, saturating soils and supercharging rivers.

Continue reading...

Need something brilliant to read this weekend? Here are six of our favourite pieces from the last seven days

Continue reading...

's Nachts geen oog dichtdoen en bij elk rinkeltje opschrikken. Een overval blijft winkeliers lang achtervolgen, soms zelfs tot ze besluiten hun zaak voorgoed te sluiten.

Er is vandaag veel bewolking en vooral in de ochtend kan hier en daar ook nog wat motregen vallen. Slechts af en toe kan de zon even doorbreken en de temperatuur stijgt naar een graad of 8 waarmee het zachter is dan de afgelopen dagen. De wind doet het rustig aan het is zwak tot matig uit het zuidoosten.