Ed Balls attacks Tony Blair over deficit claims in memoirs

Ed Balls: disagrees with Tony Blair on the deficit. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images Ed Balls today rounded on Tony Blair for his claim that Labour had been wrong to allow the structural deficit to build up during the last decade. The Labour leadership contender said Blair was mistaken in his apparent support of the coalition’s [...]

Tony Blair’s prescription for economy rejected by Labour candidates

Blair’s comments forced would-be Labour leaders to show their hands on the economy – and delighted the government. Photograph: Bob Strong/Reuters Candidates for the Labour leadership moved tonight to limit the impact of politically explosive remarks in Tony Blair’s memoirs in which he backed the economic strategy of the Conservative-led coalition government. Blair shook the [...]

76 months and counting … | Andrew Simms

Projects such as the Gunfleet Sands wind farm will be threatened by the cuts. Photograph: Chris Radburn/PA A bonfire of the environment is being stoked methodically along government corridors. Yet, simultaneously, banks still refuse to renounce the bonus culture that blinded our financial system and created the conditions for cuts. As expensive City PR firms [...]

Afghanistan: which way now?

A US soldier greets a local boy in Rambazi, a village near Kandahar, last month. Photograph: Chris Hondros/Getty Images The Basra option During the latter period of the British occupation of the Iraqi city of Basra, two questions emerged: whether the high profile of British troops actually provided a target and made the violence worse? [...]

Axing of Film Council raises key questions about arts funding

Forest Whitaker starred as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland, a Film Council hit directed by Kevin Macdonald. Photograph: Allstar/20 Century Fox Government-funded arts bodies have been preparing for bad news for a while and will have braced themselves further after last month’s warning from the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, that their funding [...]


Business

BP: Deepwater Horizon oil well will be permanently sealed ‘in two weeks’

BP’s oil well in the Gulf of Mexico exploded on 20 April. Photograph: Sipa Press / Rex Features BP said today it is a fortnight away from sealing the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico for good, as it revealed that the bill for containing and... 

Entertainment

GMTV star Kate Garraway opens goody bag site to give fans celebrity discounts

Breakfast TV star Kate Garraway, pictured at the Galaxy British book awards, who is launching Goodypass.com, which will offer fans a range of goods at a reduced price. Photograph: Rex Features Breakfast TV star Kate Garraway is launching an online business... 

Science

Coast Guard Preps for Hurricane Earl With Centuries of Experience Behind It

U.S. Coast Guard / Petty Officer 3rd Class David Weydert A Coast Guard C-130 Hercules airplane is prepped for a search and rescue patrol at Air Station Elizabeth City, Aug. 31, 2010. The crew of the C-130 broadcasted a warning message to boating and shipping traffic from... 

Education

Remedy for UK deficit will leave patient feeling groggy for years to come

Bricklayers working in Hatfield. The construction industry took a big hit from the recession and expects the outlook to get tougher. Photograph: Frank Baron for the Guardian It was a bright, sunny day when 19 senior executives, each representing one of... 


British extradition agreements to be reviewed

Gary McKinnon could face up to 60 years in prison if he is extradited to the US. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian The Home Office is to announce a review of extradition arrangements, including those with the US and EU countries following high-profile rows over the way they are operating. The main impetus has [...]

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Social class affects white pupils’ exam results more than those of ethnic minorities – study

Study finds that white children’s social class affects their school-leaving grades. Photograph: John Alex Maguire/Rex Features A child’s social class is more likely to determine how well they perform in school if they are white than if they come from an ethnic minority, researchers have discovered. The gap between the proportion of working-class pupils and [...]

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Virgin Media steps up battle over broadband speed advertising

A still from a Virgin Media ad pushing the speed of its fibre-optic cable network Virgin Media has promised to publish its typical broadband speeds each month, as it publishes a survey suggesting that most customers find internet service providers’ advertisements misleading. Only 9% of respondents surveyed by ICM for Virgin Media think broadband advertising [...]

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