Labour Buzz

- A woman charged with murdering her three young daughters, just weeks after the family arrived in New Zealand from South Africa, appeared in court on Saturday. Lauren Anne Dickason appeared in court in the port city of Timaru in the morning, and a judge remanded her to a hospital for a mental health evaluation, a court spokesperson said. Dickason, 40, is charged with killing her 2-year-old twins and their 6-year-old sister, police said. Their bodies were found on Thursday at a property where the family stayed. "Police would like to reassure the community that this was a tragic isolated incident and we are not seeking anyone else," the police said in a statement late on Friday. Dickason is to appear in court again on Oct. 5. The family came to Timaru, a city of 29,000 on New Zealand's South Island recently, police have said. They left the compulsory two-week managed isolation last week. New Zealand media reported that Dickason and her husband are doctors.   (Reporting by Lidia Kelly i...

JERUSALEM - Israel will withhold $180 million in tax revenue it collect last year on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, or about 7% of the PA's total tax revenue, to offset stipends paid to militants and their families, the Israeli cabinet said on Sunday. Under a 2018 law, Israel calculates each year how much it believes the Palestinian Authority has paid in stipends to militants, and deducts that amount from the taxes it has collected on the Palestinians' behalf. Taxes collected by Israel form about half of the income of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israel calls stipends for militants and their families a “pay for slay” policy that encourages violence. Palestinians hail their jailed brethren as heroes in a struggle for an independent state and their families as deserving of support. Qadri Abu Baker, head of prisoners affairs in the Palestine Liberation Organization, called the Israeli measure a crime of “terror and...

CANNES, France - Sean Penn said on Saturday he nearly passed up the chance to act opposite his daughter Dylan for the first time in "Flag Day", his latest movie which is vying for awards at the Cannes Film Festival - until actor Matt Damon egged him on. Oscar-winning Penn plays John Vogel, a real-life wheeler-dealer who lurched from one failed business venture to another, causing heartbreak for daughter Jennifer, who reveres him. Based on a book by journalist Jennifer Vogel, Penn told a news conference in Cannes that he had an image of daughter Dylan when reading the script - but took some convincing to step into Jennifer's father's shoes, when he was already down to direct. "The last effort I made to not play it was when I sent the script about a month and a half before shooting started to Matt Damon, who called me, not to say that he could do it, not to say that he can't do it, but to say that I was a stupid schmuck not to do it," Penn said. Vogel was a notorious petty criminal who...

SEOUL - Everyone in North Korea is heartbroken over leader Kim Jong Un's apparent weight loss, said an unidentified resident of Pyongyang quoted on the country's tightly controlled state media, after watching recent video footage of Kim. The rare public comment on Kim's health come after foreign analysts noted in early June that the autocratic leader, who is believed to be 37, appeared to have lost a noticeable amount of weight. "Seeing respected general secretary (Kim Jong Un) looking emaciated breaks our people's heart so much," the man said in an interview aired by state broadcaster KRT on Friday. "Everyone is saying that their tears welled up," he said. In the clip, which could not independently verify, Pyongyang residents were seen watching a big screen on the street showing a concert attended by Kim and party officials after a plenary meeting of their Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). The broadcast did not provide any details on what had led to the weight loss. When Kim reappeared...

LONDON (Bywire News)- The BBC has been criticised on social media after rewording prime minister Boris Johnson's highly controversial comments about letting "the bodies pile high in their thousands" to a completely different statement that sounds far less damaging. On Sunday, the Daily Mail alleged that the PM had made the "incendiary remark" that he would prefer to "let the bodies pile high in their thousands" rather than implement a third lockdown in the UK. Despite categorical denials from Downing Street throughout the course of Monday, the veracity of Johnson's alleged comments have been confirmed by multiple sources, including ITV's Robert Peston - whose article headline categorically states that Boris Johnson 'did make' the alleged comments. The quote attributed to Johnson in all of ITV's coverage uses precisely the same wording as reported in the Daily Mail front page scoop last night - that Johnson said "let the bodies pile high in their thousands". However, the BBC’s report c...

This article was collectively written by Jon Trickett, the Labour MP for Hemsworth, Ian Lavery, the Labour MP for Wansbeck, and Laura Smith, the former Labour MP for Crewe and Nantwich and a current Labour Councillor for Crewe South. In recent years, the polling industry has suffered more than a few embarrassing misses when it comes to politics. However, usual caveats included, the last few polls offer a stark warning to the Labour Party - a warning that the leadership needs to urgently address if our party is to make progress in May's crucial elections. The latest YouGov poll, released on Friday, now shows Labour 14-points behind the Tories - a bigger margin than the 2019 General Election. And, what's more, the poll also confirms a big Tory lead amongst working class voters - an issue that we have consistently warned about. However, here at No Holding Back, we are incurable optimists. Whilst the latest polls are unquestionably bad, we can use them to improve our offer to the public -...

LONDON (Bywire News) - An advisor to the United Nations has severely criticised the UK's public broadcaster, the BBC, for totally ignoring Western human rights abuses during a fierce debate about US foreign policy and the environment on Wednesday night's Newsnight programme. Professor Jeffrey Sachs, a current serving Environmental Advisor to the UN, said that the broadcaster's framing of the debate was "not what [he had] expected" when he was asked to come on the show. The climate change expert stated that he had initially been asked to discuss the environment, but claimed that the BBC's choice to instead debate China's human rights abuses - whilst completely ignoring human rights abuses of the West - was "absolutely bizarre". Prior to the interview, the BBC had aired a segment (which was seen by Mr Sachs) detailing how the US's relationship with China was becoming strained due to the Asian nation's record on human rights. The BBC segment then posed the question about whether the USA...

Jennifer Arcuri’s revelation in the Mirror shows a Prime Minister devoid of morals, courage and responsibility. It should be a warning for everyone.

Twitter spat between Femi and Owen Jones, shows that data can tell you anything you want it to.

Starmer calls out Boris Johnson's broken promises in another heated round of PMQs.

From #metoo, to #heforshe, the internet has been tackling violence against women one hashtag at a time. However, as the tragic events of this week show, things aren’t changing.

In a fittingly downbeat session Kier Starmer attempting to focus Johnson’s mind on protecting women from rape rather than statues from paint.

A new book shows the person most responsible for the second spike in infections, but it’s not the one you might think.

Starmer drags Johnson over the coals over a pathetic pay rise for NHS nurses.

Sunak’s budget is another roadmap to austerity and shows that he and other politicians still don’t understand how public finances work.

With thoughts and minds turning to the upcoming budget, Sir Keir Starmer focused all his fire on the current conflict in Yemen.

As we gear up for the London mayoral elections, the capital has to get to grips with the rising pandemic of poverty which is devastating lives before they’ve even begun.

The transfer of one of the biggest GP practices into the hands of US health insurer represents a major blow to the independence of the NHS.

The former candidate was replying to a previously debunked piece of fake news posted by professional agitator & Tory columnist Toby Young.

Next week’s budget and rising council taxes were top of the agenda in a testy Prime Minister’s Questions.