Headline

UK Plans To Ease Visa Policy Amid Labour Shortages

Published

3 years ago

March 9, 2023

Britain on Thursday said that it was planning to ease access to visas to help address labour shortages, which have been partly sparked by its tighter post-Brexit immigration rules.

The government adopted a points-based immigration model following its exit from the European Union in January 2021.

“We work… to ensure our points-based system delivers for the UK and works in the best interests of the economy, by prioritising the skills and talent we need and encouraging long-term investment in the domestic workforce,” a government spokesperson said.

“This includes reviewing the shortage occupation list to ensure it reflects the current labour market.”

The shortage list seeks to relax visa access for professions in short supply.

Many British companies have long called for the government to ease its visa policy.

The hospitality, road haulage and agriculture sectors have been hit particularly hard by European labour shortages sparked by Brexit and exacerbated by Covid fallout.

The UK currently has about one million unfilled jobs, according to recent data from the Office for National Statistics.

That figure has been pushed higher by including numbers of Britons choosing to leave the labour market as a result of long-term illness or early retirement.

The ONS published survey data Thursday showing that more than a quarter of UK firms with 10 or more employees were experiencing shortages in late February. That was broadly the same as in late January.

“Many (businesses) will have little option but to increase wages to attract and retain staff,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown.

“This piles on yet more pressure at a time when higher energy costs and rising prices of goods are still causing headaches.”

The UK government and the Bank of England have urged employers to show restraint, warning that big pay hikes would jeopardise attempts to tame inflation.

Strikes have, however, multiplied in Britain in recent months as workers protest over salaries that have failed to keep pace with decades-high consumer price inflation, worsening a cost-of-living crisis.
AFP

Headline

Charlie Kirk Shooter Arrested, Named

Published

16 hours ago

September 12, 2025

Editor

United States authorities have arrested a suspect in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as 21-year-old Tyler Robinson from Utah, according to NBC News, citing five senior law enforcement sources.

Kirk was fatally shot in the neck on Tuesday while speaking at a debate at Utah Valley University.

Authorities said the attacker fired a single round from a rooftop in what they described as a targeted assassination.

US President Donald Trump confirmed the arrest, telling Fox News that investigators acted “with a high degree of certainty” in taking Robinson into custody.

Trump praised the joint efforts of local police and state officials in the investigation.

Headline

FBI Releases Video Of Charlie Kirk’s Shooter, Recovers Weapons Near Scene [WATCH]

Published

1 day ago

September 12, 2025

Editor

The FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office on Friday released video footage of the man suspected of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk fleeing a rooftop after the incident on September 10, 2025.

The bureau, in a statement accompanied by the video link shared on X on Friday, noted that the video shows the shooter climbing onto a rooftop shortly before the attack and then jumping off and fleeing the scene after firing the fatal shots.

Investigators also reportedly found the weapon and ammunition used in the shooting in a wooded area near the university.

The agency wrote, “The FBI has released a video and more photos of the shooter in the Utah Valley shooting. The subject is seen jumping from the rooftop of a building after the shooting.

“Around 12 pm Mountain Time on September 10, 2025, the subject climbed up to a rooftop; after he shot and killed Charlie Kirk, he jumped off and ran away. He left a gun and ammunition in a wooded area near the university.

“Trace evidence collected from the rooftop scene included shoe impressions, a forearm imprint, and a palm print. Anyone with information in this case should call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit fbi.gov/utahvalleyshooting.”

The bureau added that it is working closely with law enforcement partners to seek justice in the murder of Charlie Kirk.

The PUNCH reported on Thursday that the FBI released initial images of a person of interest in the fatal shooting of Kirk.

The agency also offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of those responsible for his death.

Meanwhile, two people misidentified online as suspects in the fatal shooting of right-wing US activist Charlie Kirk also told AFP Thursday they were terrified by the misinformation targeting them, as the manhunt for the real killer continued.

31-year-old Kirk, a major ally of President Donald Trump and the head of the largest conservative youth movement in the United States, was shot dead while attending an event at Utah Valley University.

Watch the video below:

https://x.com/MobilePunch/status/1966444113794109657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1966444113794109657%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-186661262228333818.ampproject.net%2F2508281901000%2Fframe.html

Headline

Russia Threatens Poland Over Belarus Border Closure

Published

1 day ago

September 12, 2025

Editor

Russia, on Thursday, urged Poland to reopen its border with Belarus, Moscow’s close ally, calling the closure “destructive” and warning of consequences.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced Tuesday the closure of the border with Belarus from 0000 on September 12 (2200 GMT on September 11), in response to the upcoming joint Russian-Belarusian war games.

“We urge Warsaw to consider the consequences of such destructive steps and to review its decision as soon as possible,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

The border closure was to “justify a policy of further escalating tensions in the centre of Europe”, she added.

NATO’s eastern flank members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia are on high alert due to the massive drills, which according to Tusk are designed to simulate occupation of the Suwalki corridor, a strategically important area in Poland.

Usually held every four years, the 2025 iteration of Zapad is the first during the conflict in Ukraine, and is due to run until September 16.

Belarus had said in January that 13,000 troops would be involved in the drills, but in May it said the number was to be reduced by around half.

Zakharova said Warsaw had “demonstratively” ignored the “goodwill” gestures by Moscow and Minsk to move the exercise away from the Polish border and to reduce the number of military personnel participating.