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Partygate: A timeline of the lockdown parties - BBC News Source

CNN  —  Republican Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul gave Secretary of State Antony Blinken a deadline of Monday afternoon to turn over a key document related to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan or face a subpoena for the file. The demand for the dissent cable sent by US diplomats in Kabul in mid-July 2021 is part of McCaul’s push to investigate the chaotic departure of US military and government from Afghanistan after nearly two decades of war. The frenzied final weeks, during which a suicide bomber attacked the Kabul airport and killed 13 US service members and more than 100 Afghans, has been under immense scrutiny from Republican lawmakers since unfolding. McCaul has repeatedly warned that he would issue a subpoena if the State Department failed to share what he determined were three priority items: the cable, the after action report looking at the withdrawal, and…

Note: in the calculator, the ONS compares your personal inflation rate with CPIH, a measure of inflation that includes housing costs for those who own their home. Recently this has been slightly lower than the more widely-reported measure, called CPI, and in February 2023 it was 9.2%. Source

CNN  —  Russian forces are depleted in Bakhmut and a Ukrainian counter-offensive could soon be launched, one of Kyiv’s top generals has said, raising the prospect of an unlikely turnaround in the besieged city. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine’s land forces, said on his Telegram channel Thursday that “[Russians] are losing significant forces [in Bakhmut] and are running out of energy.” “Very soon, we will take advantage of this opportunity, as we did in the past near Kyiv, Kharkiv, Balakliya and Kupyansk,” he said. His comments come days after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise trip to the front lines of the Donetsk region, and will raise hopes in the West that Kyiv’s contentious decision to keep troops in Bakhmut will pay dividends. A counter-offensive has seemed an unlikely prospect for several weeks, as forces from Russia’s Wagner mercenary group bombarded Bakhmut and edged closer toward seizing control…

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What is the Bank of England and why does it change interest rates? - BBC News Source

Former Prime Minster Boris Johnson is asked why photographs show a lack of social distancing between his colleagues at a leaving-do event he attended.A second national lockdown was in force at the time, and rules prohibited indoor gatherings of two or more people. Mr Johnson strongly defended certain events. Source

Boris Johnson grilling: Our correspondents on how it went - BBC News Source

Editor’s Note: Catherine Poisson is an associate professor of Romance Languages at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Her research has focused on literature and culture of France from the 19th century to the present. The views expressed in this article are her own. Read more opinion at CNN. CNN  —  As a native of France who has lived in America for many years, I never fail to be shocked at the sight of older workers packing groceries at the supermarket. It suggests to me a deplorable lack of social supports that could allow aged people to enjoy a dignified retirement. While it’s true that some people choose to work past retirement, most of us in this country, at some point or the other, have seen elderly people hard at work in occupations that people many years younger would find taxing. And yet, many Americans somehow seem to be puzzled by…

New York CNN  —  In his first appearance before Congress on Thursday, TikTok CEO Shou Chew was grilled by lawmakers who expressed deep skepticism about his company’s attempts to protect US user data and ease concerns about its ties to China. It was a rare chance for the public to hear from the Chew, who offers very few interviews. Yet his company’s app is among the most popular in America, with more than 150 million active users. Here are the biggest takeaways from Thursday’s hearing. The hearing, which lasted for more than five hours, kicked off with calls from a lawmaker to ban the app in the United States and remained combative throughout. It offered a vivid display of the bipartisan push to crack down on the popular short-form video app and the company’s uphill battle to improve relations with Washington. Washington Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the chair of…