International Business Times UK (IBTimes UK)

ibtimeshumanrights: Foreign Office U-Turn on British Embassy...

Fri, 03 May 2013 16:51:41 +0100

Foreign Office U-Turn on British Embassy Blog Praising Bahrain’s ‘Human Rights Record’

Whitehall slaps down embassy blogs on Bahrain’s human rights stance on World Press Freedom Day

ibtimeshumanrights: Guantanamo Closure Petition Tops 100,000 in...

Fri, 03 May 2013 09:17:45 +0100

ibtimeshumanrights:

Guantanamo Closure Petition Tops 100,000 in Two Days

Former chief prosecutor Col Morris Davis launches initiative to shut down US military prison on Cuba as hunger strike continues

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/463840/20130502/guantanamo-petition-detention-camp.htm

ibtimeshumanrights: Guantanamo Closure Petition Tops 100,000 in...

Thu, 02 May 2013 16:07:20 +0100

ibtimeshumanrights:

Guantanamo Closure Petition Tops 100,000 in Two Days

Former chief prosecutor Col Morris Davis launches initiative to shut down US military prison on Cuba as hunger strike continues

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/463840/20130502/guantanamo-petition-detention-camp.htm

"When former HMRC permanent secretary David Hartnett shook hands with a Goldman Sachs tax executive..."

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:32:29 +0100

“

When former HMRC permanent secretary David Hartnett shook hands with a Goldman Sachs tax executive in a so-called “sweetheart deal”, both men in the room must have thought that was it.

The deal ended up reducing the Vampire Squid’s unpaid tax bill in the UK by around £10m (€11.8m, $15.6m).

Now HMRC is being dragged in front of a high court judge to fend off a legal challenge over the secretive 2011 deal.

”

- Tax Avoidance: HMRC, Goldman Sachs and UK Uncut High Court Challenge to ‘Sweetheart Deals’

"Ofgem revealed it is investigating six energy firms for failing to meet to the UK government’s..."

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:29:39 +0100

“

Ofgem revealed it is investigating six energy firms for failing to meet to the UK government’s energy efficiency targets to protect the country’s most vulnerable consumers.

However, this is not the first time Britain, Europe and the US have encountered a spate of energy scandals.

IBTimes UK decided to take a look at some of the largest energy market scandals to rock the world in recent history.

”

- Top Energy Debacles & Scandals: Manipulation, Mis-Selling and Fraud

"When Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, lands in the UK, he..."

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 07:51:19 +0100

“

When Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, lands in the UK, he will be greeted with the full pomp and ceremony of a state visit, a sickly wooing of his favours in the hope of more money-spinning business with the wealthy Gulf state.

The British government’s integrity will be tested. Not on its ability to win more trade with the UAE, a simple task which could be secured by sycophancy and ego-stroking alone. Its biggest test will be to see if it has the guts and heart to pursue with punch the UAE’s worsening human rights record and allegations of torture by Dubai authorities against British citizens.

”

- Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan: Britain under Shadow of UAE Human Rights Record

"The UK welfare system is one of the most heated topics of discussion in Britain today. As the..."

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 07:49:56 +0100

“

The UK welfare system is one of the most heated topics of discussion in Britain today.

As the coalition government took its first step in implementing the controversial Universal Credit welfare system in Ashton-under-Lyne, followed by Oldham, Warrington and Wigan in Greater Manchester in July, the topic of who will lose out from the overhaul has reared its ugly head again.

But stepping aside from the court of public opinion and party politics, IBTimes UK has looked at the cold, hard facts in order to debunk the myths that mask the truth behind Britain’s benefit system.

”

- UK Benefits: Debunking Welfare Myths

UK Tax Avoidance: Top 10 Giant Companies Dodging Corporation Tax [SLIDESHOW]

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:11:03 +0100

UK Tax Avoidance: Top 10 Giant Companies Dodging Corporation Tax [SLIDESHOW]:

Some of Britain’s best known brands pay little or not tax through various tax avoidance schemes and loopholes

UK Tax Avoidance: Hypocritical Consumers Still Drinking at Starbucks and Shopping on Amazon

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:06:35 +0100

“Consumer behaviour is reminiscent of the sort of hard-line religious pastors dishing out frothing sermons on morality over the pulpit, all the while being trousers-down with a rent boy underneath it.

“We want the moral superiority of decrying tax avoidance, as well as the gratification of crap convenience coffee from a ubiquitous chain, even if it goes against our purported values.”

Read the full op-ed.