Comics Curmudgeon readers! Do you love this blog and yearn for a novel written by its creator? Well, good news: Josh Fruhlinger's The Enthusiast is that novel! It's even about newspaper comic strips, partly. Check it out! It is Friday: the day of the week when I showcase the top comment that were posted on […]

Republicans seem to be proud of their ‘solution’ for abortion: they’ll just devolve everything to the states and local authorities, so they don’t have their callousness and brutality thrown into their faces on the national level anymore. As far as I’m concerned, this is the worst possible solution. It puts women under the thumb of […]

A common sense act has been introduced in congress, HR 926, asking for basic ethical requirements for the Supreme Court. It sounds like something that ought to be in place. This bill makes various changes related to the ethical standards, financial disclosure requirements, and recusal requirements that apply to Supreme Court Justices. Among the changes, […]

The government's fate will depend on whether it can make things better, says political editor Chris Mason.

The housing secretary will decide if plans for 8,400 homes near Sittingbourne can go ahead.

A man wearing a red hooded top was seen handcuffed and surrounded by police outside Parliament.

Start-up firms are looking for ways to dye clothes using less water and heat.

A growing global movement is seeing people object to data centres in their locality.

Its record price is making headlines - but that's just one part of the cryptocurrency's tumultuous story.

Gay couple Oscar and Xavier donate blood for the first time after rules change across most of the UK.

Back in July we announced that we'd be working with the Knight-Mozilla fellowship for a second year and invited applications from people passionate about working with technology and journalism, and keen to have an impact in this area at the BBC.

My colleague, senior product manager Andrew Leimdorfer, has this update:

We are pleased to announce that we have decided on our new Knight-Mozilla fellow, Noah Veltman, who will be starting with us in January 2013.

Noah is one of eight 2013 fellows who will all be announced at this weekend's sold-out Mozilla Festival in London who will be based in news organisations around the world, including the Guardian and the New York Times.

There are so many ways that technology is changing journalism that our first challenge is going to be to make a choice about which of these areas Noah will be helping us with next year. Working on new data visualisations and developing innovative content for mobile web will be high on the list.

We welcome Noah to the team and wish all the Knight-Mozilla fellows all the best in 2013.

Harri Morgan took a break from the game he once loved and does not now want to return.

Women were seen as targets by a serial scammer, but together they ensured he would face the truth.

Joanna Rowsell, Dani King and Laura Trott follow their male counterparts in defeating Australia for world team pursuit gold.

Britain's three female Olympic boxing hopefuls are chosen for next month's World Championships in Qinhuangdao, China.

Lamont Peterson says Amir Khan is incapable of altering his game-plan for their May rematch and that his British rival is mentally "all over the place".

A championship for female jockeys - spearheaded by Hayley Turner - is to be launched for the new flat racing season.

The Russian Ministry of Finance has announced that it will seek to terminate the country's double tax agreement with Cyprus, after negotiations broke down on a revision to increase tax on cross-border dividends and interest income.

Russia and Cyprus have announced that they have resolved a dispute concerning the two countries' double tax agreement.

The Russian Government has announced the signing of a double tax Protocol with Malta, to increase the amount of tax that Russia may collect at source on cross-border payments of dividends and interest to 15 percent.

The Dutch tax authority has issued a clarification of the repayment requirements for taxes deferred during the COVID-19 health crisis.

On November 17, 2020, Luxembourg's tax authority published Circular LG – Conv. DI no. 66, outlining the changes made by the BEPS multilateral instrument (BEPS MLI) to the double tax agreement in place with Switzerland.

On May 13, 2020, the Belgian tax authority announced that the competent authorities of Belgium and Germany have concluded an agreement which clarifies the tax situation of cross-border workers in the context of the COVID-19 health crisis.

Both houses of the German parliament have now approved the EUR130bn (USD146bn) COVID-19 economic stimulus plan, which includes numerous tax relief measures.

The European Commission has approved a broader support package, proposed by authorities in Germany, for German airport operators.

The Netherlands is to introduce a new tax on international flights starting on January 1, 2021.

The Russian Ministry of Finance has announced that it will seek to terminate the country's double tax agreement with Cyprus, after negotiations broke down on a revision to increase tax on cross-border dividends and interest income.

Cyprus's tax agency has released a number of statements regarding further value-added tax payment concessions for companies financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Russia and Cyprus have announced that they have resolved a dispute concerning the two countries' double tax agreement.

Russia's Government has approved wording for a draft Protocol that it will seek to conclude with Malta, to revise their double tax agreement to increase withholding tax rates at source for cross-border dividends and interest income.

The Russian Government has announced the signing of a double tax Protocol with Malta, to increase the amount of tax that Russia may collect at source on cross-border payments of dividends and interest to 15 percent.

Malta has published The Value Added Tax Act (Amendment of Sixth Schedule) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations, 2020, which makes changes to the thresholds for VAT registration as a small undertaking.

The Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department has announced a further reduction to the interest rate payable on Tax Reserve Certificates.

The Singaporean Government has announced it will amend provisions on transfer pricing adjustments in the draft Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2021, which includes measures announced in the 2021 Budget, following a consultation.

France's General Directorate of Public Finance has launched a scheme that allows small companies to request a specific settlement plan for the payment of their taxes.

The Isle of Man has issued a reminder of the deadlines for 2019 corporate tax returns and for certain personal tax payments.

Lawmakers in Cyprus have rejected the 2021 Budget, for the first time in the country's history.

Austria and Italy have signed an agreement clarifying the tax rules for frontier workers who are working at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On July 24, 2020, a Council Implementing Decision was published in the official journal of the European Union authorizing the extension of Italy's value-added tax split payment mechanism scheme, applicable to contracts with public sector entities.

The Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department has announced a further reduction to the interest rate payable on Tax Reserve Certificates.

The Hong Kong Government has issued a statement committing to amend its tax law with regards the tax exemption for foreign source passive income from 2023, to ensure the territory does not end up placed on the EU's tax blacklist of non-cooperative territories.

Authorities in Hong Kong have launched a review into two tax-deductible retirement savings products: Qualifying Deferred Annuity Policies (QDAP) and Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Tax-Deductible Voluntary Contributions (TVC).

The Australian Taxation Office has issued a Taxpayer Alert on mischaracterized arrangements and schemes connected with direct foreign investment into Australian businesses.

The Swiss Federal Council intends to end the obligation to sign electronic tax returns and to introduce new e-filing requirements for certain documents.

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the text of an arbitration agreement between the US and Switzerland, in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2020-35, published August 24.

Russia's Government has approved wording for a draft Protocol that it will seek to conclude with Malta, to revise their double tax agreement to increase withholding tax rates at source for cross-border dividends and interest income.

In an October 15, 2020, statement, the Swiss Government announced it will not pay interest on federal taxes paid early.

On November 17, 2020, Luxembourg's tax authority published Circular LG – Conv. DI no. 66, outlining the changes made by the BEPS multilateral instrument (BEPS MLI) to the double tax agreement in place with Switzerland.

A group of experts assessing the Swiss tax regime has drawn up an action plan on improving Switzerland's international tax competitiveness.