Suella Braverman doubles down on calls for crackdown on pro-Palestine protests

Published

1 year ago

November 12, 2023

admin

Suella Braverman has doubled down on calls for more action to be taken against pro-Palestine protesters.

The home secretary last week failed to get marches banned over the remembrance weekend, after the Metropolitan Police said it had the resources to manage the hundreds of thousands of people who turned up – as well as far-right counter-protests.

Politics latest: Braverman hits out at ‘sick’ chants

In a series of posts on X (Twitter) sent this afternoon, Ms Braverman said “further action is necessary” against the protests, which were resulting in “the streets of London… being polluted by hate, violence, and antisemitism”.

The home secretary paid tribute to officers, saying “our brave police officers deserve the thanks of every decent citizen for their professionalism in the face of violence and aggression from protesters and counter protesters in London yesterday”.

“That multiple officers were injured doing their duty is an outrage.”

This is a marked contrast to last week, when she accused the Metropolitan Police of holding “double standards” on how it polices protests.

She added: “The sick, inflammatory and, in some cases, clearly criminal chants, placards and paraphernalia openly on display at the march mark a new low. Antisemitism and other forms of racism together with the valorising of terrorism on such a scale is deeply troubling.”

Some have accused Ms Braverman of inflaming tensions, leading to more people descending on the capital.

More than 140 people were arrested in the disorder, both on the pro-Palestinian side and the far-right counter protest side.

The Met Police’s deputy assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor said the force faced a “really challenging day” dealing with the protests.

Ms Braverman’s job is now on the line, with opposition parties calling for Rishi Sunak to sack her, and a lack of support from her ministerial colleagues.

It is not clear what “further action” Ms Braverman deems necessary.

She and Mr Sunak were ultimately unable to stop the remembrance weekend demonstrations from going ahead. In order for a march to be banned, the police must apply to the home secretary for approval on the grounds that it would not be safe to let the event go ahead.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley decided in this case that his force would be able to police the protests sufficiently – leaving Mr Sunak accepting that they were going ahead but frustrating Ms Braverman.

Lord Walney, the government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption, is set to submit a report to Downing Street which will suggest a change of law, so police can apply to ban a march if it is expected to have impacts on a community like the pro-Palestinian demonstrations have had on the Jewish community.

Sir Mark has repeatedly voiced his frustration at being asked to do things by the government which are not contained within statute.

Following last week’s clashes, Mr Sunak and Ms Braverman are facing another showdown this week, with the Supreme Court set to rule on the legality of the Rwanda deportation scheme.

If a reshuffle does take place, Ms Braverman vacating the Home Office portfolio could lead to a wide reshuffle in Mr Sunak’s cabinet as he eyes the election – which has to take place by January 2025 at the latest – as he trails Sir Keir Starmer by more than 20 points.

There is speculation that the reshuffle could happen as soon as Monday.

But Mr Sunak might want to keep the home secretary in place until the latest legal wrangling over one of her flagship policies progresses.

The Supreme Court will rule on Wednesday on the legality of the Rwanda deportation scheme, which was introduced under Boris Johnson and Priti Patel, but hardened under Mr Sunak and Ms Braverman.

Politics

Labour suspends MP Dan Norris after arrest

Published

9 hours ago

April 5, 2025

admin

Labour MP Dan Norris arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences

The Labour Party has suspended its MP Dan Norris after “being informed of his arrest”.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Dan Norris MP was immediately suspended by the Labour Party upon being informed of his arrest.

“We cannot comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.”

Mr Norris defeated Jacob Rees-Mogg to win the new seat of North East Somerset and Hanham in last year’s general election.

He has also lost the party whip in the House of Commons.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Politics

Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

Published

15 hours ago

April 5, 2025

admin

Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, marks their 50th birthday amid a year of rising institutional and geopolitical adoption of the world’s first cryptocurrency.

The identity of Nakamoto remains one of the biggest mysteries in crypto, with speculation ranging from cryptographers like Adam Back and Nick Szabo to broader theories involving government intelligence agencies.

While Nakamoto’s identity remains anonymous, the Bitcoin (BTC) creator is believed to have turned 50 on April 5 based on details shared in the past.

According to archived data from his P2P Foundation profile, Nakamoto once claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan and listed his birthdate as April 5, 1975.

Nakamoto’s anonymity has played a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network, which has no central authority or leadership.

The Bitcoin wallet associated with Nakamoto, which holds over 1 million BTC, has laid dormant for more than 16 years despite BTC rising from $0 to an all-time high above $109,000 in January.

Nakamoto’s 50th birthday comes nearly a month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, marking the first major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the US financial system.

Nakamoto’s legacy: a “cornerstone of economic sovereignty”

“At 50, Nakamoto’s legacy is no longer just code; it’s a cornerstone of economic sovereignty,” according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert.

“Bitcoin’s reserve status signals trust in its scarcity and resilience,” Lian told Cointelegraph, adding:

“What’s fascinating is the timing. Fifty feels symbolic — half a century of life, mirrored by Bitcoin’s journey from a white paper to a trillion-dollar asset. Nakamoto’s vision of trustless, peer-to-peer money has outgrown its cypherpunk roots, entering the halls of power.”

However, lingering questions about Nakamoto remain unanswered, including whether they still hold the keys to their wallet, which is “a fortune now tied to US policy,” Lian said.

Is Satoshi Nakamoto wealthier than Bill Gates?

In February, Arkham Intelligence published findings that attribute 1.096 million BTC — then valued at more than $108 billion — to Nakamoto. That would place him above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the global wealth rankings, according to data shared by Coinbase director Conor Grogan.

If accurate, this would make Nakamoto the world’s 16th richest person.

Despite the growing interest in Nakamoto’s identity and holdings, his early decision to remain anonymous and inactive has helped preserve Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos — a principle that continues to define the cryptocurrency to this day.

Magazine: 10 crypto theories that missed as badly as ‘Peter Todd is Satoshi’

Politics

Wall Street’s one-day loss tops the entire crypto market cap

Published

21 hours ago

April 5, 2025

admin

Wall Street’s one-day loss tops the entire crypto market cap

The United States stock market lost more in value over the April 4 trading day than the entire cryptocurrency market is worth, as fears over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to ramp up.

On April 4, the US stock market lost $3.25 trillion — around $570 billion more than the entire crypto market’s $2.68 trillion valuation at the time of publication.

Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market”

Among the Magnificent-7 stocks, Tesla (TSLA) led the losses on the day with a 10.42% drop, followed by Nvidia (NVDA) down 7.36% and Apple (AAPL) falling 7.29%, according to TradingView data.

The significant decline across the board signals that the Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market” after falling 6% across the trading day, trading resource account The Kobeissi Letter said in an April 4 X post. This is the largest daily decline since March 16, 2020.

“US stocks have now erased a massive -$11 TRILLION since February 19 with recession odds ABOVE 60%,” it added. The Kobessi Letter said Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement was “historic” and if the tariffs continue, a recession will be “impossible to avoid.”

Nasdaq, United States, Stocks — *Source:* *Anthony Scaramucci*

On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries.

Trump said the reciprocal tariffs will be roughly half the rate US trading partners impose on American goods.

Meanwhile, the crypto industry has pointed out that while the stock market continues to decline, Bitcoin (BTC) remains stronger than most expected.

Crypto trader Plan Markus pointed out in an April 4 X post that while the entire stock market “is tanking,” Bitcoin is holding.

Even some crypto skeptics have pointed out the contrast between Bitcoin’s performance and the US stock market during the recent period of macro uncertainty.

Stock market commentator Dividend Hero told his 203,200 X followers that he has “hated on Bitcoin in the past, but seeing it not tank while the stock market does is very interesting to me.”

Meanwhile, technical trader Urkel said Bitcoin “doesn’t appear to care one bit about tariff wars and markets tanking.” Bitcoin is trading at $83,749 at the time of publication, down 0.16% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple a ‘bad actor’ with no crypto legal precedent set