UK's Collapsing Economy > Is Westminster avoiding the obvious? The media certainly seems to be

 

Thousands of Brits live rough on the streets of London and the West Midlands. Meanwhile, more than 100 thousand illegal immigrants live in 4-star hotels, or other government-funded accommodation, in comparative luxury. 

Energy costs are exceptional thanks to USA LNG, and Starmer is determined to give 5% of GDP to unnecessary military buildups that will mostly benefit the USA. Have you ever heard so much stupidity in your life?

Extreme poverty rate shoots up in UK – study

Nearly seven million people are living in severe hardship, the highest level on record, according the Joseph Rowntree Foundation

© Getty Images / Anadolu / Contributor

Poverty in the UK has worsened, with record numbers living in severe hardship and unable to afford basic necessities, according to an analysis by a leading charity.

More than one in five people in the UK – about 14.2 million – were living in poverty in 2023/24, the final year of the last Conservative government and the latest year for which official figures are available, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said in a report on Tuesday. Of these, about half, or 6.8 million people, were experiencing “very deep” hardship, the highest number in 30 years.

Children, renters, disabled people, and those in insecure work were among the groups most affected. Nearly 4.5 million children lived in poverty in 2023/24, 600,000 more than during the pandemic and marking the third consecutive year of increases. Rates were highest in larger families, where 44% of children were affected. People renting privately faced greater risks than homeowners, while disabled people and informal carers were also disproportionately affected, the report noted.

The most severe cases are even more acute. About 3.8 million people, including around one million children, experienced destitution, being unable to afford basics such as heating, clothing, and food.

Read more

 UK’s poorest have become poorer under Starmer – Telegraph

“Poverty in the UK is still not just widespread, it is deeper and more damaging than at any point in the last 30 years,” said JRF’s chief analyst Peter Matejic. “When nearly half of the people in poverty are living far below the poverty line, that is a warning sign that the welfare system is failing to protect people from harm.”

Poverty rates varied across the UK, with London and the West Midlands among the hardest-hit areas, according to the report.

Rising living costs and stagnant wages have contributed to the increase in severe poverty, the charity stated. Inflation for essentials such as food, energy, and rent has surged in recent years, while earnings for low-income households have barely increased, leaving many struggling to cover basic needs.

The poorest UK households have only become poorer under Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government, despite promises to boost living standards, according to the latest data from independent research consultancy Retail Economics.

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Is Europe beginning to wake up to the fact that their biggest enemy is not Russia but America and it's NATO proxy? NO!!!

 

EU scrambles to secure new energy suppliers to curb reliance on US

The bloc’s growing dependency on American LNG has sparked concerns amid fraying ties over Greenland

© Getty Images / Bill Chizek

The EU is seeking new gas suppliers as growing reliance on US-sourced liquefied natural gas (LNG) and deteriorating relations with Washington have raised concerns over energy security.

The bloc has faced a surge in energy prices since reducing Russian oil and gas imports following the 2022 escalation of the Ukraine conflict. The shift away from comparatively inexpensive Russian pipeline gas has increased reliance on US energy, while legislation passed this week requires member states to halt all Russian deliveries by late 2027, leaving the EU exposed to supply risks.

Russia's NordStream pipeline still has one line functional and able to supply Germany with a boost to the crumbling economy at short notice. Do the Germans have the guts to trigger it? Not a snowball's chance in Hell.

Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen told reporters on Wednesday that “geopolitical turmoil” regarding Greenland has been a “wake-up call” for the region, which now relies on the US for more than half of its LNG supplies.

“There is a growing concern, which I share, that we risk replacing one dependency with another,” Jorgensen, Denmark’s representative in the European Commission, said. “We need to diversify it as much as possible,” he added, noting that he will travel to Canada, Qatar, and North African countries in the coming months to discuss supplies.

The autonomous Danish territory of Greenland has been at the center of a transatlantic rift since US President Donald Trump announced plans to annex it, citing its mineral wealth and strategic location, while initially refusing to rule out the use of force and threatening tariffs on opponents of the plan.

READ MORE: EU moves to cut off Russian gas – who will pay the price?

Trump has increasingly used energy as leverage in trade talks with the EU. Under a deal announced last July, the bloc agreed to buy $750 billion worth of US energy by 2028 to avert higher tariffs, a pledge critics call coercive.

Before the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the EU imported 45% of its gas from Russia – the bloc’s largest foreign supplier since the end of the Cold War. Western sanctions and sabotage of key infrastructure have slashed Russian gas deliveries; however, purchases of Russian LNG by the bloc remain significant.

Reacting to the EU’s recent decision to ban all Russian gas imports, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said this could turn member states into Washington’s “miserable slaves.”

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Ozzone 12-03 > Is your sanctified life sanctified?

 

Corruption is Everywhere > UK Immigration officers making a bundle on two schemes; China executes 11 criminals for online scamming in Myanmar; Germany police raid Deutsche Bank in money laundering probe

 

UK immigration officers charged with robbing migrants

The five suspects are accused of misconduct in public office and stealing cash from illegals who had crossed the English Channel on boats

Illegal boat migrants attempt to cross the English Channel © Carl Court/Getty Images

Five British immigration officers have appeared in court on charges of stealing cash from illegal migrants who arrived in the UK across the English Channel on small boats, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The officers were charged at Westminster Magistrates’ Court with conspiracy to steal, misconduct in public office, and money laundering for alleged offenses between August 2021 and November 2022.

Prosecutors told the court the defendants worked on Britain’s south coast “dealing with recent arrivals on small boats.” It stated that many of these people arrived “with relatively large sums of money in cash on their person,” and that the officers “worked together to take that money for themselves and share it.”

A sixth defendant faces a single charge of money laundering. All six were granted bail, with their next hearing scheduled at Southwark Crown Court next month. None were asked to enter pleas.

The case comes amid rising tensions over immigration across the UK as illegal boat crossings have become a focal point for many voters and have led to a rise of anti-immigration sentiment. The controversy has further been escalated by increasing criminal activity linked to illegals.

Fake Sponsorships

READ MORE: UK to sanction people smugglers

Earlier this week, The Times reported on a black market in fake skilled-worker visa sponsorships. An investigation found agents charging up to £20,000 ($27,500) to fabricate payroll records for non-existent jobs, allowing migrants to stay in the UK while forcing them into unofficial cash-in-hand work.

The issues have eroded trust in the British government, with polls showing Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s approval rating plummeting while support for Nigel Farage’s opposition right-wing Reform party has risen.

The government has responded by announcing a planned overhaul of its immigration policy in an effort to reduce the number of arriving illegals. In November, the British Home Office also proposed confiscating high-value assets, including vehicles and “bags full of gold rings,” from asylum seekers to help cover the cost of benefits.

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China executes 11 over Myanmar scam centers

By Darryl Coote

   

China on Thursday executed 11 members of a Chinese crime family in connection to scam centers being run in Myanmar. File Photo by Mark R. Cristino/EPA-EFE

Jan. 29 (UPI) -- China on Thursday executed 11 members of the Ming-family crime syndicate in connection with the running of online scam centers in civil war-torn Myanmar, according to state-run media.

The 11 gang members were executed by the Wenzhou Intermediate People's Court of Zhejiang province, Xinhua reported. The method of execution was not mentioned, though death sentences are carried out either by firing squad or lethal injection.

The Ming-family crime syndicate is one of several criminal organizations that have taken advantage of the ongoing civil war in Myanmar to generate billions from running online scam centers using human trafficking, forced labor and torture in the Asian nation.

Those executed Thursday were sentenced to death in September for intentional homicide, intentional injury, illegal detention, fraud and operating gambling establishments.

The court found that they had been operating several Myanmar scam centers engaged in telecom fraud, illegal gambling and other crimes.

Two of the members appealed their conviction in September, but the verdict was upheld in November.

China's Supreme People's Court reviewed the case and confirmed the criminal syndicate had established the compounds in northern Myanmar's Kokang region, where they recruited financiers and provided armed protection for the scheme, generating more than $1.4 billion in illicit funds, according to state-run media.

The group was also found to have conspired with other organizations running scam centers to deliberately kill, injure or illegally detain workers, resulting in the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens, the high court found.

China is believed to have conducted more executions than any other country, though its use of the death penalty, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office, "remains shrouded in secrecy, making it difficult to obtain accurate numbers."

Amnesty International has said that China is believed to execute thousands a year.

German police raid Deutsche Bank in money laundering investigation

By Joe Fisher

   

German police raided Deutsche Bank locations in Frankfurt and Berlin on Wednesday over an investigation into money laundering. File Photo by Wallace Woon/EPA-EFE

Jan. 28 (UPI) -- German police raided Deutsche Bank locations in Frankfurt and Berlin on Wednesday over an investigation into money laundering.

Deutsche Bank said in a statement that it is cooperating with law enforcement on the investigation.

"We confirm Frankfurt prosecutors are currently conducting an investigation at Deutsche Bank's business premises," the statement said. "We are cooperating fully with [the] prosecutor's office. We cannot comment further on this matter."

The prosecutors say the probe is related to executives and employees of Deutsche Bank who are suspected of being involved in money laundering. Prosecutors also say Deutsche Bank has maintained relationships with foreign companies that were suspected to be part of a money laundering scheme.

Suspects in the investigation have not been named.

News of the investigation preceded shares in Deutsche Bank falling by about 2.7%.

Deutsche Bank is set to release its fourth quarter 2025 and year-end earnings report on Thursday.

The investigation marks the third time in the last eight years that law enforcement has probed Deutsche Bank. It did so in 2022, also in a money laundering investigation, and in 2018 in an investigation of two employees for tax evasion.

Deutsche Bank has been penalized in the past for delays in its anti-money laundering reports. Banks are required by law to promptly file reports of suspicious activity.

Beginning the De-Islamization of Europe > Darmanin proposes halt to immigration for France in political gambit

 

French justice minister proposes three-year immigration freeze

Gerard Darmanin has toughened his stance as he prepares a run for the presidency

Migrants queue with their papers for temporary shelter in Paris, France, November 5, 2025 © Getty Images / Kiran Ridley

French Justice Minister Gerard Darmanin has proposed a near-total halt to legal immigration for up to three years, as he prepares to take on the right-wing National Rally in next year’s presidential election.

Speaking to French broadcaster LCI this week, Darmanin said that he supports “a suspension of immigration for two or three years, with a corresponding increase in wages so that the jobs that foreigners do at very low cost go to French citizens.” 

After the moratorium, he proposed introducing a “quota system,” and holding a referendum to decide the number of immigrants allowed into France in the future.

There are nearly 4.5 million legal immigrants in France, accounting for more than 8% of the adult population, according to figures from the country’s Interior Ministry. An additional 700,000 migrants are believed to be living in France illegally. According to an opinion poll cited by The Times, 80% of French voters support tougher immigration policies.

Read more

 Vance issues warning over ‘Islamist-aligned’ Western Europe

National Rally leader Jordan Bardella is currently leading all opinion polls for next year’s presidential election, with former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal of President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party a distant third. Bardella has labeled immigration a threat “to the very existence of France,” and has promised that his first act as president would be to hold a referendum on immigration.

Darmanin is a member of Macron’s party. He told LCI that he considers himself “presidential material,” and called on his party to hold a primary election to choose a candidate to take on the National Rally.

Darmanin drafted an ambitious immigration reform bill in 2023, which would have introduced strict quotas, ended family reunification and birthright citizenship, and barred most immigrants from accessing social benefits.

However, these provisions were stricken from the text by France’s Constitutional Council. The version signed by Macron the following year allowed illegal immigrants in certain industries to obtain work permits, while simplifying the deportation process for others.

Despite uproar from the right-wing voters he is now trying to court, Darmanin said that he would not introduce another bill on the subject.

The Islamization of the UK > Convicted terrorist running for Birmingham council, and will likely win

 

Convicted Islamist terrorist running for office in UK

Shahid Butt has urged his young supporters to knock their enemies’ “teeth out”

Shahid Butt speaks to the Core LIbrary podcast, 2025 © YouTube / Core Library

A convicted Islamist terrorist is running for local office in the British city of Birmingham. Shahid Butt has urged voters to overlook his past “mistakes,” which include conspiring to bomb the British consulate in Yemen.

In an interview with Birmingham Live this week, Butt described himself as the “ideal candidate” to “unite” his district of Sparkhill in city council elections this May. Two-thirds of Sparkhill’s residents are of Pakistani origin, while a third of Birmingham’s 1.1 million population is Muslim.

Butt was jailed for five years in Yemen in 1999, after being found guilty of planning attacks with a gang of Jihadists on the British consulate in Aden, an Anglican church, and a Swiss-owned hotel.

He maintains that he did nothing wrong, and that his confession was extracted under torture. “It was all just made up,” he told the Birmingham Mail. “Nobody actually died, nothing happened at all.”

Read more

 Whites to become minority in UK in 40 years – study

He has admitted to “mistakes” in his past, however. Butt was a member of a Pakistani street gang in his youth, which fought with white skinhead gangs in 1980s Birmingham. He also admits to traveling to fight in Afghanistan and Bosnia in the 1990s alongside the son of convicted terrorist Abu Hamza.

Butt, who describes himself as an “Islamist,” is a member of the Independent Candidates Alliance (ICA), a group of Muslim candidates set up by lawyer and accused money launderer Akhmed Yakoob. The ICA is running 20 candidates across Birmingham in the upcoming elections.

“I am not a pacifist,” Butt told Birmingham Live. “If someone attacks me...I am not just going to turn the other cheek, I am going to defend myself. I will be pre-emptive, as the law advises me, if I feel like my life is threatened, or my family, I will do a pre-emptive strike.”

He has advised his fellow Muslims to follow his approach. “Muslims are not pacifists,” he told protesters before local team Aston Villa’s match against Maccabi Tel Aviv last November. “If somebody comes into your face, you knock his teeth out. That’s my message to the youth.”