Latest news with #Cons
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chief Justice John Roberts defends independent judiciary
Chief Justice John Roberts stressed the importance of an independent judiciary in rare remarks delivered at a time when Trump administration officials are frequently criticizing courts that have blocked their policies. Roberts, speaking at a public event in Buffalo, New York, said an independent judiciary is a key feature of the U.S. constitutional system. "In our Constitution ... the judiciary is a co-equal branch of government, separate from the others, with the authority to interpret the Cons
Arab Times
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab Times
Kuwait mulls earlier school start, Ramadan break adjustment
KUWAIT CITY, April 27: The Ministry of Education is considering an earlier start for the 2025/2026 academic year and plans to include the last ten days of Ramadan as part of the holidays, reports Al-Anba daily. According to educational sources, the ministry is currently working on the academic calendar in coordination with relevant authorities. The plan is to have school administrations begin on September 1, with students returning to school on September 7. This adjustment is being considered to compensate for the holiday during the last ten days of Ramadan, a period the ministry is contemplating suspending. The goal is to allow students and teachers to focus on worship and to promote religious and social values during this special time. Meanwhile, the ministry announced that registration for educational supervisory positions is open from Sunday, April 27 to May 8. Interested individuals can apply through the Ministry of Education's website under the 'Electronic Services' section, specifically the 'Educational Supervisory Positions Services.' In another development, the acting Undersecretary of Public Education Affairs Mansour Al-Dhafiri announced changes to the dates and procedures for the examination control center for the end of the second semester of the 2024/2025 academic year for the twelfth grade, as per Ministerial Resolution No. 115/2025, issued on April 1. Al-Dhafiri explained that the start period for the examination control center has been reduced by approximately 27 days compared to previous years. The start date for the control center for the science, arts, and religious education sections will now be Sunday, April 13, instead of the previous date of Sunday, March 16. The period from April 17 to April 24 was set for the printing and reviewing of twelfth-grade student transcripts by school administrations from the student record system. The period from May 11 to May 15 will be designated for conducting exams for subjects outside the schedule. Grades will be recorded in the student's record, and grade sheets (including daily work, practical work, and exams for subjects outside the schedule) will be printed for review by the school. Vertical technical review sheets for subjects outside the schedule will also be issued and recorded in the school's student record system. On May 19, the student record system will be closed for entering or modifying grades for twelfth-grade students at the end of that day. On May 22, the seat numbers for twelfth-grade students applying for the General Secondary Education Examinations will be announced on the ministry's website. On May 26, the exam committee cards and roll call lists for twelfth-grade students applying for the General Secondary Education Examinations will be made available on the ministry's website by the end of that day. Seat numbers for students applying for the second round of exams will be set on June 30. Al-Dhafiri confirmed that the exams for subjects outside the schedule (Quran, Constitution, and Human Rights) for home-schooled students will be standardized throughout the ministry. He stressed that if any of the unified tenth- and eleventhgrade certificates are unavailable, an equivalency certificate from the Private Education Department's Certificate Equivalency Department must be attached, irrespective of whether the student is studying outside Kuwait or transferred from private (foreign) schools. Also, a curriculum system certificate or the result of the equivalency exam for religious education certificates must be provided if the student is studying at home.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Tories must face the grim reality of their situation
Kemi Badenoch's pragmatic approach to dealing with Reform councillors after next month's local elections will no doubt be pounced upon by her opponents, both within and outside her own party. Reform represents the worst nightmares of many on the 'progressive' Left – an anti-immigrant, anti-EU party that only those on the 'far-Right' could ever support. Except if that's the case, then a quarter of the electorate should be classed as 'far-Right'. However flawed such a political analysis is, Reform presents a genuine danger to all the main parties. Here is a political vehicle with policies that few could recite and a leader who is as divisive as any in recent decades. Yet its attractiveness to voters seems unaffected by such calculations, which must infuriate the party strategists at Labour and Conservative headquarters. Since before last year's general election, there has been much speculation and comment as to how the Tories in particular should address the problem of Reform: it is the obvious party to which discontented activists, voters and even elected members are drawn if they are unhappy with the record of the last Conservative administration (its attraction to former Labour voters is no less powerful, but that's a story for another day). Yet even discussing the possibility of an informal working arrangement with Reform at a local level – let alone entertaining the idea of a formal merger, as some have suggested – is seen as electoral toxicity for Badenoch and her party. But she went ahead and did it anyway. Aware of the trap set for her by BBC Breakfast (and after they had exhausted their obsession with asking her why she has not yet watched 'Adolescence', a Netflix crime drama), the Tory leader was careful to reject any formal pact with Nigel Farage's party. 'When someone says they want to destroy you,' she said, 'you don't invite them into your house and ask to do a deal. But at the local level… we end up with various coalitions. I have seen Conservatives go into coalition with Labour, with Liberal Democrats, with independents. Few could claim that this is a remotely controversial approach. It is pragmatic and sensible, even if it went too far for some of her members and not far enough for others. Such is the Conservative Party in 2025. In one vital respect, Badenoch had little choice about how she responded to the question. The Tories, Labour and the Conservatives are all bubbling around the same level in the opinion polls with none of them opening up any kind of lead. This is appalling news for the two main parties – rarely has either of them plunged to such depths of public opinion – and excellent for Farage. But it is Badenoch who is under the greatest pressure at these elections, and who has to expend more energy in seeking to preserve her party as a functional opposition. Given the rise in support for Reform since last year, she needs to reassure both defectors from her cause and those who are remaining loyal that a vote for the Conservatives need not mean a rejection of Reform or what it stands for. If she had rejected out of hand any form of post-polling day co-operation, she would have risked an even higher level of defections by frustrated supporters. This way, she keeps alive the prospect that whatever the motives of those who vote Tory in May, her party remains a viable option for those with a grievance against the way the country is being governed. As for the principle of working with a 'far-Right' party to help deliver local services, it will be necessary, if this tactic is going to work, for Badenoch to do Farage's work for him and redefine or reject the term. If she were to acknowledge that Reform is indeed far-Right, she would become vulnerable to the obvious charges from Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens. So she needs to maintain a distance between her party and Reform, while painting her opponents as mainstream enough to qualify for coalition deals in town halls across the country. This should not prove impossible: there are plenty in the Labour Party who claim the Tories themselves (and in fact anyone to the Right of Ed Miliband) are far-Right, but that hasn't prevented the two parties working together when electoral arithmetic demands it. Badenoch needs to prove that Reform's presence on the ballot paper and in the House of Commons – and, presumably, in significantly increased numbers in local authorities from next month – does not threaten her party's role as the official opposition. Hers is a risky strategy that may well go wrong before long. The Tories' coalition is more fragile and combustible than it has ever been, and she has still not convinced everyone in her party that she has the vision and the mettle to lead it. Acknowledging the realities that will be forced upon her local councillors after the elections was a step in the right direction, and will give her some breathing space. It's after the elections that the pressure will really build, depending on how well the Conservatives, Labour and Reform actually do on polling day. Badenoch is far from out of the woods yet. But she has shown a sure touch and played the hand she was dealt with confidence. The next hand in the game will be dealt by the voters themselves. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
The Tories must face the grim reality of their situation
Kemi Badenoch's pragmatic approach to dealing with Reform councillors after next month's local elections will no doubt be pounced upon by her opponents, both within and outside her own party. Reform represents the worst nightmares of many on the 'progressive' Left – an anti-immigrant, anti-EU party that only those on the 'far-Right' could ever support. Except if that's the case, then a quarter of the electorate should be classed as 'far-Right'. However flawed such a political analysis is, Reform presents a genuine danger to all the main parties. Here is a political vehicle with policies that few could recite and a leader who is as divisive as any in recent decades. Yet its attractiveness to voters seems unaffected by such calculations, which must infuriate the party strategists at Labour and Conservative headquarters. Since before last year's general election, there has been much speculation and comment as to how the Tories in particular should address the problem of Reform: it is the obvious party to which discontented activists, voters and even elected members are drawn if they are unhappy with the record of the last Conservative administration (its attraction to former Labour voters is no less powerful, but that's a story for another day). Yet even discussing the possibility of an informal working arrangement with Reform at a local level – let alone entertaining the idea of a formal merger, as some have suggested – is seen as electoral toxicity for Badenoch and her party. But she went ahead and did it anyway. Aware of the trap set for her by BBC Breakfast (and after they had exhausted their obsession with asking her why she has not yet watched 'Adolescence', a Netflix crime drama), the Tory leader was careful to reject any formal pact with Nigel Farage's party. 'When someone says they want to destroy you,' she said, 'you don't invite them into your house and ask to do a deal. But at the local level… we end up with various coalitions. I have seen Conservatives go into coalition with Labour, with Liberal Democrats, with independents. Few could claim that this is a remotely controversial approach. It is pragmatic and sensible, even if it went too far for some of her members and not far enough for others. Such is the Conservative Party in 2025. In one vital respect, Badenoch had little choice about how she responded to the question. The Tories, Labour and the Conservatives are all bubbling around the same level in the opinion polls with none of them opening up any kind of lead. This is appalling news for the two main parties – rarely has either of them plunged to such depths of public opinion – and excellent for Farage. But it is Badenoch who is under the greatest pressure at these elections, and who has to expend more energy in seeking to preserve her party as a functional opposition. Given the rise in support for Reform since last year, she needs to reassure both defectors from her cause and those who are remaining loyal that a vote for the Conservatives need not mean a rejection of Reform or what it stands for. If she had rejected out of hand any form of post-polling day co-operation, she would have risked an even higher level of defections by frustrated supporters. This way, she keeps alive the prospect that whatever the motives of those who vote Tory in May, her party remains a viable option for those with a grievance against the way the country is being governed. As for the principle of working with a 'far-Right' party to help deliver local services, it will be necessary, if this tactic is going to work, for Badenoch to do Farage's work for him and redefine or reject the term. If she were to acknowledge that Reform is indeed far-Right, she would become vulnerable to the obvious charges from Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens. So she needs to maintain a distance between her party and Reform, while painting her opponents as mainstream enough to qualify for coalition deals in town halls across the country. This should not prove impossible: there are plenty in the Labour Party who claim the Tories themselves (and in fact anyone to the Right of Ed Miliband) are far-Right, but that hasn't prevented the two parties working together when electoral arithmetic demands it. Badenoch needs to prove that Reform's presence on the ballot paper and in the House of Commons – and, presumably, in significantly increased numbers in local authorities from next month – does not threaten her party's role as the official opposition. Hers is a risky strategy that may well go wrong before long. The Tories' coalition is more fragile and combustible than it has ever been, and she has still not convinced everyone in her party that she has the vision and the mettle to lead it. Acknowledging the realities that will be forced upon her local councillors after the elections was a step in the right direction, and will give her some breathing space. It's after the elections that the pressure will really build, depending on how well the Conservatives, Labour and Reform actually do on polling day. Badenoch is far from out of the woods yet. But she has shown a sure touch and played the hand she was dealt with confidence. The next hand in the game will be dealt by the voters themselves.
