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Economy 2.5% smaller than it would have been if UK had voted remain, says thinktank Brexit is already costing the public purse £500m a week, new research has found – a stark contrast to the £350m “dividend” promised by the Leave campaign. The Centre for European Reform’s analysis also suggests that the government’s austerity drive would be on the way to completion had Britain voted to stay in the European Union. It shows that the UK economy is already 2.5% smaller than it would have been had Remain won the referendum. Public finances have been dented by £26bn a year, more than half of the defence budget. This translates to a penalty of £500m a week, a figure that is growing. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2xP335R

Health secretary Matt Hancock will direct chief medical officer to draw up official guidelines amid growing concern about link to mental illness The government is to produce the first official guidelines on the maximum amount of time young people should spend on social media, health secretary Matt Hancock says today, amid growing concern about the links between its excessive use and mental health problems among children . In an interview with the Observer before the Conservatve party conference, which opens this weekend in Birmingham, Hancock says he has instructed the UK’s chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, to draw up advice as soon as possible that he hopes will become an accepted “norm in society”, like that on recommended maximum alcohol consumption for adults. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2zESAey

Aftershocks rattle island of Sulawesi as vice-president warns nation to expect significant rise in fatalities Indonesia’s vice-president, Jusuf Kalla, has warned the death toll from the earthquake and tsunami that struck the island of Sulawesi could rise into the thousands, as more than 150 aftershocks hit the region. The confirmed death toll from the disaster has reached 420, state media said on Sunday, but that is expected to rise significantly as rescuers scramble to reach the worst-hit areas. Kalla said there had been “no word” yet about casualties in Donggala, home to 300,000 people. Authorities also fear many people in the area may have been washed out to sea. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2xJaJqg

Woman who says future supreme court nominee exposed himself to her poised to cooperate but report says third woman will not be contacted The FBI has contacted Deborah Ramirez, a woman who accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct when he was a Yale student, as part of its renewed investigation of the supreme court nominee . Related: Why are Republicans ramming Brett Kavanaugh on to the supreme court? Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2P3o6sc

Musk will step down as Tesla chair but stay as CEO Billionaire sent tweet about taking company private Elon Musk is to step down as chair of Tesla for three years and pay a fine after reaching a deal with the US financial regulator over tweets he made about taking the firm into private ownership. Under the settlement Musk would remain as chief executive but must leave his other post within 45 days. Both he and the company will each pay a $20m (£15.3m) fine. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2P03wca

Images posted to social media show people accessing data of senior Tories such as Boris Johnson and Michael Gove A major flaw in the Conservatives’ official conference mobile phone application has made the private data of senior party members – including cabinet ministers – accessible to anyone that logged in as that particular conference attendee. The data of hundreds of attendees to the Tory conference could be viewed by second guessing attendees’ email addresses, with Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Gavin Williamson and others among those whose personal information – including their phone numbers – was made accessible. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Ol1Blf

President says he and North Korean dictator ‘fell in love’, decries nasty Democrats and believes UN speech drew respect In an meandering hour-long speech in West Virginia, Donald Trump said he “fell in love” with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, while escalating his rhetoric about the supreme court confirmation fight of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Speaking about his relationship with Kim, Trump said “We fell in love.” He added “No really. He wrote me beautiful letters. They were great letters. And then we fell in love.” Trump and Kim met in Singapore this year as part of the president’s attempt to push the North Korean regime to disarm after earlier insulting Kim as “little rocket man”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2zFvlky