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Closure of BBC Radio 4 Long Wave: how can I continue listening in France?
As of this weekend, listeners will no longer be able to access the station on their radios
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Heatwave in France: 72 departments placed on red alert
The heatwave is expected to persist until Sunday
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Why are so many trains in France cancelled during heatwaves?
Commuters point to countries in Africa and Asia where trains still run in extreme heat
UK shelves abolition of Class 2 NICs
Abolition of the UK’s Class 2 National Insurance Contributions – paid by working expatriates to top up their UK state pensions – has been put off again.
The government now says the move, planned for April 2018 then put off to 2019, will not happen ‘in this Parliament’ (ie. before spring 2022).
It says the move would be too hard on very low-earning self-employed people as they would move from Class 2 (£2.95/week) to Class 3 (£14.65) – the same applies to working expats but they were not cited as part of the reasoning. The government says it will keep the issue under review.
The news was reported by some media as a ‘tax cut’ being ‘scrapped’ as certain UK-based self-employed people (not the lowest-earners) would have paid less due to it.
