Apple hits back at 'corrosive' claim by US government. Image copyright Getty Images Apple has accused the US government of trying to "smear" it with "desperate" and "unsubstantiated" claims. It comes as the US Department of Justice (DOJ) renewed its demand for access to data on the iPhone owned by San Bernardino gunman Rizwan Farook. Apple is appealing against a court order that it unlock the iPhone, calling it "unprecedented".
But in its latest court filing, the DOJ claims Apple helped China's government to access more than 4,000 iPhones. Farook and his wife killed 14 people in the Californian city last December before police fatally shot them. 'Liberty and rights' The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) wants Apple to create a so-called "back door" that would unlock Farook's iPhone.
Apple has so far refused to comply with the court order, obtained last month. It has argued the government is asking for a security hack that could be exploited by both governments and criminals. Support for Apple UN human rights chief backs Apple. Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU.
Here is an easy-to-understand guide to Brexit - beginning with the basics, then a look at the negotiations, followed by a selection of answers to questions we've been sent. What's happening now? The UK has voted to leave the European Union. It is scheduled to depart at 11pm UK time on Friday 29 March, 2019. The UK and EU have provisionally agreed on the three "divorce" issues of how much the UK owes the EU, what happens to the Northern Ireland border and what happens to UK citizens living elsewhere in the EU and EU citizens living in the UK. Talks are now moving on to future relations - after agreement was reached on a 21-month "transition" period to smooth the way to post-Brexit relations. What is the 'transition' period? It refers to a period of time after 29 March, 2019, to 31 December, 2020, to get everything in place and allow businesses and others to prepare for the moment when the new post-Brexit rules between the UK and the EU begin.
No. So is Brexit definitely happening? Yes. Yes. UK Edition - Latest News, Breaking Stories, Top Headlines From United Kingdom - Wsj.com. Rochester: Farage looks to more UKIP gains after success. World Bank Group. UK jobless rate at 10-year low but wage growth slows. Image copyright Getty Images The UK unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest rate in more than a decade but wage growth has slowed. The rate hit 5.1% in the three months to November - its lowest rate since the three months to October 2005, according to the Office for National Statistics. The number of people out of work fell by 99,000 to 1.68 million in the three-month period. Average weekly earnings, including bonuses, were up 2%, the slowest increase since February. The 2% growth in wages was below the 2.1% growth forecast in a Reuters survey.
Excluding bonuses, average weekly earnings growth slowed to 1.9% in the three months, the ONS said. The figures show that the employment rate hit 74% - the highest since comparable records began in 1971. Interest rates The figures come a day after Bank of England governor Mark Carney ruled out an early rise in interest rates because of the turmoil in the global economy and weaker UK growth. Growing workforce. Economics. Evidence on persistent poverty in the UK | Economics. Labour to double paid paternity leave to four weeks. 9 February 2015Last updated at 05:53 ET Labour says the plan will give children "the best start in life" A future Labour government would double the amount of paid paternity leave available to new fathers from two to four weeks, Ed Miliband has announced.
The Labour leader has also pledged to increase statutory paternity pay by more than £120 a week to £260 a week, paid for by savings in tax credits. Some business leaders have said the £150m move amounts to a business "tax". A new system of shared parental leave championed by the Liberal Democrats comes into force in April. The Lib Dems are also proposing, in future, a month's worth of paternity leave after a child's birth on a "use it or lose it" basis. The Conservatives have supported greater flexibility in parental leave, arguing that all future spending policies need to pass a "families test". 'Crucial weeks' "Thanks to the last Labour government, fathers have two weeks' paid paternity leave. 'Tax on business' 'Think big' Have your say.
How much Inequality is Too Much? | Economics. Why won’t oil producers cut supply to boost the price? Why is China economic growth slowing? Agency warns of teacher recruitment crisis. Tesco may have breached groceries code in two areas, says adjudicator - video | Business. Ebola: $5m vaccine deal announced. Image copyright Getty Images The Vaccine Alliance, Gavi, has signed a $5m (£3.5m) deal for an Ebola vaccine, to protect against future outbreaks of the deadly disease.
The deal commits pharmaceutical company Merck to keeping 300,000 vaccines ready for emergency use or further clinical trials. It will also submit an application to license the vaccine by the end of 2017, which would the next step towards enabling Gavi to prepare a global stockpile. More than 11,000 people have died in the latest outbreak in West Africa. The sheer scale of the outbreak - the largest in history - led to an unprecedented push on vaccines, which condensed a decade's work into less than a year. Merck has led trials of the VSV-EBOV vaccine - which combines a fragment of the Ebola virus with another safer virus in order to train the immune system to beat Ebola. Early evidence from studies in West Africa suggest it may give 100% protection, although more data is still being collected. 'Wake-up call' Oxfam report on increasing wealth inequality - some flaws in the data? | Economics.
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