Tag Archives: Government

The federal government has been called on to urgently intervene to save the canned 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The recommendation forms part of a Senate inquiry into Australia’s preparedness to host the Commonwealth, Olympic and Paralympic Games, which tabled its interim report to federal parliament on Thursday.

“The committee recommends that the Australian Government takes on a facilitation and coordination role in order to salvage the 2026 Commonwealth Games being held in Australia,” the report reads.

The report calls on government to establish an intergovernmental forum by the end of 2023 to bring together representatives from federal, state and local government, business associations and community groups, to examine options to salvage the 2026 Games.

Earlier this week Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham tweeted a screenshot of a UK government press release with the headline “UK announces £680m for new high-speed electric railway in Turkey”.

Alongside the screenshot, Mr Burnham tweeted “So we can’t afford to keep our own ticket offices open – but we can afford to build a new line in Turkey?”

A number of similar posts have also been shared on Facebook.

Mr Burnham’s suggestion that the UK is financing a new railway line in Turkey is misleading—the £680 million figure used in the government press release refers to a loan provided by three banks (J.P. Morgan, ING Bank and BNP Paribas) which has been underwritten by the UK government’s export credit agency. The Italian and Austrian export credit…

A press release appearing to be from the French government, claiming that the internet is being restricted in certain neighbourhoods across France, is being shared online. But the press release is fake. 

The posts share an image of what looks like a press release written in French from the Interior Ministry. The Interior Ministry is comparable to the Home Office in the UK and is the department of the French government that deals with emergency and crisis situations.

The fake press release, which is dated 2 July, says internet access will be restricted at night in certain neighbourhoods from 3 July. It says these “exceptional measures” are in order to prevent online platforms and social media being used to coordinate illegal activities and incite violence. 

This…

The UK’s emergency alerts system is expected to cost up to £25.3 million in its first three years, the government has confirmed, after previously declining to give any figure.

Last month, in the run-up to and following the nationwide test of the system on Sunday 23 April, we saw lots of false and misleading claims circulating on social media, including that it would track your location, would breach GDPR and was subcontracted to the company founded by Rishi Sunak’s father-in-law.

We also saw unevidenced claims circulating on social media about the likely cost. Many claimed the test alone would cost £22 million, with this figure being shared hundreds of times on Twitter and Facebook. (The Daily Mail previously reported that the whole system would cost £22…