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Britain has condemned "Iran's reckless attacks" after its military fired missiles at the UK-US air base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. UK officials have not given details of the attempted strike, which was unsuccessful. It's unclear how close the missiles came to the base, which is about 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometres) from Iran. The Ministry of Defence said on Saturday that Iran's "lashing out across the region and holding hostage the Strait of Hormuz, are a threat to British interests and British allies." Britain has not participated in US-Israeli attacks on Iran, but has allowed American bombers to use UK bases to attack Iran's missile sites. On Friday, the British government said US bombers can also use UK bases, including Diego Garcia, in operations to prevent Iran attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran targeted the base before that UK statement.
UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Thursday unveiled a new pilot scheme that will offer some failed asylum seekers 10,000 pounds per person, capped at 40,000 pounds for families, to vacate British taxpayer-funded accommodation and leave the country. In a major policy speech at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank on immigration reforms in London, the South Asian heritage minister said refugees who refused to accept the "incentive payment" would face being forcibly deported. The Home Office said the scheme, inspired by a successful system in Denmark, is expected to target about 150 families in the first phase within a week, estimated to save 20 million pounds for the British taxpayers. "This government will now pilot a similar model for families who are failed asylum seekers. A small number of whom will now be offered an increased incentive payment of 10,000 pounds per person and up to a maximum of 40,000 pounds per family," said Mahmood. "To put that in ...
Cyprus' government spokesperson said an "incident" that happened at a British air base on the island nation's southern coastline involved an "unmanned drone which caused limited damage." Spokesperson Constantinos Letymbiotis said the incident at RAF Akrotiri occurred shortly after midnight Monday. He said "information received through various channels" indicated a drone strike. He didn't specify what kind of drone, where it was launched from or the extent of damage. Letymbiotis said Cypriot authorities have enacted security protocols and are monitoring the situation in coordination with the UK and its two military bases in Cyprus. The suspected drone strike occurred after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK would help the US in the war against Iran.
Britain, France and Germany said they are ready to work with the US and partners to help stop Iran's retaliatory attacks. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a joint statement Sunday that they are "appalled" by Iran's "reckless" strikes on their allies, which are threatening their service members and citizens in the region. "We will take steps to defend our interests and those of our allies in the region, potentially through enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran's capability to fire missiles and drones at their source. We have agreed to work together with the US and allies in the region on this matter," the statement said. It did not provide further details.
Police in Britain said Peter Mandelson, the former U.K. ambassador to the United States, has been released on bail after he was arrested in a misconduct probe stemming from his ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein. It came days after a friendship with Epstein landed the former Prince Andrew in police custody. A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said in a statement issued just after 2 a.m. Tuesday: "A 72-year-old man arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office has been released on bail pending further investigation. The man was not named, in keeping with British police practice, but the suspect in the case previously was identified as the former diplomat, who is 72. Mandelson was filmed being led from his London home to a car by plainclothes officers on Monday afternoon. Both Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Prince Andrew, are suspected of improperly passing UK government information to the disgraced U.S. financier, and the high-profile British arrests are som
Union New & Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday said India has over 272 GW non-fossil fuel-based electricity generation capacity, including 141 solar and 55 GW wind energy, at the launch of 'India-UK Offshore Wind Taskforce'. This assumes significance in view of India's ambitious target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030 and net-zero emission target by 2070. UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy and British High Commissioner to India Lindy Cameron were present on the occasion. Addressing the official launch of the India-UK Offshore Wind Taskforce, Joshi said in the ongoing financial year, India added more than 35 GW of solar and 4.61 GW of wind capacity. Also, he said last year India achieved 50 per cent of its cumulative installed power capacity from non-fossil sources, five years ahead of our Nationally Determined Contribution commitment. "Today, India's installed non-fossil capacity stands at over 272 GW, with solar at more than 141 GW and wind at 55 GW... to
Britain's royal family is facing a fresh round of embarrassment after the latest release of documents from the US investigation into Jeffrey Epstein revealed unsavoury details about the relationship between the convicted sex offender and a correspondent who appears to be the man formerly known as Prince Andrew. Emails released by the US Justice Department include an invitation for Epstein to dine at Buckingham Palace, Epstein's offer to introduce his correspondent to a 26-year-old Russian woman, and photos that appear to show Andrew kneeling over an unidentified woman who is lying on the floor. The revelations come three months after King Charles III stripped Andrew of his royal titles, including the right to be called a prince, as he tried to insulate the monarchy from a steady stream of stories about his younger brother's relationship with Epstein that has tarnished the royal family for more than a decade. The former prince is now known simply as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. A ...
Bangladesh has appointed a British law firm to represent its state-run Power Development Board (BPDB) in mediation proceedings over its disputes with Adani Power Limited on the Indian conglomerate's coal pricing and power tariffs, officials said on Friday. The BPDB officials said they appointed London-based 3VP, a leading law firm that provides commercial and financial litigation, to represent Bangladesh in the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), a court of international arbitration. The Bangladesh-based Business Standard (TBS) newspaper said the 3VP chambers, headed by King's Counsel Farhaz Khan, had beenadvising a national review committee on the Adani deal for several months. The development came in less than a week, within five days of the committee submitting its final report detailing power sector agreements signed during thedeposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's toppled Awami League government. "Our move to appoint the British firm came as Adani Power initiate