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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
The leaders of China and the U.K. were meeting Thursday as the two nations try to improve relations after several years of acrimony. Keir Starmer, the first British prime minister to visit in eight years, was holding talks with China's leader Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing. The two countries are expected to sign a number of agreements later in the day. Starmer, who became prime minister in July 2024, is trying to expand opportunities for British companies at a time when the economy at home is slow. More than 50 top business executives have joined him on the trip, along with the leaders of some cultural organizations. The U.K. leader earlier met Zhao Leji, the chairman of China's legislature, the National People's Congress. Relations deteriorated in recent years over growing concern about Chinese spying activity in Great Britain, China's support for Russia in the Ukraine war, and the crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong, the former British colony that wa
The British government has tabled a new law to prioritise UK-trained medical graduates for specialty training posts in the National Health Service (NHS), a move set to impact Indians as the largest group of internationally trained medics employed in the state-funded system. Secretary of State for Health Wes Streeting tabled the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill in the House of Commons on Tuesday to address what he described as the catastrophic mismanagement of the previous Conservative government. Under the Labour government proposals, UK graduates will no longer be expected to compete with doctors from overseas for NHS training posts that lead to medical specialisations and expertise for new medics. British taxpayers spend 4 billion pounds training medics every year, so it makes little sense for many of them to then be left struggling to get speciality training places and fearing for their futures," said Streeting. The catastrophic mismanagement of the system by the previous
British and French warplanes carried out an airstrike in central Syria on an underground facility where members of the Islamic State group are suspected to have stored weapons and explosives, the British defence ministry said Sunday. The strikes occurred Saturday evening on the structure in the mountains just north of the historic town of Palmyra in the country's Homs province, the ministry's statement said. Britain and France are part of the US-led coalition that has been fighting IS militants for more than a decade. The ministry said the British military used Typhoon FGR4 fighter jets supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker and were joined by French aircraft in the joint strike. The British air force used Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of access tunnels down to the facility, the statement said, adding that while a detailed assessment is now underway, initial indications are that the target was engaged successfully. This action shows our UK leadership, and determinati
The highly anticipated free trade deal between India and the UK, in the works for over four years, came to fruition in 2025, alongside a Vision 2035' pact to revitalise bilateral ties beyond the realm of trade and investment. The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations dominated the headlines for the major part of the year as both sides looked determined to get the deal over the line and formally signed off during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UK in July. Keir Starmer, celebrating his own one-year mark as British Prime Minister, laid out an especially warm reception for Modi over cups of chai at his countryside residence Chequers, near London. We have agreed a landmark deal with India one of the fastest growing economies in the world, declared Starmer, formally accepting Modi's reciprocal invitation to lead the biggest British trade delegation to India ever within weeks in October. According to the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) analysis, the Comprehensiv
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer appointed a new UK ambassador to the United States on Thursday, replacing a diplomat who was fired over his over his links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Christian Turner, currently the UK's permanent representative to the United Nations, will replace Peter Mandelson, who was sacked in September because of his friendship with Epstein. The appointment comes as US President Donald Trump has been critical of Europe and at a time when Starmer and his European peers are pushing to make sure that a US brokered peace plan between Russia and Ukraine does not leave Kyiv vulnerable. The United Kingdom and United States have a very special relationship, and Christian's extensive experience as an outstanding diplomat will support this uniquely close bond and ensure it continues to flourish," Starmer said. Turner, a veteran diplomat, will take on the role after US agreement. He was previously political director of the Foreign, Commonwealth and
Following weeks of speculation, Britain's unpopular Labour government will deliver its second budget later Wednesday since it returned to power in a landslide election victory in July 2024 after 14 years in opposition. Treasury chief Rachel Reeves, the first woman to hold the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer, is set to tell lawmakers that more tax-raising measures are necessary to plug a hole in the public finances. Reeves said much the same at her first budget a little more than a year ago. That budget, she had insisted, would be the one and only big tax-raising budget in this parliamentary term, which is due to run to 2029. Unfortunately for Reeves, the British economy, the world's sixth-largest, is not doing as well as she hoped, with many critics blaming her decision last year to slap taxes on business. Though there were signs that the economy was on the mend in the first half of the year when it was the fastest-growing among the Group of Seven leading industrial nations, it'
The BBC's chairman acknowledged Monday that it was too slow in responding over a misleading edit of a speech by US President Donald Trump but rejected claims that the broadcaster's impartiality was being undermined from within its own board. Senior BBC leaders were quizzed by Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee amid a major crisis at the publicly funded corporation after its director general and head of news both quit earlier this month and Trump threatened to file a billion-dollar lawsuit. The BBC drew Trump's ire and deep public scrutiny after an internal memo compiled by one of its former external advisers was leaked to the British media. The memo criticised cases of alleged biased reporting over a documentary on Trump that was aired days before the 2024 US presidential election, as well as other BBC coverage including its stance on transgender issues, Gaza, and race. Chairman Samir Shah said the broadcaster should have acted much quicker in addressing the ...