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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
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