Page 14 - Britain

UK authorities vow relentless search as manhunt for shooter enters Day 3

As a gruelling manhunt stretched into a third day Monday for a suspect in an interstate shooting that struck 12 vehicles and wounded five people, authorities vowed to keep up a relentless search as the stress level remained high for a rural area where some schools cancelled classes. Authorities have been searching a rugged, hilly area of southeastern Kentucky since Saturday evening, when a gunman began shooting at drivers on Interstate 75 near London, a small city of about 8,000 people located about 75 miles (120 kilometres) south of Lexington. The search was temporarily suspended once darkness fell Sunday night, but was set to resume Monday morning. We're not going to quit until we do lay hands on him, Laurel County Sheriff John Root said Sunday night. Joseph A. Couch, 32, was named first as a person of interest and later as a suspect in the shooting after authorities said they recovered his SUV on a service road near the crime scene. They later found a semi-automatic weapon nearb

Biden to host British PM Keir Starmer next week for White House talks

President Joe Biden will host British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for talks in Washington next week that are expected to touch on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and other issues. Next Friday's meeting with the leader of one of America's closest allies comes as Biden looks to step up engagement on the international stage in his final months in office. US allies and adversaries are also intently watching how the race to succeed Biden between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump plays out. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that the Oval Office visit, the second by Starmer since he was elected earlier this summer, will focus on continuing Western support for Ukraine as it tries to repel Russia's invasion, ongoing efforts to secure a hostage and cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, threats to commercial shipping in the Red Sea posed by the Houthis, an Iranian-backed group, as well as shared concerns about

UK watchdog accuses Google of anti-competitive behaviour in digital ads biz

Google was slammed on Friday by UK regulators who say it's taking advantage of its dominance in digital advertising to thwart competition in Britain, ratcheting up pressure that the tech giant is facing on both sides of the Atlantic over its ad tech business practices. Britain's Competition and Markets Authority said that the US company gives preference to its own services to the detriment of online publishers and advertisers in Britain's 1.8 billion pound (USD 2.4 billion) digital ad market. Google is a major player throughout the digital ad ecosystem, providing servers for publishers to manage ad space on their websites and apps, tools for advertisers and media agencies to buy display ads, and an exchange where both sides come together to buy and sell ads in real time at auctions. We've provisionally found that Google is using its market power to hinder competition when it comes to the ads people see on websites, the watchdog's interim executive director of enforcement, Juliette .

US, Britain, EU to sign first legally binding international AI treaty

The AI Convention, which has been in the works for years and was adopted in May after discussions between 57 countries, addresses the risks AI may pose, while promoting responsible innovation

Projectiles strike ship in Red Sea in suspected Yemen rebel attack

A suspected attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted a ship in the Red Sea on Monday, authorities said. Two projectiles hit the vessel, and a third explosion occurred near the ship, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. Damage control is underway, UKMTO said. There are no casualties onboard and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call. The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack. However, it can take the rebels hours or even days to acknowledge their assaults. The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a United States-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets. The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel's campaign against H

10,000 US hotel workers strike as contract talks with operators break down

The strike is taking place with the industry facing a 9% increase in Labor Day weekend domestic travel compared to last year, according to AAA booking data

Britain may lose $16 bn with North Sea tax changes, says industry body

The changes will also include scrapping the levy's 29% investment allowance, which lets companies offset tax from capital that is re-invested

British film investors aim to revive studio plan amid push for growth

Marlow Film Studios said it would appeal to a national planning body after the proposed new studio complex was rejected

British PM Keir Starmer in Berlin for talks to reset ties with Europe

Military support for Ukraine if former U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House early next year.

Proposed UN resolution on Myanmar condemns military attacks on civilians

Britain circulated a wide-ranging United Nations resolution on Myanmar urging renewed peace efforts, condemning attacks on civilians especially by the Myanmar military and calling for a halt to illicit arms transfers. The draft resolution obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press expresses alarm at the increased violence across Myanmar, which is engulfed in civil war between the military-led regime and resistance forces. It calls for safe, rapid, and unhindered humanitarian access at scale," expressing grave concern at the deteriorating humanitarian situation and restrictions on humanitarian access in the country that led to rising food insecurity and hunger. The proposed resolution warns that the current situation has the potential to further exacerbate discrimination, ethnically motivated violence, violations of international humanitarian law, human rights abuses, and conflict-related sexual violence. Myanmar's military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1

Thousands of workers at UK retailer Next win years long fight for equal pay

Workers in the claim would be entitled to back pay for up to six years before they brought the action

More Londoners buying homes miles away from capital for better money value

Over 25 per cent of households trading a London home for one outside the capital moved more than 100 miles away in the first half

Sicily yacht sinking: Victims likely asleep as it sank, say officials

Authorities in Sicily have opened a manslaughter and negligent shipwreck probe into the Aug. 19 sinking of British tech tycoon Lynch's yacht

UK to deploy officers, speed up returns in illegal migration crackdown

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the new officers will be deployed at the National Crime Agency (NCA) to target, dismantle and disrupt organised immigration crime networks

UK borrows more than expected in July, underlining challenge for FM Reeves

The figures did not include recent pay deals struck between the new Labour government, elected last month in a landslide victory, and public sector workers including junior doctors

UK tycoon Mike Lynch missing: How a luxury yacht sank in freak Sicily storm

The luxury British superyacht was carrying 22 people onboard when it was hit by a sudden tornado-like storm on early Monday in Sicily and then sank in water, reportedly trapping six people inside

British govt allocates funds to support Tata Steel's decarbonisation

The British government said it has begun supporting those affected by Tata Steel UK's decarbonisation process with the release of an initial GBP 13.5 million of funding, also available to affected workers for them to retrain or acquire new skills for the employment market. In a statement from the Wales Office on Monday, the government said the funding from the Tata Steel/Port Talbot Transition Board fund will support local businesses which are heavily reliant on Tata Steel as their primary customer, allowing them to turn towards new markets and customers where necessary. At a meeting last week, the board discussed how the funding will be allocated, monitored and evaluated to ensure value for the taxpayer. This funding is an important step towards supporting workers affected by Tata Steel's transition and businesses in the wider supply chain, said Jonathan Reynolds, UK Business and Trade Secretary. We're working in partnership with trade unions and industry to secure a green steel .

New coins featuring King Charles III with British bees go into circulation

The first one pound coins featuring King Charles III with a design incorporating British bees have gone into circulation in the UK from Tuesday, with a total of 2.975 million coins making their way into tills via Post Offices and banks around the country. According to the Royal Mint, the tribute to British bees is one of eight new designs that will appear on the country's coins in one pence to two pound denominations. They feature animals such as the Hazel Dormouse, Puffin and the Atlantic Salmon as all species which are in active conservation programmes, reflecting the 75-year-old monarch's environmental concerns. The Royal Mint has made the circulating coinage of each of Britain's monarchs since Alfred the Great and it is an honour to reveal that King Charles III's one-pound coin is now in circulation, said Rebecca Morgan, Director of Commemorative Coin at the Royal Mint. We know there'll be a buzz of excitement amongst collectors and the public to get this special piece of histo

UK regulator reverses decision, no in-depth probe of baby formula mkt

The cost of baby milk formula was in the spotlight during Britain's inflation-driven cost of living crisis, with media reports saying that some struggling parents had resorted to watering it down

Kremlin aide says Nato and West helped Ukraine attack Russian territory

The United States and Western powers, eager to avoid direct confrontation with Russia, said Ukraine had not given advance notice and that Washington was not involved, though weaponry provided by Brit