Page 28 - Britain

UK unveils GBP 10mn aid for Palestinian civilians caught up in conflict

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday announced GBP 10 million in humanitarian aid funding for civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) in response to the escalating Israel-Gaza conflict, as he confirmed that six British nationals have been killed and 10 remain missing in the region. Addressing members of Parliament in the House of Commons, Sunak delivered a statement to reiterate the UK's condemnation of Hamas' actions in both Israel and Gaza, and called for immediate access for humanitarian organisations to be allowed to deliver life-saving aid. He described the Hamas strikes on Israel on October 7 as a "pogrom" an act of organised torture or killing of a large group of people on the basis of their race or religion. "We should call it by its name: it was a pogrom," Sunak said. He said the UK is also exploring options for moving humanitarian supplies closer to the region and is liaising with aid agencies in the region to ensure relief supplies can be ...

FTA talks between India and UK at advanced stage, says Commerce Secy

The negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement between India and the UK are at an advanced stage, and both sides are working to iron out differences on the remaining issues, a top government official said on Friday. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that negotiations on tough issues are underway. "These negotiations are in the advance stage. These are going on, and we are ironing out the differences. We should wait till these negotiations are over because the 13th round is going on," he told reporters here. These remarks assume significance as both sides are expected to conclude the talks this month and may sign the deal in the last week. A majority of the 26 chapters are closed and for the remaining issues, high-level engagements at various levels are ongoing. An official delegation from the UK is here for the negotiations. A team led by Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal was in London recently to give an impetus to the talks. The UK team dealing with investment-rela

Indian woman spends day as British High Commissioner in New Delhi

This year's winning entry was chosen from a pool of more than 180 applications from talented young women around the country

Strengthening ties: British companies in India register strong growth

As many as 147 companies have met the qualifying criteria and have been featured in the BMI Growth Tracker

UK's Suella Braverman warns against hurricane of migrants in coming months

In a series of comments on immigration that have drawn some criticism from within her own party ranks, UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman has warned against a hurricane of migrants landing on the country's shores unless tough action is taken. The 43-year-old Indian-origin Cabinet minister, whose parents migrated to Britain from Mauritius and Kenya, told the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on Tuesday that their immigration was a mere gust compared to the millions more expected in the coming months and years. Her hard-line speech hit out at European human rights legislation that made it difficult for the UK to tackle the challenge of boat-loads of bogus asylum seekers. The wind of change that carried my own parents across the globe in the 20th century was a mere gust compared to the hurricane that is coming, said Braverman in her address to the Tory activists. Because today the option of moving from a poorer country to a richer one is not just a dream for billions of peop

Britain not racist country, my story is a British story: Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak addressed his first Conservative Party conference as party leader in Manchester on Wednesday and used his own elevation as the country's first Indian-origin Prime Minister as proof that the UK is not a racist country and that his skin colour was not a big deal. Dubbed as the most important speech of his political career nearly a year after he took charge as Tory leader, there was a lot riding on the 43-year-old leader's address to the governing party activists ahead of a general election expected next year. After a warm and personal introduction by wife Akshata Murty, who praised his honesty, integrity and strength of character, Sunak went on to lay out his plans for what he hopes would win him the British public's mandate at the next polls. Never let anyone tell you that this is a racist country. It is not, said Sunak. My story is a British story. A story about how a family can go from arriving here with little to Downing Street in three generations, he said. He went

Akshata Murty makes UK political stage debut for 'best friend' UK PM Sunak

Britain's Indian First Lady, Akshata Murty, made a surprise debut on the political stage on Wednesday when she stepped out to introduce best friend Rishi Sunak for his maiden speech as UK Prime Minister to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester. Murty, during her light-hearted and personal speech, claimed her husband was unaware of her gate-crashing as the warm-up act to the centrepiece of the annual conference and that her decision had also surprised their daughters, Krishna and Anoushka. The 43-year-old daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy went on to share her pride in Sunak's many achievements and how it was his honesty and integrity that had first attracted her to him when they met as students at Stanford University in their 20s. Rishi and I are each other's best friends; we are one team and I could not imagine being anywhere else than here today to show my support to him and to the party, said Murty. Rishi and I met when we were 24 when we were both studying

British govt hikes student visas by GBP 127 effective from this week

A proposed visa fee hike announced by the British government will become effective from Wednesday, when a visit visa for under six months will cost GBP 15 more and student visas will be GBP 127 more expensive for travellers from around the world, including Indians. Following the legislation tabled in Parliament last month, the UK Home Office said the changes mean that the cost for a visit visa for less than six months will rise to GBP 115 and the fee for applying for a student visa from outside the UK will rise to GBP 490 to equal the amount charged for in-country applications. "It is right and fair to increase visa application fees so we can fund vital public services and allow wider funding to contribute to public sector pay," a Home Office spokesperson said. It comes after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had announced in July that the fees and health surcharge paid towards the UK's state-funded National Health Service (NHS) by visa applicants are set to rise significantly to

UK companies to design, manufacture AUKUS nuclear submarines

The SSN-AUKUS program aims to enhance the capabilities of the UK, Australia, and the US to counter regional security challenges, particularly from China in the Asia-Pacific region

Nawaz Sharif books flight tickets to return Pak from UK on Oct 21: Report

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has reportedly booked flight tickets to return from the UK to the country on October 21, ending a four-year "self-imposed exile", a media report said Monday. Nawaz, 73, recently said that he is excited to return to Pakistan on October 21 to lead his party in the election likely to be held in January 2024. Citing a source, Samaa TV reported that Nawaz, who is currently in the UK, will land at the Abu Dhabi International Airport on October 21. He is scheduled to fly to Lahore from Abu Dhabi on the same day. He has booked a business class ticket on flight EY243 of Etihad Airways in advance, sources said. They further said the Etihad Airways flight will land at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore at 6:25 p.m. Those accompanying Nawaz will reportedly be his staff members, personal advisers, Dr. Adnan and Senator Irfan Siddiqui. According to sources, several PML-N leaders and former lawmaker

Pro-Khalistan groups stage protest at High Commission of India in London

A group of pro-Khalistan protesters on Monday gathered outside the High Commission of India here, waving anti-India placards and chanting slogans amid strong Scotland Yard presence. The protest, which was promoted by British Sikh groups on social media, was organised to draw attention to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations last month of alleged Indian involvement in the killing of wanted terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. The allegation has been strongly rejected by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) as "absurd and motivated". "Sikhs will raise domestic issues including the suspicious death of activist Bhai Avtar Singh Khanda, reads the call for Monday's protest. There were several uniformed Metropolitan Police officers on guard and patrolling on foot outside India House, which was cordoned off to restrict the small group of turbaned men and some women opposite the building outside Waldorf Hotel at Aldwych in central London. Several police vehicles also

UK visit was successful, proposals worth Rs 12,500 cr signed: CM Dhami

He said that the way the Indian Diaspora welcomed him with Uttarakhandi customs and musical instruments at Heathrow Airport, was in itself a special experience

TVS Supply Chain Solutions sells Circle Express for Rs 21.32 crore

TVS Supply Chain Solutions Ltd on Friday said its wholly-owned arm RICO Logistics Ltd has sold the entire stake in subsidiary Circle Express Ltd, UK, for 2.1 million pounds (about Rs 21.32 crore). The move is designed to boost the company's profitability and sharpen its focus on core offerings to its customers, TVS Supply Chain Solutions said in a statement. In a regulatory filing, the company said the entire stake in Circle Express Ltd was sold to Winever Industrial Enterprises (UK) Ltd. "The sale of Circle Express is an important step as it found very little synergy with the core operations and represents an important step in our efforts to enhance our financial performance and sharpen our competitive edge," TVS Supply Chain Solutions Managing Director Ravi Viswanathan said. "We are confident that this sale will allow us to allocate resources more effectively and focus on driving sustainable growth and profitability, thereby increasing shareholder value," he said. By shedding th

MoUs for investments worth Rs 3,000 crore in Uttarakhand signed in UK

Agreements for investments worth Rs 3,000 crore in Uttarakhand were signed on Thursday, the third day of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami's current tour of the UK to invite investors. An MoU for investment worth Rs 2,000 crore was signed with Aager Technology and another for investment worth Rs 1,000 crore with Fira Barcelona, an official release here said. Aager Technology will invest in Lithium battery plants in the state. Fira Barcelona is an European group engaged in event management with expertise in organising world-class business fairs. Two MoUs were also signed with Ease My Trip to promote Uttarakhand internationally as a tourist destination. The chief minister also met around 250 entrepreneurs in Birmingham and extended an invitation to them to participate in the forthcoming Global Investors Summit to be held in Uttarakhand in December.

US, UK, Bangladesh leading source countries for India's FTAs in 2022: Data

The US, the UK and Bangladesh were the top three source countries for foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India in 2022, according to official data. The data was shared by the Ministry of Tourism in a statement on the occasion of World Tourism Day on Wednesday. "Top 3 source countries for Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during 2022 include United States of America (USA), Bangladesh and United Kingdom (UK)," the statement said. India received 6.19 million FTAs during 2022 as compared to 1.52 million in 2021, it said. There were 10.93 million FTAs in India during pre-pandemic year 2019. The tourism industry has shown good signs of revival after the pandemic, Union Minister of Tourism G Kishan Reddy had shared this in a written response to a query in Rajya Sabha in April. In the data, shared on Wednesday, the Ministry of Tourism also said that India received Rs 1,34,543 crore (USD 16.93 billion) in foreign exchange earnings, a "remarkable increase" from Rs 65,070 crore reco

Britain uses UN speech to show want to be a leader on how world handles AI

Britain has pitched itself to the world as a ready leader in shaping an international response to the rise of artificial intelligence, with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden telling the UN General Assembly his country was "determined to be in the vanguard". Touting the United Kingdom's tech companies, its universities and even Industrial Revolution-era innovations, he said Friday that the nation has "the grounding to make AI a success and make it safe". He went on to suggest that a British AI task force, which is working on methods for assessing AI systems' vulnerability, could develop expertise to offer internationally. His remarks at the assembly's annual meeting of world leaders previewed an AI safety summit that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is convening in November. Dowden's speech also came as other countries and multinational groups including the European Union, the bloc that Britain left in 2020 are making moves on artificial intelligence. The EU this year passed ..

UK recession risk deepens but consumers stay unfazed, factory output falls

A business survey, which the BoE factored into its decision to keep rates on hold, showed companies endured a much tougher September than feared, marked by growing unemployment

UK's new online safety law adds to crackdown on big tech companies

British lawmakers have approved an ambitious but controversial new internet safety law with wide-ranging powers to crack down on digital and social media companies like TikTok, Google, and Facebook and Instagram parent Meta. The government says the online safety bill passed this week will make Britain the safest place in the world to be online. But digital rights groups say it threatens online privacy and freedom of speech. The new law is the UK's contribution to efforts in Europe and elsewhere to clamp down on the freewheeling tech industry dominated by US companies. The European Union has its Digital Services Act, which took effect last month with similar provisions aimed at cleaning up social media for users in the 27-nation bloc. Here's a closer look at Britain's law: WHAT IS THE ONLINE SAFETY LAW? The sprawling piece of legislation has been in the works since 2021. The new law requires social media platforms to take down illegal content, including child sexual abuse, hate sp

Close to achieving mutually beneficial free trade agreement: UK minister

India and the UK are very close to achieving a mutually beneficial free trade agreement (FTA) but the aspects left to agree on are the toughest ones, Britain's Business and Trade Secretary in charge of the negotiations has told a parliamentary panel. Kemi Badenoch was answering questions posed by the cross-party House of Commons Business and Trade Committee, which scrutinises the work of the Department of Business and Trade (DBT), on Tuesday when she was asked about the timeline for signing off on the FTA which has completed 12 rounds of negotiations. The Cabinet minister was specifically asked about some UK media reports suggesting that cricket fan British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak may be planning a return visit to India next month to sign the deal on the sidelines of the World Cup being hosted across the country. We have never set a deadline. I think this is a very optimistic briefing for newspapers, responded Badenoch. We are very close. It is possible, but I wouldn't be setti

British govt financial package may help Tata Steel UK narrow losses

The UK government's 500 million pound financial package to Tata Steel UK is expected to narrow the steel maker's losses on the back of lowered production and environmental compliance costs, according to CreditSights. Tata Steel's credit profile could remain resilient even amid lacklustre steel price dynamics, aided by strong captive iron ore resources, expectations of moderating coking coal input costs, and positive signs of a gradual turnaround of its loss-making European business, the Fitch Group company said in a statement on Wednesday. The UK government has announced it will pay up to 500 million pounds to facilitate the green transition of steel maker's Port Talbot plant in South Wales, UK. This will entail replacing Port Talbot's blast furnaces with environmentally friendlier electric arc furnaces (EAF) for a total cost of 1.25 billion pounds. "We see the deal as a mild credit positive for Tata, and we believe losses at Tata Steel UK could narrow on the back of lowered ...