Page 35 - Britain

Britain and Japan sign pact to allow two-way military deployments

'Most significant defence agreement between the 2 countries in a century'

Arms supplied by US, Britain continue to fuel Yemen's long conflict: Report

Arms supplied by the US and Britain continues to fuel Yemen's years-long civil war, killing and injuring many civilians, an investigation report released by charity organisation Oxfam revealed

UK government meets trade unions but fails to end wave of strikes

UK government ministers met trade union leaders on Monday but fell short of ending a wave of strikes that has hobbled the rail network and strained the overburdened health system. There were small signs of progress but no breakthrough after a meeting between Health Secretary Steve Barclay and health care unions. Other ministers met with railway unions that have staged months of strikes, and teaching unions considering classroom walkouts. Barclay said the talks had made progress and the government wanted "to work constructively with the trade unions. There was definitely a change of tone today," said Sarah Gorton of UNISON, which represents some health workers. However Onay Kasab, negotiator for the Unite union, said the talks had been a missed opportunity. Unions said strikes by nurses and ambulance staff planned for this month would go ahead. Nurses are due to walk out on Wednesday, and ambulance workers next week, while junior doctors are voting on whether to strike later this ..

Cornwall channels Cape Canaveral with its first planned space flight

The flight, slated for Monday, involves a so-called horizontal launch, with a rocket deployed from beneath a modified Boeing Co. 747 jet departing from Newquay's former air force runway

Cornwall channels Cape Canaveral with its first planned space flight

The flight, slated for Monday, involves a so-called horizontal launch, with a rocket deployed from beneath a modified Boeing Co. 747 jet departing from Newquay's former air force runway

UK saw hottest-ever year in 2022 as Europe's climate warms: Met Office

Britain had its warmest year on record in 2022, official figures showed Thursday, the latest evidence that climate change is transforming Europe's weather. The Met Office weather agency said the provisional annual average temperature in the U.K. was 10.03 degrees Celsius (50 Fahrenheit), the highest since comparable records began in 1884. The previous record was 9.88 Celsius (49.8 Fahrenheit) set in 2014. Met Office scientists said human activity - primarily fossil fuel emissions - has made such warm conditions vastly more likely. The results showed that recording 10C in a natural climate would occur around once every 500 years, whereas in our current climate it could be as frequently as once every three to four years, said Met Office climate attribution scientist Nikos Christidis. Britain is not alone. France's average temperature was above 14 Celsius (57.2 Fahrenheit) in 2022, making it the hottest year since weather readings began in 1900. In Spain, preliminary data from the end

Rafael Nadal loses in three sets to Britain's Norrie at United Cup

Rafael Nadal has ended an up-and-down 2022 with a 3-6 6-3 6-4 loss to Britain's Cameron Norrie at the United Cup mixed teams tournament on Saturday. Nadal won the Australian Open and French Open to take his career Grand Slam si ngles total to a leading 22. But foot, rib and abdomen injuries meant he played only four events after Wimbledon in July. Norrie's win gave Britain a 1-0 lead over Spain. Norrie failed to win a set in his four previous matches against Nadal. "It was pretty crazy. I was thinking I'd never won a set before, so I wanted to come out and firstly do that," Norrie said. "It was a super physical match and I enjoyed it. It's a great way to end 2022 for me." In other matches, Top-ranked Iga Swiatek gave Poland an early lead over Kazakhstan when she beat Yulia Putintseva 6-1 6-3 at Brisbane. "First matches of the season are always kind of rusty, so I'm happy that in the important moments I was really composed," Swiatek said. At Perth, Bulgaria and Belgium were leve

Charles chooses multi-faith theme for first Christmas broadcast as UK King

King Charles III chose a multi-faith message for his first-ever Christmas Day broadcast on Sunday as British monarch, referencing the work of churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and gurdwaras across the UK and wishing everyone a Christmas filled with peace, happiness and everlasting light. The 74-year-old King, who had recorded the message earlier this month at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, focussed on the unifying theme of light overcoming darkness celebrated across all faiths. The traditional broadcast was also packed with heartfelt tributes to the life and legacy of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away aged 96 in September. While Christmas is, of course, a Christian celebration, the power of light overcoming darkness is celebrated across the boundaries of faith and belief, said King Charles. So, whatever faith you have, or whether you have none, it is in this life-giving light, and with the true humility that lies in our service to others, that I ...

SRK only Indian to feature on British magazine's list of 50 greatest actors

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has become the only Indian to be named in an international list of 50 greatest actors of all time by a prominent British magazine. The 57-year-old actor is included in Empire magazine's list which also recognises Hollywood giants like Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, Anthony Marlon Brando, Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson and many others. In the accompanying short profile, the magazine said Khan has a career that has now spanned four decades of "near unbroken hits, and a fanbase of pretty much billions". "You don't do that without outrageous amounts of charisma and absolute mastery of your craft. Comfortable in almost every genre going, there's pretty much nothing he can't do," it added. From his extensive filmography, the publication highlighted Khan's notable characters from four movies -- Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed "Devdas", Karan Johar's "My Name Is Khan" and "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai", and "Swades", directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar. His dialogue from t

Britain's Labour Party works to become 'the party of business'

"They're asking a lot of questions," one large international investor in Britain said

UK manufacturers are sitting on a $29 bn pile of unfinished goods

The poll showed 72% of the 631 companies in Britain are facing the inventory logjam tied to a lack of components, materials or ingredients

UK economy shrinks 0.3% in 3 months through October as inflation soars

Britain's economy shrank in the three months through October, confirming the toll that rampant inflation and rising interest rates are having on business and industry. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity, fell by 0.3 per cent in the period when compared with the three months through July, the Office for National Statistics said Monday. The decline came even as estimates showed GDP increased by 0.5 per cent in the month of October after a 0.6 per cent drop in September, when economic activity was artificially reduced by an extra public holiday to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Despite the rebound in October, there is still a good chance the British economy will shrink for a second consecutive quarter in the last three months of this year, according to Martin Beck, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club. Two consecutive quarters of declining output is one definition of a recession. Britain doesn't have an independent body that declares recessi

Force multiplier: Meet Lord Karan Bilimoria, India's voice in the UK

'An Indian living in London; but an Indian born and brought up in India: not a second generation Asian but a first generation immigrant - who's totally Indian but feels at home in both countries'

India remains top nationality granted worker visas: British High Commission

In October, British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis had said that they were on track to get back to processing India-to-UK visa application within standard 15 of days

Indian group urges UK to remove overseas students from migration stats

An Indian diaspora-led students' organisation on Friday urged the UK government to remove international students from the country's overall immigration statistics amid unconfirmed reports that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak may be considering a crackdown on foreigners granted study visas. According to some UK media reports, Sunak is mulling a crackdown on foreign students bringing dependents and studying so-called low-quality degrees at mediocre UK universities after the country's net migration figures hit record levels. Downing Street has indicated that all options to bring overall migrant numbers down are on the table. The National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK, which campaigns for streamlined provisions for Indian students studying in the UK, said any move to arbitrarily rank universities would prove counterproductive in the long run. Students who are in the UK temporarily, should not be counted as migrants, said NISAU UK Chair Sanam Arora. International students, of .

UK starting to have second thoughts about Brexit as economy faces recession

More than six years after voting to leave the European Union, the UK is facing a prolonged recession and a deep cost-of-living crisis

UK backs India, Germany, Japan, Brazil as permanent members of UNSC

The UK has voiced support for India, Germany, Japan and Brazil to sit as permanent members in an expanded UN Security Council. Speaking during the General Assembly debate on Security Council reform on Thursday, UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward said that the United Kingdom has long called for the expansion of the Security Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories. Our position is well known. The United Kingdom has long called for the expansion of the Security Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories, Woodward said. We support the creation of new permanent seats for India, Germany, Japan and Brazil, as well as permanent African representation on the Council. We also support an expansion of the non-permanent category of membership, taking the Security Council's total membership to somewhere in the mid-twenties, she said. Woodward said with these changes, the Council would be more representative of the world today. And, coupled with a renewed commitmen

Britain is in recession, Hunt makes it official; windfall tax hiked to 35%

The tax burden would hit 37.1 per cent of GDP, its highest sustained level since World War Two

UK govt increases windfall tax on profits of oil, natural gas companies

Britain's Treasury chief says he's increasing the windfall tax on the profits of oil and natural gas companies as he announced an emergency budget aimed at restoring the nation's economic credibility and patching up its battered finances. Jeremy Hunt said Thursday that the windfall tax will rise from 25% to 35% from January 2024 to March 2028 and that electricity generators will have to pay a new temporary levy of 45%. He said the taxes combined would raise 14 billion pounds next year. Energy companies such as London-based BP and Shell have reported huge profits in recent months as Russia's war in Ukraine pushes up energy prices worldwide. Britain's government has faced pressure to increase taxes on oil and gas companies to help fund support for millions of Britons struggling to cope with soaring energy prices. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a former Treasury chief, introduced a 25% energy profits levy earlier this year but that was limited to profits made from extracting U.K. oil an

King Charles III gives sister Anne, brother Edward deputy roles

King Charles III has personally asked the UK Parliament to add his siblings, Princess Anne the Princess Royal, and Prince Edward the Earl of Wessex, to the list of people who can act as his deputies for official royal duties. Charles issued a statement on Monday, as he celebrated his 74th birthday, which was read to the House of Lords to state he would be "most content" if his sister and brother could become Counsellors of State effectively the monarch's stand-ins at events. This will mean amending the UK's Regency Act, which at present stipulates that Counsellors are the spouse of the monarch plus the next four royals in succession to the throne, who are over the age of 21. The Counsellors are made up of King Charles' wife Camilla the Queen Consort, and Prince William the Prince of Wales. Two other senior royals are no longer working royals after the King's younger son Prince Harry the Duke of Sussex, stepped back from frontline royalty and younger brother Prince Andrew th