Page 14 - Uk Govt

India's Covid vax rate falls 75% since Apr as US, UK ready for another shot

In recent weeks, over 70 per cent of India's current vaccinations have been adminis­tered to people in the age group of 45-60 years

UK PM Sunak appoints Grant Shapps as new defence minister in mini reshuffle

Grant Shapps, one of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's staunchest Cabinet allies, was named UK defence secretary on Thursday as Sunak began a Cabinet reshuffle ahead of a general election that is expected to take place next year. The move came after Ben Wallace formally submitted his resignation earlier in the day, honouring a promise made last month. Wallace was defence secretary for four years, overseeing Britain's military response to the war in Ukraine. Shapps, who supported Sunak during his campaign to become Conservative Party leader and prime minister last year, has been a Cabinet member since 2019, most recently serving as secretary of state for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero. Wallace used his resignation letter to press for increased funding for the military, long his primary issue. I genuinely believe that over the next decade the world will get more insecure and more unstable," Wallace wrote in his letter to Sunak. We both share the belief that now is

England to be offer world-first seven-minute cancer treatment injection

The UK's National Health Service (NHS) will be the first in the world to offer an "under the skin" injection for cancer treatment, possibly decreasing treatment times by up to three quarters

UK government to hold world's first summit on AI safety in November

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said that no country will be untouched by AI and an international approach in the interconnected world

UK has no intention of becoming a place to evade justice: British Security

The United Kingdom has no intention of becoming a place where those seeking to evade justice can hide, British Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said, amid India's continuing push for extradition of billionaire fugitives Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi. Tugendhat, without citing specific cases, said legal processes must be adhered to in matters relating to extradition. "We both (the UK and India) have legal processes that must be gone through. But the UK government is absolutely clear, we have no intention of becoming a place where those who are seeking to evade justice can hide," he told PTI in an interview. Tugendhat was in India on a three-day visit from August 10-12 primarily to attend the G20 anti-corruption ministerial meeting in Kolkata. In Delhi, he held talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The British Security Minister was replying to a question on India's persistent demand for extradition of a number of economic offenders

UK PM Sunak unveils tech partnership to crack down on illegal migration

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has unveiled a voluntary partnership between social media companies and the UK government to accelerate action to tackle people smuggling content online, such as criminals sharing information about illegal English Channel crossings. In an announcement over the weekend, Sunak said the move would help meet his stop the boats target of clamping down on illegal migrants being charged large sums by human traffickers to make dangerous crossings across the high seas. The online content being targeted by the new partnership would cover discount offers for groups of people, free spaces for children, offers of false documents and false claims of safe passage all of which the government says target vulnerable people for profit and put people's lives at risk through dangerous and illegal journeys. To stop the boats, we have to tackle the business model of vile people smugglers at source, said Sunak in a statement released by 10 Downing Street. That means clamping do

Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan meets META President Nick Clegg

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday met Nick Clegg, President, Global Affairs, META and former Deputy Prime Minister, UK. The minister invited META to strengthen entrepreneurship, Digital India and Skill India for empowering the country's population. Pleased to meet Sir @nickclegg, President, Global Affairs, @Meta. Good conversations around India's talent base, tech-innovations, growing spirit of enterprise as well as skilling efforts. Invited Meta to strengthen the entrepreneurship as well as #DigitalIndia and #SkillIndia mission for empowering India's population as per the vision of Hon. PM @narendramodi ji, Pradhan tweeted. The education minister also presented 'Pattachitra', a traditional handicraft of Odisha, to Clegg.

UK opens second ballot for Young Professionals Scheme visas for Indians

The British government on Tuesday opened its second ballot under the UK-India Young Professional Scheme for Indians aged between 18 and 30 years with graduate-level qualifications for visas to the UK. The ballot, which closes on July 27, offers eligible young Indians the opportunity to live, work or study in the UK for up to two years. The second ballot of the Young Professionals Scheme is now OPEN, the British High Commission in New Delhi tweeted. If you are an Indian national between 18-30 years of age with a graduate or postgraduate qualification, consider applying for the India Young Professionals Scheme visa. Ballot closes at 1.30 pm on July 27, it said. There are a total of 3,000 places available under the scheme for the year 2023 and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) said that most places were given in the first ballot which took place in February. The remaining places will be chosen at random from this month's ballot. While it's free to enter the ballot, applicants are told

UK PM Rishi Sunak's Illegal Migration Bill clears Parliament hurdle

The British government's Illegal Migration Bill, instrumental to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's pledge to stop the boats of illegal migrants entering the country's shores, has cleared its long-drawn parliamentary hurdle and will soon become law after Royal Assent from King Charles III. Under the bill, the UK's Home Secretary will have a legal duty to detain and remove anyone entering the UK illegally. In a late-night debate in the House of Lords on Monday, further amendments to the bill were dismissed and it passed after a standoff between both Houses over the issue. In the last few weeks, the bill passed between the House of Commons and House of Lords a number of times in a process often dubbed as parliamentary ping-pong in British politics until a consensus is reached. In the Commons, former prime minister Theresa May led a series of backbench rebellions over plans to restrict access to the UK asylum system for victims of modern slavery. May, who as home secretary introduced the ...

UK signs Trans-Pacific trade bloc, to get market access of 500 mn people

The UK on Sunday formally signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade bloc, a move it says will help grow the country's economy and provide access for British businesses to a market of over 500 million people. UK Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who is also leading the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with India, signed the pact agreed earlier this year during a visit to Auckland and hailed it as a major post-Brexit win for the country. The UK will now seek to ratify the agreement, which will include parliamentary scrutiny as the CPTPP member countries complete their legislative processes to admit Britain into the trading bloc of which India is not a member. I'm delighted to be here in New Zealand to sign a deal that will be a big boost for British businesses and deliver billions of pounds in additional trade, as well as open up huge opportunities and unparalleled access to a market of over 500 million ...

UK defence minister Ben Wallace to quit at next reshuffle, step down as MP

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Sunday that he will step down from the Cabinet at the next reshuffle, expected in a few months' time, after serving four years in the job. The 53-year-old Conservative Party member of Parliament since 2005 also told The Sunday Times' that he will not stand as an MP at the next general election, expected next year. Wallace has served as defence minister under three British prime ministers Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak and has played a high-profile role in the UK's response to the Russia-Ukraine war conflict. "I went into politics in the Scottish parliament in 1999. That's 24 years. I've spent well over seven years with three phones by my bed," Wallace told the newspaper. "While I am proud to have worked with so many amazing people and helped contribute to protecting this great country, the cost of putting that ahead of my family is something I am very sad about," he said. The minister is believed to have informed Prime Minister

APP scam: It's customer's decision, no onus on banks, rules UK top court

A music teacher sued Barclays in 2020 after she was duped of £700,000 in an authorised push payment fraud

India, UK agree to add momentum to FTA talks during Piyush Goyal's visit

India and the UK have agreed to add momentum to the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. Goyal, who is on a short visit to the UK, took to Twitter after meeting his UK counterpart Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch to say they had agreed to keep up work towards a mutually beneficial deal. India and the UK started round 11 of their FTA talks last Wednesday, which is expected to conclude on Friday. Held a meeting with the UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch in London. Discussed how both sides can add further momentum to the India-UK Free Trade Agreement negotiations for a mutually beneficial deal, Goyal tweeted. It came a day after a UK government source said the senior Indian ministerial visit to the UK in the midst of a negotiation round shows there is political will to make progress towards an ambitious trade deal. The potential is clear a strong trade deal will ...

British police assess info from BBC over presenter paying teen for photos

British detectives met representatives of the BBC on Monday over allegations that a leading presenter paid a teenager for sexually explicit photos. The UK's publicly funded national broadcaster has suspended the male star, who has not been named, over allegations he gave a youth 35,000 pounds (USD 45,000) starting in 2020 when the young person was 17. Though the age of sexual consent in Britain is 16, it's a crime to make or possess indecent images of anyone under 18. London's Metropolitan Police force said detectives were assessing the information discussed at the meeting and further enquiries are taking place to establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence being committed. "There is no investigation at this time," the force said. The Sun newspaper, which first reported the allegations, said the young person's mother had complained to the BBC in May but that the presenter had remained on the air. The BBC said in a statement on Sunday that it first became aware of a

Piyush Goyal visit shows political will to make FTA progress: UK official

The visit of Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, who starts a two-day visit in London from Monday in the midst of ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations, shows political will to make progress towards an ambitious trade deal, a UK government source said. Goyal will hold talks with his UK counterpart, Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, during which the two ministers are expected to discuss ways to progress the India-UK FTA following the start of round 11 in London last Wednesday. The latest round is expected to conclude on Friday. The ministerial meeting marks Goyal's first in-person meeting with Badenoch in London, having last met for talks in New Delhi in December last year during round six of the FTA negotiations. Goyal's visit to the UK in the midst of a negotiation round shows there is political will to make progress towards an ambitious trade deal, a UK government source said. The potential is clear a strong trade deal will strengthen the ..

UK govt loses legal bid to keep Boris Johnson's messages from Covid inquiry

A UK court on Thursday rejected the British government's request to keep former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's unredacted WhatsApp messages and diaries from being made public at an official COVID-19 inquiry. The Cabinet Office took the unusual step of bringing a legal challenge after the retired judge chairing the inquiry into Britain's handling of the coronavirus pandemic ordered the Conservative government to release full copies of Johnson's documents. Government officials argued the inquiry did not have the legal power to force them to release documents and messages that they said were unambiguously irrelevant to how the government handled COVID-19. But lawyers for the inquiry said the idea that civil servants could decide what material was relevant would undermine public confidence in the process. The judges who ruled in the Cabinet Office's case said Johnson's diaries and notebooks were very likely to contain information about decision-making relating to the pandemic. A ...

TCS bags 10-yr contract for managing Teacher's Pension Scheme in Eng, Wales

The Teachers' Pension Scheme is the UK's second largest public sector pension scheme, with over 2 million members

UK to soon disallow international students to bring dependants along

The move comes ahead of the official data, which is expected to show that legal migration has hit a record high of 700,000 this year

UK cracks down on overseas student visa right to bring family dependants

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman said that only international students on postgraduate courses currently designated as research programmes will be allowed to bring in their family members

Salman Rushdie makes first public appearance since stabbing incident

Nine months after a near-lethal attack that left him debilitated and without vision in one eye, Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie made his first appearance at the PEN Americas