Page 3 - Uk Govt

In UK, a new English language test may challenge Indian migrants

UK Labour government proposes stricter English rules for migrant dependants, citing integration and employment issues, with implications for Indian-born residents

UK military launches airstrikes with US targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels

The British military launched airstrikes with the United States targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels, officials said early Wednesday, their first involvement with America's new intense campaign targeting the Iranian-backed group. The United Kingdom offered a detailed explanation of its reason to launch the strike, in a departure from the US, which has offered few details about the more than 800 strikes it has conducted since beginning its campaign March 15. The campaign, called Operation Rough Rider, has been targeting the rebels as the Trump administration negotiates with their main benefactor, Iran, over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear programme. UK strike hit near Yemen's capital, Sanaa The UK's Defence Ministry described the site attacked as a cluster of buildings, used by the Houthis to manufacture drones of the type used to attack ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, located some 25 kilometres south of Sanaa. Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s took part in the raid, dropping Pave

Mastek surges 15% on heavy volumes; Rebounds 21% from Monday's low

A combined 3.46 million equity shares representing 11 per cent of total equity of Mastek have changed hands on the NSE and BSE till 02:49 PM

British Steel plans plant closure after failing to agree deal with UK govt

British Steel said Thursday that it is planning to close its two blast furnaces and steelmaking operations in the northern England town of Scunthorpe, after its Chinese owner Jingye failed to agree a rescue package with the UK government. Unions called on the government to help secure the future of the company, which Jingye said is suffering daily losses of around 700,000 pounds (USD 900,000) despite the Chinese firm investing more than 1.2 billion to maintain operations since its takeover of British Steel in 2020. The company, Britain's second-biggest steelmaker, blamed highly challenging market conditions, the imposition of tariffs, and higher environmental costs relating to the production of high-carbon steel. British Steel said it is consulting with unions over the the decision to close the blast furnaces and steelmaking operations and reduce rolling mill capacity, potentially as early as June. Between 2,000 to 2,700 jobs are potentially at risk. The company had sought support

UK needs 1.5 million homes fast: How India's skilled workers can help

7 of 23 shortage occupations where it's deemed sensible to fill the shortage with migrant workers are in construction

UK orders probe into Heathrow shutdown amid energy resilience fears

The British government on Saturday ordered an investigation into the country's energy resilience after an electrical substation fire shut Heathrow Airport for almost a day and raised concerns about the UK's ability to withstand disasters or attacks on critical infrastructure. While Heathrow Airport said it was fully operational on Saturday, thousands of passengers remained stuck, and airlines warned that severe disruption will last for days as they scramble to relocate planes and crews and get travellers to their destinations. Inconvenienced passengers, angry airlines and concerned politicians all want answers about how one seemingly accidental fire could shut down Europe's busiest air hub. This is a huge embarrassment for Heathrow airport. It's a huge embarrassment for the country that a fire in one electricity substation can have such a devastating effect," said Toby Harris, a Labour Party politician, who heads the National Preparedness Commission, a group that campaigns to improv

Chagos Islanders seek to take UK govt to court over deal with Mauritius

Two women born on the Chagos Islands are seeking to take the British government to court over a proposed deal to transfer sovereignty of the disputed Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius. Lawyers for the two women argued Monday that it was unlawful to exclude Chagossians from deciding the future of the tropical archipelago, home to a strategically important UK-US naval and bomber base. The UK government announced in October that it intends to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius though Britain would retain control of Diego Garcia, the largest island where the military base is located. But negotiations have stalled, pending agreement from US President Donald Trump's government. Britain evicted hundreds of people from the remote islands in the 1960s and 1970s so the US military could build the base on Diego Garcia. Many of the islanders were relocated to the UK and have faced legal challenges returning to their birthplace. Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe, both British citize

Between Trump snub and EU meet, Zelenskyy secures £2.26 billion for Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to the UK was markedly different from his tense encounter at the White House with US President Donald Trump

UK inflation unexpectedly jumps to 3%, reaching a 10-month high in Jan

Services inflation - a key gauge of price pressures for the central bank - stood at 5.0 per cent in January compared with 4.4 per cent in December, the ONS said

Leaked UK report flags Hindu nationalism, Khalistani extremism as 'threats'

A leaked UK Home document report lists Hindu nationalism and Khalistani extremism as among nine identified threats, citing concerns over violence, radicalisation, and rising nationalist sentiments

Britain gives Rolls-Royce a $11 billion nuclear submarine contract

The eight-year deal will strengthen the Royal Navy's continuous at-sea deterrent - under which at least one nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine patrols the seas at all times

Apple, Google face fresh scrutiny in UK over mobile phone ecosystems

Google's Android and Apple's iOS are facing fresh scrutiny from Britain's competition watchdog, which announced investigations Thursday targeting the two tech giants' mobile phone ecosystems under new powers to crack down on digital market abuses. The Competition and Markets Authority said it launched separate investigations to determine whether the mobile ecosystems controlled by Apple and Google should be given strategic market status that would mandate changes in the companies' practices. The watchdog is flexing its newly acquired regulatory muscles again after the new digital market rules took effect at the start of the year. The CMA has already used the new rules, designed to protect consumers and businesses from unfair practices by Big Tech companies, to open an investigation into Google's search ads business. The new investigations will examine whether Apple or Google's mobile operating systems, app stores and browsers give either company a strategic position in the market. T

UK backs probe into child sexual abuse gangs after Musk stoked controversy

Britain's government said on Thursday that it will support a series of local inquiries into cases of organised child sexual abuse in the wake of a furore largely stoked by the world's richest man Elon Musk. In a statement to lawmakers, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the government has also authorised what she called a rapid audit of the current scale and nature of gang-based exploitation across the country and make recommendations. The issue of so-called grooming gangs", also called rape gangs" by some, has risen up the political agenda in the UK after Musk recently took to his X platform highlighting the problem and condemning British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Musk criticised Starmer for not backing a national inquiry into the matter following a request from the local authority in the northern English town of Oldham, where police found girls under 18 were sexually exploited by groups of men in the 2000s and 2010s. Musk also alleged that Starmer failed to bring perpetrators t

As pressure mounts, UK govt announces probes into child rape gangs

The announcement marks a partial retreat by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had pushed back against demands by Musk and others for a fresh national inquiry into the child rape gangs

EET Hydrogen, ENKA partner for UK's low carbon hydrogen production plant

Essar Energy Transition (EET) Hydrogen on Wednesday signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with ENKA for its flagship low carbon hydrogen production plant (HPP1) at the Stanlow Manufacturing Complex in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, UK. In October 2024, the UK government announced funding had been agreed upon to support HPP1 as the UK's first large-scale low carbon hydrogen project at the heart of the HyNet Cluster. HPP1 will have a production capacity of 350 MW and will capture around 600,000 tonnes of CO2 a year equivalent to taking around 250,000 cars off the road. The EPC contract "represents a major milestone for the HPP1 project, for the UK hydrogen industry, the HyNet Cluster and for EET Hydrogen's progress towards its goal of developing 4 GW of low carbon hydrogen production for industrial businesses across the North West of England to decarbonise their operations, protecting jobs and driving economic growth," the company said in a statement. ENKA is

Sheikh Hasina's niece Tulip Siddiq resigns as UK Treasury minister

The niece of Bangladesh's deposed former leader Sheikh Hasina, Labour Party MP Tulip Siddiq, on Tuesday resigned as Treasury minister to prevent her family connections becoming a distraction for the work of the British government. Last week, the British Bangladeshi minister in charge of tackling corruption in the UK financial markets as Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister had referred herself to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests over allegations of corruption and a lack of transparency surrounding her use of properties in London. In her resignation letter released by 10 Downing Street, Siddiq pointed out that the watchdog had not found her in breach of the Ministerial Code and noted that she had not acted improperly. I want to assure you that I acted and have continued to act with full transparency and on the advice of officials on these matters. However, it is clear that continuing in my role as Economic Secretary to the ...

Apple fights $1.8 bn app store lawsuit in UK on abuse of dominant position

The US tech company is facing a mass lawsuit brought on behalf of around 20 million iPhone and iPad users in the United Kingdom, who were allegedly overcharged for app purchases

UK PM urged to fire Hasina's niece Tulip Siddiq as Yunus calls for probe

Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus urged the UK government to launch a thorough investigation into properties linked to Tulip Siddiq, UK's anti-corruption minister

British Sikh brother-sister duo jailed for fraud in charity donations in UK

A Birmingham-based brother and sister duo associated with the Sikh Youth UK group have been sentenced by a UK court after being found guilty of fraud offences relating to charitable donations. Rajbinder Kaur, 55, was convicted for money laundering and six counts of theft amounting to GBP 50,000 and one count under Section 60 of the UK's Charities Act 2011, which covers knowingly or recklessly providing false or misleading information to the Charity Commission. Her brother Kaldip Singh Lehal, 43, was also convicted for the same charge under the Charities Act. Kaur and Lehal ran the Sikh Youth UK (SYUK) group. While Kaur was sentenced to two years and eight months imprisonment by Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday, Lehal was given a four months' sentence suspended for 18 months and 80 hours of community service. Kaur tried to portray herself as someone naive about financial matters despite having worked in a bank, Superintendent Annie Miller from West Midlands Police said in a state

Britain's Treasury chief in China to revive economic, financial talks

Britain's Treasury chief is travelling to China this weekend in a bid to boost economic and financial cooperation between the countries, as the UK's Labour government seeks to reset strained ties with Beijing. Rachel Reeves will seek stability in the United Kingdom's relationship with China and aim to help grow Britain's lackluster economy, the Treasury said on Friday. She will travel to Beijing and Shanghai and meet with her Chinese government counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng. A focus of Reeves' trip is reviving the China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue annual bilateral talks that have been suspended since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and deteriorating relations in recent years. The British side wants the dialogue to help bring down barriers that UK businesses face when looking to export or expand to China. The talks were shelved after ties soured following a series of spying allegations from both sides, China's support for Russia in the Ukraine war and a crackdown on