Page 3 - Uk Govt

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

Is Elon Musk seeking tactics to remove UK PM Keir Starmer ahead of UK polls

Musk has reportedly sought information on how to back alternative political parties in the UK ahead of elections

Why Elon Musk wants America to free UK citizens from 'tyrannical govt'

In a series of posts, Elon Musk criticised UK's Labour govt and PM Keir Stamer for not properly handling issues of child grooming, allowing the exploitation of vulnerable girls to go unchecked

UK business morale gloomiest, hits two-year low after tax rises: Survey

Finance minister Rachel Reeves announced 40 billion pounds ($50 billion) of tax rises on Oct 30, the most of any budget since 1993

What was the Rotherham scandal, and why is Musk demanding accountability?

First brought into public focus by investigative journalism in 2012, the Rotherham scandal involved the systematic abuse of at least 1,400 children over 16 years in the UK

UK warns against using satellite phones in updated India travel advisory

The UK government on Tuesday updated its travel advisory for India to warn British nationals against carrying or operating satellite phones in India without a licence. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) reviewed the Safety and Security section of its advisory for India to flag that Britons have been arrested for bringing in such devices illegally to India. It highlighted that prior permission from the Department of Telecommunication was also required for listening devices and powerful cameras or binoculars and that advice around such equipment can be sought from the High Commission of India in London. "It is illegal to possess and operate satellite phones in India without a licence. British nationals have been arrested or detained for bringing satellite phones and other satellite-enabled navigational devices into the country without prior permission, reads the FCDO update. "Contact the Indian Department of Telecommunication to request a licence. You may also ne

Indian-origin 'unsung heroes' on King Charles' 2025 New Year Honours List

Community leaders, campaigners, academics, and medics are among over 30 Indian-origin professionals to be recognised in King Charles' 2025 New Year Honours List released in London on Friday night. Ranil Malcolm Jayawardena, a Conservative member of Parliament of Sri Lankan and Indian heritage, has been conferred a Knighthood for political and public service along with recently resigned England men's football team manager Gareth Southgate, for services to the game. More than 1,200 recipients are named on the 2025 honours list across all sectors, with particular commendation to role models in sport, healthcare, academia and voluntary service. Every day, ordinary people go out and do extraordinary things for their communities, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. They represent the very best of the UK and that core value of service which I put at the centre of everything this government does. The New Year Honours List celebrates more of these unsung heroes, and I thank them for their

From India to US: Key lessons from elections held in 70 countries in 2024

When voters around the globe had their say in 2024, their message was often: You're fired. Some 70 countries that are home to half the world's population held elections this year, and in many incumbents were punished. From India and the United States to Japan, France and Britain, voters tired of economic disruption and global instability rejected sitting governments and sometimes turned to disruptive outsiders. The rocky democratic landscape just seemed to get bumpier as a dramatic year careened toward its end, with mass protests in Mozambique and Georgia, an election annulled in Romania and an attempt to impose martial law in South Korea. Cas Mudde, a professor of international affairs at the University of Georgia who studies extremism and democracy, summed up 2024 in Prospect magazine as a great year for the far right, a terrible year for incumbents and a troublesome year for democracy around the world. Incumbents battered One message sent by voters in 2024: They're fed ...

Each cigarette smoked steals 20 mins of life expectancy: UCL study

Campaign launched by the UK government aims to encourage people to quit smoking as part of their New Year's resolutions

UK's shadow minister Priti Patel wants China on national security risk list

Britain's shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel on Sunday called for China to be placed high up on the list of countries that pose a national security risk to the UK. The 52-year-old Indian-origin frontline member of the Opposition Conservative Party led by Kemi Badenoch pointed with concern to the recent scandal engulfing an alleged Chinese spy gaining access to Buckingham Palace circles through Prince Andrew the younger brother of King Charles III. She attacked the Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Cabinet for prioritising trade ties with China over national security. It's clearly complicated legislation, but China should always be up there, Priti Patel told The Sunday Times' in an interview when asked if China should be placed on a proposed Foreign Influence Registration Scheme. The list is designed to compel all those working for overseas powers to declare their lobbying to avert any security risks. We're dealing with an extraordinary regime that for over a decade, qui