Page 8 - Uk Govt

Google's ad-privacy changes not enough to protect consumer privacy: UK

Google plans to completely phase out the use of third-party cookies for users in the second half of 2024

US, UK issue new sanctions on Iran in response to weekend attack on Israel

The US and UK on Thursday imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran as concern grows that Tehran's unprecedented attack on Israel could fuel a wider war in the Middle East. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control targeted 16 people and two entities in Iran that produce engines that power the drones used in the April 13 attack on Israel. Additionally, the UK is targeting several Iranian military organizations, individuals and entities involved in Iran's drone and ballistic missile industries. We will continue to deploy our sanctions authority to counter Iran with further actions in the days and weeks ahead," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. The action comes after US officials earlier this week warned that they were readying new sanctions in response to Iran's activity in the region and to prevent future attacks. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill also have been quickly pushing forward legislation that would financially punish the Islamic Republic and its leaders. Iran'

Britain's plan to send some migrants to Rwanda hits hurdle in Parliament

A law that will enable Britain to send some asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda suffered a setback on Wednesday after Parliament's upper chamber pressed its attempt to amend the contentious legislation. The House of Lords inserted amendments into the Safety of Rwanda Bill, sending it back to the lower House of Commons in a process known as parliamentary ping-pong. The government had hoped members of the Lords would stop blocking the bill on Wednesday, relenting to the parliamentary rule that the unelected Lords ultimately can't overrule the elected Commons. The Lords' resistance underlines the strength of opposition in the upper house, where the governing Conservative Party does not have a majority. The bill is still overwhelmingly likely to become law, but the latest move delays its passage, likely until next week. The legislation will pave the way for deportation flights to take off though opponents plan new legal challenges that could keep them grounded. The Rwanda plan

UK consumer price inflation slows by less than expected to 3.2% in March

The Bank of England - which has an inflation target of 2% and economists polled by Reuters had forecast an annual rate of 3.1%

UK govt criminalises creation of deepfake images without consent

Despicable people who create sexually explicit deepfakes will face prosecution under a new law going through its parliamentary journey, the British government said on Tuesday. Deepfake refers to images and videos made to look hyper-realistic, with the victim usually unaware and unable to give their consent. Under the new offence, those who create such images without consent face a criminal record and an unlimited fine. If the deepfake content is then shared more widely, offenders could be sent to jail. The creation of deepfake sexual images is despicable and completely unacceptable irrespective of whether the image is shared, said Laura Farris, UK Minister for Victims and Safeguarding. It is another example of ways in which certain people seek to degrade and dehumanise others - especially women. And it has the capacity to cause catastrophic consequences if the material is shared more widely. This government will not tolerate it. This new offence sends a crystal-clear message that ..

Iran attack on Israel risks provoking an uncontrollable escalation, says G7

Unequivocally condemning in the strongest terms Iran's direct and unprecedented attack against Israel, the G-7 leaders on Sunday said the development risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation even as permanent members of the UN Security Council announced to convene an emergency meeting on the issues in New York. With its actions, Iran has further stepped toward the destabilisation of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation. This must be avoided. We will continue to work to stabilise the situation and avoid further escalation, G-7 leaders said in a joint statement after a conference call among them initiated by President Joe Biden. The US assisted Israel in shooting down dozens of drones and missiles fired by Iran in its first direct military assault on the former. Israeli authorities said 99 per cent of the inbound weapons were shot down without causing any significant damage. In this spirit, we demand that Iran and its proxies cease their .

Survivors of Ariana's concert bombing take legal action against UK agency

More than 250 survivors of the suicide bombing that killed 22 people at a 2017 Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England are taking legal action against Britain's domestic intelligence agency, lawyers said. Lawyers from three law firms said Sunday they have submitted a group claim on behalf of more than 250 clients to the U.K.'s investigatory powers tribunal. They said they could not provide further details because it was an ongoing legal matter. Suicide bomber Salman Abedi set up a knapsack bomb in Manchester Arena, in northwestern England, at the end of Grande's concert on May 22, 2017, as thousands of young fans were leaving. More than 100 people were injured, many of them children and teenagers. Abedi died in the explosion. An official inquiry reported last year that Britain's domestic intelligence agency, MI5, didn't act swiftly enough on key information and missed a significant opportunity to prevent the bombing, the deadliest extremist attack in the U.K. in recent ...

UK PM Rishi Sunak condemns Iran's reckless' attack against Israel

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has condemned Iran's attack against Israel as reckless and pledged that the UK would stand up for security in the region after Tehran launched dozens of aerial drones and cruise missiles overnight on Saturday and into Sunday. The UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) said late on Saturday that several additional Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter jets had been moved to the region to help intercept the drone attacks. The aircraft and air-fuelling tankers are being deployed as part of the UK's ongoing Operation Shader against the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group in the region. I condemn in the strongest terms the Iranian regime's reckless attack against Israel, said Sunak in a statement issued by 10 Downing Street. These strikes risk inflaming tensions and destabilising the region. Iran has once again demonstrated that it is intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard. The UK will continue to stand up for Israel's security and that of all our regional partners, ...

UK deploys jets, air refuelling tankers amid Iranian attack on Israel

Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Saturday that Israel "intercepted a vast majority" of the strikes from Iran

EVs head for junkyard as mechanic shortage inflates repair costs in UK

Once there are more fully trained EV technicians, repair rather than replace becomes a more viable proposition, an expert said

UK PM Sunak resists call to set election date amid leadership threat

A general election must be held by the end of January and Sunak has said his "working assumption" is it will be in the second half of 2024

US, UK to implement restrictions on trade of Russian-origin metals

The U.S. and U.K. will begin restricting the trade of new Russian-origin metals including aluminum, copper and nickel on global metal exchanges and in derivatives trading. The announcement is meant to follow up on the Group of Seven nations' commitment in February to reduce Russia's revenues from metals as its invasion into Ukraine has dragged on for more than two years. Russia is a key exporter of metals like aluminum, steel and titanium but British and American officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement, said the economic impact from the ban would be negligible for consumers and producers. The intent is to limit Russia's revenues from metals, they say, as metals have earned the nation $40 billion in the past two years, according to British officials. Our new prohibitions on key metals, in coordination with our partners in the United Kingdom, will continue to target the revenue Russia can earn to continue its brutal war against Ukraine, said

EU, Britain, Spain to hold more talks on post-Brexit status of Gibraltar

British and Spanish foreign ministers will meet Friday with a top European Commission official for another round of negotiations over the status of the disputed territory of Gibraltar following Britain's exit from the European Union. The two ministers will hold talks with European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic in Brussels. Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo will also attend. Spanish Foreign Minister Jos Manuel Albares said that while the meeting with his British counterpart David Cameron may not be the final day," he was optimistic of an agreement as soon as possible. These are complex, technical issues, and then we will have to draft a whole set of documents, but we are already close to reaching an agreement on the general political lines, Albares told Spain's Onda Cero radio on Thursday. All sides are eager to clinch a deal before European elections in June. Britain left the European Union in 2020 with the relationship between Gibraltar and the bloc unresolved. T

Russia, Germany, UK urge restraint as Iranian threat puts W Asia on edge

The German airline Lufthansa, one of only two Western carriers flying to Tehran, extended a suspension of its flights to the Iranian capital and Russia warned against travel to West Asia

Tata protests: Steelworkers at UK's plant vote to strike over job losses

Around 1,500 Tata Steel workers based at two plants in Wales voted in favour of industrial action on Thursday over the company's plan to close its blast furnaces and shed 2,800 jobs. The Mumbai-headquartered steel major said it was disappointed over the move while consultation continues and pointed to significant irregularities in the ballot process in favour of strikes. While the company says its restructuring plans were important to sustain the business as it transforms to new electric technology, Unite the Union said its workers from the Port Talbot and Newport Llanwern plants had voted against the disastrous plans because they did not agree with the approach. We are naturally disappointed that while consultation continues, Unite Union members at Port Talbot and Llanwern have indicated that they would be prepared to take industrial action up to and including strike action if an agreement cannot be reached on a way forward for the business and its employees, a Tata Steel ...

Higher income threshold regime to apply for UK Family Visa comes into force

The minimum income required for British citizens and residents, including those of Indian heritage, wanting to sponsor their relatives on a Family Visa increased by over 55 per cent from Thursday, as the incremental increase in salary thresholds announced by the government last year are enforced. Starting Thursday, for someone to be sponsored to come to the UK on a Family Visa, they must have a minimum annual salary of GBP 29,000, up from GBP 18,600. By early next year, this will have increased two more times to match the Skilled Worker visa salary threshold of GBP 38,700. The UK Home Office said it marks the final measure in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary James Cleverly's package to reduce legal migration and ensure those arriving here do not burden the taxpayer. We have reached a tipping point with mass migration. There is no simple solution or easy decision which cuts numbers to levels acceptable to the British people, said Cleverly. I promised action and we have

Gaza war: UK sends naval ship, announces support for maritime aid corridor

Apart from deploying navy ship, the UK government also committed to provide aid deliveries worth up to £9.7 million, equipment support to the corridor

Defeat predicted for Rishi Sunak-led Conservative Party in UK polls: Survey

Public survey conducted by YouGov shows that the Opposition Labour Party is heading towards a landslide victory

UK airports get more time to put in new scanners allowing liquids, laptops

Drink it or bin it: That phrase should have become history this summer at all UK airports. But it's set to persist for at least another year after the British government said it will grant extensions to several large UK airports unable to meet the June 1 deadline to fully install new scanning technology. The airports include London's two biggest, Heathrow and Gatwick. The new scanners use computed tomography, commonly known as a CT scan, to produce clearer images. They are being rolled out globally, including in the US and across Europe, and will allow passengers to go through security with 2 litres (70 ounces) of liquid in their hand luggage rather than the current paltry 100 millilitres (3.5 ounces). They will also mean laptops and tablets won't need to be removed from bags saving even more time. The restrictions were introduced around the world in 2006 following a foiled terror plot to blow up planes flying from London to the US with homemade liquid bombs. They were not expect

UK's Thames Water faces new crisis as shareholders refuse to invest

The group has become a poster child for the failures of privatisation, after its performance deteriorated in the 2010s when its previous investors took out huge dividends