Page 16 - Uk

The case for decoupled elections

Both the EU and India follow a similar practice of separating elections and there are good reasons to keep it that way

Heading to India with a clear focus, says Rishi Sunak ahead of G20 Summit

Ahead of his visit to New Delhi for the G20 Summit, UK PM Rishi Sunak said that he is heading to India with a clear focus. He also blasted Vladimir Putin for failing to show up for the mega-event

UK's second-largest city Birmingham declares itself effectively bankrupt

The local authorities running Britain's second-largest city, Birmingham, have shifted focus on maintaining vital services as they declared the council effectively bankrupt due to an annual budgetary shortfall of millions of pounds. Birmingham City Council, which is run by the Opposition Labour Party and is the largest local authority in Europe comprising over 100 councillors, issued a Section 114 notice on Tuesday to say that all new expenditures with the exception of protecting vulnerable people and statutory services will stop immediately. The council said the dire financial situation arose as it must fund an equal pay liability that has accrued to date in the region of GBP 650 million to GBP 760 million, but it does not have the resources to do so. On that basis, the Council's Interim Director of Finance, Fiona Greenway, has issued a report under section 114(3) of the Local Government Act, which confirms that the Council has insufficient resources to meet the equal pay expenditur

UK says it will declare Russia's Wagner group banned terrorist organisation

The UK announced Wednesday it will declare Russia's Wagner mercenary group a banned terrorist organisation, saying it remains a threat to global security even after the death of leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. The government said an order will be introduced in Parliament to proscribe the group under the Terrorism Act. The designation, once approved by lawmakers, will bar membership in or support for Wagner, which has played a major fighting role during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It also has operated in Syria and several African nations. Home Secretary Suella Braverman said Wagner has been involved in looting, torture and barbarous murders. Its operations in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa are a threat to global security. They are terrorists, plain and simple - and this proscription order makes that clear in U.K. law, she said. The ban will allow U.K. authorities to seize the organisation's assets, though that power is largely symbolic as Wagner is not known to operate in Britain.

Rethinking growth

The economy will not grow in a socially desirable direction on its own

Barclays explores sale of stake in $2.5 billion UK payments unit: Report

The bank is considering bringing in a partner with the strategic "know-how" to expand the business, as well as raising capital, but has yet to decide how big a stake it might sell, said the people

Top headlines: India's economy 16.5 yrs behind China, Inflation a key issue

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

Tata Steel in advanced talks to secure funds for UK plant: Reports

Tata Steel is in advanced talks with the UK government to agree around GBP 500 million in state-backed funding to secure the future of its Port Talbot plant in South Wales, according to UK media reports this weekend. The Indian steel major has been in long-drawn discussions related to the critical green transition of the UK's largest steelworks, involving thousands of jobs in the country's steel industry. According to a Sky News' report on Saturday, both sides are now close to agreeing a deal that would commit millions to the future of the Port Talbot steelworks. "Tata Steel is continuing to discuss with the UK government a framework for continuity and decarbonisation of steel making in the UK amidst very challenging underlying business conditions given that several of its heavy end assets are approaching end of life, a Tata Steel spokesperson told PTI, when asked about the development. "Given the financially constrained position of our UK business, any significant change is only .

Like India, quarterly GDP growth also up in other large economies

China, Japan, the United States and the UK have shown a stronger rate of gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the previous quarter

Claire Coutinho: Newest Indian-origin minister in UK PM Rishi Sunak Cabinet

Claire Coutinho, a close aide of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, got a big promotion as his new Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary in a mini reshuffle on Thursday. Coutinho, 38, becomes the second Goan-origin minister after Home Secretary Suella Braverman in the Sunak Cabinet and has a tough brief ahead of her as energy costs have been soaring in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. She has committed herself to work on safeguarding energy security and reducing bills for families struggling with a cost-of-living crisis. In her first Cabinet role, Coutinho replaced Grant Shapps after he was promoted to the post of Defence Secretary following the resignation of Ben Wallace. "I am delighted to have been appointed Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. I will work with the Prime Minister to safeguard our energy security, reduce bills for families, and build cleaner, cheaper, homegrown energy," she tweeted. Like Sunak, UK-born Coutinho grew up in a family conne

Disruption in UK air traffic control caused by 'incorrect' flight data

The UK's air traffic control chief has said that "incorrect" flight data was the cause of the massive disruption that affected thousands of passengers stuck in planes and at airports as hundreds of flights to and from the country were cancelled, with knock-on effects continuing on Wednesday. Martin Rolfe, the chief executive of National Air Traffic Services (NATS) which had faced the technical issue that triggered the chaos on Monday, said an initial investigation had found the failure was caused by flight data which its system could not interpret. He also reiterated the government's previous statement that it was not caused by a cyber-attack. Initial investigations into the problem show it relates to some of the flight data we received, said Rolfe. Our systems, both primary and the back-ups, responded by suspending automatic processing to ensure that no incorrect safety-related information could be presented to an air traffic controller or impact the rest of the air traffic system

Outlook of Europeans towards India has turned more negative: Pew Survey

The most significant change is seen in France, where just 39 per cent now have a favourable view of India, compared with 70 per cent in 2008

Technical issue with UK's air traffic control to cause chaos for days

The UK government on Tuesday said that though the air traffic control technical issue that led to the severe disruption of hundreds of flights and left thousands of passengers stranded has been resolved, routes will continue to be affected as airlines scramble to recover from the domino effect on their schedules. However, Transport Secretary Mark Harper stressed that the air traffic control outage behind the chaos on Monday was not caused by a cybersecurity incident. UK Transport Secretary Mark Harper said that while the technical issue has been resolved, flights will continue to be affected as airlines scramble to recover from the domino effect on their schedules and accommodate stranded passengers on alternate flights. As the spectre of a hacking attempt was raised across social media, the minister also dismissed that as a factor behind one of the worst air system failures seen in the country in at least a decade. "Something on this scale hasn't happened for almost a decade ...

PureHealth acquires UK's largest private healthcare group for AED 4.4 bn

PureHealth has signed an agreement to acquire Circle Health Group, the UK's largest independent operators of hospitals, in a deal valued at AED 4.41 billion

Technical issue hitting flights on busy travel day: UK air traffic control

Britain's air traffic control system said it is experiencing a technical issue that could delay flights on Monday, the end of a holiday weekend and a busy day for air traffic travel. The National Air Traffic Service said it had applied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety. Engineers are working to find and the fix the fault. Scottish airline Loganair said there has been a network-wide failure of UK air traffic control computer systems. Although we are hopeful of being able to operate most intra-Scotland flights on the basis of local co-ordination and with a minimum of disruption, north-south and international flights may be subject to delays, it said.

UK air traffic curbs: Air India says no significant impact on its flights

Air India on Monday said there is no significant impact on its flights to and from the UK, where a technical issue has impacted air traffic services, and that the airline is actively monitoring the situation. NATS, which provides air traffic control services in the UK, has put in place certain traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety. In an update at 1515 hours GMT, NATS said it has identified and remedied the technical issue affecting its flight planning system. Air India and Vistara, both part of the Tata Group, are the only Indian carriers operating flights to the UK. While Air India flies to London, Gatwick and Birmingham, Vistara operates services to London. "There is no significant impact on our flights to and from the UK, as of now. We are actively monitoring the situation," an Air India spokesperson said. Air India operates 98 weekly flights between India and the UK. On August 28, the airline is scheduled to operate 14 flights between India and the UK. Vistara operat

No such thing as trivial crime, UK's Suella Braverman tells police

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Monday called on the country's police force to investigate every crime, saying it is "unacceptable" that crimes such as shoplifting, criminal damage and phone or car theft are treated as "less important". The 43-year-old Indian-origin Cabinet minister in charge of security issues said there was no such thing as trivial crimes because criminals should fear the consequences of their actions. She warned that serious crimes flourish when lower-level criminality and anti-social behaviour are not tackled with the full force of the law. We know that the most serious crimes flourish when lower-level criminality and antisocial behaviour are not tackled. Theft and burglary can often be run by organised crime gangs, Braverman writes in The Daily Telegraph' newspaper. But let's be clear: all crime matters. There is no such thing as a trivial crime. And the police must not indicate to criminals that they are effectively free to break certain laws. Since I .

In a first, Morgan Stanley fined for UK Energy trading WhatsApp breach

The fine is the first issued by Ofgem under legal requirements to archive communications linked to wholesale energy trading, the regulator said

Microsoft revamps deal for video game maker Activision Blizzard for UK

Microsoft revamped its bid to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard on Tuesday to appease British competition regulators, who are the last major hurdle to closing one of the biggest deals in tech history. The Competition and Markets Authority said it has opened a new preliminary investigation into the updated transaction with a deadline for a decision due on October 18. Xbox maker Microsoft has been on a quest to acquire Activision, maker of the popular Call of Duty game franchise since announcing the USD 69 billion deal in January 2022. The blockbuster deal has secured approvals from antitrust authorities covering 40 countries, including the European Union. But it has been held up in Britain, where authorities moved to block it earlier this year over worries about competition being stifled in the emerging cloud gaming market, where players can avoid buying pricey consoles and stream games to their tablets or phones. Under the restructured deal, Microsoft will sell the cloud ..

UK Kabaddi brawl: Gunshots sword fight leads to injuries in Derby tourney

Three people were seriously injured as two gangs clashed during a Kabaddi tournament in Derby, UK