Page 4 - Uk

Stranded F-35 jet in Kerala may be dismantled, airlifted to UK soon: Report

The UK Navy's F-35 jet made an emergency landing in Kerala on June 14 after failing to return to aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales due to rough weather during a sortie in the Arabian Sea

India may soon have social security agreement with UK under free trade pact

India may soon have a social security pact with the UK as an in-built component of the free trade agreement (FTA) which has been finalised between the two countries, a source said on Wednesday. The source said that from now onwards, the social security agreement (SSA) will be an in-built component of all free trade agreements to be negotiated in future. "UK is believed to have agreed on the social security component under the FTA negotiations, which would be ratified in the near future," the source said. The SSA, a reciprocal arrangement between two or more countries, ensures that an employee while on a foreign assignment does not have to contribute to the social security coverage fund in that country but get the full benefit of employment period for pension calculation, while the employers are saved from making double social security contributions on behalf of their workers. The Indian employees posted abroad or on foreign assignment are required to obtain a certificate of coverag

Tata Steel on track for green transition in UK, Netherlands: Chandrasekaran

Tata Steel is confident of completing its transition to green steel manufacturing in the UK and Netherlands as per schedule, the company's Chairman N Chandrasekaran said on Wednesday. He made the remarks while addressing the shareholders at the company's 118th Annual General Meeting (AGM). "...we remain confident that the transition to green steel making in the UK and the Netherlands will happen as per our plans, in the next few years," Chandrasekaran said. In the UK, the company has progressed toward low-emission steelmaking with the decommissioning of two blast furnaces at Port Talbot, paving the way to transition to state-of-the-art Electric Arc Furnace-based steelmaking by fiscal 2028, supported by 500 million pounds of UK government funding. In the Netherlands, the company is in discussions with the Dutch government for financial and policy-level support on our decarbonisation plan. Tata Steel has also launched a cost transformation programme, targeting savings of 500 million

Makaibari brand owner Luxmi Group buys majority stake in UK's Brew Tea Co

Kolkata-based Luxmi Group, which owns the iconic Makaibari Darjeeling brand, on Tuesday announced that it has acquired a majority stake in UK-based Brew Tea Co, a fast-growing firm which focuses on whole-leaf teas and is known for ethical sourcing and its innovative direct-to-consumer model. Founded in Manchester by Phil and Aideen Kirby, Brew Tea Co has grown into one of the UK's leading specialty tea brands. Its subscription service, delivering 500 g of loose leaf or proper tea bags on a regular basis, now reaches nearly 10,000 homes across the UK, a statement by Luxmi Group said. Co-founders Phil and Aideen Kirby will retain a 20 per cent stake and will continue to lead Brew Tea Co as part of the partnership. "Their vision, hands-on leadership, and deep focus on quality remain central to Brew Tea's growing success," the statement said. "We're excited that with Luxmi, we can now take that same customer promise even further, with even better access to exceptional teas," the ...

Heatwaves grip Europe: Red alerts, wildfires, Eiffel Tower closed

Spain sees hottest June in a century; more than 50,000 people evacuated amid wildfires in Turkiye and the Balkans

Starmer faces down revolt over welfare reform after first year in office

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer marks a year in office this week, fighting a rebellion from his own party over welfare reform and reckoning with a sluggish economy and rock-bottom approval ratings. It's a long way from the landslide election victory he won on July 4, 2024, when Starmer's center-left Labour Party took 412 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons to end 14 years of Conservative government. In the last 12 months Starmer has navigated the rapids of a turbulent world, winning praise for rallying international support for Ukraine and persuading US President Donald Trump to sign a trade deal easing tariffs on UK goods. But at home his agenda has run onto the rocks as he struggles to convince British voters and his own party that his government is delivering the change that it promised. Inflation remains stubbornly high and economic growth low, frustrating efforts to ease the cost of living. Starmer's personal approval ratings are approaching those of Conservative Pr

UK’s $110-million fighter jet stuck in Kerala: What grounded the F-35B for two weeks?

A British Royal Navy F-35B stealth fighter jet has been stranded at Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram Airport for nearly two weeks. What caused the jet to stay grounded? What happens next? Here’s a detailed

Europe hit by extreme heatwave after recording hottest March ever

'Very high and persistent temperatures are expected, both during the day and at night, which could pose a risk to exposed and/or vulnerable people,' Spain's state meteorological office, Aemet said

India, UK trade deal likely to be signed by July end, says official

The process of legal scrubbing of the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) text is progressing at a faster pace, and the pact is expected to be signed by the end of July, an official said on Tuesday. To give an impetus to the process, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal is in London with his official team. Barthwal will meet UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds and other British senior officials during his two-day visit. The two countries announced the conclusion of the negotiations on May 6. It will remove taxes on the export of labour-intensive products such as leather, footwear and clothing, while making imports of whisky and cars from Britain cheaper, in a bid to double trade between the two economies to USD 120 billion by 2030. The world's fifth and sixth-largest economies concluded the deal after three years of on-off negotiations. Once the FTA is signed, it will require approval from the British Parliament and India's Cabinet before it can take effect

Google may have to offer rival search options, says UK antitrust watchdog

Google could be forced to let British users choose whether to use rival search services, the country's antitrust watchdog said Tuesday as it proposed using new digital regulations to boost competition. The Competition and Markets Authority said its priority measures include requiring Google to present users with choice screens when they use key products like the Chrome browser and Android mobile operating system. The choice screens would let users easily select and switch between search services", which could potentially include AI assistants, it said. The watchdog is seeking to give Google a strategic market status label under the new UK digital rules. That would give it the power to use targeted measures to impose changes to specific aspects of its search operations in the UK. The CMA's move could have significant implications for businesses and consumers in the UK, Google said. Oliver Bethell, Google's senior director of competition, noted in a prepared statement that CMA ...

UK evacuates nationals from Israel, urges Iran to de-escalate conflict

A Royal Air Force (RAF) flight evacuated 63 British nationals from Israel amid an escalating conflict in West Asia on Monday, as the UK called on Iran to take the off-ramp and come to the negotiating table following American strikes on its nuclear sites. In a statement in the House of Commons, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy revealed that the flight to transport vulnerable British nationals and their dependents took off from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport for Cyprus, from where they will board a civilian flight back to Britain. The UK also recommended that British nationals in Qatar shelter in place until further notice following a US security alert for its nationals in the region and the country closing its airspace amid Iran warning of retaliatory strikes targeted at American assets. While the situation in the Middle East remains volatile, we are working around the clock to secure more flights and bring more people home, said Lammy. We can and we must find a negotiated solution.

British stealth jet stays parked in Kerala days after emergency landing

A Royal Navy helicopter flew into Kerala earlier this week and unsuccessfully attempted to fix the aircraft that some experts said possibly developed a hydraulic system failure.

UK lawmakers back bill to allow terminally ill adults to end their lives

British lawmakers are set to vote Friday on whether to back a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales, in what could be one of the most consequential social policy decisions they will ever make. Members of Parliament supported legalising assisted dying when they first debated the issue in November by 330 votes to 275. Since then, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has undergone months of scrutiny leading to some changes in the proposed legislation, which is being shepherded through Parliament by Labour lawmaker Kim Leadbeater rather than the government. Leadbeater is confident lawmakers will back the bill. We have the most robust piece of legislation in the world in front of us tomorrow, and I know that many colleagues have engaged very closely with the legislation and will make their decision based on those facts and that evidence, and that cannot be disputed," Leadbeater said on Thursday on the eve of the vote alongside bereaved and ...

US, UK say they've cemented trade agreement, Trump says 'fair' for both

US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday that they are signing a trade deal that will slash tariffs on goods from both countries. The deal does not include tariffs on steel, an especially important piece of bilateral trade. Instead, talks are still going on about whether steel tariffs will be cut to zero as planned in the provisional agreement. Trump and Starmer announced in May they'd struck an agreement that would slash US import taxes on British cars, steel and aluminum in return for greater access to the British market for US products including beef and ethanol. But it did not immediately take effect, leaving British businesses uncertain about whether the UK could be exposed to any surprise hikes from Trump. British businesses, and the UK government, were blindsided earlier this month when Trump doubled metals tariffs on countries around the world to 50 per cent. He later clarified the level would remain at 25 per cent for the UK. Starmer said Mond

Meet Blaise Metreweli, first woman to lead UK's MI6 spy agency in 116 years

MI6's Blaise Metreweli is the first woman in 116 years to lead the UK's secret intelligence service, succeeding Sir Richard Moore later this year

Bad weather forces UK F-35 fighter jet to make emergency landing in India

The F-35B from HMS Prince of Wales landed in Kerala due to rough weather during Operation Highmast; IAF facilitated the diversion and is supporting the aircraft

UK sets up crisis teams in Delhi, London after Air India crash in Ahmedabad

Britain has set up crisis teams in Delhi and London to support the families of those aboard the Air India Flight 171, which crashed soon after takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport on Thursday, Foreign Secretary David Lammy informed Parliament. In an urgent statement in the House of Commons, Lammy noted that British nationals were on board the aircraft, which was carrying 242 passengers and crew. While the minister did not specify any numbers in Parliament, it has been reported that 53 of the passengers on board were British nationals. My thoughts and I'm sure those of the entire House are with those who have been affected by the tragic plane crash in India this morning, Lammy told MPs. We know that British nationals were on board and I can confirm that the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) is working urgently with local authorities to support British nationals and their families, and has stood up a crisis team in both Delhi and in London, he said. His statement followe

In UK, Yunus says no direct communication with British PM

Bangladesh interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has said that he has had no direct communication with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in connection with the recovery of stolen money allegedly under the previous Hasina regime in Dhaka. Downing Street sources indicated that no formal meeting had been agreed during the Chief Adviser's visit to London this week. Yunus told The Financial Times' newspaper that the UK has a moral responsibility to assist Bangladesh in tracing and retrieving funds stolen by the previous regime and allegedly funnelled into Britain. I have no direct conversation with him, Yunus told the Financial Times' with reference to Starmer. I have no doubt he would support us. This is stolen money We need the support from the people of Great Britain, he said. The 84-year-old Nobel Laureate took over as the head of the interim government after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in a massive student-led protest in Bangladesh in August last year

B'desh Awami League concerned over Starmer's upcoming meeting with Yunus

Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus is going on a bilateral official visit to the United Kingdom from June 10 to 13, 2025

Amazon to intensify fake review crackdown after UK watchdog investigation

Amazon has pledged to beef up fight against fake reviews, Britain's competition regulator said Friday after an investigation into whether big online platforms are doing enough to crack down on phony online ratings for products and services. The Competition and Markets Authority said it secured the undertakings from Amazon, after getting a similar agreement earlier this year from Google to clamp down on rogue reviews plaguing the internet. The company promised to strengthen its existing systems for fighting fake reviews. It will also tackle catalog abuse, which involves sellers boosting star ratings for a product by hijacking good reviews from a completely different one. As an example, a shopper might come across a pair of headphones with a five-star rating. But, after looking closer, most of the reviews are for a mobile phone charger, the watchdog said. As part of its commitments, Amazon has agreed to sanction anyone caught using these tactics. Businesses could be banned from selli