About: United Kingdom
UK hosts 51 countries for climate talks ahead of COP26
Britain hosts climate and environment ministers from 51 countries on Sunday (25 July) for “critical” climate talks ahead of November’s COP26 summit in Glasgow. British minister Alok Sharma, President of COP26, will lead the two-day meeting, which London said will...
‘Pingdemic’ grips Britain as fears of food shortages grow
Britain's supermarkets, wholesalers and hauliers were struggling on Thursday (22 July) to ensure stable food and fuel supplies after an official health app told hundreds of thousands of workers to isolate after contact with someone with COVID-19.
Britain’s MI5 spy chief says: Beware of Russian and Chinese agents
Britain's top domestic spymaster will caution the population on Wednesday (14 July) to treat the threat of spying from Russia and China as vigilantly as terrorism, warning that foreign spies were seeking to pilfer technology, sow discord and attack infrastructure.
UK announces harsher sentences for Channel migrants
Britain has announced it will seek harsher sentences for migrants caught entering the country without permission amid a record-breaking surge in arrivals over the English Channel.
Putin says Russia could have sunk UK warship without starting World War Three
President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday (30 June) that Russia could have sunk a British warship that it accused of illegally entering its territorial waters without starting World War Three and accused Washington of a role in the "provocation".
Russia tests Crimean air defence systems as Ukraine, US hold Black Sea drills
Russia tested the readiness of its air defence systems in Crimea, the peninsula it annexed from Ukraine in 2014, as Ukraine and NATO countries held military drills in the Black Sea, the Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday (29 June).
Delta variant spread upsets EU plans for return to relative normality
Moscow and Indonesia recorded their worst daily coronavirus death toll due to the highly contagious coronavirus Delta variant, while various EU countries envisaged new restrictions, likely to upset their plans for a return to relative normality this summer.
Britain begins negotiations to join trans-Pacific trade deal
Britain will begin negotiations on Tuesday (22 June) to join a trans-Pacific trade deal that it sees as crucial to its post-Brexit pivot away from Europe and towards geographically more distant but faster-growing economies.
Former UK speaker Bercow denounces Johnson and defects to Labour
The colourful former speaker of Britain's House of Commons John Bercow said he has left the Conservatives to join the opposition Labour Party, saying the country is "sick of lies" under Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Scotch but no bourbon: UK-US trade truce gives dram of hope to drinks industry
The drinks industry welcomed a trade truce between Britain and United States that saw tariffs removed on Scotch whisky and most other spirits, although they called for further efforts to remove the last export duties on American whiskey.
UK skirts ‘special relationship’ talk for Biden meet
The UK-US "special relationship" has been an article of faith for generations of British leaders. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson is rejecting old pieties as he heads into his first face-to-face talks with President Joe Biden.
EU hits 200-million-jab milestone, with Malta first and Bulgaria last
At least 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been given in the European Union as of Tuesday (18 May), according to AFP data tallying up official figures given by member states' health services.
Portugal opens to Schengen and UK tourists
Portugal will open to tourists from nearly all European countries from Monday (17 May), the interior ministry said, following months of restrictions to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Spain plans to allow Britons to enter without PCR test from 20 May
Spain plans to lift its requirement for Britons to present a negative coronavirus PCR test upon arrival from 20 May, provided that the infection rate in Britain keeps declining, the Spanish tourism minister said on Tuesday (11 May).
G7 seeks common front on China in first talks since pandemic
The Group of Seven wealthy democracies on Tuesday (4 May) discussed how to form a common front towards an increasingly assertive China in the foreign ministers' first in-person talks in two years.
US and Britain tell China and Russia: the West is not over yet
The Group of Seven western democracies aims to court new allies to counter challenges from China and Russia without holding Beijing down and while pursuing more stable ties with the Kremlin, two of its top diplomats said.
Blinken in UK as G7 foreign ministers discuss in-person Russia, China
Britain this week hosts the first face-to-face meeting of G7 foreign ministers in two years, joined by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as world powers tackle pandemic recovery plus growing tensions with Russia and China.
Vaccine doses pass one billion mark globally, but many nations lag behind
The number of Covid-19 jabs administered globally surpassed the one billion mark on Saturday (24 April), offering hope even as the number of virus cases worldwide hit a new daily record mainly due to an explosion of infections in India.
Bulgaria must allow baby of same-sex couple to travel: EU adviser
Bulgaria must find a way to allow the stateless baby of a same-sex couple from Bulgaria and Gibraltar to travel, a legal adviser of EU's top court said Thursday (15 April).
Sleaze scandal infects UK politics amid Covid spending spree
A drip-feed of revelations over the collapse of an opaque financial firm is raising serious questions about cosy ties between UK politicians, civil servants and big business as the government spends lavishly on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
Pints, shopping and haircuts: English shops and pub gardens reopen as lockdown eases
People queued up outside retailers across England to release their pent-up shopping fever and some grabbed a midnight pint or even an early haircut as England’s shops, pubs, gyms and hairdressers reopened after three months of lockdown.
Britain’s Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth, dies aged 99
Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth who played a leading figure in the British royal family for almost seven decades, has died aged 99, Buckingham Palace said on Friday (9 April). The Duke of Edinburgh, as he was officially...
UK calls for end to ‘pernicious’ trade practices, in apparent swipe at China
Britain said it will push G7 allies to do more to ban "pernicious practices" in trade, such as forced labour and intellectual property theft, in an apparent call for a tougher line towards China at the World Trade Organization.