About: United Kingdom
English football league launches environmental sustainability scheme
The English football league (EFL) announced Monday (11 October) that it would join forces with the environmental accreditation scheme GreenCode to make the second-highest league in England more sustainable.
London at heart of global tax-dodging network: NGO
Campaigners are calling on the government in London to take tougher action against tax havens, after the Pandora Papers shone a light on British overseas territories in a global tax-dodging network.
UK puts army on standby as fuel pumps run dry
Britain on Monday (27 September) put the army on standby to help with the ongoing fuel crisis as fears over tanker driver shortages led to panic buying, leaving many of the country's pumps dry.
Australia submarines: How the ‘contract of the century’ fell apart
Australia's scrapping of a massive multi-billion-euro contract for the purchase of French submarines has led to a diplomatic crisis between France and its erstwhile allies in Canberra and Washington. Here is a timeline of the spat:
France builds EU support in sub row, but some warn against US rift
European allies rallied cautiously around France on Tuesday (21 September) after the US and Australian decision to strip Paris of a submarine supply contract, but some warned the dispute should not torpedo trade talks.
Macron says France, Britain to propose Kabul safe zone to UN
France, Britain and Germany are working on a United Nations proposal aimed at establishing a safe zone in Kabul to allow safe passage for people trying to leave Afghanistan, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday (29 August).
Up to 20,000 Afghans to be resettled in UK ‘long term’
Britain on Tuesday (17 August) announced a resettlement scheme for Afghans fleeing the Taliban after their return to power, offering an initial 5,000 places in the first year, rising to up to 20,000 in the long term.
Britain asks: Is America back or has it turned its back?
The humiliation of the lightning Taliban takeover in Afghanistan after a 20-year war that cost hundreds of thousands of lives has raised a question for the United States' staunchest European ally: Is America really back as President Joe Biden promised?
US, UK to launch evacuation flights as Taliban advance across Afghanistan
The United States and Britain ordered Friday (13 August) the deployment of thousands of troops to Afghanistan to evacuate their nationals, as the Taliban overran more key regional cities in an offensive that has left the capital dangerously exposed.
Record number of migrants cross Channel to UK in single day
A record number of migrants crossed the Channel From France on a single day this week, the British government said on Thursday (5 August), pushing annual figures well beyond last year's numbers.
England to drop quarantine rule for fully jabbed arrivals from France
The UK government said late Wednesday (4 August) it will ease English entry rules requiring arrivals from France to quarantine even if they are fully vaccinated, following its latest review of travel curbs.
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.