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☆ The US is almost out of options to make Russia pay for Navalny's death
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewWhen President Joe Biden addressed the sudden death of Russian dissident Alexey Navalny last week, he had no doubt where the blame lay. But where Biden sounded less certain, was on how the Russian president should pay for the alleged crime. For instance, the US has sought to cut off Russia's export of oil and gas, a trade that is at the heart of the Russian economy. Putin has placed the Russian economy on a war footing, with 6% of GDP spent on arms and ammunition production, meaning that US attempts to seriously constrict Russian weapons production have failed. And there remain options open to the US and other countries in the West if they choose to punish Russia even further.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, Alexey Navalny, Biden, Navalny, Putin, Donald Trump, Elisabeth Braw, Edward Lucas Organizations: Service, Business, Kremlin, New York Times, Munich Security, US, Republicans, Treasury, Atlantic Council, Observer, Times Radio Locations: Russian, Russia, Ukraine, India, China

☆ The cost of climate policies: Hard-pressed consumers are pushing back
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

In a 2022 Pew survey covering 19 countries in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, climate change was named the top global threat. Aira UK“There is no trade-off between (installing a heat pump), saving the planet and at the same time saving the pockets of consumers,” CEO Martin Lewerth told CNN. “If you’re living outside Scandinavia and you want a heat pump, it’s not a hassle-free experience,” Lewerth acknowledged. “There is no scenario in which delay is the cheaper option with climate change,” said Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the LSE. “If we’d invested more in renewable energy… energy bills wouldn’t have gone up so much, which disproportionately impacted on poor households,” Valero at the LSE told CNN.

Persons: ”, ” Brett Meyer, Tone, Tony Blair, ” Langengen, Meyer, Anna Valero, Keith Mayhew, Oliver Blume, doesn’t, Rishi Sunak, Kelley, Martin Lewerth, Sunak, ” Lewerth, “, Bob Ward, we’d, ” Valero, Tim Jackson Organizations: London CNN, Times Radio, Tony, Tony Blair Institute for Global, Pew, London School of Economics, Political Science, CNN, HSBC, carmakers, Volkswagen, Grantham Research, LSE, ”, Swiss, Confederation of British Industry, Centre, Prosperity, University of Surrey Locations: London, Europe, North America, Asia, Pacific, Greece, United Kingdom, United States, Germany, “, Norway, Sweden, Aira, Essex, Swedish, Britain, Scandinavia, Grantham, Ukraine

"We do want to bring down the tax burden but we will only do so responsibly," Hunt told Sky News. "The one thing we won't do is any kind of tax cut that fuels inflation." OPTIONS LIMITED AFTER HEAVY SPENDINGLabour's finance spokesperson Rachel Reeves said cutting inheritance tax would be the wrong priority in a cost-of-living crisis. "Lower taxes on working people - if the government can explain where the money is coming from - is something I would support," Reeves told Sky News. "We want to show people there is a path to lower taxes but we also want to be honest with people this is not going to happen overnight."

Persons: Hunt, Jeremy Hunt, Rishi Sunak, Rachel Reeves, Reeves, Kylie MacLellan, Andy Bruce, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Sunday Times, Labour, Sky News, Times Radio, Institute for Fiscal Studies, Organisation for Economic Co, Development, Britain, Thomson Locations: British

"David Cameron was a disastrous PM. Britain's former Prime Minister and newly appointed Foreign Secretary David Cameron walks outside 10 Downing Street in London, Britain November 13, 2023. "David Cameron was at the heart of the biggest lobbying scandal of recent times," said the Liberal Democrat party's foreign affairs spokesperson Layla Moran. "I understand there's a lot of baggage that comes with David Cameron," Conservative lawmaker Tobias Ellwood told Times Radio. Theresa May, who replaced Cameron as prime minister before being ousted herself amid a party rebellion over Brexit three years later, said his experience would be invaluable.

Persons: David Cameron, Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Cameron, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Steve Tsang, David Lammy, Suzanne Plunkett, Layla Moran, Akshata Murthy, Tobias Ellwood, Dehenna Davidson, Theresa May, Martin Pollard, Alex Richardson Organizations: Downing, European Union, Conservative Party, China Institute, SOAS University of London, Reuters, Labour Party, REUTERS, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Eton College, Times Radio, Thomson Locations: European, Britain, China, Beijing, London, Downing

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 3: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tours the Exhibitor's Hall on Day 3 of the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, Britain, October 3, 2023. We've had 30 years of a political system which incentivises the easy decision, not the right one. Thirty years of vested interests standing in the way of change," he will say, according to excerpts of his speech. "Our political system is too focused on short-term advantage, not long-term success ... Our mission is to fundamentally change our country." "The Labour party have set out their stall: to do and say as little as possible and hope no one notices.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Carl Court, Sunak, Grant Shapps, we've, We've, Jeremy Hunt, Keir Starmer, Elizabeth Piper, Andrew MacAskill, Alistair Smout, William Maclean, Robert Birsel Organizations: British, Conservative Party Conference, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Conservative, Labour Party, Times, Euston, Labour, Thomson Locations: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, Manchester, Britain, Rights MANCHESTER, England, English, London

MANCHESTER, England, Oct 2 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt poured cold water on growing calls for tax cuts within the governing Conservative Party on Monday, saying he could not commit to any "inflationary" reduction before the next election. But his message was overshadowed by calls from senior Conservative lawmakers, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's predecessor, for tax cuts to try to close the gap in opinion polls with the opposition Labour Party before an election expected next year. He said any tax cuts this year would be inflationary, making it more difficult to achieve Sunak's pledge made in January to halve inflation by the end of the year. Yes, but it means difficult decisions and we're prepared to take those difficult decisions," Hunt told Sky News, adding that voters understood "how difficult these decisions are". "So ahead of this year's Autumn Statement, we must make the Conservative Party the party of business once again, by getting Corporation Tax back down to 19%.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, Rishi Sunak's, Sunak, we're, Liz Truss, Alistair Smout, Elizabeth Piper, Andrew MacAskill, Kylie MacLellan, Sachin Ravikumar, Sarah Young, Emelia Sithole, Catherine Evans Organizations: Conservative Party, Conservative, Labour Party, Times, Sky News, Labour, Corporation, Tax, Thomson Locations: MANCHESTER, England, British, Manchester

Ford UK Chair Lisa Brankin was scathing: "Our business needs three things from the UK government: ambition, commitment and consistency. Britain was the first major economy to create a legally binding 2050 net zero target and emissions have fallen almost 50% since 1990 as coal power plants closed and offshore wind power took off. The government's own independent adviser on climate action said in June that Britain was not doing enough to hit its mid-century target. Ford said it had spent 430 million pounds ($532 million) on its UK development and manufacturing facilities, with "further funding planned for the 2030 timeframe". His party has trailed the opposition Labour Party in polls for over a year.

Persons: Suella Braverman, Andy Bailey, Handout, Rishi Sunak, Lisa Brankin, Sunak, We're, Ford, Chris Skidmore, Kate Holton, Elizabeth Piper, William James, Susanna Twidale, Muvija, Nick Carey, Sachin Ravikumar, Gareth Jones, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Economic, REUTERS, Sunak's Conservative Party, Ford, Conservative, BET, Times Radio, European Union, BMW, Volkswagen, Labour Party, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Sunak

☆ UK to work 'constructively' with Meta over encryption and online safety
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen on smartphone in front of displayed logo of Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021. The government has urged Meta not to roll out encryption on those two platforms without safety measures to protect children from sexual abuse. "My call to Meta is to work with us more constructively to roll out end-to-end encryption with robust safety measures because what they're proposing at the moment will make Facebook and Instagram Direct (messages) safe havens for paedophiles," she told the BBC. Meta, whose WhatsApp platform already encrypts messages, has said encryption can help keep users safe from hackers, fraudsters and criminals. Social media platforms will face tougher requirements to protect children from accessing harmful content when the Online Safety Bill passed by parliament on Tuesday becomes law.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Suella Braverman, Meta, Braverman, Bill, Sarah Young, William James, James Davey Organizations: Facebook, REUTERS, BBC, Meta, Times Radio, Social, Thomson

☆ UK looks to limit strike impact as doctors take coordinated action
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Kylie Maclellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Junior doctors hold placards during a strike, amid a dispute with the government over pay, in London, Britain April 11, 2023. Senior doctors, known as consultants, began a 48-hour walkout on Tuesday and will be joined by junior doctors on Wednesday. They are due to hold three further days of joint strike action next month. Doctors have said they will operate Christmas Day levels of service, providing emergency care. In July, junior doctors were awarded a 6% pay rise and 1,250 pounds ($1,547) for 2023/24, but the British Medical Association trade union says they are still facing a pay cut in real terms.

Persons: Maja Smiejkowska, we've, Steve Barclay, Rishi Sunak, Vishal Sharma, Sunak, Barclay, Kylie MacLellan Organizations: REUTERS, Sky News, Health Service, British Medical Association, BMA, RPI, Times Radio, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, England, France, Italy

☆ UK has not backed down in tech encryption row, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Britain's Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Michelle Donelan walks on Downing Street in London, Britain March 15, 2023. Junior minister Stephen Parkinson appeared to concede ground to the tech companies' arguments on Wednesday, saying in parliament's upper chamber that the Ofcom communications regulator would only require them to scan content where "technically feasible". Tech companies have said scanning messages and end-to-end encryption are fundamentally incompatible. Donelan, however, denied on Thursday that the bill had been watered down in the final stages before it becomes law. She said further work to develop the technology was needed, but added that government-funded research had shown it was possible.

Persons: Technology Michelle Donelan, Peter Nicholls, Michelle Donelan, Stephen Parkinson, Paul Sandle, Helen Popper Our Organizations: State for Science, Innovation, Technology, REUTERS, Junior, Ofcom, Tech, Times Radio, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ UK minister: petrol car ban immovable but some green policies to be relaxed
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] View of the exhaust of a queuing car on the North Circular Road in London, Britain, June 26, 2023. Britain's green agenda has been thrown into question after the governing Conservatives won a vote for a parliamentary seat last week by attacking London's flagship anti-pollution policy. Asked on Times Radio if banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars was an immovable target in Britain, Gove said: "Yes." Gove later told LBC radio that the government would make changes to planned timetables to make them more achievable. "When it comes to landlords in the private rented sector, the timetable that we have for meeting particular energy efficiency standards will be relaxed," he said.

Persons: Toby Melville LONDON, Michael Gove, Gove, Rishi Sunak, Kylie MacLellan, Kate Holton Organizations: REUTERS, Conservatives, London's, European Union, Times, LBC, Times Radio, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, United States

☆ Putin accuses the West of creating Nazis while comparing the war in Ukraine to WWII, in what experts are calling a perversion of history
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He sought to portray the war in Ukraine as part of a plot to destroy Russia. Putin has sought to portray the war in Ukraine as a battle against Western powers who he claims are determined to destroy Russia. A real war has been unleashed against our Motherland," he said during a parade in Moscow on Tuesday. During the war, Russia was allied against fascist powers with Western powers including the UK and US. "They've even said that the West created Nazis," he added, calling it a "grotesque perversion of and distortion of history".

☆ UK police well prepared for King Charles's coronation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Muvija M | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, May 3 (Reuters) - More than 11,000 police officers will patrol London's streets for King Charles' coronation on Saturday, the biggest ceremonial event staged in the British capital for 70 years, and they are well prepared to handle any incident, officials said on Wednesday. However, demonstartions are also planned by anti-monarchists in Trafalgar Square and along the procession route. Security Minister Tom Tugendhat told Times Radio the event was one of the most important security operations the country has ever mounted. [1/4] A police officer keeps guard ahead of King Charles' coronation, in London, Britain, May 3, 2023. "Republic will not be deterred and we will be protesting on Trafalgar Square and along the route of the coronation procession on Saturday," Smith said in a statement.

☆ UK security in 'no way complacent' ahead of coronation - minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 3 (Reuters) - British security forces are prepared for King Charles' coronation, security minister Tom Tugendhat said on Wednesday, hours after a man was arrested outside Buckingham Palace for throwing shotgun cartridges. "We're in no way complacent" Tugendhat told Sky News. [1/2] Police members and security forces guard at the gates of Buckingham Palace after British police arrested a man outside Buckingham Palace for throwing what they believe were shotgun cartridges, in London, Britain May 2, 2023. Tugendhat told Times Radio the event was "one of the most important security operations that the country has put into plan." "The police are, to put it mildly, all over it, and our intelligence and other security forces are extremely aware of the challenge that we face," he said.

☆ UK's National Cyber Security Centre reviewing TikTok risks, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Britain's National Cyber Security Centre is reviewing whether Chinese-owned video app TikTok should be banned from government phones, security minister Tom Tugendhat said on Tuesday. TikTok has come under increasing focus over fears that user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government, undermining Western security interests. "That's why I've asked the National Cyber Security Centre to look into this. Last week, the White House backed legislation to give the administration new powers to ban TikTok and other foreign-based technologies if they pose national security threats. And we will always do that and take whatever steps are necessary to make sure that happens," he added.

☆ UK doctors begin strike likely to be 'most disruptive' for health service
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] People attend a protest by junior doctors, amid a dispute with the government over pay, outside St Thomas' Hospital in London, Britain, March 13, 2023. The strike is the latest involving staff at Britain's state-funded National Health Service (NHS), following walkouts by nurses, paramedics and other workers demanding a pay rise that better reflects double-digit levels of inflation. "This is likely to be the most disruptive set of industrial action days that we've seen all winter," Powis told Times Radio. "We are working closely across the NHS to make sure that services are not affected in those emergency pathways," he said. Junior doctors in Britain are qualified physicians, often with several years of experience, who work under the guidance of senior doctors and represent almost half of the country's medical workforce.

☆ UK doctors begin three-day strike in pay dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - Thousands of junior doctors in England walked out on Monday in three-day strike that will disrupt patient care, as they protest over pay they say can work out at less per hour than a barista. Junior doctors in Britain are qualified physicians, often with several years of experience. [1/3] People attend a protest by junior doctors, amid a dispute with the government over pay, outside St Thomas' Hospital in London, Britain, March 13, 2023. Last month, 98% of the nearly 37,000 who took part in the BMA's strike ballot voted in favour. Robert Laurenson, co-chair of the BMA's Junior Doctors Committee, said they had seen a real terms pay cut over the last 15 years due to public sector wage freezes.

[1/3] A road sign at a roundabout on the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland with directions to Belfast and Dublin is seen in Carrickcarnan, Ireland, May 19, 2022. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File PhotoLONDON/BELFAST, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Britain's foreign minister James Cleverly said London would not sign off on a deal with the European Union over changes to Northern Ireland's post-Brexit trading arrangements without the backing of its biggest unionist party. Cleverly told Times Radio on Friday that Britain's negotiations around the Northern Ireland Protocol were focused on addressing the concerns of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). But London needs the support of the DUP if a deal is to restore Northern Ireland's power sharing government that the DUP is currently boycotting over its opposition to the protocol. Naomi Long, the head of the province's cross-community Alliance Party, told Reuters it was wrong to give any individual party what appeared to be a veto on Northern Ireland's future.

☆ UK training Ukrainians to fight in 'Western way' with less ammunition - minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Britain is training Ukrainian soldiers to fight in a more "Western way" and use less ammunition than the traditional Soviet way of fighting, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Wednesday. Britain along with other Western allies has been training Ukrainian soldiers and providing weapons and ammunition to support Kyiv in its battle with Russia. "Ukraine uses huge amounts of ammunition to defend itself, partly that's why we're training them to fight in a Western way," Wallace told Times Radio. "At the same time we're training to make sure it's used in a way that's very productive and accurate," he said. "The Russian or the Soviet way of fighting is very ammunition heavy, massive artillery barrages, and that's never how we have organised ourselves to fight in NATO," he said.

☆ BoE's Pill says important not to raise interest rates too high
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill said on Friday it was important not to raise borrowing costs too high, a day after the British central bank signalled it was close to pausing a run of interest rate hikes which began in December 2021. "We have to recognise that we have done a lot with monetary policy already," Pill told Times Radio. On Thursday, the BoE raised interest rates to 4%, their highest since 2008, but it dropped language it previously used about its readiness to act "forcefully" if needed to contain inflation pressures. "Interest rates have risen by almost 400 basis points over ... little more than a year and, given the lags in the transmission of monetary policy, there's quite a lot of the effects of those raises in interest rates still to come through," Pill said. While the MPC was determined to "see the job through," Pill also said: "It's also important that we enguard against the possibility of doing too much."

☆ Prince Harry's memoir hits shelves after days of controversy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Michael Holden | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Harry's book "Spare" has garnered attention around the world with its disclosures about his personal struggles and its accusations about other royals, including his father King Charles, stepmother Camilla and elder brother Prince William. "I know perhaps some of the things he says have rubbed different people the wrong way," Lai Jiang told Reuters after buying a copy in Singapore. The royal family has not commented on the book or the interviews and is unlikely to do so. While Harry's revelations have dominated the headlines in the British media over the last week, the interest in his disclosures is far from universal. Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Lion Schellerer in Singapore Editing by Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - British rail workers kicked off the new year with a week-long strike on Tuesday, disrupting the return to work for millions of commuters in the latest bout of industrial action to hit the country. Repeated rail strikes have crippled the network in recent months while nurses, airport staff, paramedics and postal workers have also joined the fray, demanding higher pay to keep pace with inflation that is hovering around 40-year highs, reaching 10.7% in November. "Due to industrial action, there will be significantly reduced train services across the railway until Sunday 8 January," Network Rail said. "Trains will be busier and likely to start later and finish earlier, and there will be no services at all in some places." Mick Lynch, the head of the RMT rail union, said the government seemed content for the strikes to go ahead.

☆ Twitter battles wave of impersonators after launching new paid verification system
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN Business —Twitter appears to be battling a wave of celebrity and corporate impersonators on its platform who have quickly gamed the company’s new paid verification system, hours after its launch. CNN has confirmed multiple verified Twitter accounts have been suspended by the platform after other users posted screenshots showing misleading content from the accounts. The fake verified accounts had posed as former President Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Nintendo of America, the basketball player LeBron James, the software company Valve and others. Before being suspended, the impostor Nintendo account tweeted an image of the video game character Mario giving the viewer the middle finger. In an interview with CNN, Whelan said he managed to impersonate Trump by repurposing an old, spare account.

☆ UK interior minister denounced for asylum seeker 'invasion' comments
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Her comments came a day after a man used fire bombs to attack an immigration processing centre in the port town of Dover. Robert Jenrick, an immigration minister in Braverman's interior ministry, said his boss's language reflected the scale of the challenge, after a record number of nearly 40,000 asylum seekers arrived in Britain via small boats so far this year. She has also been accused of failing to listen to legal advice on the prolonged detention of migrants at another processing centre, and failing to secure adequate accommodation, both claims she has denied. "Let's stop pretending they are all refugees in distress, the whole country knows that is not true," Braverman told parliament. "No Home Secretary who was serious about public safety or national security would use highly inflammatory language on the day after a dangerous petrol bomb attack on a Dover initial processing centre," she said.

☆ No kissing in Qatar? Fears grow of crackdown on LGBTQ fans at World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Matt Lavietes | Matt Lavietes Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

More than a million soccer fans from around the world are expected to gather in Qatar for next month's FIFA World Cup, but as the global competition nears, concerns over how the Gulf nation will treat its LGBTQ visitors are rising. “These are the basic rights that should be afforded to all and will ensure continued progress in Qatar,” one of the players said. But for years, the Gulf nation's government and FIFA have sought to reassure fans that LGBTQ fans are welcome and will be safe attending the World Cup. Scrutiny over how Qatar treats its own LGBTQ people has also gained traction in the lead-up to the World Cup. Rasha Younes, a researcher who studies LGBTQ rights in the Middle East and North Africa for Human Rights Watch and author of the new report, said she hopes that the displays of LGBTQ solidarity will influence Qatar's domestic policies.

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