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☆ BAE on track as orders flow amid heightened geopolitical risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

People gather at the BAE Systems' booth during the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Global Force Symposium & Exposition in Huntsville, Alabama, U.S. March 28, 2023. REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - BAE Systems (BAES.L) maintained its guidance for annual earnings to rise as much as 12% as orders for military kit continued to flow at a time of heightened geopolitical risk, benefiting Britain's biggest defence company. BAE upgraded its forecast in August, guiding that earnings per share would grow by 10%-12% in 2023 after orders soared following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. Since then, Israel has invaded Gaza in the wake of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, upsetting stability in the Middle East. The group, whose biggest customers are the United States, Britain, Saudi Arabia and Australia, said it had increasing exposure to "structurally growing" defence markets.

Persons: Cheney Orr, Charles Woodburn, Sarah Young, Kate Holton, Paul Sandle Organizations: BAE Systems, Association of, United States Army, Global, REUTERS, BAE, Thomson Locations: Huntsville , Alabama, U.S, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Australia, Britain, United States, Saudi Arabia, China

☆ Factbox-Seven Turbulent Years: British Ministerial Churn Since the Brexit Vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

PRIME MINISTERCameron served as prime minister until July 13, 2016, three weeks after the Brexit vote on June 23. She holds the record for Britain's shortest-serving prime minister after she quit after 49 days, having triggered a financial market meltdown. Philip Hammond was foreign secretary from July 2014 until three weeks after the Brexit vote in 2016. INTERIOR MINISTERBritain's interior ministry has changed leadership eight times since the Brexit vote, including Cleverly who stepped into the role on Monday. There have been 13 housing ministers since the Brexit vote, including six since Feb. 8, 2022.

Persons: Sarah Young, Rishi Sunak, David Cameron, Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Sunak, James, Dominic Raab, Jeremy Hunt, Johnson, Philip Hammond, Suella Braverman, Grant Shapps, Truss, Hunt, Kwarteng, Victoria Atkins, Monday, Steve Barclay, Gillian Keegan, Kate Holton, Alex Richardson Organizations: Sarah Young LONDON, British, European Union, Conservative Party, FINANCE, National Health Service Locations: Westminster, Britain, European, Truss, Crete, Kabul, Cameron

☆ British environment minister Coffey resigns in reshuffle
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Britain's Environment Secretary Therese Coffey walks outside 10 Downing Street next to Larry the cat, in London, Britain November 13, 2023. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - British environment secretary Therese Coffey resigned on Monday as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reshuffled his top team of ministers. "I consider it is now the right time to step back from government," Coffey said in a letter to Sunak which was published by his office. Coffey has held several ministerial jobs including health minister and work and pensions minister, and also served as deputy prime minister under Sunak's predecessor Liz Truss. In a letter responding to Coffey, Sunak thanked her for "dedicated service".

Persons: Therese Coffey, Larry, Suzanne Plunkett, Rishi Sunak, Coffey, Liz Truss, Sunak, Kylie MacLellan, Sarah Young, William James Our Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, British

☆ Cameron returns to UK government as foreign secretary, Braverman sacked
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Elizabeth Piper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

It was the latest reset for a prime minister whose party is badly lagging the Labour Party before an election expected next year. The return of Cameron suggested Sunak wanted to bring in a more centrist, experienced hand rather than appease the right of his party which supported Braverman. It also reawakens divisive debate over Brexit: Cameron held the referendum on European Union membership in 2016 and was hated by many on the right of the party after he campaigned to remain. BREXIT RETURNS[1/5]Britain's former Prime Minister and newly appointed Foreign Secretary David Cameron walks outside 10 Downing Street in London, Britain November 13, 2023. Now, opposition lawmakers said his decision to appoint Cameron was an act of desperation.

Persons: Braverman, Rishi Sunak, David Cameron, Suella Braverman, Cameron, Sunak, BREXIT, Suzanne Plunkett, Theresa May, James, Pat McFadden, Elizabeth Piper, Andrew MacAskill, Alistair Smout, Sachin Ravikumar, Kylie MacLellan, Sarah Young, Kate Holton, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: London, British, Labour Party, European Union, Britain, Conservative Party, REUTERS, Conservative, Conservatives, Labour, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, England, Labour's

About a mile away from the start of the march, about 1,000 people lined the streets to watch the remembrance events at the Cenotaph war memorial. Among the crowd, some right-wing counter-protesters opposed to the pro-Palestinian march chanted messages including "We want out country back". DISRESPECTFULSunak has criticised the pro-Palestinian rally as disrespectful amid concerns it could spark violence. There has been strong support and sympathy for Israel from Western governments, including Britain's, and many citizens over the Hamas attacks. But the Israeli response has also prompted anger, with weekly protests in London demanding a ceasefire.

Persons: Hollie Adams, Laurence Taylor, Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Suella Braverman, Taylor, I've, Michael Holden, Hannah McKay, Sarah Young, Ed Osmond, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Government, Cenotaph . Police, Charing, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, PSC, U.S, Embassy, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, London, Britain, Palestine, Waterloo, Victoria, Downing, Western

☆ Britain's King Charles, PM Sunak to lead remembrance services after day of protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Britain's King Charles shakes hands with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Leaders Meeting at Marlborough House on May 05, 2023 in London, England. Chris Jackson/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - King Charles and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will lead remembrance services for Britain's war dead on Sunday, seeking to unify communities following a day of protests in London on Saturday, when police clashed with far-right groups. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had said it was disrespectful to hold the rally on Armistice Day, and hundreds of counter-protesters from far-right groups showed up to oppose it, clashing with police, and resulting in over 90 arrests. Sunak condemned the scenes of violence in a statement on Saturday and said the event should be about unity. The government said veterans of Britain's nuclear testing programme would be awarded new medals to recognise their special service.

Persons: Britain's, Charles, Rishi Sunak, Chris Jackson, King Charles, Sunak, Sarah Young, Christina Fincher Organizations: Commonwealth, of Government, Marlborough House, Thomson Locations: London, England, Gaza, Israel

☆ UK economy fails to grow in Q3 but sidesteps start of a recession
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

People walk over London Bridge looking at a view of Tower Bridge in the City of London financial district in London, Britain, October 25, 2023. REUTERS/ Susannah Ireland/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Britain's sluggish economy failed to grow in the July-to-September period but at least managed to avoid the start of a recession, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday. In the month of September on its own, the economy grew by 0.2% from August when growth was revised down to 0.1% from 0.2%. "But the key point is that the economy is not weak enough to reduce core inflation and wage growth quickly," Dales said. In the three months to September, output in Britain's huge services sector fell by 0.1%, industrial production was broadly flat and construction grew by 0.1%, the Office for National Statistics said.

Persons: Susannah Ireland, Paul Dales, BoE, Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt, William Schomberg, Andy Bruce, Sarah Young Organizations: REUTERS, Office, National Statistics, Reuters, Capital Economics, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: City, London, Britain, Germany, United States

☆ Police Probe Fake London Mayor Video on Pro-Palestinian Marches
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON (Reuters) - A post shared on social media purporting to show the mayor of London saying pro-Palestinian marches should take priority over Armistice Day events is fake and police are investigating, a spokesman for the mayor said. The social media clip could further inflame tensions in the capital, a day before a large pro-Palestinian march is planned to coincide with the anniversary of the end of World War One. There are fears there could be violent confrontations as far-right groups have indicated they will protect the Cenotaph war memorial on Saturday, Armistice Day. A spokesperson for London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a member of Britain's Labour Party, said of the social media post: "The Met (London's Police) and their counter terror experts are aware of this fake video that is being circulated and amplified on social media by far-right groups, and are actively investigating." Saturday's pro-Palestinian march has prompted a political row after interior minister Suella Braverman published an article attacking the police's handling of it.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Saturday's, Suella Braverman, Sarah Young, Mark Heinrich Organizations: London Mayor, Britain's Labour Party, London's Police Locations: London

☆ Pro-Palestinian protesters block entrances to UK's BAE defence plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Susannah Ireland Acquire Licensing RightsROCHESTER, England, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters blocked the entrances to a BAE Systems (BAES.L) factory in southeast England on Friday, targeting Britain's biggest military supplier to call for an end to arms sales to Israel. BAE said it does not directly export any equipment to Israel, but the group is a tier-one supplier on the United States-made F-35 fighter jets which are flown by Israel. We operate under the tightest regulation and comply fully with all applicable defence export controls, which are subject to ongoing assessment." Israel has besieged and invaded Gaza vowing to destroy its ruling Hamas group in the wake of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel that it says killed 1,400 people. Reporting by Susannah Ireland; writing by Sarah Young, editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Susannah Ireland, Sarah Young, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: BAE Systems, Hamas, REUTERS, Rights, Britain's, Israel, BAE, stevedores, Thomson Locations: BAE Systems Rochester, Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Rochester , Kent, Britain, Rights ROCHESTER, England, Rochester, Kent, United States, Belgium, Spain, Barcelona, Belgian, Europe, London

☆ Law firm Allen & Overy hit by 'data incident'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Files Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Allen & Overy has suffered a "data incident", the London-founded law firm said on Thursday, after social media posts suggested it had been hacked by the Lockbit cybercrime gang. An Allen & Overy spokesperson said the firm had "experienced a data incident impacting a small number of storage servers", but its email and document management system had not been affected. The spokesperson also said Allen & Overy has suffered "some disruption", but that it continued to operate normally. Lockbit took credit for the hack and gave a deadline of Nov. 28 for Allen & Overy to negotiate, according to the criminal group's website on the dark web. The cyber attack on Allen & Overy follows last month's confirmation of its merger with U.S. law firm Shearman & Sterling, to create one of the world's largest legal practices.

Persons: Kacper, Overy, Lockbit, Allen, Wales –, Shearman, Sam Tobin, James Pearson, Sarah Young, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Allen, Financial Times, Overy, Overy's, Boeing, Royal, Authority, Wales, U.S, Sterling, Thomson Locations: Warsaw, London, United States, Britain, England

☆ Charles' Youth Charity Prince's Trust Becomes King's Trust
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON (Reuters) - The youth charity started by Britain's King Charles when he was still a prince - the Prince's Trust - will now become the King's Trust, Buckingham Palace said on Friday. Charles, who became king last year after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth, set up the charity in 1976 to tackle high youth unemployment and so far it has supported over a million young people. The charity helps young people aged 11 to 30 get into jobs, education and training. Two other charities started by Charles will also change their names to reflect his accession to the throne. The Prince of Wales's Charitable Fund will become the King Charles III Charitable Fund, while the Prince's Foundation will become the King's Foundation, the palace said.

Persons: Britain's King Charles, Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Idris Elba, King Charles III, Sachin Ravikumar, Sarah Young Organizations: Prince's, Wales's, King Charles III Charitable, King's Foundation Locations: Buckingham

☆ UK's interior minister accuses police of pro-Palestinian bias over marches
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Kate Holton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Critics in opposing parties and her own have accused her of stoking division and undermining the police. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has described Saturday's planned march as disrespectful and said he would hold Rowley to account that the remembrance events are safeguarded. Braverman, seen as a possible future Conservative party leader, often takes a harder line than her party as a whole on issues such as crime and immigration. Opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said Sunak was too weak to challenge her. In a separate incident, two men were arrested over damage to the Cenotaph war memorial in the northern English town of Rochdale.

Persons: Braverman, Suella Braverman, Mark Rowley, Rishi Sunak, Saturday's, Rowley, Sunak, Keir Starmer, Neil Basu, King Charles, Sarah Young, Andrew MacAskill, Elizabeth Piper, Sharon Singleton, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: The, Hamas, British, Conservative, Opposition Labour Party, British Loyalist, London, LBC Radio, Thomson Locations: Israel, Gaza, London, The Times, Northern Ireland, Britain, British, Braverman, Rochdale

☆ M&S echoes UK peers on early Christmas demand, Ahold looks to loyalty
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A logo of food and clothes' retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S) is seen at a branch in London, Britain March 10, 2022. "We are definitely seeing good sales performance in our Christmas ranges," CEO Stuart Machin told reporters after M&S reported much better-than-expected first half results. BIGGER FAMILY CHRISTMASM&S's Machin said research showed about 20% of its customers wanted to stock up on Christmas food products "slightly earlier" this year, with most of those customers planning for a bigger family Christmas. Still, the retail bosses are hopeful of strong demand for food, drinks and presents from now until the end of December. Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Sarah Young, Kate Holton and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Marks, Spencer, Toby Melville, Ahold, Stuart Machin, S's Machin, I'm, Machin, James Davey, Sarah Young, Kate Holton, Emelia Organizations: REUTERS, Major, British Retail Consortium, Marks, Tesco, Accenture, Deloitte, PwC, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Europe, United States

☆ Bank of England central counterparty stress tests confirm resilience
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Bank of England is seen in the City of London, Britain, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - The Bank of England on Wednesday said results of stress tests on central counterparties (CCPs) showed continued resilience at the businesses, which help clear and settle trades in financial instruments and commodities essential for the global economy. "The results confirm the continued resilience of UK CCPs to market stress scenarios that are of equal and greater severity than the worst-ever historical market stresses," said Sarah Breeden, the BoE's Deputy Governor for Financial Stability. The stress tests covered three central counterparties which operate in Britain, ICE Clear Europe Limited (ICE.N), LCH Limited, a part of LSEG (LSEG.L), and LME Clear Limited, owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (0388.HK). The BoE said it would use the findings "to support and inform its ongoing supervision and regulation of UK CCPs".

Persons: Hannah McKay, Sarah Breeden, BoE, William James, David Milliken, Sarah Young Organizations: of, City of, REUTERS, Bank of England, Financial Stability, ICE Clear Europe, LCH, LME Clear, Hong Kong Exchanges, Clearing, HK, LME, Thomson Locations: of England, City, City of London, Britain, LSEG, LME Base

☆ UK house prices end six-month losing streak - Halifax
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Compared with a year earlier, house prices in October were 3.2% lower versus a 4.5% annual decline in September, leaving the average house price at 281,974 pounds ($347,279), nearly 10,000 pounds lower than a year earlier. British house prices surged during the COVID-19 pandemic due to low interest rates, greater demand and temporary tax breaks. Halifax's house price index is still 18% higher than it was in February 2020, despite a 4% fall since its peak in June 2022. Halifax said it expected house prices to fall further this year, with a return to growth in 2025. "The high cost of borrowing alone is not sufficient to trigger the leg down in house prices we predicted," Capital economist Andrew Wishart said.

Persons: Toby Melville, Kim Kinnaird, Huw Pill, BoE, Kinnaird, Andrew Wishart, David Milliken, Sarah Young, Kate Holton, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Halifax, Lloyds Banking Group, The Bank of England, Capital Economics, Thomson Locations: Bristol, Britain, Halifax, British

☆ Primark owner AB Foods expects growth in new year after profit rises 5%
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It said lower material and freight costs should result in a "substantial recovery" in Primark's gross margin and overall it expects Primark's adjusted operating profit margin to recover strongly from the 8.2% made in 2022/23. "At this early stage we believe that the adjusted operating profit margin will be above 10% with further improvement dependent on levels of consumer demand," it said. For the year to Sept. 16, 2023, it made an adjusted operating profit, its key profit measure, of 1.51 billion pounds ($1.86 billion), up from the 1.44 billion pounds made in 2021/22. Primark's adjusted operating profit fell 3% to 735 million pounds. The group announced an additional share buy back of 500 million pounds after concluding a programme of the same amount last month.

Persons: James Davey, Sarah Young, Miral Organizations: British Foods, Foods, Revenue, Thomson

☆ UK house prices rise in October for first time since March: Halifax
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - British house prices ended six months of consecutive falls in October, reflecting a lack of homes being put up for sale, but prices are still lower than a year ago, mortgage lender Halifax said on Tuesday. Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), said house prices in October were 1.1% higher than the month before, the first increase since March on a seasonally adjusted basis, after a 0.3% monthly drop in September. This is likely to have strengthened prices in the short-term, rather than prices being driven by buyer demand, which remains weak overall," Kim Kinnaird, director of Halifax Mortgages, said. Compared with a year earlier, house prices in October were 3.2% lower versus a 4.5% annual decline in September, leaving the average house price at 281,974 pounds ($347,279), nearly 10,000 pounds lower than a year earlier. Halifax said it expected further falls in house prices, and a return to growth in 2025.

Persons: Toby Melville, Kim Kinnaird, Kinnaird, David Milliken, Sarah Young, Kate Holton Organizations: REUTERS, Halifax, Lloyds Banking Group, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: Bristol, Britain, Halifax

☆ BT maintains 2024 outlook after Q2 core profit beat
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 2 (Reuters) - BT Group (BT.L), Britain's biggest broadband and mobile provider, posted second quarter earnings slightly ahead of forecasts putting it on track to meet 2024 guidance, in one of the outgoing CEO's final announcements. Strong cost controls helped BT post a 3% rise in adjusted core profit (EBITDA) to 2.06 billion pounds ($2.51 billion) for the three months to the end of September, beating the 2.03 billion pounds consensus forecast. "These results show that BT Group is delivering and on target: we're rapidly building and connecting customers to our next generation networks, we're simplifying our products and services," Jansen said in a statement on Thursday. The quarterly result meant BT maintained its outlook to grow revenue and profits for its current 2024 financial year, and the group said it expected free cash flow towards the top end of its 1 billion to 1.2 billion pound range. ($1 = 0.8215 pounds)Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru and Sarah Young in London; Editing by Savio D'Souza and James DaveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Allison Kirkby, Sweden's, Philip Jansen, Jansen, Yadarisa, Sarah Young, Savio D'Souza, James Davey Organizations: BT, Britain's, Sweden's Telia, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, London

☆ ASOS fashion retailer says turnaround to bring back growth in 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Smartphone with ASOS app, a keyboard and a shopping cart are seen in front of a displayed ASOS logo in this illustration picture taken October 13, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - British online fashion retailer ASOS (ASOS.L) forecast another year of falling sales in 2024 but said its turnaround plan was starting to take shape and growth would return the following year. Casting 2024 as a transition year, the group said that historic stock problems would continue to drag on sales and profitability during its current financial year, and it forecast sales declines of 5% to 15%. In its 2025 financial year, ASOS said it expected to return to growth with core earnings margin around pre-COVID levels. Calamonte is focused on reducing the amount of stock ASOS carries and refreshing ranges more quickly, while cutting costs and improving its cash position, and he said on Wednesday ASOS would focus on its core fashion offering in 2024.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, José Antonio Ramos Calamonte, ASOS, PwC, Sarah Young, William James, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson

We continue to encourage all countries to take tangible measures to halt the flow of arms, aviation fuel, and revenue to the military regime," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a separate statement. Canada imposed sanctions against 39 individuals and 22 entities for supporting Myanmar's military regime. The U.N. human rights expert for Myanmar in September called on the United States to further tighten sanctions on the country's military rulers to include the state oil and gas enterprise. Human rights advocates have repeatedly called for sanctions on MOGE, but Washington had so far held back. Myanmar military officials have played down the impact of sanctions.

Persons: Stringer, Washington, Antony Blinken, Brian Nelson, Simon Lewis, Daphne Psaledakis, Tim Gardner, Sarah Young, Ismail Shakil, Chizu Nomiyama, Rod Nickel Organizations: Army, Bank, REUTERS, Rights, Myanma, Gas Enterprise, U.S . Treasury Department, Reuters, Treasury, Financial, United Nations, Terrorism, Financial Intelligence, Chevron Corp, Chevron, Washington, Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank, Myanma Investment, Commercial Bank, Sky Royal Hero Company, General Staff, Myanmar's Army, Navy, Air Force, Thomson Locations: Yangon, Myanmar, United States, Washington, U.S, United Kingdom, Canada, Britain

☆ TikTok, Snapchat and others sign pledge to tackle AI-generated child sex abuse images
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] TikTok app logo is seen in this illustration taken, August 22, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Tech firms including TikTok, Snapchat and Stability AI have signed a joint statement pledging to work together to counter child sex abuse images generated by artificial intelligence. "We resolve to sustain the dialogue and technical innovation around tackling child sexual abuse in the age of AI," the statement read. "We resolve to work together to ensure that we utilise responsible AI for tackling the threat of child sexual abuse and commit to continue to work collaboratively to ensure the risks posed by AI to tackling child sexual abuse do not become insurmountable." Britain cited data from the Internet Watch Foundation showing that in one dark web forum users had shared nearly 3,000 images AI generated child sexual abuse material.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Susie Hargreaves, William James, Sarah Young Organizations: REUTERS, Tech, TikTok, Britain, Internet Watch Foundation, Thomson Locations: United States, Britain

☆ British tech company Oxford Nanopore outlines medium-term growth plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - British technology company Oxford Nanopore (ONT.L) said it hoped to reach break-even by the end of 2026, as it outlined plans to drive further growth in the life science research tools market and expand into new areas of healthcare. Oxford Nanopore, a spinout from the University of Oxford which floated two years ago, wants to further commercialise its sensing technology which is able to produce immediate analysis of DNA and RNA for use across scientific research, healthcare and other industries. "Today also marks an important transition for Oxford Nanopore as we introduce our medium-to-long term strategy to meet unmet needs in the clinical and applied markets," Chief Executive Gordon Sanghera said in a statement. For the first half-year of the year, Oxford Nanopore posted a 46% rise in revenues from its Life Science Research Tools unit. Shares in Oxford Nanopore, which has a market capitalisation of 1.6 billion pounds, have fallen 15% in the last six months, prior to Thursday's announcement.

Persons: Oxford Nanopore, Gordon Sanghera, Sarah Young, Kate Holton Organizations: Oxford, University of Oxford, Mayo Clinic, Thomson Locations: British, Oxford

☆ Israel's Netanyahu says Hamas attack was aimed at derailing peace
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Rami Amichai | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSummary Netanyahu says Hamas attack aimed at derailing peace bidSunak welcomes aid decision for GazaSunak due to meet Saudi crown princeJERUSALEM, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday the Hamas attack on Israel was aimed at preventing the expansion of peace in the Middle East, and called on British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to keep supporting Israel's Gaza counteroffensive. Netanyahu said the attack from Gaza by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which killed 1,400 people in Israel, was aimed at derailing attempts to establish a wider peace in the region. At least nine British nationals have been killed and seven are still missing since the attack on Israel, Sunak's spokesperson said. In Israel, Sunak met the families of two of the missing, who are believed to have been taken hostage and held in Gaza. The last British prime minister to visit Israel and the occupied West Bank was David Cameron in 2014.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden, Biden, Evelyn Hockstein, Netanyahu, Sunak, JERUSALEM, Rishi Sunak, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Isaac Herzog, Israel, Herzog, Sunak's, James, Sameh Shoukry, David Cameron, Rami Amichai, Kylie MacLellan, Sarah Young, William James, Alistair Smout, Sachin Ravikumar, Dan Williams, Elizabeth Piper, Angus MacSwan, Alison Williams, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: U.S, Hamas, REUTERS, British, Israel, Crown, Palestinian, West Bank, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Israel, Tel Aviv, Gaza, Saudi, Jerusalem, Saudi Arabia, U.S, British, Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, Britain, London, United States, North Africa, South Asia

☆ UK mobile operator EE eyes growth with new retail platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - EE, Britain's biggest mobile operator, on Wednesday announced the launch of a sales platform called EE ID that will offer gaming consoles and other electronics to its customers and others. In Britain's mature mobile market, where EE, owned by UK telecoms giant BT (BT.L), competes with VM O2, Vodafone (VOD.L) and Three, mobile network providers are hunting for new ways to grow. EE, which is already Britain's largest retailer of smartphones and has 25 million customers many on monthly deals, said the new platform will sell gaming consoles, tablets, upgrade packages and subscriptions to existing EE customers plus the rest of the market. EE ID will also offer customers cyber security, home security and insurance products for electronics, said Christian Thrane, EE's managing director of marketing. EE's push to add consumer revenue comes at a time of proposed consolidation in Britain's mobile market.

Persons: Marc Allera, Christian Thrane, CK Hutchison, Sarah Young, Sachin Ravikumar Organizations: Wednesday, BT, VM O2, Vodafone, Apple TV, Reuters, CK, HK, Thomson

[1/2] A BR700-725 jet engine is seen at the assembly line of the Rolls-Royce Germany plant, in Dahlewitz near Berlin, Germany February 28, 2023. Tufan Erginbilgic, who took over in January, is the latest chief executive to try to tackle the company's inefficiencies. On Tuesday the company said it planned to shed up to 2,500 roles out of its total staff of 42,000. "This is another step on our multi-year transformation journey to build a high performing, competitive, resilient and growing Rolls-Royce," he said. One in 2020 aimed at surviving the pandemic which slashed 9,000 jobs, and one in 2018 which made 4,600 redundancies.

Persons: Nadja Wohlleben, Grazia Vittadini, Tufan Erginbilgic, Royce, Warren East, Sarah Young, Kate Holton, Emelia Organizations: Royce, REUTERS, Airbus, Boeing, General Electric, Tuesday, Warren, Thomson Locations: Royce Germany, Dahlewitz, Berlin, Germany, Britain, United States

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