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☆ UK inflation rate falls more than expected to 10.1%
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Henry NichollsLONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - British consumer price inflation fell by more than expected to 10.1% in January from December's 10.5% and there were also drops in underlying measures of price growth that are being closely watched by the Bank of England, official data showed. Investors expect another increase in borrowing costs next month by the BoE but Wednesday's data may add to the sense that a peak in Bank Rate is not far off. "While any fall in inflation is welcome, the fight is far from over," finance minister Jeremy Hunt said. The ONS said transport and hospitality prices helped to drag down inflation last month. All other things being equal, slowing inflation suggests further economic weakness ahead and, possibly, an uptick in unemployment."

☆ Michael B. Jordan premieres 'Creed III', hopes to expand 'Creed-verse'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Director Michael B. Jordan and cast member Tessa Thompson attend the premiere of the film "Creed III" in London, Britain February 15, 2023. REUTERS/Henry NichollsLONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Michael B. Jordan reprises his role as boxer Adonis Creed in new film "Creed III" and the actor-director says he hopes to expand the universe around the character in future. "It was challenging but I never felt more alive," Jordan told Reuters of his directorial debut at the "Creed III" premiere in London on Wednesday. One potential storyline could concern Creed's opponent in "Creed II", Viktor Drago, son of "Rocky IV" character boxer Ivan Drago. Viktor makes an appearance in "Creed III".

☆ Factbox: Winners at the 2023 BRIT Awards
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Harry Styles speaks after receiving the award for Song of the Year at the Brit Awards at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, February 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry NichollsLONDON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Britain's pop music honours, the BRIT Awards, were held in London on Saturday. Below is a list of the winners at the ceremony. ALBUM OF THE YEAR:"Harry’s House", Harry StylesSONG OF THE YEAR:"As It Was", Harry StylesARTIST OF THE YEAR:Harry StylesGROUP OF THE YEAR:Wet LegINTERNATIONAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR:BeyonceINTERNATIONAL GROUP:Fontaines DCINTERNATIONAL SONG OF THE YEAR:"Break My Soul", BeyonceBEST NEW ARTIST:Wet LegBEST ALTERNATIVE/ROCK ACT:The 1975BEST HIP-HOP/GRIME/RAP ACT:AitchBEST DANCE ACT:Becky HillBEST POP/R&B ACT:Harry StylesSONGWRITER OF THE YEAR:Kid HarpoonRISING STAR:FLOPRODUCER OF THE YEAR:David GuettaReporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ BRITS' all-male best artist list casts shadow ahead of music awards
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/PoolLONDON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Hitmakers gather in London on Saturday for Britain's pop music honours, the BRIT awards, where an all-male contender list for the artist of the year prize has cast a shadow over the event's introduction of gender-neutral categories. But it added that organisers "acknowledge and share in the disappointment" of no women making the list. "A key factor is that, unfortunately, there were relatively few commercially successful releases by women in 2022 compared to those by men." We recognise this points to wider issues around the representation of women in music that must also be addressed." Last year, women won prizes in 10 of the awards' 15 categories.

☆ BRIT awards: Harry Styles triumphs with most wins
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Harry Styles was the big winner at the BRIT awards, Britain's pop music honours, on Saturday, winning all four categories he had been nominated in, a week after his triumph at the Grammys. "I'm really, really grateful for this and I'm very aware of my privilege up here tonight," Styles said in his acceptance speech, dedicating the artist of the year award to a list of female singers. Styles, who rose to fame on talent show "The X Factor" as a member of boy band One Direction, last week won two Grammy awards, including album of the year. Thank you so much for the welcome home," Styles said on Saturday after his final win, for best album. [1/3] Harry Styles speaks after receiving the award for Best Pop/R&B Act at the Brit Awards at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, February 11, 2023.

☆ Former UK PM Liz Truss is blaming the left-wing 'economic establishment' for ousting her
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

British Prime Minister Liz Truss announces her resignation, outside Number 10 Downing Street, London, Britain October 20, 2022. Henry Nicholls | ReutersLONDON — Former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss is blaming a "powerful economic establishment" for bringing her chaotic 44-day tenure to an end last year. Truss was elected leader of the Conservative Party in September, defeating her eventual successor Rishi Sunak, after garnering 81,326 votes from party members following the ousting of Boris Johnson. She was acting as if winning a majority of the Conservative Party membership gave her economic credibility, and it most clearly doesn't." Current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government vowed to restore this credibility upon taking over in October, and quickly reversed Truss' entire economic agenda.

☆ Sterling falls to day's low, gilt yields tumble as BoE signals rates near peak
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The Bank of England in the City of London financial district, in London, Britain, January 26, 2023. Sterling initially strengthened after the announcement, with markets split on whether the central bank would opt for a smaller 25 bps rate rise. It then lost its shine as markets digested the commentary and the central bank signalled rates were near their peak. It was last trading at the same levels where it was before the BoE decision, up 0.55%. Reporting by the London Markets team, writing by Samuel Indyk; editing by Dhara RanasingheOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ IMF slashes UK growth outlook, adding pressure on finance minister Hunt
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Henry NichollsLONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Britain is the only Group of Seven nation to have suffered a cut to its 2023 economic growth outlook in International Monetary Fund forecasts published on Tuesday, adding to pressure on finance minister Jeremy Hunt to come up with a growth plan. Britain's flagging economy now looks set to shrink by 0.6% this year, a sharp downgrade from previously expected growth of 0.3% in the IMF's last forecast in October. All other G7 economies are predicted to grow this year, mostly at a stronger pace than the IMF forecast three months ago. Responding to the IMF report, Hunt said nearly all advanced economies were facing headwinds, and that past forecasts from a range of bodies including the IMF had proven too gloomy about Britain's prospects. Hunt is due to announce measures that he hopes will speed up growth in a budget statement on March 15.

☆ English health service sets out two-year recovery plan for emergency care
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Alistair Smout | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] People protest in front of the London Ambulance Service during a strike by ambulance workers due to a dispute with the government over pay, in London, Britain January 23, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoLONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - England's National Health Service (NHS) on Monday announced a two-year recovery plan to help restore emergency care and frontline services, currently struggling through one of their toughest winters. "Urgent and emergency care is facing serious challenges but we have an ambitious and credible plan to fix it," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. Sunak, in office for just three months, has said cutting hospital waiting times is one of his major priorities. To make matters worse, ambulance workers and nurses have been on strike over pay, staffing, and investment levels that frontline staff say leave them ill-equipped to cope with record demand.

☆ In UK lawsuit, Hollywood star Eva Green says making 'B movie' would ruin career
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Michael Holden | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] French actress Eva Green arrives at The Rolls Building courthouse in London, Britain, January 30, 2023. 'UNREASONABLE'In its written submissions, White Lantern's lawyers said Green, also an executive producer in the project, had made unreasonable demands about crew, locations and equipment. She also described funders for the movie as "arseholes" and some proposed crew members as "shitty peasants". "I wanted to make the most brilliant film possible," Green told the court, agreeing with White Lantern's lawyer Max Mallin that making a "B movie" could kill her career. I wanted to work with a high-quality crew who just wanted to be paid standard industry rates," Green told the court.

☆ British banking damaged by slow supervisors warns industry report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] People walk over the Millennium Bridge with the City of London financial district in the background, in London, Britain, January 13, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoLONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Britain's regulators can be slow, inefficient and unpredictable, raising costs and slowly damaging the financial sector's global competitiveness, industry body TheCityUK said in a report. Complex, opaque and slow authorisations, such as for a new chief executive or a new product, can discourage growth and investment, the report published on Thursday said. It said The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) were taking steps to speed up authorisations, but further action was needed. The Bank of England said it recognised the need to improve the timeliness of approving senior managers in particular and was taking steps in line with many of the recommendations.

☆ In pictures: Amazon faces first strike in Britain as workers walk out
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Jillian Kumagai | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

People hold up a banner during a rally in support of Amazon workers on strike, outside the Amazon warehouse, in Coventry, Britain, January 25, 2023. The walk-out is just the latest in Britain, which is facing its worst industrial unrest since...morePeople hold up a banner during a rally in support of Amazon workers on strike, outside the Amazon warehouse, in Coventry, Britain, January 25, 2023. The walk-out is just the latest in Britain, which is facing its worst industrial unrest since Margaret Thatcher was prime minister, with staff from key sectors, including nurses and ambulance workers as well as from the railways and the legal profession staging strikes in fights for better pay. REUTERS/Henry NichollsClose

[1/2] People walk along the South Bank with the Houses of Parliament in the distance, in London, Britain, January 17, 2023. Some hires need vetting by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England (BoE). Britain introduced the accountability rules in 2016 in response to public anger that so few individuals were punished over taxpayers having to bail out banks in the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Regulators sought to reassure that the rules would not be used to put "heads on sticks" and discourage people from taking on senior roles. Reporting by Iain Withers and Huw Jones, editing by Sinead Cruise and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Church of England apologises to LGBTQI+ people for 'shameful' treatment
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Muvija M | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Church of England refuses to allow same-sex marriagesLeader of the church: 'It's a long journey'LGBTQ+ campaign group says church not inclusive enoughLONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Church of England bishops apologised to LGBTQI+ people on Friday for the rejection and hostility they have faced, with the Archbishop of Canterbury acknowledging that the religious body was still "very divided" on the subject. The Church of England, central to one of the world's oldest Christian institutions, the Anglican communion, stood by its teaching that marriage is between "one man and one woman" in the proposals. A spokesperson for gay and transgender lobby group Stonewall said the Church of England had "once again" fallen short on being inclusive and supportive of LGBTQ+ Christians. The Church of England and the Anglican Communion are very divided," Welby told reporters on Friday, ahead of a meeting of the synod next month where the proposals will be deliberated further. But this is an enormously important point, not only within the Anglican Communion and the Church of England, but also across the global church," he added.

☆ UK inflation drops to 3-month low of 10.5% in December
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People carry shopping bags as they walk past Christmas themed shop displays on Regent Street in London, December 4, 2022. The drop in the headline rate of inflation from 10.7% in November was in line with economists' forecasts in a Reuters poll, and moves CPI further away from the 41-year high of 11.1% struck in October. "Food costs continue to spike with prices also rising in shops, cafes and restaurants," ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said. Core CPI - which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, and which some economists view as a better guide to underlying inflation trends - was unchanged at 6.3% in December. Finance minister Jeremy Hunt said after the figures were released that high inflation was a "nightmare for family budgets", hurt business investment and led to strike action.

☆ UK seeks stronger powers to stop disruptive protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( William James | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Climate activists from Extinction Rebellion take part in a demonstration at Oxford Circus in London, Britain, April 9, 2022. The government passed legislation to address this in 2022, but is planning to go further with a new set of laws known as the Public Order Bill. The government wants to amend the Public Order Bill before it becomes law to broaden the legal definition of 'serious disruption', give police more flexibility, and provide legal clarity on when the new powers could be used. The government says the new laws, if passed, will mean police can shut down disruptive protests pre-emptively. It builds on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, passed in April 2022, which sparked several large 'kill the bill' protests.

☆ Strikes in Britain set to intensify as teacher ballot results due
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( William James | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Rail workers that are members of the ASLEF union stand at a picket line outside Euston station while on strike, in London, Britain, January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoLONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Strikes disrupting swathes of the British economy look likely to intensify this week, with teachers ready to announce industrial action, according to the Sunday Times, and nurses warning their strikes could double in size next month. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government, which sets pay levels in the publicly-funded health and education services, is already dealing with strikes in rail and other industries as wages increases fall behind rapidly rising prices. Last week, a strike ballot by a different teachers' union fell short of the required turnout threshold. Transport minister Mark Harper told Sky News on Sunday that any decision to strike by teachers would be regrettable.

☆ Girl, 7, seriously hurt and others injured in shooting near London church
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Forensics officers work at the scene of a shooting, the attack reportedly happened during a funeral at St Aloysius Church, in London, Britain, January 14, 2023. REUTERS/Henry NichollsLONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - A seven-year-old girl was left with life-threatening injuries after she and five others, including another child, were hurt in a drive-by shooting on Saturday near a church in London where a funeral was taking place, British police said. Detectives said the girl had been taken to hospital and remained in a life-threatening condition after the shooting not far from Euston train station in north London. A 12-year-old girl was also among those injured and had been taken to hospital with a minor leg injury but later discharged. "The incident took place in the vicinity of a church where a funeral was taking place," a police statement said.

☆ Britain's satellite hopes undimmed by mission failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Spectators gather around a replica rocket at Cornwall Airport Newquay to watch the first ever UK launch of Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket from Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay, Britain, January 9, 2023. REUTERS/Henry NichollsLONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Britain's hopes of becoming a leading destination for the launch of small satellites remain intact despite the failure of the first mission, the country's business minister Grant Shapps said on Tuesday. Hours after the plan to launch nine satellites ended when Virgin Orbit's (VORB.O) rocket suffered an anomaly which prevented it from reaching orbit, Shapps said another attempt would follow. The rocket was successfully released over the Atlantic from a Boeing 747 that took off from Newquay airport in western England. For Virgin Orbit, part-owned by British billionaire Richard Branson, it is the second failure since its first launch in 2020.

☆ Western Europe's first satellite launch mission takes off
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/6] Technicians work on Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket, attached to the wing of Cosmic Girl, a Boeing 747-400 aircraft, ahead of UK's First launch, at Spaceport Cornwall at Newquay Airport in Newquay, Britain, January 8, 2023. REUTERS/Henry NichollsSummarySummary Companies Converted Boeing 747 takes off from Newquay, CornwallRocket will be deployed over the Atlantic in next hour'Start Me Up' mission will deploy nine small satellitesNEWQUAY, England, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Virgin Orbit's "Cosmic Girl" carrier aircraft took off from Newquay's spaceport in Cornwall, southwest England on Monday night, the initial stage of Western Europe's first ever satellite launch. More than 2,000 space fans cheered when the aircraft left the runway. The "horizontal" launch has catapulted the resort in southwest England - population 20,000 and famous for its reliable Atlantic waves - into the limelight as Western Europe's go-to destination for small satellites. ($1 = 0.8213 pounds)Additional reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Nick Macfie and Sandra Maler, Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ English resort counts down to western Europe's first satellite launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Henry Nicholls | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Henry NichollsNEWQUAY, England, Jan 9 (Reuters) - An English surfing resort was counting down to the first launch of orbital satellites into space from western Europe on Monday, when Virgin Orbit's mission will transform the Cornish town of Newquay into the country's first spaceport. The "horizontal" launch will catapult the resort in southwest England, population 20,000 and famous for its reliable waves rolling off the Atlantic, into the limelight as western Europe's go-to destination for small satellites. The European Space Agency's (ESA) Ariane 6 rocket, designed to carry large satellites, has also had delays. "Assuming that everything continues to look good we're currently tracking well for launch," a Virgin Orbit spokeswoman said on Sunday. The LEO sector is growing rapidly, spurred by satellite broadband companies such as Elon Musk's Starlink, Amazon and London-headquartered OneWeb.

☆ Virgin Orbit counts down to first space launch ever from UK soil
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Virgin Orbit is about to conduct the first ever space launch from the United Kingdom. It will also mark the first launch of commercial satellites from western Europe, and the first international launch for Virgin Orbit. Dan Hart, chief executive of Virgin Orbit, described the UK mission as a “historic endeavor.”“This launch represents the opening of a new era in the British space industry and new partnerships across industry, government, and allies,” he said in a statement released Friday. The mission, named “Start Me Up” after the Rolling Stones’ 1981 song, is a joint venture between Virgin Orbit, the UK Space Agency, Cornwall’s local government and the UK’s Royal Air Force. The country’s £16.5 billion ($20 billion) space industry directly supported about 47,000 jobs between 2019 and 2020, according to the latest available government figures.

☆ UK PM Rishi Sunak to propose compulsory math for students up to 18
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Britain's new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks outside Number 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 25, 2022. Henry Nicholls | Reuterswatch nowSunak's education proposals would only affect pupils in England. Education is a devolved issue, with Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish authorities managing their own systems. The prime minister is expected to say in his Wednesday speech that the issue of mandatory math is "personal" for him. This would leave the future of the policy uncertain, if Sunak's Conservative Party loses the next general election slated for 2024.

☆ Extinction Rebellion UK to halt disruptive protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Activists from the Extinction Rebellion drape a banner across Marble Arch as part of a protest in central London, Britain, April 16, 2022. The grassroots group's protests have previously included closing key roads and bridges in central London, blockading oil refineries, smashing windows at Barclays bank headquarters and spraying fake blood over the finance ministry building. In a statement entitled "We quit", Extinction Rebellion UK said that in the four years it has been taking direct action, very little had changed, with emissions continuing to rise. "As we ring in the new year, we make a controversial resolution to temporarily shift away from public disruption as a primary tactic," the group said. Extinction Rebellion said it planned to surround the Houses of Parliament from April 21 with 100,000 people.

☆ The Year in Pictures 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +57 min

Every year, starting in early fall, photo editors at The New York Times begin sifting through the year’s work in an effort to pick out the most startling, most moving, most memorable pictures. But 2022 undoubtedly belongs to the war in Ukraine, a conflict now settling into a worryingly predictable rhythm. Erin Schaff/The New York Times “When you’re standing on the ground, you can’t visualize the scope of the destruction. Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 25. We see the same images over and over, and it’s really hard to make anything different.” Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 26.

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