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☆ Zelensky Becomes First Foreign Leader to Visit U.K. Cabinet Since Clinton
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Stephen Castle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky became the first foreign leader to attend Britain’s cabinet meeting in person since former U.S. president Bill Clinton in 1997, in a public display of Britain’s staunch support for Ukraine as doubts grow about future U.S. military aid if Donald J. Trump wins a second presidential term. Mr. Zelensky briefed the British government’s top ministers on Friday on his country’s military conflict with Russia, while discussing moves to prevent oil tankers from breaching international sanctions against Moscow. The Ukrainian president, who was greeted with a standing ovation, was the first foreign leader to be invited into Downing Street by Keir Starmer, the new British prime minister, following his general election victory earlier this month. The two leaders also discussed a new defense export support treaty designed to boost production of military hardware and weaponry in both countries. Mr. Zelensky’s visit to Downing Street followed his attendance on Thursday at a summit of more than 45 European leaders at Blenheim Palace, near Oxford, where Ukraine was high on the agenda, and where he won renewed pledges of support for his battle against the forces of Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Bill Clinton, Donald J, Zelensky, Keir Starmer, Zelensky’s, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Trump, British, Moscow, Downing Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Blenheim, Oxford

☆ Britain Approves Lab-Grown Meat for Pet Food
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Amelia Nierenberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Britain has approved the sale of lab-grown meat for pet food, becoming the first European nation to give its blessing to a process that has prompted opposition in other countries. The landmark approval went to Meatly, a British company that grows meat from chicken cells for pet food. Its product, which will begin feeding trials in August, arrives at a time when the worldwide market for pet food is expected to grow 5 percent this year to $151 billion, according to the research firm Statista. And it is more sustainable and kinder to animals, said Owen Ensor, the chief executive of Meatly. “It allows you to still feed the meat that your pets crave and that you want to feed your pet — while providing all the nutrients that your pet needs,” said Mr. Ensor, who added that he had fed the product to his cats, Lamu and Zanzi.

Persons: Britain’s, Owen Ensor, ”, Ensor Locations: Britain, British

☆ Britain Needs to Move Faster on Climate, Monitoring Group Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Stanley Reed | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An influential government body gave what amounts to strong support Thursday to one of the main planks of the new British government’s plans to revitalize the economy: a crash program to accelerate efforts for dealing with climate change. Britain is legally required to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. “The new government will have to act fast to hit the country’s commitments,” the committee said. Speeding up the building of wind farms and solar farms is precisely what the new government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants to do. Mr. Starmer is betting that tackling climate change will not only help protect the environment but stimulate what has been a stagnant British economy.

Persons: Keir Starmer, Starmer Locations: Britain

☆ Why Is the U.S. Pretending to Know Gender-Affirming Care Works? - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Pamela Paul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Imagine a comprehensive review of research on a treatment for children found “remarkably weak evidence” that it was effective. Now imagine the medical establishment shrugged off the conclusions and continued providing the same unproven and life-altering treatment to its young patients. It’s been three months since the release of the Cass Review, an independent assessment of gender treatment for youths commissioned by England’s National Health Service. Nor, she said, is there clear evidence that transitioning kids decreases the likelihood that gender dysphoric youths will turn to suicide, as adherents of gender-affirming care claim. Scandinavian countries have been moving away from the gender-affirming model for the past few years.

Persons: It’s, Dr, Hilary Cass, person’s, ”, ” Cass, Reem Alsalem Organizations: Cass, England’s National Health Service, Cass Review, United Nations Locations: United States, Germany, France, Switzerland, Scotland, Netherlands, Belgium

☆ Britain Has Huge Clean Energy Ambitions, but Are They Realistic?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Stanley Reed | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There may be no better place to see evidence of Britain’s shift to cleaner energy than a sleek industrial complex on the Humber estuary outside Hull, a faded port city. On a July morning, workers in a brightly lit building were preparing molds for fiberglass wind turbine blades longer than football fields. Outside on the docks, squat six-wheeled vehicles gingerly maneuvered a blade weighing 50 metric tons for loading onto a ship that would take it to Scotland for installation. The factory, which is operated by Siemens Gamesa, a unit of the German company Siemens Energy, began producing the massive blades in 2016. The factory is a case study for how the new British government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose Labour Party delivered a decisive election victory last week, hopes to use investment in clean energy to bolster stagnant economic growth.

Persons: Keir Starmer Organizations: Siemens Gamesa, Siemens Energy, British, Labour Party Locations: Humber, Hull, Scotland

☆ Opinion | One Way to Make Russia Pay for Ukraine? Take Its Money.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

How far will nations go today in using economic sanctions to punish their enemies? I’m interested in the case of, once again, Russia. It appears that the United States is willing to hit Russia over its invasion of Ukraine a lot harder than the Europeans are. This week I interviewed Wally Adeyemo, the deputy Treasury secretary, who is the department’s point person on economic sanctions. Adeyemo, who immigrated from Nigeria as a child with his family, has a law degree from Yale and a broad remit that includes national security as well as economic inequality.

Persons: Nicholas Mulder, I’m, Wally Adeyemo Organizations: Cornell, Yale Locations: British, Russia, United States, Ukraine, Nigeria

☆ Britain's Stonehenge sprayed with paint by environmental protesters
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Tourists visit the Stone Age monument Stonehenge. The Stonehenge stone circle, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986, is one of the most famous landmarks in Great Britain. Environmental protesters sprayed paint on Britain's Stonehenge on Wednesday, with footage online showing orange marks covering some of the stones of the world-famous prehistoric megalithic structure. In video released by environmental group Just Stop Oil, two protesters were seen running towards two of Stonehenge's megaliths and spraying paint as another person attempted to stop them. The monument in southern England is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Britain's most visited tourist spots.

Persons: Gogh Organizations: UNESCO, Heritage Locations: Great Britain, England, Britain

☆ Inside Europe's tech hubs: Does London have what it takes to remain No. 1?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +32 min

But it will remain a big, big trend. How has if at all, Brexit, affected the U.K. tech scene? Arjun KharpalAre there other challenges at the moment, as you see them to the U.K. tech landscape? I'm gonna go with the amount of VC funding in U.K. tech startups for 2025. Sanjot MalhiI would say that is the amount of funding in U.K. AI startups.

Persons: Tom Chitty, Arjun, we'll, Arjun Kharpal, I've, Sanjot, He's, It's, Tom Chitty I've, we've, it's, Arjun Kharpal Sanjot, fintech, we're, you've, let's, Tom Chitty We're, Franklin Templeton, they're, Masa, Softbank, that's, Arjun Kharpal Sanjay, Emmanuel, Macron, hasn't, who's, Emmanuel Macron, I'm, Sanjot Malhi, Arjun Kharpal That's, Kharpal, Tom Chitty Sanjot Organizations: HSBC Innovation Banking, CNBC, Northzone, Hague Cricket Club, European Union, Competition, Markets Authority, London Stock Exchange, London, Masa, Viva Tech, Mistral, Nvidia Locations: Europe, Dealroom, France, China, London, beyondthevalley@cnbc.com, Netherlands, India, The Hague, Germany, Sweden, North America, Asia, San Francisco, Beijing, Tel Aviv, Bangalore, U.S, British, doesn't, Ukraine, IPOs

☆ Kenya confronts trail of rape accusations and abandoned children against UK soldiers
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Larry Madowo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Marian is among a group of mixed-race children whose mothers say they were conceived after rape by British soldiers training in Kenya. Mixed-race children continue to be born in the remote villages where the British Army trains its soldiers in Kenya. One of the more contentious accusations against British soldiers involves the case of Agnes Wanjiru. Allegations of rape and other crimes, including murder, by British soldiers deployed there date back to the 1950s. The UK investigators did not conduct DNA tests on any of the 69 mixed-race children alleged to have been born from rape by British soldiers.

Persons: Marian Pannalossy, “, ”, You’re, ’ ” Marian, Marian, Lydia Juma, ” Juma, ’ Marian, ’, Generica, Nicole, Namoru, Festo Lang, CNN Juma, BATUK, Agnes Wanjiru, hasn’t, Wanjiru’s, King, Marian Mutugi, Martyn Day, Ntoyie Lenkanan, CNN “, Saitet, nosedived, Kelvin Kubai, ” Kubai, Generica Namoru, “ I’m, It’s, “ It’s, We’re, ” Mutugi Organizations: Kenya CNN, CNN, British Army, British Army Training Unit, Defense, Intelligence, Foreign Relations, National, British, Kenyan, British High Commission, The Defense, Kenya National Commission, Human Rights, Britain’s Ministry of Defense, Royal Military Police, Reconciliation, Human Rights Commission Locations: Archer’s, Kenya, Archer’s Post, Nairobi, British, Samburu, Nanyuki, Britain, East, Laikipia, London, DolDol

☆ Analysis: Hamas gambled on the suffering of civilians in Gaza. Netanyahu played right into it
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Nic Robertson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

He appeared to justify the deaths of Palestinian civilians as a “necessary sacrifice” according to the messages. In recent weeks, Ireland, Spain, Norway and Portugal, all frustrated Netanyahu won’t agree a peace deal, have formally recognized Palestinian statehood. The war Sinwar started has taken Palestinian suffering to the next level – and Netanyahu has played right into it. Sinwar’s power amid the war seems to be becoming part of the perceived wisdom about Gaza and the war. And if past experience is any measure, he will likely gamble that he can play mind games better than Netanyahu.

Persons: CNN — Yahya Sinwar, –, Benjamin Netanyahu, Sinwar, Israel, Netanyahu, hasn’t, they’d, they’ve, Biden, Netanyahu won’t, belligerence, Antony Blinken, “, Sinn Fein Organizations: CNN, Israel, Wall Street, ICC, Hamas, Democratic, Northern Locations: Israel, United States, Europe, Gaza, Palestinian, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Spain, Norway, Portugal, Rafah, Doha, Iran, Turkey

☆ Germany outlines wartime plans: Mandatory conscription and subway stations as bunkers
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-09 | by ( Sophie Tanno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Conscription, rationing, and subway stations turned into bunkers. For the first time since the Cold War, Germany has updated its plans should conflict erupt in Europe, with ministers citing the threat posed by Russia. It also outlines civil protection measures including transforming underground stations into makeshift bunkers and preparing hospitals for an influx of patients. Unveiling the plans, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said it was necessary for her country to arm itself better in the face of Russian aggression. ‘Ready for war by 2029’Germany’s updated wartime plans come as Russian President Vladimir Putin presents an ongoing security threat to Europe.

Persons: Nancy Faeser, ”, “, Vladimir Putin, Pistorius, Der Spiegel, ” Pistorius, Putin, Ben Wallace Organizations: CNN, Overall Defense, German, NATO, Deutsche Welle, UK, Wednesday Locations: Germany, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, –, Baltic, Britain, Moscow

☆ Opinion: How the era of the counterspy changed history
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-08 | by ( Opinion Tim Naftali | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

First of all, their main job was to get false information to Adolf Hitler — rather than to steal Nazi secrets. And, secondly, some of these spies didn’t actually exist — they were completely made-up creations of British intelligence. But World War II would see a dramatic expansion of the offensive use of counterspies — not simply to prevent the enemy from knowing things but to actively deceive the enemy by planting disinformation. I also met the man who came up with the D-Day deception, Roger Fleetwood Hesketh, who was a trained architect. He told me that for the D-Day deception, codenamed Fortitude South, he had drawn on different talents.

Persons: Tim Naftali, Adolf Hitler —, didn’t, Counterespionage, —, Juan Pujol García, Garbo, Greta Garbo, ” —, Juan Pujol Garcia, Keith Waldegrave, ANL, ”, George Patton, Hitler, ” Hitler, Roger Fleetwood Hesketh, Alan Turing, counterspies, Anthony Blunt, Kim Philby, ’, Oleg Gordievsky, counterespionage, Robert Hanssen, Aldrich Ames, Hanssen, Ames, Mikhail Gorbachev Organizations: CNN, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, Tim Naftali New York University, Allied, Nazi, Army, Pas des Calais, Facebook, Strategic Services, German Wehrmacht, US National Archives, British, Soviets, US, Soviet Union, USSR Locations: France, Pas des, Pas des Calais —, Belgium, British, Berlin, Spanish, United Kingdom, Britain, Buckingham, Calais, Normandy, Tokyo, German, England, Liverpool, Europe, counterespionage, USSR, London, Washington, America, Soviet, Soviet Union

☆ British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch acquitted in fraud trial over Hewlett-Packard deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Representatives for Lynch and US prosecutors said Lynch was acquitted on all 15 charges — one count of conspiracy and 14 counts of wire fraud. Former Autonomy finance executive Stephen Chamberlain, who faced the same charges at trial alongside Lynch, was also acquitted on all counts, the Lynch representative said. On the stand, the entrepreneur said he had been focused on tech issues, and entrusted money matters and the accounting decisions at issue to Sushovan Hussain, Autonomy’s then-chief financial officer. Hussain was separately convicted in 2018 at a trial in the same court on charges related to the deal with HP. HP largely won a civil lawsuit against Lynch and Hussain in London in 2022, though damages have not yet been decided.

Persons: Mike Lynch, Lynch, Stephen Chamberlain, Chamberlain schemed, “, ” Lynch, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, ” Abraham Simmons, ”, Leo Apotheker, Prosecutors, Chamberlain, Sushovan Hussain, Autonomy’s, Hussain Organizations: Hewlett, Packard, Autonomy, HP, United States, Cambridge University Locations: San Francisco, ” Cambridge, British, London

☆ British tech pioneer Mike Lynch acquitted at U.S. fraud trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Mike Lynch, former chief executive officer of Autonomy, arrives at federal court in San Francisco, California, US, on Monday, March 18, 2024. Representatives for Lynch and U.S. prosecutors said Lynch was acquitted on all 15 charges — one count of conspiracy, and 14 counts of wire fraud, each connected to specific transactions or communications. Former Autonomy finance executive Stephen Chamberlain, who faced the same charges at trial alongside Lynch, was also acquitted on all counts, the Lynch representative said. The trial where prosecutors said Lynch and Chamberlain schemed to inflate Autonomy's revenue was the latest chapter in a legal saga stemming from the failed deal. Lynch was one of the UK's leading tech entrepreneurs, drawing comparisons to Apple cofounder Steve Jobs and Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates.

Persons: Mike Lynch, Lynch, Stephen Chamberlain, Chamberlain schemed, Leo Apotheker, Prosecutors, Chamberlain, Sushovan Hussain, Autonomy's, Hussain, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates Organizations: Autonomy, Hewlett, Packard, Former Autonomy, HP, Cambridge University, Cambridge Locations: San Francisco , California, San Francisco, U.S, British, London

☆ I'm a British mom living in the US. In the UK kids get a shorter summer break and have mandatory uniforms.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Jane Ridley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It's difficult to compare public school systems forensically because of the countries' vastly different populations and government infrastructures. However, feedback from my British friends has convinced me that the setup in the UK is more user-friendly for kids and parents. Kids in the UK start school as young as 4By law, children in the UK enter the publicly-funded British school system as young as 4. Kids wear uniformMost government-run schools in the UK require students to wear a school uniform. The protocols contrast those in the US, where most public school kids can wear what they want to class — albeit within reason.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, Business, Navy Locations: PISA, New York, Britain, Lululemon

☆ Beijing Claims U.K. Recruited Chinese State Officials as Spies
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Daisuke Wakabayashi | Claire Fu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

China’s top security ministry accused Britain’s MI6 intelligence agency on Monday of persuading a married couple working for unnamed central Chinese government bodies to become spies for the British government, the latest in a volley of continuing espionage accusations between the two countries. The Chinese ministry said MI6 trained Mr. Wang to become a spy and ordered him to return to China to gather intelligence. It said that his wife, who has the surname Zhou, also agreed to spy for Britain. China said the matter was under further investigation, but it is not clear whether the couple are being detained by the Chinese authorities. This is the latest in a series of back-and-forth espionage accusations between Beijing and London, a source of escalating tension between the two countries.

Persons: Wang, Zhou Organizations: China’s Ministry of State Security Locations: British, Britain, China, Beijing, London

☆ China says Britain's MI6 turned two Chinese government staff to spies
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

A Chinese flag in Pudong's Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai, China, on Sept. 18, 2023. China has alleged that the British Secret Intelligence Service MI6 turned two staff members of unnamed Chinese central state organs into spies for the British government, its State Security Ministry said in a statement on Monday. The ministry said the case against the two spies, a married couple, is under further investigation. In January, China revealed an espionage case in which it said MI6 used a foreigner in China to collect secrets and information. Britain in April charged two people with providing prejudicial information to China and last month charged three people with assisting Hong Kong's foreign intelligence service in Britain.

Persons: Hong Organizations: British Secret Intelligence Service, State Security Ministry Locations: Lujiazui, Shanghai, China, Britain

☆ China claims married couple working for government spied for UK’s MI6
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-02 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —China on Monday accused Britain of recruiting a married couple employed by the Chinese central government to spy for its MI6 intelligence service, as the two countries trade allegations of espionage. Those charges in the United Kingdom came after China’s MSS said in January it had detained the head of a foreign consultancy who had allegedly spied for MI6. Under Xi Jinping, China’s most authoritarian leader in decades, the country’s notoriously secretive spy agency has drastically raised its public profile and broadened its remit. In its latest statement Monday, the MSS detailed its allegations against the married couple. According to the MSS, foreign spies are omnipresent and infiltrating everything – from mapping apps to weather stations.

Persons: Hong, Xi, Wang, “, –, Zhou, ” Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Ministry of State Security, Conservative Party, China’s, ”, CNN, Britain’s Foreign, Secret Intelligence Service, CIA Locations: Hong Kong, China, British, United Kingdom, Britain

☆ Britain cuts stake in NatWest via £1.24 billion share sale
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A NatWest Group Plc bank branch in the City of London, UK, on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. The British government has sold 1.24 billion pounds ($1.58 billion) worth of shares in NatWest Group back to the lender, it said on Friday, decreasing its stake to about 22.5% from nearly 26% previously. The London-listed bank bought back 392.4 million shares from the government in an off-market purchase at 316.2 pence a share, as part of its existing contract with the state. The heavily anticipated stock sale is a key milestone in the bank's full privatization. The settlement of the off-market purchase will occur on June 4, the government said in a statement.

Organizations: NatWest Group, City of, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland Locations: City, City of London, London

☆ Overlooked No More: Hansa Mehta, Who Fought for Women’s Equality in India and Beyond
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Radha Vatsal | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

This article is part of Overlooked, a series of obituaries about remarkable people whose deaths, beginning in 1851, went unreported in The Times. Human rights has long been considered a Western concept, but recent scholarship has been uncovering the influence of women from the global south. Mehta stood up against the British government during India’s struggle for independence. She campaigned for women’s social and political equality and their right to an education. And she fought for her ideals during the framing of the constitution for a newly independent India.

Persons: Hansa Mehta, Mehta Organizations: Times Locations: British, India

☆ Opinion: Alito’s second red flag
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-26 | by ( Kirsi Goldynia | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

This is not the first time Alito has found himself in hot water over displaying a controversial flag on his property. The upside-down flag, a signal of distress, was adopted by Trump supporters who believed the false claim that the election had been stolen. (Alito said his wife had raised the upside-down flag in response to a disagreement with a neighbor. The discovery also comes at a time when the Supreme Court will be making a decision about Trump’s claims of sweeping presidential immunity, his get-out-of-jail-free card for the federal cases he faces. “The notion that the Supreme Court can be trusted to be an arbiter above partisan politics has suffered major blows in recent years.

Persons: ”, Scott Peck, Samuel Alito, “, Alito, Joe Biden’s, Trump, Julian Zelizer, Walt Handelsman, Michael J, Broyde, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Donald Trump, ‘, ’, ” Nikki Haley’s, Nikki Haley’s, Nikki Haley, Haley, Nancy Pelosi, She’s, Joe Biden ‘, I’ve, ” Clay Jones, Drew Sheneman, Judge Juan Merchan, Robert Costello, Michael Cohen, Norm Eisen, Costello, ’ Merchan, cautioning, …, Eisen, Sunak, Rishi Sunak, Henry Nicholls, Holly Thomas, Sunak —, Thomas, Joel Pett, Adolf Hitler, Ruth Ben, Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Said Ben, Anna Sauerbrey, Sauerbrey, Biden, America —, Richard Curtis ’, Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, Laura Beers, it’s, —, Ebrahim Raisi, Frida Ghitis, Ali Khamenei, Peter Kuper, Cagle, “ I’m, What’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al, Masri, Ismail Haniyeh, Peter Bergen, ” Netanyahu, Israel’s, Netanyahu, Kerri Kennedy, Biden “, Israel, ” Don’t, Agency Carrie Sheffield, Noah Berlatsky, Singleton, Biden’s Morehouse, Jill Filipovic, Diddy, Cassie Ventura, Catherine Tan, Shanahan, Brian Castrucci, Frank Luntz, Mark Zandi, Trump Will Cathcart, Joyce M, Davis, Bill Maher, Jimmy Kimmel, Randy Holmes, Bill, ” Nicole Hemmer, Said Will, Maher, Hemmer, ” “ Maher, It’s Organizations: CNN, New York Times, Agency, Trump, South Carolina Gov, Republican, NHS, Labour, Tory, Social, Italiana, European Union, ”, Islamic, Education, Workforce, Harvard, University of California, Columbia University, Columbia, Criminal Court, ICC, Israeli, International Court of Justice, United Nations Security, American Friends Service Committee, RFK, Disney, Entertainment, Democrats Locations: Alito’s Virginia, New Zealand, AFP, ”, England, Trump’s America, America, Italian, Germany, Poland, France, Berlin, Hill, American, British, London, Notting Hill, Iran, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic, University of California Los Angeles, Gaza, United Kingdom, Rafah, Georgia’s, Moscow, Africa

☆ Alderney was once the site of Nazi atrocities. A new inquiry reveals truths of this quiet British island
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-25 | by ( Sophie Tanno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Alderney, a quiet British island in the English Channel known for its outstanding natural beauty, was once the site of the only Nazi camps on British soil – and a hell on Earth for its thousands of inmates. Stretching for three square miles, the island was occupied by the Nazis for most of World War II. According to Pickles, the lack of records has led to unsubstantiated claims being made about Alderney and the war crimes that took place there. “Prisoners were treated appallingly, and life was cheap, but Alderney did not house a ‘mini-Auschwitz’; there was no extermination centre on the island,” Pickles said. Pickles, meanwhile, said the fact that the perpetrators never faced British justice is a “stain on the reputations of successive British governments.”

Persons: Eric Pickles, ”, –, Carl Court, Pickles, ” Pickles, “, Anthony Glees, Glees Organizations: CNN, Nazi, Soviet Union, Research, United Nations, ’, USSR, Glee Locations: Alderney, Britain, Jersey, Guernsey, British, Europe, Eastern Europe, Soviet, Soviet Union, USSR

☆ Opinion: Rishi Sunak’s election looks like a final gasp
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Opinion Holly Thomas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

For those outside the Westminster bubble, the announcement felt less like a starting pistol than a final gasp. But unlike Sunak, who with his wife Akshata Murty is worth an estimated £651 million ($828 million), most of us can’t afford it. The British economy never fully recovered from the 2008 recession and, consciously or not, most people still feel the sting every day. As Sam Knight recently noted in the New Yorker, the average British worker is estimated to be £14,000 ($17,800) worse off per year now than they would be if earnings had risen at pre-crisis rates. Her disastrous mini-budget wiped £30 billion off the UK economy that autumn, according to independent think tank Resolution Foundation, and sent interest rates rocketing.

Persons: Holly Thomas, Katie Couric, Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, Tony Blair, Akshata Murty, Sam Knight, Brexit, Liz Truss, It’s, there’s, —, Boris Johnson, Johnson, who’d, that’s, Blair Organizations: Katie Couric Media, CNN, London CNN —, Conservative, Westminster, Labour, British Medical Association, BMA, Commission, Yorker, Evening, Office, National Statistics, Tory, Foundation Locations: London, Westminster, England, British, Europe, Rwanda

☆ Nigel Farage to Skip U.K. Election So He Can Focus on Helping Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Mark Landler | More About Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Nigel Farage, the broadcaster and populist politician who championed Brexit, said on Thursday that he would not run for a seat in the British Parliament in a general election on July 4, preferring to focus on helping former President Donald J. Trump recapture the White House in November. Mr. Farage’s announcement is likely to be a modest relief for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Conservative Party, since Mr. Farage’s current party, Reform UK, is viewed as a significant threat to the Conservatives from the right. But Mr. Farage said he would “do my bit” to help Reform, which plans to field a slate of candidates in the election, running on an anti-immigration message. “Important though the general election is,” Mr. Farage posted on social media, “the contest in the United States of America on Nov. 5 has huge global significance. Mr. Trump once suggested that the British government appoint Mr. Farage as ambassador to Washington.

Persons: Nigel Farage, Brexit, Donald J, Trump, Rishi Sunak, Farage, ” Mr, Mr Organizations: House, Mr, Conservative Party, Reform, Conservatives Locations: United States, America, U.S.A, British, Palm Beach, Mar, Washington

☆ Matthew Trickett: British man accused of spying for Hong Kong’s intelligence services found dead in park
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Sharon Braithwaite | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —A man charged by British police for allegedly spying for Hong Kong’s intelligence services, has been found dead in a park outside of London. Trickett had appeared alongside two other suspects at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on May 13, charged with national security offences. “Trickett was on court bail, awaiting court proceedings, which required him to register at a police station regularly,” the police said. Relations between Hong Kong and its former colonial ruler Britain have soured in recent years following mass pro-democracy protests in the Chinese city in 2019 and 2020. The British government has criticized Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed crackdown on almost all opposition in the years following the protests, while Hong Kong authorities have bristled at Britain providing a safe haven for pro-democracy leaders sought by the Hong Kong police.

Persons: Hong, Matthew Trickett, Trickett, “ Trickett, Trickett’s, John Lee, Hong Kong’s, Louisa Cieciora, Lee, Lucas Lilieholm, Chris Lau, Jerome Taylor Organizations: London CNN, British, London . Police, Thames, ’, The Times, Embassy, Hong, Hong Kong, Police, Hong Kong Economic, Trade Office, Economic, Trade Locations: London, Maidenhead , Berkshire, Sunday, Westminster, Hong Kong, Britain, Hong Kong’s Beijing

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