England

LONDON, Dec 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Passengers at UK airports on Friday faced long delays as Border Force officers walked out in the latest of a string of strikes by public sector workers over pay.

The action follows stoppages this week by nurses and ambulance workers, angered by the government’s refusal to increase pay following years of wage stagnation and a cost of living crisis that has seen inflation running at nearly 11 percent.

LONDON, Dec 24 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced criticism on Saturday for seeming out of touch with ordinary people when he asked a homeless man at a charity whether he "worked in business" and wanted to get into the finance industry.

Sunak, a former Goldman Sachs banker and one of Britain's wealthiest people, was serving breakfast at a homeless shelter in London on Friday, when he began chatting with a man who identified himself as Dean.

LONDON, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- With the year-end holidays just around the corner, the pre-Christmas shopping frenzy is quieter than usual across Europe, as the soaring prices of energy and food have taken a heavy toll on consumer confidence, disrupting people's spending plans.

"It affects us a lot, the Christmas dinners, the gifts, their number and cost. This year we are particularly careful about all of these," Sedjkin, a United Kingdom (UK) resident, told Xinhua.

LONDON (AP) — Air travelers faced possible delays at U.K. airports Friday as government employees who check passports went on strike in the latest of a spate of walkouts over pay amid a cost-of-living crisis.

France braced for similar Christmas travel disruption, with a weekend rail strike starting to bite on Friday.

The strike by Border Force staff was due to continue through the end of the year, with the exception of next Tuesday.

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of ambulance workers in Britain began a one-day strike on Wednesday, with unions and the government swapping accusations of blame for putting lives at risk.

The government advised people not to play contact sports, take unnecessary car trips or get drunk in order to reduce their risk of needing an ambulance, as paramedics, call-handlers and technicians across England and Wales staged their biggest walkout in three decades.

LONDON, December 19. /TASS/: The US fears that Russia and China could exchange strategies that seek to undermine NATO unity, US permanent representative to the alliance, Julianne Smith, said on Tuesday.

"They [Russia and China] are increasingly using common tools that should be of concern to NATO, the Financial Times quoted Smith as saying.

The US diplomat said she believes that Moscow and Beijing are "exchanging hybrid tactics", which creates such factors as risks to energy supplies and cybersecurity problems."

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s plan to send asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda is legal, two High Court judges ruled Monday in a victory for the government’s controversial policy.

But the judges also said the government failed to consider the individual circumstances of the people it has tried to deport, signaling further legal battles ahead before anyone is put on a plane to East Africa.

A court hearing in the case is set for next month, and appeals are likely.

LONDON (AP) — The European Union on Monday accused Facebook parent Meta of breaching antitrust rules by distorting competition in the online classified ads business, the bloc’s latest maneuver to curb the power of Big Tech companies.

In its complaint following an investigation launched last year, the EU’s executive commission took issue with the tech company tying its online classified ad business, Facebook Marketplace, to Facebook. It’s also concerned that Meta imposes unfair trading conditions on rivals “for its own benefit.”

Meta disputed the allegations.

LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The British government is "resolute" it will not budge on nurses' pay, senior minister Oliver Dowden said on Sunday, ahead of a planned second nationwide walkout by the profession over an average pay offer of 4% while inflation runs at more than 10%.

An estimated 10,000 nurses in the state-funded National Health Service in England, Wales and Northern Ireland plan to walk out again on Tuesday after staging strikes on Thursday in protest over the pay increase they have been offered.

LONDON (AP) — Leo Varadkar returned for a second term as Ireland’s prime minister on Saturday as part of a job-sharing deal made by the country’s centrist coalition government.

Lawmakers voted to approve Varadkar’s nomination to replace Micheál Martin during a special session of the Dail, the lower house of Ireland’s parliament. His appointment was confirmed when he received the seal of office from President Michael D. Higgins, Ireland’s head of state.