United Kingdom

LONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Ramzan Kadyrov, head of Russia's region of Chechnya, said on Saturday that Moscow should consider using a low-yield nuclear weapon in Ukraine after a major new defeat on the battlefield.

As Russia confirmed the loss of its stronghold of Lyman in eastern Ukraine, Kadyrov slammed top commanders for their failings and wrote on Telegram: "In my personal opinion, more drastic measures should be taken, right up to the declaration of martial law in the border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons".

LONDON (AP) — Like many small business owners in Britain, Harry Niazi hoped for government help to keep his south London fish and chip shop going in the face of rocketing energy bills and soaring inflation.

But an economic stimulus plan announced last week by Prime Minister Liz Truss’ new government brought no relief — far from it.

LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour party has surged to a 33-point lead over the ruling Conservatives, according to a YouGov poll on Thursday, after days of chaos in financial markets triggered by the government's planned tax cuts.

The lead was a record high share for Labour in any YouGov poll as well as the highest figure the party has ever recorded in any published survey since the late 1990s, YouGov said.

LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The Bank of England stepped into Britain's bond market to stem a market rout, pledging to buy around 65 billion pounds ($69 billion) of long-dated gilts after the new government's tax cut plans triggered the biggest sell-off in decades.

Citing potential risks to the stability of the financial system, the BoE also delayed on Wednesday the start of a programme to sell down its 838 billion pounds ($891 billion) of government bond holdings, which had been due to begin next week.

LONDON (AP) — New British Prime Minister Liz Truss came under growing pressure Wednesday from opponents — and inside her Conservative Party — to reverse announced tax cuts that are fueling a financial crisis in an already struggling economy.

The Bank of England stepped in to buy up government bonds in an attempt to stabilize the cost of borrowing after the government said last week that it would slash income tax and scrap a planned corporation tax hike, all while spending billions to cap soaring energy bills for homes and businesses.

LIVERPOOL, England, Sept 27 (Reuters) - An opposition Labour lawmaker was suspended from the party on Tuesday after being accused of making racist comments about British finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng, with a party spokesperson saying it would call on her to apologise.

Rupa Huq, a lawmaker who represents an area of west London, was accused of racism by Conservatives after the Guido Fawkes website published a recording of her saying about Britain's first Black finance minister that "superficially he is a black man".

LONDON/ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine, Sept 27 (Reuters) - An ally of President Vladimir Putin issued a stark new nuclear warning to Ukraine and the West on Tuesday as Russia began releasing results of referendums it bills as a prelude to it annexing four Ukrainian regions.

Moscow's latest broadside came as European countries rushed to investigate unexplained, major leaks in two Russian natural gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea that posed risks of explosions and the sinking of any ships that enter the area.

LONDON (AP) — TikTok could face a 27 million-pound ($29 million) fine in the U.K. over a possible breach of U.K. data protection law by failing to protect children’s privacy when they are using the video-sharing platform.

The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office said Monday that it has issued the social media company a legal document that precedes a potential fine. It said TikTok may have processed the data of children under 13 without appropriate parental consent, and processed “special category data” without legal grounds to do so.

LONDON, Sep 25 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said that United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres had assured that they would be soon arranging a donors’ conference for the rehabilitation of the flood affected people of Pakistan. 

 The prime minister chaired a meeting via videolink to review relief and rehabilitation activities in the flood hit areas of the country.  

The meeting was attended by federal ministers and the relevant authorities, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release. 

LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Liz Truss said allies should stand firm on Ukraine and ignore Russian President Vladimir Putin's "sabre-rattling".

Truss, who met U.S. President Joe Biden and France's Emmanuel Macron on her first foreign trip as prime minister to New York last week, in an interview with CNN called on like-minded democracies to be firm against "autocratic regimes".