United Kingdom

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s economy showed unexpectedly strong growth in May, with the three major components of production— manufacturing, construction and services — all posting gains.

The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that gross domestic product expanded 0.5% in the month, compared with economic forecasts of about 0.1%. GDP declined 0.2% in April.

12 July 2022; MEMO: More than 50 detainees and unarmed men were killed by British troops in Afghanistan, according to newly obtained military reports and an investigation by the BBC, Anadolu Agency reported.

BBC Panorama program, which is to be aired on Tuesday night, looked into documents of operations by the Special Air Service (SAS) – a British elite unit used in special operations – and found they include "reports covering more than a dozen 'kill or capture' raids carried out by one SAS squadron in Helmand in 2010/11."

LONDON, July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Pres Joe Biden will make his first visit as US president to Saudi Arabia on Friday, where he will seek to persuade Riyadh to pump more oil to bring down prices that are fuelling inflation to the highest levels in decades. 

Prior to his election, Biden had vowed that Saudi should be a “pariah” state following the 2018 murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in a recalibration of relations with the oil-producing country that is a kingpin of the OPEC oil cartel.

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - Former British health minister Sajid Javid on Tuesday dropped out of the leadership contest to replace Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister.

"There is an abundance of both ideas and talent in our party. One of the candidates will be given the honour of becoming prime minister," Javid said in a statement.

"I look forward to seeing the debate unfold and to see colleagues working together as a united Conservative Party once the leadership election is concluded."

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - Eight candidates will compete to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party, the committee in charge of organising the leadership contest said on Tuesday.

The nominated candidates were Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak, Tom Tugendhat, Liz Truss and Nadhim Zahawi.

LONDON (AP) — British health officials say there have now been 1,735 confirmed cases of monkeypox and that three-quarters of those cases are in London, according to data released on Tuesday.

LONDON (AP) — A BBC investigation alleged Tuesday that British special forces killed dozens of detainees in suspicious circumstances during counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan a decade ago.

Citing newly obtained military documents, the broadcaster alleged that one SAS unit may have unlawfully killed 54 people in the southern Helmand province in 2010 to 2011. It also alleged that the former head of U.K. special forces knew about the alleged killings, but didn’t pass on the evidence to a murder inquiry.

LONDON (AP) — London’s Heathrow Airport is capping daily passenger numbers for the summer and telling airlines to stop selling tickets as it steps up efforts to quell travel chaos caused by soaring travel demand and staff shortages.

Britain’s busiest airport said Tuesday that it’s setting a limit of 100,000 passengers that it can handle each day through Sept. 11. The restriction is likely to result in more canceled flights even after airlines already slashed thousands of flights from their summer schedules.

LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - The contest to replace British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gathered pace on Sunday as five more candidates declared their intention to run, with many pledging lower taxes and a clean start from Johnson's scandal-ridden premiership.

Johnson on Thursday said he would resign as prime minister, after lawmakers and cabinet colleagues rebelled over his handling of a series of scandals, including breaches of lockdown rules in gatherings at his Downing Street office.

He said he would stay on until a new leader was elected.

LONDON (AP) — A British Cabinet minister tipped to be a frontrunner in the Conservative Party’s leadership race ruled himself out of the contest Saturday.

Defense Minister Ben Wallace said after “careful consideration” and discussion with colleagues and family, he will not be running to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative leader and the country’s next prime minister.

Wallace was seen by some as the favorite choice among Conservative party members in what’s set to be a wide open leadership race following Johnson’s resignation announcement on Thursday.