United Kingdom

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged Monday to increase U.K. military funding by 5 billion pounds ($6 billion) over the next two years in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the “epoch-defining challenge” posed by China.

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday the British government was working to find a solution to limit the potential hit to companies resulting from the failure of U.S. lender Silicon Valley Bank and its UK subsidiary.

Sunak said he understood "the anxiety and the concerns customers of the bank have", in comments made to reporters flying with him to the United States. He and the government were "making sure we can work to find a solution that secures people's operational liquidity and cash-flow needs", he said.

LONDON, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Had COVID-19 vaccines been shared equitably with the world, at least 1.3 million lives could have been saved in the first year of the rollout, or one preventable death every 24 seconds, an open letter said on Saturday.

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Britain's BBC was forced to axe much of its sports coverage on Saturday after presenters refused to work in a show of solidarity with Gary Lineker, as a row over freedom of speech threatens to turn into a crisis for the national broadcaster.

Former England soccer captain Lineker, the BBC's highest paid presenter and the anchor of the football highlights programme "Match of the Day", was taken off air by the broadcaster on Friday after he criticised Britain's migration policy earlier in the week.

10 Mar 2023; MEMO: Britain will pay France around £480 million ($577 million) over the next three years to help clamp down on migrants travelling to Britain in small boats, helping to fund more patrols and enhanced technology, Reuters reports.

The new deal was announced by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron during a summit designed to reset ties after years of bickering over Brexit.

LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Fed up with a government he says doesn't care, Poh Wang plans to go on strike with tens of thousands of other British junior doctors next week, saying he is overworked, underpaid and burdened with a student loan he cannot imagine paying off.

The 28-year-old says he and his colleagues have been pushed to the brink after below-inflation pay rises collided with the surging cost of living to leave him questioning how he can ever pay off his more than 85,000 pounds ($101,000) of student debt.

LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Britain's King Charles named his younger brother Prince Edward as the new Duke of Edinburgh on Friday, handing him the title last held by their father Prince Philip, Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

Edward, 59 on Friday, becomes the latest member of the royal family to be granted a new title since Charles became king in September after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth.

8 Mar 2023; MEMO: Commenting on the violent settler attack on the occupied West Bank village of Huwara last week, Amnesty International has said that "impunity reigns for perpetrators of settler violence" against Palestinians.

"Under Israel's apartheid system, impunity reigns," Amnesty International's Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Heba Morayef, said.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: Decisions on oil output taken by OPEC+ countries reflect consensus in the group, the Saudi Foreign Minister said on Tuesday after reports of differences among members, Reuters reports.

A media report that the United Arab Emirates is considering leaving OPEC is "far from the truth," two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters last week.

LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - Global shares were broadly steady and the dollar nudged higher on Tuesday, ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony that could offer a steer on the outlook for U.S. rates, while soft Chinese trade data dented oil.

Data showed China's exports and imports both fell sharply in January-February, reflecting a slowdown in the global economy and weak domestic demand, knocking Chinese blue chips <.CSI300>, while the offshore yuan edged up against the dollar.