United Kingdom

EU, UK agree draft on 'ambitious' post-Brexit ties

22 Nov 2018; AFP: The European Union and Britain agreed Thursday a draft declaration on their post-Brexit relations that sets out an "ambitious, broad, deep and flexible partnership," officials said.

The two sides have also agreed a draft deal extending the transition period by one or two years beyond the end of 2020, a final sticking point of the divorce deal.

European Council President Donald Tusk said the EU executive, the European Commission, informed him it has agreed the political declaration on the future ties with Britain.

Climate change protesters block off 5 London bridges

LONDON (AP) — Hundreds of protesters have turned out in central London and blocked off the capital’s main bridges to demand the government take climate change seriously.

A group called “Extinction Rebellion” encouraged sit-ins on the bridges Saturday as part of a coordinated week of action across the country.

Metropolitan Police said emergency vehicles were hampered from getting across London because of the “blockade” of five bridges. The force said it had asked all protesters to congregate at Westminster Bridge where officers can facilitate lawful protest.

UK leader warns ousting her won’t make Brexit talks easier

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s besieged Prime Minister Theresa May warned Sunday that a leadership change wouldn’t make Brexit negotiations easier, as opponents in her Conservative Party threaten to unseat her and the former Brexit secretary suggested she failed to stand up to bullying from European Union officials.

As furious Conservative rebels try to gather the numbers to trigger a no-confidence vote, May insisted she hadn’t considered quitting.

EU divorce deal in peril after two UK Cabinet ministers quit

LONDON (AP) — Two British Cabinet ministers, including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, resigned Thursday in opposition to the divorce deal struck by Prime Minister Theresa May with the EU — a major blow to her authority and her ability to get the deal through Parliament.

As pro-Brexit Conservatives called for a no-confidence vote in their leader, a defiant May insisted Brexit meant making “the right choices, not the easy ones” and urged lawmakers to support the deal “in the national interest.”

Amnesty International takes back its highest honor from Aung San Suu Kyi

12 Nov 2018; DW: London-based global human rights organization Amnesty International has stripped Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi of its Ambassador of Conscience Award. The cause is her apparent indifference to atrocities.

Amnesty International stripped Aung San Suu Kyi of its highest honor on Monday over the de facto Myanmar leader's "indifference" to the atrocities committed by the country's military against Rohingya Muslims.

Heathrow travelers warned of delays after lighting issues

LONDON (AP) — Heathrow Airport is warning passengers to check their flight status after problems with runway lighting caused disruption.

Europe’s largest airport said Wednesday that the problem had been resolved by 6:05 a.m GMT (12:05 a.m. EST) and that both runways are now open and operational. But travelers should check, as delays are expected throughout the morning.

Some flights were delayed up to three hours, and the problem left some London-bound travelers stranded on U.S. tarmacs.

Heathrow said in a statement that its engineering teams are investigating.

UK court rejects case against Vijay Malya

UK court has rejected CBI case against Vijay Malya on the grounds that documents submitted are just pieces of papers – not proofs.

Malya owes Rs 9,000 crore to Indian banks, and has been accused of fraud and money laundering.

According to Punjab Kesary; Malya escaped to UK in March 2016 and has been living there since then.

Journalists in UK call for action against Saudi Arabia

LONDON; 6 Nov 2018; AA: A major journalists’ union in the U.K. on Tuesday said governments across the world have economic levers, diplomatic tools and international instruments to bring the killers of Jamal Khashoggi and people who ordered it to justice.

A National Union of Journalists (NUJ) spokesperson told Anadolu Agency that the union supports the International Federation of Journalists’ call for governments to end their cooperation with the Saudi government until it "tells the truth and arrests the perpetrators".

UK PM has drawn up "secret" Brexit plan to resolve impasse with Brussels

LONDON, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May rejected calls Sunday for a second referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union (EU) as a report suggested she has drawn up a secret Brexit plan with Brussels.

Downing Street's insisted a new poll would be a betrayal of trust following the 2016 referendum when 52 percent of the population backed ending EU membership.

The statement comes as a report in one of Britain's leading newspapers, the Sunday Times, suggests May has drawn up a secret Brexit plan with EU.

Irish PM: Brexit is undermining N. Ireland’s peace accord

LONDON (AP) — Brexit is undermining Northern Ireland’s hard-won peace by creating tensions between Catholic and Protestant communities, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Saturday, even as hopes rose for a solution to the Irish border problem that has deadlocked negotiations.

“Brexit has undermined the Good Friday Agreement” — the 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of violence in Northern Ireland — “and it is fraying relationships between Britain and Ireland,” Varadkar said.

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