British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak will enter quarantine as normal after contact with Health Secretary Sajid Javid who tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, Downing Street said Sunday. This marked a U-turn on the pair’s initial decision to avoid self-isolation by taking part …
Read More »British police seize record $408 million haul of cryptocurrency
British police have seized record hauls of cryptocurrency totaling $408 million as part of an investigation into money laundering after organized crime groups moved into cryptocurrencies to wash their dirty money. London police said on Tuesday they had seized $250 million pounds of an undisclosed cryptocurrency less than three weeks …
Read More »Britain plans to end legal mandates for masks and social distancing on July 19, Boris Johnson says
Boris Johnson on Monday announced that Britain was set to soon end virtually all government mandates to control the spread of the coronavirus, telling people that in two weeks it would likely be completely up to them whether to wear a face mask or social distance. At an evening news …
Read More »Vatican indicts 10, including Cardinal, on embezzlement, extortion, fraud charges
Influential cardinal and nine others to face trial in connection with 350m euro investment in London property venture. A Vatican judge has indicted 10 people, including a once-powerful cardinal, on charges including embezzlement, abuse of office, extortion, and fraud in connection with a 350 million-euro ($415m) investment in a London …
Read More »UK government ‘rotten to its core’, Labor deputy leader says
UK Labor party is calling for a “full-scale” investigation into cabinet ministers’ use of private emails after the leaked information from a meeting at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) showed that Matt Hancock had been using an unofficial account since the onset of the pandemic. Angela Rayner, …
Read More »Two hurt in huge blaze near train station in south London (Videos)
At least two people were injured and several buildings evacuated after a fire broke out in a building near London’s Elephant and Castle train station on Monday afternoon. Smoke could be seen pouring into the sky from beneath the railway arches at the south London station and up toward large …
Read More »Prominent UAE activist Alaa al-Siddiq dies in London car crash
Alaa was executive director of a UK-based non-profit that advocated for human rights in the Gulf.
Read More »Embarrassing defeat as UK PM Johnson’s party loses out at election
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered an embarrassing defeat in an election on the outskirts of London on Friday when his governing Conservative Party lost a previously safe parliamentary seat to the Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives had comfortably held the leafy, affluent Chesham and Amersham constituency in southern England since …
Read More »Canada: Man faces terrorism charges in attack on Muslim family
Police accuse Nathaniel Veltman of running down a Muslim family in London, Ontario ‘because of their Islamic faith’. A man accused of running down a Muslim family in the Canadian city of London, Ontario, this month, killing four people including a teenage girl, now faces terrorism charges, authorities announced on …
Read More »The Bidens meet with the Queen
When Joe Biden was preparing for his first audience with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II as a young senator, his mother — an Irish American born with the surname Finnegan — had a piece of advice. “Don’t you bow down to her,” she told him in 1982, according to a memoir …
Read More »Thousands march in support of Muslim family killed in truck attack in Canada
Thousands of people marched on Friday in support of a Canadian Muslim family run over and killed by a man driving a pick-up truck last Sunday in an attack the police described as a hate crime. The four victims, spanning three generations, were killed when Nathaniel Veltman, 20, ran into …
Read More »Brussels threatens trade war with UK over Northern Ireland Protocol
After talks in London ended without a breakthrough, European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said patience with the UK was wearing “very, very thin” The EU has threatened to launch a trade war against the UK if it fails to implement checks on goods entering Northern Ireland under the terms of …
Read More »Canada to move against far-right groups after Muslim family attack
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday promised to take more action to dismantle far-right groups after a hate-motivated attack that killed four members of a Muslim family in the city of London, Ontario. “This was a terrorist attack, motivated by hatred, in the heart of one of our communities,” …
Read More »UK police officer pleads guilty to woman’s rape and kidnap – BBC
A serving British police officer has admitted the rape and kidnap of Sarah Everard whose killing sparked anger and soul-searching about what police, government, and society can do to stop male violence against women, the BBC reported on Tuesday. Wayne Couzens, 48, a London officer whose role it was to …
Read More »Four killed by car were victims of anti-Islamic hate crime – Canada police
Four people killed after a car jumped the curb and ran into them on Sunday night were deliberately targeted in an anti-Islamic hate crime, Canadian police said on Monday. “It was pre-planned and premeditated and that’s why first-degree murder charges were laid,” London Detective Superintendent Paul Waight told reporters. Waight …
Read More »UK records zero daily Covid deaths for first time since March 2020
The UK on Monday recorded no new Covid-19 deaths for the first time since March 7, 2020, adding strength to calls for all restrictions to end as planned on June 21. UK Prime Minister Johnson has said he will wait for more data on the increasing spread of the newly …
Read More »Irish PM does not think London wants to rewrite N.Ireland Brexit protocol
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said he did not get an immediate sense from his meeting with British counterpart Boris Johnson that London wants to rewrite Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements. Irish national broadcaster RTE reported on Monday that the Irish government is increasingly concerned that London wants to completely …
Read More »UK readies for major reopening but new variant sparks worry
Travelers in England were packing their bags, bartenders were polishing their glasses and performers were warming up as Britain prepared Sunday for a major step out of lockdown — but with clouds of worry on the horizon. Excitement at the reopening of travel and hospitality vied with anxiety that a …
Read More »Da Vinci’s ‘Head of Bear’ drawing seen fetching up to $16 mln
A drawing of a bear’s head by Leonardo da Vinci is seen fetching up to $16.7 million, potentially setting a record, when it heads to auction in July, Christie’s said on Saturday. Measuring 7 cm (just under 3 inches) squared, “Head of a Bear” is a silverpoint drawing on pink-beige …
Read More »Scotland vote sets up new independence clash with London
The Scottish National Party on Sunday said its landslide victory in Edinburgh’s devolved parliament was grounds for a fresh independence referendum, despite opposition from London. While the SNP campaigned on promises to hold a new vote, the UK government — which would need to give formal legal permission — is …
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