The BBC has fired a British radio presenter who tweeted an image of a chimpanzee dressed in clothes below the caption “Royal Baby leaves the hospital”. Meghan, the wife of Prince Harry, gave birth in the early hours of Monday morning to a baby boy, Archie, the first mixed-race child …
Read More »Facebook chooses London for WhatsApp payment.
Facebook has chosen London as its base for a payment system on WhatsApp, its mobile messaging service confirmed Wednesday, highlighting the capital’s attractiveness as a fintech hub despite Brexit strains. The Financial Times said that WhatsApp would hire about 100 staff, with most of the required software engineers based in …
Read More »UK PM looking at second Brexit vote options if talks fail.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has carried out “scenario planning” for a second Brexit referendum in case she is forced by parliament to hold one, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on Monday. May is hoping to find a way to get parliament to approve a Brexit plan without another public …
Read More »‘Blast’ Heard Near Heathrow Airport – Reports.
An explosion has reportedly occurred north of Heathrow Airport, Daily Star reported. Eyewitnesses have been posting photos of massive black clouds billowing from near the airport buildings. Some of them have reported hearing “clearly the sounds of explosions” at the blaze which is close to the railway line. Commenting on …
Read More »49% of people think that Scotland should be an independent country – YouGov poll.
Britain’s bid to break away from the European Union may have the unintended consequence of fracturing the United Kingdom, as new polling suggests that 49 percent of Scots now want independence. Scotland held a referendum on independence as recently as September 2014. On that occasion, people voted by 55 to …
Read More »Tobacco giant launches life insurance firm with a discount to ex-smokers.
Tobacco giant Philip Morris International (PMI) is setting up a UK life insurance venture which will see it offer significant discounts to smokers who quit or switch to one of its alternative products. The new firm, Reviti, is wholly owned by PMI and will offer customers a programme of health …
Read More »World leaders open the Second Silk Road forum in China; without USA.
Nearly 40 world leaders and scores of finance officials are gathered in Beijing to build a new platform for international trade and counter US unilateralism and protectionist policies. Dubbed as the Belt and Road (BRI) initiative, they aim to reinvent the ancient Silk Road to connect Asia to Europe and …
Read More »Scotland will push for independence referendum before May 2021: Sturgeon.
Scotland should hold an independence referendum before the current Scottish parliamentary term ends in May 2021, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Wednesday. “A choice between Brexit and a future for Scotland as an independent European nation should be offered in the lifetime of this parliament,” Sturgeon told Holyrood, Scotland’s …
Read More »UK intelligence rejects spying on Trump.
The British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) has rejected claims that it was asked by the administration of former President Barrack Obama to spy on then-President Elect Donald Trump after the 2016 presidential election. A GCHQ spokesman made the comments Wednesday after President Trump tweeted that a former CIA analyst, Larry …
Read More »More than 700 protesters arrested as climate change activists block London roads for sixth day.
Climate change protesters have gathered at several locations in central London for the sixth consecutive day of disruption by the Extinction Rebellion (XR) group. Waterloo Bridge and Oxford Circus have been blocked by activists on Saturday, despite the police removal of a huge pink ship from the busy shopping area …
Read More »Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as Journalist killed during riots.
A journalist has been shot dead in Northern Ireland in what police have described as a “terrorist incident”. Lyra McKee, 29, was killed after a gunman opened fire as violence erupted in Derry on Thursday night. Dissident republican group the New IRA is believed to have been responsible for her …
Read More »Heathrow loses Asia and Middle East passengers.
Heathrow airport has announced increased passenger numbers for the 29th month in a row – but traffic to and from Asia dropped by 2 percent, and to the Middle East by 11 percent. More than 6.5 million passengers passed through the UK’s busiest airport in March, an average of 210,000 …
Read More »London’s climate protest turns violent.
A peaceful protest in London to demand more protection for the environment has turned violent as activists say they are frustrated with government’s inaction on the escalating ecological crisis. British media reports showed parts of London had effectively been blocked by climate protesters as thousands joined the action that coincided …
Read More »India to mark the 100th anniversary of Amritsar massacre.
Britain’s high commissioner to India laid a wreath on Saturday on the 100th anniversary of the Amritsar massacre, one of the worst atrocities of colonial rule for which London is still to apologies. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, as it is known in India, saw British troops fire on thousands of …
Read More »Zimbabwe spent thousands of dollars on judges’ wigs.
The Zimbabwe government has come under fire after it emerged that it spent thousands of dollars on importing legal wigs from the UK for local judges, with critics lambasting the purchase as a colonial hang-up and a waste of money. The Zimbabwe Independent newspaper reported that the country’s Judiciary Service …
Read More »Britain removes EU label from passports.
British authorities have formally removed the European Union label from the passports they issue for UK citizens despite failing to leave the bloc as demanded by a withdrawal deadline imposed by the bloc. The BBC published images of the cover of the passport issued for a citizen after March 30 …
Read More »Nigerians ordering pizza from London on British Airways, agriculture minister says.
Nigerians are ordering pizzas from London and transporting them over 3000 miles using British Airways, the country’s Minister of Agriculture has claimed. According to Audu Ogbeh, the African nation’s new international takeaway trend has become “annoying” and officials are desperate to bring an end to it. Speaking at a Senate …
Read More »Barnier: Britain on the path to crash out of EU.
Britain is becoming more likely to crash out of the European Union (EU) without a proper withdrawal agreement, the bloc’s chief Brexit negotiator. Michel Barnier said Tuesday that recent developments in the British parliament with regards to Prime Minister Theresa May’s divorce deal were paving the way for a no-deal …
Read More »Wildfires break out across the UK after hottest winter day on record.
Firefighters battled a series of wildfires in Britain on Wednesday, including a large moorland blaze outside the northern English city of Manchester, as the country experienced its warmest winter weather on record. A fire started on Tuesday evening on Saddleworth Moor, an expanse of hills that is popular with hikers. …
Read More »Poll: 1 in 3 Britons view Islam as a threat.
More people in the UK have become wary of Islam’s growth in the country, a new poll has found, a factor that could spur more hate attacks against Muslims. Excerpt of a report by Hope not Hate, an advocacy group against racism and fascism, published in The Guardian newspaper on …
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