The proposed $550 million deal between the University of Cambridge and the United Arab Emirates is on hold due to the Persian Gulf state’s use of Pegasus spying software, the university’s vice-chancellor has said. Cambridge’s outgoing vice-chancellor, Stephen Toope, said in an interview that “the revelations about Pegasus caused us to …
Read More »COVID testing site suspended in UK over delivering false negatives
A COVID-19 testing site in central England has been suspended after it was revealed that it had been wrongly giving negative PCR test results to people who were infected. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Friday that between September 8 and October 12, an estimated 43,000 people, mainly in …
Read More »UK: Thousands of people may have gotten false-negative COVID test results
British health officials said Friday that an estimated 43,000 people may have been wrongly told they don’t have the coronavirus because of problems at a private laboratory. The UK Health Security Agency said a lab in Wolverhampton, central England, has been suspended from processing test swabs after reports of false …
Read More »British MP David Amess stabbed to death: Police
A British lawmaker in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party was stabbed to death on Friday in a church by a man who walked into a meeting with voters from his electoral district, police said. Police said a man had been arrested on suspicion of murder. David Amess, who represented …
Read More »UK keeps exporting tear gas to West Asian authoritarian regimes
The UK government has approved tear gas exports to numerous authoritarian West Asian regimes, including in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Oman, over the past decade, new research finds. According to survey results released by British NGO Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), since 2008, the British …
Read More »Stop the poison, UK’s Frost tells EU over post-Brexit deal
British Brexit minister David Frost made an impassioned plea to the European Union on Tuesday to allow for “significant change” to post-Brexit rules governing trade with Northern Ireland, saying only that could draw the poison from their relations. A day before the EU is expected to present its proposals to …
Read More »More than 1,000 migrants cross English Channel to UK in two days
Britain has rescued or intercepted a total of 1,115 migrants attempting to cross the English Channel over just two days, the country’s interior ministry said on Sunday. Rising numbers of Channel crossings by migrants in small boats have contributed to growing tensions between the UK and France following Britain’s departure …
Read More »Climate change activists are ‘irresponsible crusties:’ UK PM Johnson
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that climate change activists who blocked major roads into London were ‘irresponsible crusties’ who were hindering law-abiding people from going about their business, Reuters reports. “I think they’re irresponsible crusties who are basically trying to stop people going about their day’s work …
Read More »France threatens to cut power to UK’s Channel Islands in row over fishing licenses
France has said it could cut power to the British Crown dependencies in the English Channel to “pressure” London in a dispute over fishing licenses for French boats. Under the 2020 UK-EU trade deal, French boats are allowed to continue catching fish in British waters if they obtain a license. …
Read More »UK warns EU time is running out to fix Northern Ireland accord
The UK government on Monday said it stood ready to abandon a post-Brexit trading accord for Northern Ireland “soon” unless the EU agreed to wholesale changes. Addressing the annual conference of the ruling Conservative party, Brexit minister David Frost said: “The long bad dream of our EU membership is over. …
Read More »UK university expels professor for ‘anti-Zionist stance’
The University of Bristol has fired one of its professors over his explicitly anti-Zionist standpoints and opposition to the Israeli regime and its powerful US and UK-backed worldwide lobby. “Professor David Miller is no longer employed by the University of Bristol,” the university said in a statement on Friday. Miller …
Read More »Britain says fuel crisis under control, but some gas pumps still empty
Britain said on Thursday that a gas station crisis caused by an acute shortage of truck drivers was back under control but many pumps remained closed in London leaving motorists searching or queuing for hours to fill their tanks. In a chaotic week where fights broke out at gas stations …
Read More »UK fuel crisis: Army on standby as petrol stations run dry
The UK army has been put on standby to supply the country’s petrol stations running dry after some of them closed as their ability to transport fuel from refineries was hit by an industry-wide shortage of truck drivers, triggering a spate of panic-buying. The government announced late on Monday that a …
Read More »Lengthy queues build outside petrol stations in London again amid UK fuel crisis
Lengthy queues have been reportedly formed outside petrol stations throughout London once again amid a fuel crisis gripping the United Kingdom. Long queues were witnessed outside petrol stations in north London as well as the capital’s busy M25 orbital motorway on Wednesday, according to Reuters journalists, along with warnings that …
Read More »Behave normally, UK transport minister tells Britons queuing for fuel
Transport Minister Grant Shapps on Sunday called on Britons to behave normally when buying petrol, saying there was no shortage of fuel and the government was stepping in to ease a shortage of drivers bringing it to petrol stations. In recent days long lines of vehicles have formed at petrol …
Read More »Britain expected to ease visa rules as truck driver shortage bites
Britain is expected to announce plans to issue temporary visas to truck drivers to alleviate an acute labour shortage that has led to fuel rationing at some filling stations and warnings from retailers of significant disruption in the run-up to Christmas. As queues started forming outside filling stations early on …
Read More »UK PM Johnson to reshuffle his team of ministers
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will reshuffle his team of ministers on Wednesday to put in place a “strong and united team” to deliver on his 2019 election promise to tackle regional inequality, a source in his office said. “The Prime Minister will be appointing ministers this afternoon with a …
Read More »UK PM Johnson to hold talks with Biden this month: The Times
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will attempt to patch up Britain’s frayed relationship with US President Joe Biden’s administration at a White House meeting between the two leaders this month, The Times newspaper reported on Monday, citing sources on both sides. Johnson is expected to hold talks with Biden during …
Read More »British monarchy could be gone in two generations, says novelist Mantel
The British royals, who trace their history back more than 1,000 years, could be gone within two generations, writer Hilary Mantel said in an interview published on Saturday. The monarchy traces its history back at least to William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066 but also claims ties to …
Read More »UK government scraps plans for COVID-19 vaccine passports: Health minister
UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced that the government has dropped its plans for the need to have domestic vaccine passports to be used upon entry to nightclubs and other crowded venues, Reuters reported on Sunday. Javid also stressed that he did not anticipate any more lockdowns due to COVID-19. …
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