Migrants drown in English Channel hours after UK passes Rwanda policy
Wimereux, France/Dover, UK Reuters Five migrants, including a child, died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France to Britain in an overcrowded small boat on Tuesday, hours after Britain passed a bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda in a move to deter the dangerous journeys. The deaths occurred when a boat […]
British PM Sunak’s Rwanda scheme set to pass parliament but challenges await
London, UK Reuters The British parliament is set to finally approve a divisive law this week to pave the way for asylum seekers to be deported to Rwanda, but further legal hurdles could yet hold up or derail one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s key policies. Sunak has invested huge political capital in the Rwanda […]
Church of England leader says a plan to send migrants to Rwanda undermines the UK’s global standing
London, UK AP The leader of the Church of England said Monday that Britain will undermine its standing in the world if it enacts a government plan to send some asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said UK politicians were seeking to “outsource our moral and legal responsibility for asylum […]
Boris Johnson says “I did not lie” over lockdown parties
London, UK Reuters A combative Boris Johnson fought for his political career on Wednesday, as the former British prime minister said “hand on heart” he did not lie to parliament over COVID-19 lockdown parties at a hearing with lawmakers. Parliament’s Committee of Privileges is investigating whether Johnson, who was ousted from Downing Street in September, […]
StrangeSights: AI robot addresses UK parliamentary inquiry; scandal at Alaska’s Fat Bear Week; and, the world’s largest Tetris game…
DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
Britain, facing economic crisis, pauses to mourn the Queen; Australia holds wreath-laying ceremony
London, UKReuters The death of Queen Elizabeth II has stilled the business of state in Britain at a time when the government, Bank of England and companies are battling to contain inflation and mitigate a deep economic crisis. New Prime Minister Liz Truss – appointed by the queen on Tuesday, just two days before she […]
UK parliament declares genocide in China’s Xinjiang; Beijing condemns move
London, UKReuters Britain’s parliament called on Wednesday for the government to take action to end what lawmakers described as genocide in China’s Xinjiang region, stepping up pressure on ministers to go further in their criticism of Beijing. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government again steered clear of declaring genocide over what it says are “industrial-scale” […]
Lawmakers urged to ban child marriage in Britain
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Britain is sabotaging girls’ futures and condoning child sex abuse by failing to scrap an “anachronistic” law allowing child marriage, a lawmaker told parliament on Tuesday as she presented a bill to criminalise marriage under 18. Pauline Latham said retaining the current law, which allows marriage at 16 with parental consent, […]
Britain launches new inquiry into sex abuse by aid workers
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation British lawmakers will hear evidence that aid workers are demanding sex in return for assistance when they launch an inquiry this week into preventing sexual abuse and exploitation in the aid sector. The industry has come under intense scrutiny since 2018 when it emerged that Oxfam staff had paid young women […]
Britain set for 12th December election to break the Brexit deadlock
London, UKReuters Britain will hold its first December election in almost a century after Prime Minister Boris Johnson won approval from parliament on Tuesday for an early ballot aimed at breaking the Brexit deadlock. After the European Union granted a third delay to the divorce that was originally supposed to take place on 29th March, […]