United Kingdom

    Theresa May has come under attack from Tory colleagues after conceding the UK may have to remain tied to EU rules and laws beyond December 2020, in a bid to solve the Irish border issue. The prime minister told fellow leaders on Wednesday evening she was open to extending the transition one proposal mooted during intensive talks over the Irish backstop issue, which broke down without agreement last weekend. But the idea was quickly rejected back at home. David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, said the idea was unwise, and it was the wrong time to take the pressure off in the negotiations. Five Conservative ex-cabinet ministers, including Davis and Boris Johnson, have signed a letter to May urging her to reject a Northern Ireland backstop and, crucially, an all-U...

    A son who carried his mother down to safety from the top floor of Grenfell Tower has described hearing her say she was ready to jump rather than go through the pain of being burnt alive. Farhad Neda lived on the 23rd floor with his mother Flora and father Mohamed, known as Saber who died in the blaze. He had walked through the front door of his home at the west London block just two minutes before the fire started on 14 June last year. The Grenfell inquiry heard on Thursday that the family first became aware that something was amiss when the smoke extractor in their hallway began whirring loudly, prompting them to ring the Tenant Management Organisation (TMO). Mr Neda told a call operator the fan had gone off, the lift was not working and he could smell electrical...

    The UK will leave the European Union on 29 March 2019 and with each day that passes, No Deal Brexit is becoming as bigger threat. As time runs out, plans are now being put into action while the nation's politicians try to escape their deadlock over a Brexit deal. If there's no arrangement in time, we'll lose 70 international trade deals in a blink, shed access to EU criminal databases and have to stockpile food and medicine at the stroke of 11pm. The government has issued 104 technical notices on the practical effects of No Deal everything from driving licences to cats. A lot of the effects are on business. UK farmers face a nine-month wait for approval to export organic goods to the EU. Fishermen could be blocked from EU waters. And manufacturers fear their supply...

    There is little doubt a major life-threatening cyber-attack on the UK will take place in the near future, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has warned. In its second annual review, published on Tuesday, the NCSC revealed it has handled more than 10 attacks a week in the last two years the majority of which it traced back to nation states in some way hostile to the UK. Since it became fully operational in 2016 it has handled 1,167 cyber incidents, including 557 in the last 12 months. The majority of the attacks were undertaken by groups of computer hackers directed, sponsored or tolerated by the governments of those countries, writes Ciaran Martin, CEO of the NCSC. These groups constitute the most acute and direct cyber threat to our national security. Non...

    British political parties will have to verify their identity and location if they want to take out adverts on Facebook, under new rules set out by the company on Tuesday designed to bolster transparency in political advertising ahead of elections. Facebook will also include new features on its website to show who has paid for adverts and begin an archive of all political ads that are purchased on the site in an effort to clamp down on election fraud. Facebook was at the heart of claims surrounding fake political advertising and misinformation during the 2016 US elections when Russia-linked groups used adverts and articles  spread via Facebook to sow discord. Facebook adverts were also used during the Brexit referendum and linked to claims of overspending by the Vot...

    Ireland has accused Theresa May of backsliding on Britain’s firm commitment to sign up to a backstop promise for the Irish border that would guarantee the open border remains after Brexit in the event of no deal. In an unusually outspoken speech, Adrian O’Neill, the Irish ambassador to the UK, told an audience of British civil servants and EU embassy officials he was alarmed that some Brexiter MPs think the backstop was not even necessary. That there was still no deal on the Irish border, nine months after the prime minister had signed up to the backstop option, was both disappointing and concerning, O’Neill said. He said that it was unlikely there could be a deal in the next 48 hours, and the most benign outcome of the European council was that the prime minister ...

    The Duchess of Sussex is pregnant, Kensington Palace has announced. A spokesman said: Their Royal Highnesses are very pleased to announce that the Duchess of Sussex is expecting a baby in Spring 2019. Their Royal Highnesses very much appreciate all of the support they have received from people around the world since their wedding in May and are delighted to be able to share their happy news. The Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, and Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted for the couple and were able to congratulated them in Friday at the wedding in person. Ms Doria Ragland is very happy about the lovely news and she looks forward to welcoming her first grandchild. The newly-wed couple arrived in Sydney on Monday ahead of a 16-da...

    Boris Johnson is demanding a show of defiance from Theresa May after Brexit talks collapsed amid further clashes over the future of the Irish border. At the start of a make-or-break week for the prime minister which could determine how long she survives, he said a crisis was looming and urgent action was needed. The former foreign secretary re-opened hostilities against Mrs May after talks in Brussels between Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and the EU's Michel Barnier broke down after little more than an hour. Writing in his Daily Telegraph column, Mr Johnson declared: There comes a point when you have to stand up to bullies. After more than two years of being ruthlessly pushed around by the EU, it is time for the UK to resist. With painful politeness, we have agre...

    The MPs include the first to state publicly that they will struggle to vote against a deal secured in Brussels if the alternative is a no-deal Brexit – even if, as expected, Jeremy Corbyn orders his party to oppose it. They say that crashing out of the EU would be a disaster for their constituents, while also fearing a backlash from voters accusing them of blocking Brexit. It comes as Ms May appears resigned to having to rely on Labour votes to secure parliament’s support for her deal in the face of staunch opposition from many of her own Eurosceptic backbenchers. Labour MPs told The Independent that at least 15 could rebel against Mr Corbyn and back the government, which could be enough to tip the balance in the Commons in favour of the deal. One prepared to go p...

    There is a demand for the addition of the British colonial history in British curriculum. It's demanded that the leader of the opposition party Labor Party Jeremy Corbyn. The leader, known as anti-apartheid, believes that the impact of British colonialism should be taught in schools. This is a very important issue. He told about his position this week. From the 1940s to the 1970s, the term migratory migrants to the United Kingdom was termed as Windshield Generation. Many of the incumbent immigration policies of the British government were considered illegal in the country. Ex Home Minister Amber Rudd, who was recently criticized by the Home Ministry for the purpose of fixing the target of illegal immigrants out of the country. According to the target, in the ne...