United Kingdom

    A Saudi social media star has been forced to apologise after footage appearing to show a man pulling the wings off of a bird in a London hotel surfaced online. Mansour Al Raqiba, 40, who is known in the kingdom for his Snapchat videos, was reportedly saved from potential prison time after an intervention by the Saudi Arabian embassy in London, following outrage online. Mr Al Raqiba was accused, alongside two associates, of cruelty to animals by social media users after the video was posted to Snapchat and Twitter. The Saudi star later said: “I apologise for this mistake. I thought that the issue would end in paying a fine. But had it not been for the embassy’s stance, the issue would have led to jail.” The video shows one of the three men leaning over a bathtub, p...

    US intelligence authorities urged British counterparts to keep a close eye on Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, after they became aware of a plan by Saudi Arabia to keep her under surveillance in the UK last year, according to western intelligence sources. The US believed the kingdom had the ambition and intention to monitor Cengiz in London last May, seven months after Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he had gone to obtain papers so the couple could marry. It is not clear if the intended surveillance of Cengiz was electronic or physical, or if it was successful. However, the revelation that intelligence agencies feared Cengiz was being targeted in this way and that Saudi Arabia was preparing ...

    The EU has warned Boris Johnson of “sanctions” if he fails to implement controversial goods checks in the Irish Sea after Brexit, opening up a fresh potential clash with the UK. Brussels will “not tolerate any backsliding or half measures”, the senior adviser to chief negotiator Michel Barnier said – after the prime minister repeatedly claimed checks would not be necessary. Stefaan De Rynck insisted the inspections were a joint legal agreement, as the price for Britain but not Northern Ireland – breaking free of the single market and customs union. “2020 will not just be about the future relationship, but also about implementing the withdrawal agreement  notably the Northern Irish protocol,” he told an event in London. “We will have to be extremely disciplined to ...

    The system that would allow British financial firms to access the EU’s markets after Brexit could lead to indirect rule-taking by the UK, a City of London lobby group has warned. Negotiations over the post-Brexit relationship with the EU will require the UK to decide whether it will change its regulatory regime before or after it asks the bloc for so-called equivalence, the International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG) argued in its latest report. While seemingly technocratic exercises, decisions concerning equivalence can be politicised or otherwise linked to extraneous factors, the IRSG’s report, to be published on Thursday, reads. Maintaining equivalence with the EU in certain areas could lead to a form of indirect rule-taking by the UK. The calls follow a warn...

    Executives around the world regard the UK as a 'beacon of relative stability' for their businesses. In a major vote of confidence in Brexit Britain, a survey of bosses by PwC found the UK is the fourth most important country for international firms, behind the US, China and Germany. The accountancy firm's report found, for chief executives in Germany, France and Italy, the UK is as attractive now as it was in 2015, with a notable uptick since last year. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Kevin Ellis, chairman of PwC UK, said: 'The findings provide timely perspective on the UK's standing as a place to invest and do business. Viewed against the turbulent global backdrop, the UK is a beacon of relative stability. You can't replicate natural advantages lik...

  A man has been repeatedly stabbed in front of shocked passengers on a train in west London. The victim, aged in his 30s, was attacked on board the train from Ashford to Hounslow while it was travelling into the capital on Sunday evening. British Transport Police and paramedics were called to Hounslow station just before 6.40pm. The man was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital. His injuries are not believed to be life threatening. A man and a woman were arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. Detectives have launched an investigation and are still conducting enquiries. Officers are aware a number of other passengers were on board and would have witnessed what happened. Those who were on board who have not yet spoken with police are asked to get in tou...

    The Queen was spotted beaming this morning as she took Prince Andrew to church after releasing an extraordinary on Harry and Meghan's future last night. She arrived at St Mary the Virgin church in Hillington, Norfolk, to attend a Sunday church service. Her Majesty was accompanied by Prince Andrew and she sported a broad smile after the tumultuous events of the last 24 hours. The monarch stepped out of her Bentley just after Prince Andrew, who waited for his mother to head inside the chapel before following her. The Queen was wearing a grey and white coat with a matching hat with grey and white flowers. The church is near the royal Sandringham estate, where the Queen resides for much of winter. Prince Andrew is believed to have remained in Sandringham for the past...

    The MPs' £500,000 estimate of allowing Big Ben to bong on Brexit night is more than 30 times more than the bill for sounding Parliament's Great Bell on New Year's Eve, The Daily Telegraph can disclose. The news risks undermining the House of Commons's Commission decision not to allow Big Ben to chime at 11pm on Jan 31 on grounds of cost. It will put further pressure on Parliament to allow the bongs to sound. By lunchtime today £220,000 had been raised by members of the public to cover the cost of the Brexit night bongs. The Commission formally rejected a request to allow the Great Bell to chime on Monday saying that contractors had said it would cost £500,000. This covered the cost of reinstating a floor underneath Big Ben that was removed after New Year’s Day, as...

    It's been one week since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their plans to step down from "senior" royal family duties, and a lot has happened, to say the least. We've seen statements from the Queen, trips to Canada, family meetings, and...a lot of the color brown? If you're a fan of the royals, you've probably noticed that the shade has showed up in the outfits of the Queen, Kate Middleton, and Markle more than usual. The head honcho herself, the Queen, is well-known for her preference for bright colors that can be seen for miles. Her daughter-in-law Sophie, Countess of Wessex, even said so in the documentary The Queen at 90: Don't forget that when she turns up somewhere, the crowds are two, three, four, 10, 15 deep, and someone wants to be able to say they ...

    While the controversy rumbles on in the UK over the desire of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to follow their own path, on the surface, the people of Vancouver have accepted Meghan as one of their own. The warmth felt for her is there for all to see in a photo from the Vancouver Downtown Eastside Women's Centre  Meghan looks happy and comfortable in their collective embrace. That warmth is not being felt by everyone. Canadians are famously polite but the media frenzy around the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is proving to be the thing that gets some of them riled up. Being heckled in the street is an occupational hazard for news crews - it is unexpected when it comes from the nicest people on the planet. It is clear, in British Columbia at least, that Canadians are ta...