LONDON — LONDON (AP) — Vaughan Gething’s election as the next leader of Wales marks a milestone: For the first time, none of the U.K.’s four main governments is led by a white man. It’s a striking moment in a country still grappling with racism and the legacy of empire. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has … Read more
LONDON — British cellphone company Vodafone confirmed Friday that it is selling its Italian business to Switzerland’s Swisscom for 8 billion euros ($8.7 billion) and will hand back half of the proceeds to its shareholders through the buyback of company shares. Vodafone said the move, with talks first announced Feb. 28, represented an “attractive valuation” … Read more
Katie Boulter is into a first WTA 500 final after continuing her superb run at the San Diego Open with a dominant victory over third seed Emma Navarro. The British No 1 saw off second seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round before knocking out seventh seed Donna Vekic in the quarter-finals and was … Read more
LONDON — Foreign Secretary David Cameron will visit the Falkland Islands this week to show they are a “valued part of the British family,” the U.K. government said Sunday. Britain’s top diplomat is making the trip amid renewed calls by Argentina for negotiations over the contested South Atlantic archipelago. The Foreign Office said Cameron will … Read more
LONDON — The upper house of Britain’s Parliament has urged the Conservative government not to ratify a migration treaty with Rwanda. It’s a largely symbolic move, but signals more opposition to come for the stalled and contentious plan to send some asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to the African nation. The House of Lords voted … Read more
Comment on this storyCommentAdd to your saved storiesSave KYIV — On a visit to Kyiv, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced Friday that the United Kingdom would provide Ukraine with more than $3 billion in additional military aid and he signed documents establishing bilateral security guarantees between London and Kyiv. The bilateral agreement, called the … Read more
LONDON — Britain’s former energy minister said Friday he is quitting the Conservative Party and stepping down as a lawmaker over the government’s backtracking on its environmental commitments. Chris Skidmore said he could not support a forthcoming bill that will authorize new North Sea oil and gas drilling and called the U.K.’s retreat from its … Read more
Comment on this storyCommentAdd to your saved storiesSave LONDON — King Charles III’s annual festive address saw the British monarch posing next to a replantable tree festooned with dried oranges while delivering a message that acknowledged the “growing awareness” of the need to protect the planet. The monarch’s Christmas message has long been a fixture … Read more
“I completely agree with [Sunak’s] strategy, which is to attempt international consensus. But my guess is international consensus will form only around the broadest of principles,” says Jeremy Wright, a former UK digital minister for Sunak’s Conservative Party. “Feasibly, if you’re going to do anything, you probably have to do it nationally before you do … Read more
LONDON — Britain’s main opposition Labour Party has decisively won two special elections, snatching seats in Parliament that were long rock-solid bastions of the governing Conservatives. Results early Friday showed that voters in Tamworth, central England and Mid-Bedfordshire, north of London, switched from Conservatives to Labour in almost unprecedented numbers, solidifying Labour’s status as front-runner … Read more