United Kingdom

LONDON, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- A recent poll found out British voters are "largely pessimistic" about Britain's hopes of achieving net zero emissions, The Times reported on Saturday.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a series of relaxations of key climate policies this week, including delaying the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035.

Many of Sunak's decisions are popular, but British people are skeptical about the reasons behind them, said the British newspaper.

23 September 2023; AA: Thousands of anti-Brexit protesters on Saturday gathered in the British capital to call for rejoining the EU.

Organized by the National Rejoin March, thousands of people marched toward Parliament Square and demanded "we want our star back."

The protesters were carrying EU flags and wearing hats and t-shirts which also featured the EU flag. They were also carrying banners that called on the government to resign.

LONDON (AP) — British competition regulators gave preliminary approval Friday to Microsoft’s restructured $69 billion deal to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard, easing a final global hurdle that paves the way for one of the largest tech transactions in history to go through.

The Competition and Markets Authority said the revamped proposal “substantially addresses previous concerns” about stifling competition in the fast-growing cloud gaming market, which frees players from buying expensive consoles and gaming computers by streaming to tablets, phones and other devices.

21 September 2023; MEMO: The Welsh Government has announced that it is formally opposing Michael Gove’s anti-boycott bill, which grants special protection to Israel and recommended the Welsh Senedd withhold legislative consent. This follows months of campaigning by rights groups, including the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), demanding the Welsh government and Senedd oppose the bill.

LONDON, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of England (BoE) has voted to maintain its benchmark interest rate at 5.25 percent, the central bank said in a statement on Thursday.

At its meeting ending on Wednesday, the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee voted by a majority of five to four in favor of the decision, the statement noted. Four members preferred to increase the interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 5.5 percent.

This is the first time the BoE has kept the interest rates unchanged after 14 consecutive rate hikes since December 2021.

LONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Rishi Sunak watered down Britain's plans to tackle climate change on Wednesday, saying he would delay a ban on sales of new petrol cars to maintain the consent of the British people in the switch to net zero.

Sunak said he remained committed to the legally-binding target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 but said Britain could afford to make slower progress in getting there because it was "so far ahead of every other country in the world".

LONDON, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- More than 1,000 officers of the Metropolitan Police (Met) have been dismissed, suspended, or placed on restricted duties amid what the force referred to as "the strongest doubling down on standards in 50 years."

According to the Met, 100 police officers have been dismissed for gross misconduct in the last 12 months.

LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday it was expelling two U.S. diplomats whom it accused of working with a Russian national charged with collaborating with a foreign state.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement it had summoned U.S. envoy Lynne Tracy and told her that embassy First Secretary Jeffrey Sillin and Second Secretary David Bernstein must leave Russia within seven days.

The U.S. embassy confirmed the expulsions. There was no immediate comment from the State Department in Washington.

LONDON, Sep 12 (APP): Foreign Minister of Rwanda Dr Abdallah Utumatwishima on Tuesday met Interim Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, on the sidelines of the 10th Commonwealth Youth Ministerial Meeting.

In the meeting, the two foreign ministers exchanged views on bilateral cooperation and exploration of new avenues for the uplift of youth.

The two leaders also agreed to promote bilateral cooperation in multiple spheres.

LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Britain recorded its hottest day of 2023 so far on Saturday, with provisional data showing a high of 33.2 degrees Celsius (91.8 degrees Fahrenheit) at London's Kew Gardens.

This year's previous high was 32.6 C, reached on Thursday.

Britain's national weather service said Saturday was also the sixth day in a row the country has recorded a temperature above 30 C, well above average for the time of year.