United Kingdom

LONDON, June 24 (Reuters) - Information reviewed by the U.N. human rights office suggests Israeli security forces fired the shot that killed Palestinian-American reporter Shireen Abu Akleh in May, not indiscriminate firing from Palestinians, a spokesperson said on Friday.

"It is deeply disturbing that Israeli authorities have not conducted a criminal investigation," Ravina Shamdasani told a briefing in Geneva.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a double blow as voters rejected his Conservative Party in two special elections dominated by questions about his leadership and ethics.

The party’s chairman quit after the results early Friday, saying the party “cannot carry on with business as usual.”

The centrist Liberal Democrats overturned a big Conservative majority to win the rural southwest England seat of Tiverton and Honiton, while the main opposition Labour Party reclaimed Wakefield in northern England from Johnson’s Tories.

LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday criticised "the abuse" of international sanctions, while Russian President Vladimir Putin scolded the West for fomenting global crisis, with both leaders calling for greater BRICS cooperation.

Xi called on Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) to take up the responsibility conferred by their economic clout, and said they should stand up for a truly multinational international system based on the United Nations.

LONDON (AP) — As the World Health Organization convenes its emergency committee Thursday to consider if the spiraling outbreak of monkeypox warrants being declared a global emergency, some experts say WHO’s decision to act only after the disease spilled into the West could entrench the grotesque inequities that arose between rich and poor countries during the coronavirus pandemic.

LONDON (AP) — Millions of people in Britain faced disruption Thursday as railway staff staged their second national walkout this week.

The 24-hour strike by 40,000 cleaners, signalers, maintenance workers and station staff canceled about four-fifths of passenger services across the country. A third walkout is planned for Saturday as part of Britain’s biggest and most disruptive railway strike in 30 years.

LONDON (AP) — Got European travel plans this summer? Don’t forget to pack your passport, sunscreen and plenty of patience.

Liz Morgan arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport 4 1/2 hours before her flight to Athens, finding the line for security snaking out of the terminal and into a big tent along a road before doubling back inside the main building.

London, Jun 21 (PTI) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday called for a sensible compromise on the pay demands by workers' unions that have resulted in the UK's worst rail strike in 30 years, with a majority of the staff walking out to cripple the networks.

Just one in five trains are expected to run on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday when workers are on strike, with services across England, Wales and Scotland being affected from Monday evening. Passengers have been urged to travel by train only if necessary.

LONDON, June 21 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of workers walked out on the first day of Britain's biggest rail strike in 30 years on Tuesday, with millions of passengers facing days of chaos as both the unions and government vowed to stick to their guns in a row over pay.

The strike by more than 40,000 rail staff, which is due to be replicated on Thursday and Saturday, caused major disruption across the network, bringing most services to a standstill and leaving major stations deserted. The London Underground metro was also mostly closed due to a separate strike.

LONDON, June 21 (Reuters) - A top ally of President Vladimir Putin told Lithuania on Tuesday that Moscow would respond to its ban on the transit of goods sanctioned by the EU to Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad in such a way that citizens of the Baltic state would feel the pain.

With relations between Moscow and the West at a half-century low over Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, Lithuania banned the transit of goods sanctioned by the European Union across its territory to and from the exclave, citing EU sanction rules.

LONDON, June 19 (Reuters) - Britain must have a military capable of fighting in Europe and defeating Russia, the new head of the British army was quoted as telling troops by local media.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a vocal supporter of Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February, has ruled out sending British troops to help Kyiv, but warned this weekend that London would have to show support for "the long haul".