England

LONDON, December 16. /TASS/: Henry Kissinger, the former US secretary of state and national security adviser, has said the world could be at a turning point in the conflict in Ukraine and called for talks to achieve peace.

He laid out his thoughts in a guest essay published by the Spectator, a UK weekly, on its website on Friday.

LONDON, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Retail sales volume in Britain is estimated to have fallen by 0.4 percent in November despite Black Friday shopping events, as non-store retailing sales volumes fell by 2.8 percent, statistics showed on Friday.

Retail sales fell overall in November, driven by a notable drop for online retailers, with Black Friday offers failing to provide their usual lift in this sector, said Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

LONDON (AP) — Four people were hospitalized in critical condition on Friday after hundreds of people forced their way into a London concert venue during a performance by Nigerian Afrobeats star Asake.

Police said eight people were taken to hospitals after being caught in a crowd of people trying to get into the O2 Brixton Academy. Two other injured people were treated at the scene.

LONDON/BELFAST, Dec 15 (Reuters) - National Health Service nurses in Britain staged a strike on Thursday, their first ever national walkout, as a bitter dispute with the government over pay ramps up pressure on already-stretched hospitals at one of the busiest times of year.

An estimated 100,000 nurses are striking at 76 hospitals and health centres, cancelling an estimated 70,000 appointments, procedures and surgeries in Britain's state-funded NHS.

LONDON (AP) — British news agency Press Association reports that German tennis legend Boris Becker has been freed from prison after serving eight months of his sentence and now faces deportation from the U.K.

The 55-year-old German, who has lived in Britain since 2012, was released on Thursday morning ahead of his deportation, PA reported, without citing sources.

Becker, the three-time Wimbledon champion, ​​had been sentenced to 30 months in prison in April for illicitly transferring large amounts of money and hiding assets after he was declared bankrupt.

LONDON (AP) — Self-proclaimed free speech warrior Elon Musk’s more unfettered version of Twitter could collide with new rules in Europe, where officials warn that the social media company will have to comply with some of the world’s toughest laws targeting toxic content.

LONDON, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The United Kingdom's (UK) consumer prices index (CPI) rose by 10.7 percent in November, down from 11.1 percent in October, according to data released on Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

"Prices are still rising, but by less than this time last year with the most notable example of this being motor fuels. Tobacco and clothing prices also rose, but again by less than we saw this time last year," said ONS Chief Economist Grant Fitzner.

LONDON (AP) — Helicopters and lifeboats were dispatched to the English Channel off the coast of Kent in southern England to rescue a small boat that capsized in the freezing water, authorities said Wednesday.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed in comments before Parliament there was a loss of life but offered no specifics. Home Secretary Suella Braverman was expected to update the House of Commons later Wednesday.

LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Governor Andrew Bailey spoke to reporters after the Bank of England said investment funds and other non-bank financial institutions would face their first 'stress test' after the near-meltdown in the pension fund sector earlier this year.

Below are comments from Bailey and colleagues from the BoE at a news conference.

LONDON (AP) — Three young boys who fell through ice covering a lake in central England have died and a fourth remains hospitalized as weather forecasters issued severe weather warnings for large parts of the United Kingdom.

Rescuers pulled the boys, aged 8, 10 and 11, from the icy waters Sunday afternoon and rushed them to the hospital in the West Midlands, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of London. But they could not be revived after suffering cardiac arrest.