United Kingdom

UK: US tax breaks lure European clean tech companies as EU lags

LONDON (AP) — Norwegian startup Freyr will first build batteries to power electric vehicles and store clean energy in a remote town near the Arctic Circle. Up next? An Atlanta suburb.

That’s because a new U.S. clean energy law offers generous tax credits — up to 40% of costs — in what is a “massive, massive incentive” for producing in America, CEO Tom Einar Jensen said.

UK: More than 6,000 troops to play role in Charles’ coronation

LONDON (AP) — More than 6,000 British military personnel will take part in the coronation of King Charles III, the U.K. forces’ biggest ceremonial deployment in seven decades, the government said Sunday.

The Ministry of Defense said thousands of soldiers, sailors and aviators will escort the king and Camilla, the queen consort, between Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey on their way to and from the May 6 ceremony.

UK: ‘Voices of the World’ Commonwealth tunes chosen for King Charles Coronation

London, Apr 15 (PTI) A jazzy toe-tapping composition entitled ‘Voices of the World’ will combine the diversity of tunes from across the Commonwealth as part of a range of special compositions chosen for King Charles III’s Coronation ceremony next month, Buckingham Palace revealed on Saturday.

Charles, 74, and Camilla, 75, are to be crowned Britain’s King and Queen at a grand ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London on May 6.

USA: Deadlock in N. Ireland hard to break despite Biden's visit

LONDON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- During his visit to Belfast on Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden called for the restoration of the power-sharing government in Northern Ireland. However, analysts do not expect his plea to lead to significant change.

An effective devolved government reflects the people of Northern Ireland and is accountable to them, a government that works to find ways through hard problems together is going to draw even greater opportunity to this region, Biden said in a speech delivered at Ulster University.

UK: Biden urges N.Ireland leaders to seize 'incredible economic opportunity'

BELFAST, April 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden urged Northern Irish political leaders to restore their powersharing government with the promise that scores of major U.S. corporations were ready to invest in the region as he marked the 25th anniversary of peace in Belfast.

Biden, who is fiercely proud of his Irish heritage, spent just over half a day in the UK region - where he met British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak - before leaving for the Irish Republic for two-and-a-half days of speeches and meetings with officials and distant relatives.

UK: Biden to help mark decades of relative peace in N Ireland

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — President Joe Biden is in Northern Ireland on Wednesday to participate in marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to this part of the United Kingdom after the U.S. helped negotiate an end to decades of sectarian violence that killed thousands.

UK lawmakers call on US to halt Assange's extradition process

11 Apr 2023; MEMO: Dozens of parliamentarians from six parties as well as independent MPs and Lords in the UK have called on the US Attorney-General to drop extradition proceedings against WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, Anadolu News Agency reports.

On the fourth anniversary of Julian Assange's imprisonment, 23 British MPs and 14 Lords, wrote a letter on Tuesday, demanding Merrick Garland to close Assange's extradition process.

UK's scandal-hit CBI fires director-general after complaints

LONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - The Confederation of British Industry, a leading business group, said it had fired Tony Danker as director-general after an investigation into complaints of workplace misconduct, and replaced him with its former chief economist, Rain Newton-Smith.

"The allegations that have been made over recent weeks about the CBI have been devastating," it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Britain to encourage smokers to swap cigarettes for vapes

LONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - Up to one million smokers will be encouraged to swap cigarettes for "vapes", with pregnant women offered financial incentives to make the change in what will be a world first, the British government said on Tuesday.

Under the scheme, almost one in five smokers will be given a vape - an e-cigarette - starter kit along with support to help quit smoking, the Department of Health (DoH) said.

UK junior doctors begin 4-day strike, seeking hefty pay hike

LONDON (AP) — Tens of thousands of doctors walked off the job across England on Tuesday, kicking off a four-day strike billed as the most disruptive in the history of the U.K.’s public health service.

The walkout by junior doctors, who form the backbone of hospital and clinic care in the National Health Service, is due to last until 7 a.m. on Saturday.

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