United Kingdom

British PM approves Huawei role in 5G network

24 Apr 2019; AFP: British Prime Minister Theresa May has given the go-ahead for China's Huawei to help build a 5G network, shrugging off security warnings from senior ministers and Washington, the Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday.

The country's National Security Council, which is chaired by May, agreed Tuesday to allow the Chinese technology giant limited access to build "non-core" infrastructure such as antennas, the report said.

Woman arrested over Northern Ireland journalist's murder

23 Apr 2019; DW: Detectives investigating the murder of Northern Irish journalist Lyra McKee have arrested a 57-year-old woman under the Terrorism Act in connection with the incident, police said Tuesday.

The arrest came a day after police released two men without charge and hours after the armed republican group known as the New IRA told The Irish News newspaper that one of its members shot McKee in the city of Londonderry/Derry on Thursday.

UK PM to face unprecedented vote of no confidence from grassroots Conservatives

LONDON, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Prime Minister Theresa May is to face an unprecedented vote of no confidence in her leadership, another one since December, from her grassroots supporters within the Conservative Party in an attempt to oust her over her handling of Brexit, British media reported on Monday.

According to the BBC, more than 70 bosses of local Conservative associations have signed a petition calling for an extraordinary general meeting, with May's position at the top of the agenda.

British prisons use secret technology to catch inmates using illegal cellphones

LONDON, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Special mobile detection kits are being used to detect and seize illegal cellphones used by prisoners, British Justice Secretary David Gauke said Sunday.

The kits allow guards to pinpoint a cellphone signal down to a precise prison cell as part of a wider effort to reduce violence and drug use and restore stability in British prisons, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said.

The technology is the latest weapon in the fight against phone smuggling which leads to drug-dealing and violence, said the ministry.

Northern Ireland police free 2 men held in reporter’s death

LONDON (AP) — Two teenagers who were arrested in the shooting death of a 29-year-old journalist in Northern Ireland have been released from police custody without being charged.

Police let the 18- and 19-year-old men go Sunday night and appealed to anyone with information about whoever killed Lyra McKee to come forward.

McKee was fatally wounded during rioting Thursday night in the city of Londonderry.

Police say she was probably hit by a bullet someone fired at police. Video from the scene showed a gunman wearing a black face mask aiming at officers.

Two young men held over killing of N. Irish journalist

20 Apr 2019; AFP: Two young men have been arrested over the killing of a journalist shot dead in Northern Ireland, police said Saturday, after the murder triggered international condemnation.

The 18- and 19-year-old men were arrested in Derry, also known as Londonderry, under anti-terror laws and taken to Belfast for questioning, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said.

Climate protesters march in London again; arrests hit 710

LONDON (AP) — London police say more than 710 people have been arrested and some 28 have been charged since climate change protests began earlier this week in the British capital.

The Extinction Rebellion protests started Monday and have at times paralyzed parts of London, with peaceful demonstrations at Waterloo Bridge, Oxford Circus and other key landmarks.

Protesters were out again Saturday, urging the British government to make fighting climate change its top priority.

British cyber expert pleads guilty to creating malware

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A British cybersecurity researcher credited with stopping a worldwide computer virus has pleaded guilty to developing malware to steal banking information.

Federal prosecutors in Wisconsin and Marcus Hutchins’ attorneys said in a joint court filing Friday that the 24-year-old agreed to plead guilty to developing malware called Kronos and conspiring to distribute it from 2012 to 2015. In exchange for his plea to those charges, prosecutors dismissed eight more.

Queen Elizabeth II turns 93 on Easter Sunday

LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating her 93rd birthday, which this year coincides with Easter Sunday.

The queen is marking Easter by attending a service with other senior royals at St. George’s Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle, west of London.

She was joined by Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry, whose wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is expecting their first child in the coming weeks and did not attend.

Northern Ireland police release video in hunt for New IRA killer

LONDON (AP) — Police in Northern Ireland searched for multiple suspects Friday after the fatal shooting of a journalist during rioting in Londonderry and sought help from the public to get “a killer off the streets” and into custody.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee was shot and killed, probably by a stray bullet, during overnight rioting in the city’s Creggan neighborhood. It said the New IRA dissident group was most likely responsible.

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