HALEU fuel is needed to power many of the next generation of advanced nuclear reactors, including so-called small modular versions that the UK intends to use. The first plant of the uranium fuel will be in northwest England and is scheduled to be operational by the 2030s, the government said.

London, UK - Britain's former prime minister Tony Blair has strongly denied an Israeli media report linking him to talks last week about the resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza in other countries. Channel 12 claimed on Sunday that Blair, who left office in 2007 and served as a Middle East envoy...

The Belgorod attack came a day after Ukraine said a barrage of Russian missile strikes on several cities killed at least 40 people, wounding dozens more. Fresh strikes Saturday caused more casualties in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said. Belgorod lies about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the...

The task force announced by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday initially included Britain, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain. The Iran-backed Houthis say their missile and drone strikes on passing container ships are in support of Palestinians in the Gaza war raging between Israel...

Sixty-nine million children live in poverty in the world's 40 richest countries, UNICEF said in a report, blasting Britain and France for their particularly bad standings. That's despite a drop in child poverty rates by around 8 percent in the 40 European Union and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development...

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on X, formerly Twitter, that she welcomed the agreement to "protect those who try to reveal inconvenient truths".

The resolution, prepared by Malta and adopted with 12 votes in favor, "calls for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days" to allow aid to reach civilians in the besieged territory. The text raises the question of how many days...

During parliamentary hearings, State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the move to revoke the treaty was a response to the United States' "cynicism" and "boorish attitudes" on nuclear weapons.

Qatar's top diplomat Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said the two governments -- both Western allies -- "reaffirm our complete rejection of responding to the crisis with double standards when it comes to human life". "It is not permissible to condemn the killing of civilians in one context and justify it...

Demonstrators held signs reading "Freedom for Palestine", "Stop Bombing Gaza" and "End Israeli Apartheid". Many waved Palestinian flags and some chanted "5, 6, 7, 8, Israel is a terrorist state" and "Free Palestine". Since shock Hamas attacks, Israel has launched devastating air and ground bombardments of Gaza., killing some 4,385...

Mohammed bin Salman, the Gulf kingdom's de facto ruler, made his comments during a meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who before visiting Riyadh met with Israeli leaders and pressed them to let more humanitarian aid into Gaza. Prince Mohammed "affirmed that the kingdom considers targeting civilians in Gaza...

Last year Shell inked a deal with QatarEnergy for a 9.4% stake in Qatar's North Field South project, the second phase in the expansion of the world's largest gas field, extending under the Gulf into Iranian territory. Later it also agreed to a 6.25% share in the first phase of...

Labour heads into its annual conference in Liverpool, northwest England, this weekend enjoying double-digit leads in opinion polls ahead of a general election expected next year. Many observers say that is largely down to chaotic Conservative rule that has resulted in three different prime ministers in four years, following upheaval over...

New Delhi, India - Army chiefs and senior officers from 30 countries including the United States met in India on Tuesday to discuss threats facing the Asia-Pacific region, in the face of concern at an increasingly assertive China. US Army chief Randy George said the region was "critically important", speaking to reporters...

"Just as we stand together against military aggression, so must we strive together to protect the world from our most existential challenge of all -- that of global warming, climate change and the catastrophic destruction of nature," said the king, known for campaigning on environmental issues for the past decades.

Iran's foreign ministry said that the move to withdraw accreditation from several of the UN's nuclear watchdog inspectors was in retaliation for "political abuses" by the United States, France, Germany and Britain. But IAEA director general Rafael Grossi said that this would seriously hamper the ability of the IAEA to...

The International Federation for Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has warned that the next 24 to 48 hours will be critical for saving lives as the death toll keeps rising. At the same time, global aid and support has begun to pour into Morocco, led by the UAE, Qatar,...

In a short statement, the 74-year-old British head of state recalled the "great affection" for his mother, her life and public service. "I am deeply grateful, too, for the love and support that has been shown to my wife and myself during this year as we do our utmost to...

Abu Dhabi, UAE - The UAE Ministry of Economy has announced that Zencargo, a UK-based company with expertise in digital freight forwarding, is joining its NextGenFDI program, a government initiative to attract international investment to the UAE. The company plans to establish operations in the Emirates with a view to...

It accuses Google of breaching competition law by shutting out mobile search competition and using its market dominance to increase the prices paid by advertisers for their prominence on the Google search page.

Senior royal, political and other figures and experts are set to be appointed to the committee to develop ideas and bring their recommendations to her heir, King Charles III, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The committee will also seek suggestions from the public during the preparatory process.

London, Britain - The Biden administration has implemented restrictions on the sale of Nvidia's advanced microchips to certain Middle Eastern countries, citing rising worries about China's access to crucial artificial intelligence resources, Telegraph reported on Wednesday.  Nvidia, a tech giant valued at $1.2 trillion, has been directed to obtain permission...

Former culture minister Nadine Dorries announced her intention to resign 11 weeks ago but had remained as member of parliament while she investigated why she was not given a seat in the upper house of parliament. In her letter, which she released on social media, Dorries accused Sunak of leading...

Moscow, Russia - Moscow has expanded its stop-list as a retaliatory measure barring 54 UK citizens from entering Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, quoted by Russian news agency TASS. The list now includes Lucy Frazer, UK secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, "who is promoting Russia’s...

With support from a military force from neighboring Saudi Arabia, Bahrain crushed the 2011 protests which had demanded a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister.Bahrain faced US criticism at the time, with former president Barack Obama imposing an arms embargo for four years. But Obama's successor Donald Trump fully...

The talks to be hosted in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah next weekend will discuss a path toward peace in Ukraine, convening representatives from Kyiv, Western powers and developing countries. Russia is likely to miss the meeting just as it did not participate in a similar gathering last...

London, Britain - The UK government has announced plans to reform the Consumer Credit Act (CCA) which is expected to benefit the Islamic finance industry. The proposed reform aims to encourage innovation, enhance credit accessibility, and strengthen consumer protections in the credit sector.  Dr Samir Alamad, a leading expert in...

Paris, France - The world's wealthiest nations must urgently prepare for the impact of an imminent "AI revolution" that will change jobs, create new ones and make others disappear, the OECD said Tuesday. The rapid development of artificial intelligence -- with tools that can generate essays, create images and even pass...

Thames Water, which supplies 15 million homes and businesses in London and elsewhere in southern England, has debts of almost £14 billion.

The new British sanctions regime will expand existing penalties imposed by creating new criteria under which individuals and entities can be hit. They include any Iranian activities "undermining peace, stability and security in the Middle East and internationally", and the "use and spread of weapons technologies from Iran".

Gerry Murphy is new chairperson of Britain's biggest retailer.

Exhibitions are also scheduled to take place on Saturday in the north and center of the Gaza Strip, where people are normally forbidden to approach and photograph military sites.

On Wednesday, Iran took Canada to the Hague-based International Court of Justice, the UN's top tribunal, accusing Ottawa of allowing victims of alleged terror attacks to claim damages from Tehran. Tehran's case claims that Ottawa, which listed the Islamic Republic as a sponsor of terrorism in 2012, had violated Iran's...

London, Britain - In Britain to attend London Climate Action Week 2023, COP28 President-Designate, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, urged investors to fund climate technology and also consulted with youth climate advocates to help shape the COP28 agenda. Dr Al Jaber also collaborated with the UK Government on policies which enable greater...

Responding to reports of a possible renationalization, a government statement said Thames Water's present situation was "a matter for the company and its shareholders".

PARIS, FRANCE- Common standards unveiled on Monday for companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions could curb misleading climate claims in the corporate world, the chair of the body that wrote the norms told AFP. Currently, most large companies report how many tons of carbon they emit into the atmosphere each...

The balti -- a curry of spices, coriander, onions, tomatoes and green peppers with meat or fish -- was created by Pakistani migrants to feed hungry customers from nearby pubs.

A landmark deal in 2015, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program to guarantee that Tehran could not develop a nuclear weapon -- something it has always denied wanting to do.

LONDON, UK - Greenpeace slammed Britain's power grid operator on Monday after it requested the reactivation of a coal-fired power station to meet electricity demand during a heatwave. National Grid ESO has asked energy firm Uniper to fire up a coal unit of its power station in Ratcliffe-on-Soar, central England, according...

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The world's nuclear powers, and China in particular, increased investment in their arsenals for a third consecutive year in 2022 amid swelling geopolitical tensions, two reports showed Monday. The world's nine nuclear-armed states jointly spent $82.9 billion on their arsenals last year, with the United States accounting for...

The Iraqi presidency said the duchess delivered a written message from King Charles III -- who had himself visited Iraq in 2004. The last time a British royal visited Iraq was in 2006 when the late Prince Philip visited a base for British troops deployed to Iraq as part of...

Doha, Qatar -  Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will invest up to GBP 10 billion ($12.4 billion) in the UK economy over 2022-2027, the CEO, Mansoor Bin Ebrahim Al Mahmoud said on Tuesday.  The investment pledge was made during a meeting with the UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Kemi...

The IMF said the 2023 upgrade reflected "higher-than-expected resilience" in both demand and supply, alongside improved confidence in reduced post-Brexit uncertainty as well as lower energy costs.

Meta had purchased Giphy in May 2020 for $315 million.

Vienna, Austria - Austria said on Wednesday it will ban TikTok on federal employees' work phones, joining a growing list of Western nations cracking down on the Chinese-owned social media platform due to security concerns. The decision followed advice from Austria's intelligence services and several ministry experts. Similar measures have recently...

The Saudi company posts net profit of $31.9bn, down 19.25 percent from a year earlier.

To prevent a damaging oil spill in the Red Sea, the UN Development Programme in March took the unprecedented step of purchasing its own supertanker to remove more than a million barrels of oil from the beleaguered FSO Safer. The 47-year-old ship has not been serviced since Yemen's civil war...

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority prevented the deal "over concerns... (it) would alter the future of the fast-growing cloud gaming market, leading to reduced innovation and less choice for UK gamers over the years to come", the CMA said in a final decision on its long-running probe.

London, United Kingdom - Britain on Thursday warned against the threat of protectionism as it slammed the United States for leading a "distortive" green energy subsidy race. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt's remarks came as his government updated its energy security plan to ramp up renewable and nuclear power. The Conservative government...

Paris, France - France on Friday banned public-sector employees from downloading "recreational applications" on their work phones, the public services ministry said, with a ministerial source adding that Chinese-owned TikTok would be among them. Following bans of TikTok in other European countries, "the government has decided from now on to ban...