England

LONDON (AP) — Tony Blair, the British prime minister who deployed troops to Afghanistan 20 years ago after the 9/11 attacks, says the U.S. decision to withdraw from the country has “every Jihadist group round the world cheering.”

In a lengthy essay posted on his website late Saturday, Blair said the sudden and chaotic pullout that allowed the Taliban to reclaim power undermined everything that had been achieved in Afghanistan over the past two decades, including advances in living standards and the education of girls.

LONDON, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that Britain will work with the Taliban "if necessary," as the group has regained the control of Afghanistan.

"What I want to assure people is that our political and diplomatic efforts to find a solution for Afghanistan -- working with the Taliban, of course, if necessary -- will go on," Johnson told reporters.

He said the situation at the Kabul airport, where thousands of Afghans gathered in hopes of boarding an evacuation flight, was getting "slightly better" and he saw "stabilization."

LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab defended his response to the fall of Afghanistan on Friday, dismissing as inaccurate media reports that he failed to help evacuate local translators who had worked for Britain because he was on holiday.

"The whole of government has been working tirelessly over the last week to help as many people evacuate from Afghanistan as possible," Raab said, adding that he had been focused on events at the airport.

LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - London's police warned on Friday that protests by environmental activists planned for the next two weeks will cause disruption across the capital and will distract officers from dealing with crime.

Extinction Rebellion, which caused days of traffic chaos in London two years ago, said it will target the capital's financial district in disruptive protests which are due to start on Monday.

The group accuses financial firms of helping to fuel climate change and it brought much of central London to a standstill during 11 days of action in 2019.

LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The ruling Scottish National Party agreed a power-sharing deal with the Scottish Green Party on Friday that cements a pro-independence majority in the devolved parliament ahead of a looming political battle over the future of the United Kingdom.

The deal between the SNP and the Greens, who will be part of a government for the first time in British history, will increase the pressure on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to allow a second independence referendum.

LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The United States is joining with Britain in taking action against those responsible for poisoning Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the two countries said in a joint statement released by the U.S. State Department on Friday.

Earlier on Friday, Britain sanctioned seven men it said were Russian intelligence operatives suspected of involvement in the poisoning Navalny, describing the move as a warning to Russia over its use of chemical weapons.

The statement did not outline any specific actions.

LONDON, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Group of Seven (G7) on Thursday sought to secure close cooperation in personnel evacuation and the resettlement of refugees as chaos continues at the Kabul airport amid the hasty withdrawal of the U.S.-led military troops in Afghanistan and the Taliban's swift takeover of the Asian country.

LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - The world should give the Taliban the space to form a new government in Afghanistan and may discover that the insurgents cast as militants by the West for decades have become more reasonable, the head of the British army said on Wednesday.

The leaders of the Taliban will show themselves to the world, an official of the Islamist movement said on Wednesday, unlike during the last 20 years, when its leaders have lived largely in secret. 

LONDON, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Britain reported another 170 coronavirus-related deaths, the highest number of fatalities recorded in one day since March 12, according to official figures released Tuesday.

The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 131,149. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

Another 26,852 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 6,322,241.

LONDON, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Tuesday that Britain is looking at "bespoke" resettlement scheme for Afghan refugees following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

Raab told the BBC that details of the new resettlement scheme would be set out by the British home secretary and prime minister "in due course".

Britain had already admitted more than 3,300 Afghan interpreters, staff and their families for resettlement, according to the British Home Office.