England

LONDON (AP) — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg met top European Union officials on a visit to Brussels on Monday, days before the bloc is expected to release new proposals on regulating artificial intelligence.

The billionaire social network founder is the latest U.S. tech executive to make the trip to the headquarters of the EU, which is becoming an increasingly important player in technology regulation. Zuckerberg’s visit came as the company warned that potential regulation risked stifling innovation.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain does not need any special arrangements in its future relationship with the European Union, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said on Monday, adding that it wants a trade agreement similar to other deals the EU has struck.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s EU advisor, David Frost, will give a speech later setting out what Britain wants from the future relationship. The spokesman said that Britain wants a relationship based on friendly cooperation and that it was ready to start negotiations with the EU now.

LONDON (AP) — Britain issued five “severe” flood alerts on Monday, warning there’s a danger to life after Storm Dennis dumped weeks worth of rain in some places. It gale-force winds also caused flooding and power outages across other parts of northern Europe.

The severe flood warnings were for the central English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire. The Met Office, Britain’s meteorological agency, issued another 221 flood warnings for England, along with 24 for Wales and 12 for Scotland.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will “turn off the tap” of foreign, low-skilled labor and require all skilled workers wishing to come to the country to have a job offer and meet salary and language requirements as it sets post-Brexit rules from next year.

Britain formally left the European Union at the end of January but a transition period is in effect until Dec. 31, during which time little changes.

LONDON, February 15. /TASS/: The Russian Embassy in the UK has expressed bewilderment about remarks by Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Heather Wheeler who claimed that Christians' rights were not respected in Russia.

Wheeler made such a statement in the British parliament on February 6, mentioning Russia as part of a debate on the persecution of Christians around the world. She provided neither details nor evidence to substantiate her claims.

LONDON (Reuters) - For years, Bank of England boss Mark Carney warned of the economic risks of Britain leaving the European Union. Now that it has happened, he says there could be a silver lining in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plans to boost growth.

Speaking to Reuters a month before he ends his nearly seven-year term as BoE governor, Carney said Britain was moving to address its main economic problem - weak productivity.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Big Ben tower at the Houses of Parliament was more badly damaged by German bombs during World War Two than originally thought, experts said on Thursday, as the bill for its restoration rose by nearly 20 million pounds ($25 million).

The 177-year-old tower has been swathed in scaffolding for the past three years as craftsmen refurbish its stonework and famous 12-tonne clock.

Being able to get close to the 315-foot (96m) tower has allowed them to spot other problems like damage caused by pollution and asbestos.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s financial regulators are probing historical links between Barclays Chief Executive Jes Staley and the U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, the bank said on Thursday.

Barclays said its board had looked into media reports on Staley’s relationship with Epstein, and probed Staley’s characterization of that relationship.

The Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority are investigating.

LONDON, Feb 12 (APP): Minister for Law and Justice Barrister Farogh Naseem has said that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government was committed to eradicating corruption and ensuring rule of law for socio-economic prosperity and wellbeing of the people in the country.

He stated this while addressing as chief guest at a reception hosted by the Pakistan High Commission on Tuesday evening to celebrate the victor of fifteen elected members of the British Parliament of Pakistani origin in the recent United Kingdom (UK) general elections held in December 12,2019.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Monday that the new coronavirus was a serious and imminent threat to public health, a step that gives the government additional powers to fight the spread of the virus.

“The Secretary of State declares that the incidence or transmission of novel coronavirus constitutes a serious and imminent threat to public health,” the health ministry said.

“Measures outlined in these regulations are considered as an effective means of delaying or preventing further transmission of the virus,” the ministry said.