United Kingdom

WHITEHAVEN, England (AP) — In the patchwork of hills, lakes and sea that makes up England’s northwest corner, most people see beauty. Dave Cradduck sees broken dreams.

The coal mine where Cradduck once worked has long closed. The chemical factory that employed thousands is gone. The nuclear power plant is being decommissioned.

For the 74-year-old Cradduck, a plan for a new coal mine that could bring hundreds of jobs is cause for hope.

LONDON, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Britain and the European Union held "constructive" technical discussions on the Northern Ireland Protocol, but substantial gaps remain on the role of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), according to a British government source.

"The talks this week were constructive and we've heard some things from the EU that we can work with - but the reality is that we are still far apart on the big issues, especially governance," the source said on Saturday night.

LONDON, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Britain on Friday voiced strong opposition to the "irresponsible remarks" recently made by British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Hong Kong affairs.

The spokesperson made the remarks while responding to a question concerning a statement made by Truss on Thursday when he expressed concerns over the disqualification or resignation of some District Councilors in Hong Kong, which interfered in China's internal affairs.

LONDON (AP) — Prince Charles issued a warning to the world days before leaders gather in the U.K. for crucial United Nations climate talks, saying there is a “dangerously narrow” window to tackle global warning.

The heir to the British throne said Saturday that the summit, which starts Oct. 31 in Glasgow, showed that “after far too long,” climate change and biodiversity loss are at last “of paramount importance to the world.”

22 Oct 2021; MEMO: Less than a third of Brits support UK trade deals with Saudi Arabia, according to recently released government figures on public attitudes which were revealed as the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, meets senior figures in the oil-rich kingdom.

A survey carried out by the Department for International Trade (DIT) earlier this year showed just 27 per cent of the public would support a trade deal with Saudi Arabia compared with 64 per cent for both Australia and New Zealand, for example, and 57 per cent for the US.

LONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - British police on Thursday charged a 25-year-old Londoner of Somali heritage with stabbing a lawmaker to death in a church, a case that has raised fears about the safety of elected politicians.

Prosecutor James Cable told the court that Ali Harbi Ali, the son of an ex-media adviser to a former prime minister of Somalia, was an Islamic State supporter who had for years planned to kill a member of parliament.

20 Oct 2021; MEMO: All investigations into the war crimes and abuses committed by British soldiers in Iraq have now been closed, without resulting in any prosecutions.

The Service Police Legacy Investigations (SPLI), which was staffed by Royal Navy Police and Royal Air Force Police, has investigated the claims by Iraqi civilians of British soldiers' serious criminal behaviour which are alleged to have taken place from 2003 during the US-led invasion, until 2009.

LONDON (AP) — The world needs to cut by more than half its production of coal, oil and gas in the coming decade to maintain a chance of keeping global warming from reaching dangerous levels, according to a U.N.-backed study released Wednesday.

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The brother of a suicide bomber who killed 22 people in Manchester in May 2017 has left Britain ahead of a scheduled appearance on Thursday at a public inquiry investigating the attack, the inquiry was told on Tuesday.

Salman Abedi blew himself up at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena venue, as parents arrived to collect their children. Among those killed were seven children, the youngest aged eight, while 237 people were injured.

LONDON (AP) — Facebook said it plans to hire 10,000 workers in the European Union over the next five years to work on a new computing platform that promises to connect people virtually but could raise concerns about privacy and the social platform gaining more control over people’s online lives.

The company said in a blog post Sunday that those high-skilled workers will help build “the metaverse,” a futuristic notion for connecting online that uses augmented and virtual reality.