United Kingdom

LONDON, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- As Brexit headlines continue to dominate British politics and the election campaign as the United Kingdom (UK) heads for a general election in December, business leaders say that the vote must break the Brexit gridlock in Parliament.

In their addresses at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference on Monday, the leaders of the country's three main national parties sent vastly different Brexit messages to a room filled with business leaders.

LONDON (Reuters) - There is a threat to British business from both the left and the right of politics, the country’s biggest business lobby group the CBI warned on Monday, a month before voters head to the polls to elect a new government.

“I believe we are facing a danger that could get in the way of a bright future, and it takes the form of extreme ideology. And we see it on both sides of the political divide,” said CBI Director General Carolyn Fairbairn.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will tell business leaders on Monday that his pledge to take Britain out of the EU swiftly will end uncertainty and boost the economy, seeking to win over industrialists who have mainly opposed Brexit.

Johnson called a Dec. 12 election in a bid to end three years of political crisis since the 2016 52%-48% vote to leave the EU that has shaken investors’ faith in the United Kingdom — once considered one of the pillars of Western stability.

LONDON, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has revealed that every Conservative Party candidate standing in the country's general election on Dec. 12 has personally pledged to back his Brexit deal.

In his first major newspaper interview of the election campaign, Johnson told the Sunday Telegraph that he has asked all 635 of his candidates to sign up to a pledge to back his Brexit Withdrawal Agreement in the House of Commons.

17 November 2019; AFP: A US businesswoman at the centre of controversy over whether Boris Johnson showed her inappropriate favouritism amid an alleged affair said Sunday she had been left "heartbroken" and "humiliated" by the British prime minister.

Jennifer Arcuri, who is accused of getting privileged access to foreign trade jaunts and grants when Johnson was previously London mayor, told Britain's ITV he was treating her like "some fleeting one-night stand".

LONDON (AP) — A senior Labour party official says leaks from a report on Russian interference in British politics raises serious questions about the security of next month’s election.

The Sunday Times says the report from Parliament’s intelligence committee concludes that Russian interference may have affected Britain’s 2016 Brexit referendum, though the impact was “unquantifiable.” The Times says the report discusses the impact of articles posted by Russian new sites that were widely disseminated on social media.

LONDON, Nov 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled a planned campaign visit to a bakery in southwest England on Thursday after protesters gathered outside.

Johnson was due to visit the bakery in Glastonbury as part of a tour to drum up support ahead of a snap election on Dec 12, which he called to try and win a majority in parliament that would allow him to take Britain out of the European Union.

LONDON (Reuters) - British police said they are investigating the alleged assault on the Hong Kong justice secretary in London, but so far there have been not been any arrests.

Teresa Cheng, who was in London to promote Hong Kong as a dispute resolution and deal-making hub, was targeted on Thursday by a group of protesters who shouted “murderer” and “shameful”.

“A woman was taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service suffering an injury to her arm,” the police said in a statement.

EDINBURGH, Nov 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A former Catalan minister wanted in Spain for rebellion has vowed to fight against extradition after being arrested in Scotland where she is working as a university academic.

Professor Clara Ponsati, 62, was one of five fugitive Catalan officials being sought for trial in Spain after last year’s declaration of independence by leaders of the country’s wealthiest region. If found guilty of “violent rebellion” and misappropriation of funds she could be jailed for up to 30 years.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s opposition Labour Party plans to nationalize BT’s broadband network to provide free internet for all, a radical election pledge to roll back 35 years of private ownership that caught both the company and its shareholders by surprise.

Labour said its proposed overhaul of Britain’s telecoms infrastructure would be paid for by raising taxes on tech firms such as Alphabet’s Google, Amazon and Facebook and using its Green Transformation fund.