United Kingdom

LONDON, Dec 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Passengers at UK airports on Friday faced long delays as Border Force officers walked out in the latest of a string of strikes by public sector workers over pay.

The action follows stoppages this week by nurses and ambulance workers, angered by the government’s refusal to increase pay following years of wage stagnation and a cost of living crisis that has seen inflation running at nearly 11 percent.

LONDON, Dec 24 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced criticism on Saturday for seeming out of touch with ordinary people when he asked a homeless man at a charity whether he "worked in business" and wanted to get into the finance industry.

Sunak, a former Goldman Sachs banker and one of Britain's wealthiest people, was serving breakfast at a homeless shelter in London on Friday, when he began chatting with a man who identified himself as Dean.

23 Dec 2022; MEMO: Three Jewish anti-racism activists critical of the state of Israel were reportedly expelled from the UK Labour Party over the past week, which under the leadership of Keir Starmer has been accused of a relentless crackdown of pro-Palestine Jews and left-wing activists.

LONDON, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- With the year-end holidays just around the corner, the pre-Christmas shopping frenzy is quieter than usual across Europe, as the soaring prices of energy and food have taken a heavy toll on consumer confidence, disrupting people's spending plans.

"It affects us a lot, the Christmas dinners, the gifts, their number and cost. This year we are particularly careful about all of these," Sedjkin, a United Kingdom (UK) resident, told Xinhua.

LONDON (AP) — Air travelers faced possible delays at U.K. airports Friday as government employees who check passports went on strike in the latest of a spate of walkouts over pay amid a cost-of-living crisis.

France braced for similar Christmas travel disruption, with a weekend rail strike starting to bite on Friday.

The strike by Border Force staff was due to continue through the end of the year, with the exception of next Tuesday.

22 Dec 2022; MEMO: Turkiye has rejected a Chinese lecture regarding its fight against the People's Defence Units (YPG) in Syria, a group which the Turkish government has designated as a terrorist organisation.

China's Deputy UN Ambassador Geng Shuang accused Turkiye on Wednesday of "repeatedly pounding northern Syria with air strikes and artillery shelling and threatening to launch ground operations."  He called at the Security Council for Turkiye to "immediately cease cross-border attacks."

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of ambulance workers in Britain began a one-day strike on Wednesday, with unions and the government swapping accusations of blame for putting lives at risk.

The government advised people not to play contact sports, take unnecessary car trips or get drunk in order to reduce their risk of needing an ambulance, as paramedics, call-handlers and technicians across England and Wales staged their biggest walkout in three decades.

20 Dec 2022; MEMO: Students at Queen Mary University, London, have voted to disaffiliate from the National Union of Students (NUS) in response to Shaima Dallali being fired as president.

Queen Mary Students' Union accused the NUS of having "contributed to the spread of anti-Palestinian racism" by firing Dallali, and described her removal as an "affront to the democratic nature that the NUS purports to obtain".

LONDON, December 19. /TASS/: The US fears that Russia and China could exchange strategies that seek to undermine NATO unity, US permanent representative to the alliance, Julianne Smith, said on Tuesday.

"They [Russia and China] are increasingly using common tools that should be of concern to NATO, the Financial Times quoted Smith as saying.

The US diplomat said she believes that Moscow and Beijing are "exchanging hybrid tactics", which creates such factors as risks to energy supplies and cybersecurity problems."

19 Dec 2022; MEMO: Former England footballer David Beckham has praised the quality of the visitor experience at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar for uniting fans from across the globe. Beckham played in three World Cup tournaments for the England team.

"Seeing the fans come together and the level of football, it's been amazing," he told Qatar2022.qa. "It's been a privilege to see the excitement and the fun the fans are having."