United Kingdom

LONDON (AP) — A group of winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature urged world leaders on Wednesday to raise human rights issues as they visit Egypt for the COP27 climate change conference.

In a letter sent to various heads of state, the group of 15 Nobel Laureates asked the visiting diplomats and politicians to “devote part of your agenda to the many thousands of political prisoners held in Egypt’s prisons.” In particular, they asked for the case of prominent imprisoned activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah to be raised, as he escalates his hunger strike on the conference’s first day.

LONDON (AP) — Former U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who led Britain’s response to COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic, was suspended by the Conservative Party on Tuesday after signing up to a reality TV show.

Hancock, who is no longer in government but remains a member of Parliament, is to compete on “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here.” The show sends a group of famous people, often C-list celebrities, to the Australian rainforest, subjects them to trials involving spiders and snakes, and allows the public to vote them out one by one.

LONDON, Oct 31 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — United Kingdom’s new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, congratulated president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his victory in Brazil’s election against incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro, saying he looked forward to coordinating on issues including protecting the planet’s natural resources.

LONDON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Britain on Monday warned Russian President Vladimir Putin of severe consequences if Moscow uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine, saying such a step would change the nature of the conflict.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also urged Russia not to impede grain exports, and said that "increasingly desperate statements" from the Kremlin were designed to distract from its faltering war effort.

Putin has said that Russia hasn't talked about using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, saying instead that Kyiv could create and detonate a "dirty bomb".

LONDON (AP) — The British government insisted Sunday it has robust cybersecurity for government officials, after a newspaper reported that former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ phone was hacked while she was U.K. foreign minister.

The Mail on Sunday said that the hack was discovered when Truss was running to become Conservative Party leader and prime minister in the summer. It said the security breach was kept secret by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the head of the civil service.

LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Russia said on Saturday that the accelerated deployment of modernised U.S. B61 tactical nuclear weapons at NATO bases in Europe would lower the "nuclear threshold" and that Russia would take the move into account in its military planning.

Russia has about 2,000 working tactical nuclear weapons while the United States has around 200 such weapons, half of which are at bases in Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belgium and the Netherlands.

LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday that British navy personnel blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month, a claim that London said was false and designed to distract from Russian military failures in Ukraine.

Russia did not give evidence for its claim that a leading NATO member had sabotaged critical Russian infrastructure amid the worst crisis in relations between the West and Russia since the depths of the Cold War.

LONDON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - The Bank of England looks set to raise borrowing costs by the most since 1989 next week even as it prepares for a recession that could be deepened by spending cuts under new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

As well as raising interest rates on Thursday for an eighth meeting in a row to tame inflation above 10% - this time by three-quarters of a percentage point according to most analysts - the BoE is also due to become the world's first big central bank to start selling bonds from its stimulus stockpile on Tuesday.

LONDON (AP) — Northern Ireland’s political deadlock deepened Friday when the U.K. government delayed calling an early election for the Belfast-based Assembly after a deadline to restore the mothballed administration expired.

The limbo means more uncertainty and delays to government decision-making at a time when many people in Northern Ireland are struggling with soaring food and energy prices.

LONDON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - A senior Russian foreign ministry official said that commercial satellites from the United States and its allies could become legitimate targets for Russia if they were involved in the war in Ukraine.

Russia, which in 1957 launched Sputnik 1, the first manmade satellite, into space and in 1961 put the first man in outer space, has a significant offensive space capability - as do the United States and China. In 2021, Russia launched an anti-satellite missile to destroy one of its own satellites.