United Kingdom

LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) - Russia's top state investigative body said on Saturday it was looking into a Russian media report alleging that sabotage experts from Britain's SAS special forces have been deployed to western Ukraine.

The Special Air Service is an elite military force trained to conduct special operations, surveillance and counter-terrorism. Russia's RIA Novosti news agency on Saturday quoted a Russian security source as saying about 20 SAS members had been sent to the Lviv region.

LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) - Russia said on Saturday it plans to deploy its newly tested Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, capable of mounting nuclear strikes against the United States, by autumn.

The target stated by Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Roscosmos space agency, is an ambitious one as Russia reported its first test-launch only on Wednesday and Western military experts say more will be needed before the missile can be deployed. 

LONDON, April 21 (Xinhua) -- British lawmakers on Thursday approved an investigation into Prime Minister Boris Johnson over claims he misled the parliament about rules-busting parties in Downing Street during lockdown, casting further doubts on his political future.

A Labour-led motion called for the Committee of Privileges to examine allegations that the Conservative prime minister misled the House of Commons, the lower house of the British Parliament, when he denied lockdown rules were broken in Downing Street.

LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers looked likely Thursday to order an investigation into Prime Minister Boris Johnson for allegedly lying about whether he broke coronavirus restrictions by attending illegal gatherings during the pandemic.

The opposition Labour Party has called a House of Commons vote that, if passed, would trigger a watchdog committee probe of Johnson for allegedly misleading Parliament. Ministers found to have knowingly misled Parliament are generally expected to resign.

LONDON, April 20. /TASS/: London's Westminster Magistrates' Court has issued an order for the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring announced at a brief hearing on Wednesday.

British Home Secretary Priti Patel will now handle the extradition case against Assange, who faces 175 years in prison in the US on charges of leaking classified information. Even if the home secretary grants Assange’s extradition, his defense team will still have an opportunity to file an appeal with the High Court.

LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - Western governments jointly warned on Wednesday about a potential threat of increased malicious cyber activity by Russia against critical infrastructure as a response to sanctions imposed as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine.

The cybersecurity agencies of the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand - which together form the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance - said the war could expose organisations everywhere to cyber crime.

LONDON, April 19. /TASS/: UK authorities intend to revoke the recognized stock exchange status from the Moscow Exchange, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) said in its statement on Tuesday.

"The UK’s tax authority, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), has today (19 April 2022) announced its intention to revoke the Moscow Stock Exchange’s (MOEX) status as a recognized stock exchange," the authority said.

"This means investors will not be able to access certain UK tax benefits in future when trading securities on MOEX, although existing investments will be protected," it added.

LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rishi Sunak will boycott some G20 meetings in Washington this week if Russia attends, as part of diplomatic efforts to isolate Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, a British government source said on Tuesday.

United States officials said on Monday that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen would skip some meetings of finance ministers from the G20 - a group of advanced and emerging economies - if Russian officials were present. 

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing British lawmakers on Tuesday for the first time since he was fined by police for attending a birthday party in his office that broke coronavirus lockdown rules.

As the House of Commons returns from an 11-day Easter break, Johnson is expected to apologize for what he insists was a minor slip-up — but rebuff opposition calls to resign for flouting the restrictions that he imposed on the country during the pandemic.

LONDON, April 18. /TASS/: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed that he did not violate Covid-related restrictions in 2020 despite the fine he paid, the Times reported Sunday citing its source.

According to the report, Johnson will try to minimize the consequences of the scandal around the parties at Downing Street held at the peak of the first waves of the pandemic in his speech at the House Monday. He also plans to touch upon the new fines that the police imposed on him, his spouse Carrie and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak over the 2020 parties, the source said.