ZURICH (Reuters) – Migration to Switzerland slowed in early 2016, authorities said on Tuesday, as the country moves closer towards its self-imposed deadline to curb the influx of European Union workers. Switzerland is two-thirds of the way through a three-year timetable to enforce a binding 2014 referendum vote in favour of migration quotas which would violate a bilateral pact with Brussels guaranteeing freedom of movement for EU workers. Compromise talks are on ice before Britain […]
Tag: Britain
Britain says South China Sea arbitration ruling must be binding
Britain said on Monday a ruling expected in the next few months in an international arbitration case the Philippines has brought against China’s South China Sea claims must be binding. Hugo Swire, British minister of state responsible for East Asia, also said Britain saw the ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague as an opportunity for China and the Philippines to renewed dialogue over their territorial disputes. China claims virtually all of […]
Britain gets new national daily
London, United Kingdom (AFP)—One of Britain’s largest newspaper publishers announced Monday it was launching a new national daily, the first of its kind for 30 years, that will hit the newsstands just as another goes out of print. Trinity Mirror, which publishes the left-leaning Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror tabloids, said The New Day will go on sale on February 29 and offer an “upbeat, optimistic approach and will be politically neutral.” The announcement […]
Cameron seals ‘Brexit’ deal after marathon EU summit
by Danny Kemp and Katherine Haddon BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP)–European leaders finally sealed a deal Friday on British Prime Minister David Cameron’s reforms after hours of haggling at a marathon summit, paving the way for a referendum on whether Britain will stay in the EU. The European Union’s two top figures, Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker, presented its 28 leaders with draft proposals at a long-delayed dinner after hours of painstaking face-to-face talks on an issue […]
Hollande: ‘I’ll do what is needed to keep UK in Europe’
PARIS, France (AFP)– French President Francois Hollande said on Friday he would do what is necessary to keep Britain in the European Union — on condition that “Europe can still move forward”. “I’ll do what is needed to keep the United Kingdom in Europe, but on condition that Europe can still move forward,” Hollande told French radio as a key Brussels summit was set to go on late into the evening. But with Prime […]
Storm Imogen batters Britain with strong winds and rain
JERSEY, Channel Islands, United Kingdom (Reuters) — Storm Imogen sent 100 mile per hour winds and 60-foot waves hurtling towards the British coastline on Monday (February 8), leaving much of southern England and Wales battered. In Devon, families were left trapped inside their homes after collapsed trees blocked their way out. But the damage was more serious for the residents of one apartment building in Bristol, where tree branches had actually come hurtling through their walls […]
EU proposals on Britain pave way for deal, Dutch foreign minister says
(Reuters) — A proposal to help persuade Britain to remain in the European Union is likely to be agreed by EU leaders, the Netherlands, which holds the EU rotating presidency, said on Wednesday (February 3). Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders told the European Parliament the proposal on reforming Britain’s relationship with the EU presented on Tuesday by the European Council will help reach a solution that is acceptable to all members, including Britain. “All […]
Britain’s queen opens new railway as she becomes longest-reigning monarch
(Reuters) –Queen Elizabeth sealed a special place in the Britain’s history by becoming its longest-reigning monarch on Wednesday (September 9), but amid warm tributes from politicians and the public, she said the landmark was not something to which she had ever aspired. Elizabeth, 89, surpasses the 63 years, 7 months, 2 days, 16 hours and 23 minutes that her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria spent on the throne. The occasion was marked by cheering, flag-waving crowds on […]
Queen Elizabeth becomes Britain’s longest-ruling monarch on Sept 9
(Reuters) — After 63 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth becomes Britain’s longest-ruling monarch on September 9 but there is little prospect of her stepping aside, as other ageing European crowned heads have done, in favour of her son, Charles. Those close to Elizabeth – who on September 9 takes the long-service record from her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria – say the 89-year-old has no intention of succumbing to the European fashion for abdication. That means […]
Britain screens passengers for Ebola
Britain made a statement saying that it will start screening passengers entering the country thru London’s two main airports as well as the Eurostar Tunnel for symptoms of Ebola.
Scots spurn independence but impatient for new powers
(Reuters) – Scotland spurned independence in a historic referendum that threatened to rip the United Kingdom apart, sow financial turmoil and diminish Britain’s remaining global clout. A vote for the 307-year union is a relief for millions of Britons including Prime Minister David Cameron, whose job was on the line, as well as allies across the world who were horrified at the prospect of the United Kingdom’s separation. Unionists won 55 percent of the vote […]
UK’s Cameron resists calls for air strikes despite hostage killing
(Reuters) – Britain resisted pressure on Sunday to join the United States in announcing air strikes against Islamic State after the militant group beheaded David Haines, a British hostage, and threatened to kill another Briton. Speaking after chairing a meeting of the government’s COBR emergency-response committee in London, Prime Minister David Cameron said his government was battling IS on numerous fronts but made clear it was not, for now, launching air strikes. “As this strategy […]
