Britain | DD News

June 9, 2026 9:36 PM

Britain, Canada, France and Norway announce coordinated sanctions over West Bank settler violence

Britain, Canada, France and Norway announced new coordinated sanctions on Tuesday against Israeli networks involved in financing, enabling and carrying out violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The move follows escalating violence by Israeli settlers, which diplomats say is intended to undermine prospects for a Palestinian state. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have settled among millions of Palestinians in land that Israel captured in a 1967 war. Nearly all countries and a range of U....

June 1, 2026 5:26 PM

Britain will not have to pay Rwanda millions over asylum deal, court rules

Britain will not have to pay Rwanda tens of millions of pounds over a canceled asylum deal, the Permanent Court of Arbitration said on Monday. The Hague-based body said it had rejected all financial claims made by Rwanda, which had argued Britain still needed to honour the terms of the deal which Prime Minister Keir Starmer cancelled in 2024. After taking office that year, Starmer scrapped the prior Conservative government's asylum plan, under which Rwanda would have been paid to take in migra...

May 4, 2026 12:34 PM

NATO’s Rutte says Europeans have ‘gotten message’ from Trump

European nations have "gotten the message" from U.S. President Donald Trump and are now ensuring that agreements on the use of military bases are being implemented, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Monday. Trump has accused some NATO nations of not doing enough to support the United States in the Iran war. In a further sign of his discontent with European allies, the U.S. announced on Friday plans to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany. "Yes, there has been some disappointment from the...

April 22, 2026 5:25 PM

UK lawmakers approve lifetime smoking ban for today’s under-18s

Children in Britain who are 17 or younger, and anyone born in the future, will never be able to legally buy cigarettes after lawmakers approved new stricter restrictions on smoking. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill raises the legal age for buying tobacco by one year, every year, starting with people born on or after January 1, 2009, meaning affected age groups face a lifetime ban. The law, which is due to receive royal assent next week, also tightens controls on vaping, including banning sales of ...

April 15, 2026 9:56 PM

Finance ministers, stung by hit to economies, call for full Iran war ceasefire

Finance ministers from almost a dozen countries led by Britain called on the U.S., Israel and Iran to implement their ceasefire in full on Wednesday and said the conflict would weigh on the global economy and markets even if it was resolved soon. A joint statement, signed by the finance ministers from Australia, Japan, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Spain, Norway, Ireland, Poland and New Zealand as well as Britain, was agreed a day after the International Monetary Fund cut its global economi...

March 3, 2026 6:38 PM

UK yet to decide on sending warship to defend Cyprus base

Britain has yet to decide whether it will send a warship to defend its Royal Air Force Akrotiri base in Cyprus, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday after the Times newspaper reported ministers had discussed such a deployment. An Iranian-made drone strike hit a runway at the Akrotiri base in the early hours of Monday. Britain has said UK assets were targeted by Iran. The Times report, citing three sources, said defence minister John Healey had a meeting on Tuesday with senior military ...

March 2, 2026 3:39 PM

Britain asks parents: Should social media be banned for under-16s?

Britain is seeking the views of parents and children on whether to ban access to social media for under-16s, as well as possible restrictions on gaming platforms and artificial intelligence chatbots. Governments worldwide are trying to limit the impact of social media and gaming on children's mental health and sleep, with parents feeling outpaced by platforms built to maximise the time young users spend online. Australia introduced a ban on social media for under-16s in December, and other gov...

February 24, 2026 3:24 PM

UK targets Russia’s Transneft in nearly 300 new sanctions on war’s fourth anniversary

Britain on Tuesday sanctioned oil pipeline operator Transneft as part of a package of nearly 300 measures, announcing its largest set of penalties to coincide with the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The government said Transneft was one of the world's largest pipeline firms and the transporter of more than 80% of Russia's crude exports. It was targeted to further cut Moscow's energy revenues. "The UK  has today taken decisive  action to  disrupt the critical  finan...

January 30, 2026 10:19 AM

Trump warns Britain on China ties as Starmer hails reset

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Britain against getting into business with Beijing as Prime Minister Keir Starmer lauded the economic benefits of resetting relations with China during a visit there on Friday. As Western leaders reel from Trump's unpredictability, Starmer is the latest to head to China. In three-hour talks with President Xi Jinping on Thursday, the British leader called for a "more sophisticated relationship" with improved market access, lower tariffs and investment ...

January 21, 2026 4:44 PM

UK sets out $20 billion plan to cut energy bills, heat homes

Britain on Tuesday set out a 15-billion-pound ($20 billion) plan to cut energy bills through home upgrades and other efficiency measures, forming part of its wider decarbonisation efforts. Here are some details: • New homes will be built cheaper to run, with solar panels as the standard from early 2026, the government said • Homeowners will be able to apply for government-backed, low- and zero-interest loans for solar panels, batteries and heat pumps • The move will triple the number o...