UK | DD News

September 11, 2025 1:49 PM

UK to mass produce Ukrainian-designed interceptor drones

Britain said on Wednesday it would mass produce Ukrainian-designed interceptor drones to help Ukraine counter Russian missiles and one-way attack drones. The joint project had a target to produce thousands of drones per month, which would each cost less than 10% to make compared to the targets they were designed to intercept, the government said in a statement. In June, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced a defence co-production initiative. Earlie...

September 9, 2025 5:17 PM

London commuters turn to bikes and boats as Tube strike enters second day

Commuters in London turned to bikes, buses and boats on Tuesday as a staff strike shut down the capital's underground "Tube" network for a second day. With almost no underground trains running until Friday, demand for shared bike services and river transport surged as Londoners looked for alternative ways to get to work, causing longer journeys and crowding on other parts of the transport network. The London-based Centre for Economics and Business Research estimates the strike will have a dire...

August 28, 2025 7:21 PM

UK summons Russian ambassador after Kyiv hit by missiles, drones overnight

Britain's foreign minister said on Thursday he had summoned the Russian ambassador to the UK, after Russia pounded Ukraine with missiles and drones overnight, killing at least 15 people and damaging buildings, including the British Council in Kyiv. "(Russian President Vladimir) Putin's strikes last night killed civilians, destroyed homes and damaged buildings, including the British Council and EU Delegation in Kyiv," Lammy said on his social media account on X. He added: "We have summoned the ...

August 14, 2025 2:05 PM

Could robotics and timber tackle Britain’s housing challenges?

Gigantic robot arms controlled by artificial intelligence glide around a vast factory in Oxfordshire, England, making building frames from timber, one of the world's oldest construction materials. With the British government committed to building 300,000 new homes a year, some housebuilders say that the combination of technology and green materials could help them to overcome challenges from skills shortages to environmental targets. England lags many similar economies in terms of the share of...

August 14, 2025 2:02 PM

UK economy slows less than expected in second quarter

Britain's economy slowed less than expected in the second quarter of 2025 after a strong start to the year, despite the shock of U.S. trade tariffs and a weaker jobs market, offering some relief to finance minister Rachel Reeves. Official figures published on Thursday showed gross domestic product grew 0.3% in the second quarter after growth of 0.7% in the first three months of 2025, above the 0.1% forecast by the Bank of England and a Reuters poll of economists. Sterling rose slightly against...

August 7, 2025 10:22 AM

UK scientists find genes linked with chronic fatigue syndrome

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh said on Wednesday they have discovered differences in the DNA of people with chronic fatigue syndrome that should help dispel the notion that the debilitating condition is psychological or driven by laziness. Their study found eight areas of genetic code that are different in people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) than in healthy volunteers. The finding provides “the first robust evidence that genes contribute to a p...

July 25, 2025 4:45 PM

India-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement: A Diplomatic Win

Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his visit to the United Kingdom, signing the Free Trade Agreement with the island nation. The FTA was being negotiated for a few years now, and the signing marks an important diplomatic win for the Modi Government. As the world finds itself engulfed in tariff wars, initiated by the White House under Donald Trump, the FTA comes across as a sign of economic trust between two critical economies. While global trade is now plagued with an air of uncertainty and...

July 16, 2025 10:24 AM

Thousands of Afghans secretly moved to Britain after data leak

Britain set up a secret scheme to bring thousands of Afghans to the UK after their personal details were disclosed in one of the country's worst ever data breaches, putting them at risk of reprisals from the Taliban after their return to power. Concerns that individuals could be targeted by the Taliban led the previous Conservative government to set up the relocation scheme, involving thousands of people and estimated to cost the government about 2 billion pounds ($2.7 billion). The leak by th...

July 14, 2025 11:55 AM

Nigeria’s former President Muhammadu Buhari dies in London, PM Modi offers condolences

Nigeria's former president, Muhammadu Buhari, who led Africa's most populous country from 2015 to 2023 and was the first Nigerian president to oust an incumbent through the ballot box, died in London on Sunday, a presidential spokesperson said. "President Buhari died today in London at about 4:30 p.m. (1530 GMT), following a prolonged illness," President Bola Tinubu's spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson said Tinubu had directed Vice President Kashim Shettima and his chief of sta...