Japan&#39;s businesses must realise Britain&#39;s membership of the European Union is &quot;over,&quot; French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said today, while touting France as an attractive post-Brexit alternative.

&quot;The message is clear for us: firstly, the presence of Britain in the European Union is over,&quot; he said describing his discussions with local business leaders during a four-day trip to Japan.

&quot;I felt that there were maybe some voices saying &#39;perhaps it...&#39; No! It&#39;s over,&quot; he added, encouraging Japanese companies to face the reality of Britain&#39;s departure from the EU.

&quot;In March 2019, it will be the end,&quot; he said at a conference on the last day of his trip.

Japanese banks were among the first to react to Britain&#39;s June 2016 referendum decision to leave the EU, with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group saying in 2017 it would create a subsidiary in Frankfurt in preparation for Brexit.

But Japanese companies present in Britain have been more cautious about publicly announcing similar Brexit plans, despite the efforts of other European countries to woo those looking for alternatives.

"The message is clear for us: firstly, the presence of Britain in the European Union is over," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said

Japan's businesses must realise Britain's membership of the European Union is "over," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said today, while touting France as an attractive post-Brexit alternative. "The message is clear for us: firstly, the presence of Britain in the European Union is over," he said describing his discussions with local business leaders during a four-day trip to Japan. "I felt that there were maybe some voices saying 'perhaps it...' No! It's over," he added, encouraging Japanese companies to face the reality of Britain's departure from the EU. "In March 2019, it will be the end," he said at a conference on the last day of his trip. Japanese banks were among the first to react to Britain's June 2016 referendum decision to leave the EU, with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group saying in 2017 it would create a subsidiary in Frankfurt in preparation for Brexit. But Japanese companies present in Britain have been more cautious about publicly announcing similar Brexit plans, despite the efforts of other European countries to woo those looking for alternatives.

Britain's EU days are 'over', French FM tells Japan firms

Britain will be leaving the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May&#39;s spokesman said on Tuesday.

The statement came shortly after European Council president Donald Tusk suggested the country would be welcome to change its mind and stay in the bloc.

&quot;I think we&#39;ve been absolutely clear, the British public voted to leave the European Union and that is what we will be doing,&quot; the spokesman told reporters.

'I think we've been absolutely clear, the British public voted to leave the European Union,' the spokesman noted

Britain will be leaving the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said on Tuesday. The statement came shortly after European Council president Donald Tusk suggested the country would be welcome to change its mind and stay in the bloc. "I think we've been absolutely clear, the British public voted to leave the European Union and that is what we will be doing," the spokesman told reporters.

Britain will be leaving the EU: PM Theresa May's spokesman

Britain could lose almost 500,000 jobs and 50 billion pounds ($67.41 billion) investment over the next 12 years if it fails to agree a trade deal with the European Union, according a report commissioned by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Cambridge Econometrics, an economics consultancy, looked at five different Brexit scenarios, from the hardest to the softest form of Brexit, and broke down the economic impact on nine industries, from construction to finance.

The study said that in a no-deal scenario, the industry that fares the worst will be financial and professional services, with as many as 119,000 fewer jobs nationwide.

&quot;If the Government continue to mishandle the negotiations we could be heading for a lost decade of lower growth and lower employment,&quot; Khan said. &quot;Ministers are fast running out of time to turn the negotiations around.&quot;

Britain and the EU will soon begin the much harder task of defining their future trading relationship, after settling the broad terms of their divorce settlement last month.

A stand-off between Britain and the EU over the future access to single market for London&#39;s vast financial services industry is shaping up to be one of the key Brexit battlegrounds before Britain is due to leave the bloc in March 2019. 
&nbsp;

Britain and the EU will soon begin the much harder task of defining their future trading relationship

Britain could lose almost 500,000 jobs and 50 billion pounds ($67.41 billion) investment over the next 12 years if it fails to agree a trade deal with the European Union, according a report commissioned by London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Cambridge Econometrics, an economics consultancy, looked at five different Brexit scenarios, from the hardest to the softest form of Brexit, and broke down the economic impact on nine industries, from construction to finance. The study said that in a no-deal scenario, the industry that fares the worst will be financial and professional services, with as many as 119,000 fewer jobs nationwide. "If the Government continue to mishandle the negotiations we could be heading for a lost decade of lower growth and lower employment," Khan said. "Ministers are fast running out of time to turn the negotiations around." Britain and the EU will soon begin the much harder task of defining their future trading relationship, after settling the broad terms of their divorce settlement last month. A stand-off between Britain and the EU over the future access to single market for London's vast financial services industry is shaping up to be one of the key Brexit battlegrounds before Britain is due to leave the bloc in March 2019.

'No deal' Brexit could cost Britain about 500,000 jobs: London mayor Sadiq Khan

A BBC documentary says Hafiz Saeed toured British mosques, where he urged jihad, in the 1990&#39;s.&nbsp;

In August 1995, the documentary says, Saeed said in Glasgow that when Muslims had the spirt of jihad, they had ruled the world but were today being humiliated.&nbsp;

India thinks of Saeed as the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Saeed though has consistently denied the accusation.&nbsp;

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<h5>There is non-stop talk about jihad, encouraging British Muslims to join him,&#39; the BBC reported Sajid Iqbal, one of the documentary&#39;s producers, as saying</h5>
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The BBC reported that Saeeds tour of the UK was recorded in a magazine published by the Lashkar-e-Taiba. The BBC added that the articles, written in Urdu, were written by the imam of a mosque in Oldham who had accompanied Saeed.&nbsp;

&quot;There is non-stop talk about jihad, encouraging British Muslims to join him,&quot; the BBC reported Sajid Iqbal, one of the documentary&#39;s producers, as saying.&nbsp;

In Glasgow, the BBC said, Saeed addressed a large gathering at Glasgow&#39;s Central Mosque.&nbsp;

There he said the Zionists were using billions of dollars to kill the spirit of jihad -- holy war -- among Muslims.&nbsp;

&quot;They are trying to entice Muslims to the politics of power through democracy,&quot; the BBC documentary quoted Saeed as saying.

&quot;They are also using the interest-based economy to keep Muslims in debt,&quot; Saeed added.&nbsp;

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/opinion-in-releasing-hafiz-saeed-pakistan-challenges-india-and-us-25420" target="_blank">In releasing Hafiz Saeed, Pakistan challenges India and US</a>

The BBC reported that Saeed also spoke in Birmingham, where he urged his audience &quot;Let&#39;s all rise up for jihad&quot; and denounced &quot;Hindu dogs&quot;.

And in Leicester, Saeed spoke at a conference attended by 4,000 young people.

The BBC documentary is called &quot;The Dawn of British Jihad&quot;.&nbsp;

The documentary was investigating whether members of the Muslim community in Britain had been radicalised before 9/11.&nbsp;

Saeed has never been tried for the Mumbai attacks in which close to 170 people died. He was <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/hafiz-saeed-walks-free-vows-to-fight-for-kashmir-cause-24988" target="_blank">recently released from house arrest</a> in Pakistan.&nbsp;&nbsp;

A BBC documentary says Hafiz Saeed toured British mosques, where he urged jihad, in the 1990's

A BBC documentary says Hafiz Saeed toured British mosques, where he urged jihad, in the 1990's. In August 1995, the documentary says, Saeed said in Glasgow that when Muslims had the spirt of jihad, they had ruled the world but were today being humiliated. India thinks of Saeed as the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Saeed though has consistently denied the accusation. There is non-stop talk about jihad, encouraging British Muslims to join him,' the BBC reported Sajid Iqbal, one of the documentary's producers, as saying × The BBC reported that Saeeds tour of the UK was recorded in a magazine published by the Lashkar-e-Taiba. The BBC added that the articles, written in Urdu, were written by the imam of a mosque in Oldham who had accompanied Saeed. "There is non-stop talk about jihad, encouraging British Muslims to join him," the BBC reported Sajid Iqbal, one of the documentary's producers, as saying. In Glasgow, the BBC said, Saeed addressed a large gathering at Glasgow's Central Mosque. There he said the Zionists were using billions of dollars to kill the spirit of jihad -- holy war -- among Muslims. "They are trying to entice Muslims to the politics of power through democracy," the BBC documentary quoted Saeed as saying. "They are also using the interest-based economy to keep Muslims in debt," Saeed added. Also read: In releasing Hafiz Saeed, Pakistan challenges India and US The BBC reported that Saeed also spoke in Birmingham, where he urged his audience "Let's all rise up for jihad" and denounced "Hindu dogs". And in Leicester, Saeed spoke at a conference attended by 4,000 young people. The BBC documentary is called "The Dawn of British Jihad". The documentary was investigating whether members of the Muslim community in Britain had been radicalised before 9/11. Saeed has never been tried for the Mumbai attacks in which close to 170 people died. He was recently released from house arrest in Pakistan.

Hafiz Saeed urged jihad in UK in 1990's: BBC

China and Britain have vowed to continue and strengthen cooperation on a wide range of economic, financial and trade issues, including speeding the introduction of a London-Shanghai stock connect programme.

In a joint statement on Saturday, coinciding with an official visit to China by British finance minister Philip Hammond, the countries also said they opposed trade protectionism and reaffirmed their support for the World Trade Organisation as a key pillar of the global trade system.

The statement comes as China, in an unusual step, accused the United States and the European Union of breaking promises that they made when China joined the WTO.&nbsp;Speaking at a press conference in Beijing together with Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai, Hammond said the two countries were also discussing a long-awaited London-Shanghai stock connect programme, as well as a possible scheme to connect their bond markets.

&quot;We have agreed to accelerate the final preparations for the London-Shanghai stock connect initiative and we&#39;ve agreed to commence feasibility studies for a UK-China bond connect and for mutual recognition of funds between the two jurisdictions&quot;, he said.&nbsp;

Other areas of cooperation highlighted in the joint statement include encouraging each country&#39;s banks to increase their presence and activity in the other country, the promotion of China-UK&nbsp;cross-border yuan business, and support of the yuan as a settlement currency.&nbsp;China and the UK&nbsp;will establish a new joint expert group to exchange views on macroeconomic and fiscal policy, the joint statement said.

Former British prime minister David Cameron will also be involved in a proposed $1 billion bilateral investment fund, the statement added.

Slow progress

Talks on the Shanghai-London stock connect scheme, which would allow investors on one bourse to invest in the other, started two years ago, but progress has been slow partly due to Britain&#39;s unexpected decision to leave the European Union.&nbsp;

Closer ties between China and UK&#39;s capital markets would be welcome by London, whose future as a global financial hub is clouded by Brexit. It would also be a boon to the London Stock Exchange Group, which is grappling with the turmoil that saw the departure of chief executive Xavier Rolet recently.

For China, connecting London and Shanghai&#39;s exchanges would mark another milestone in its capital markets deregulation. Beijing&#39;s commitments to financial reform have won global recognition as US&nbsp;index publisher MSCI has agreed to include China A-shares into its global indexes next year.&nbsp;

The London-Shanghai stock connect is modelled after a similar scheme that links Hong Kong and Shanghai, but unlike the Shanghai-Hong Kong stock connect, it faces more technical and regulatory challenges as Chinese and British investors trade in different time zones.

Closer ties between China and UK's capital markets would be welcome by London, whose future as a global financial hub is clouded by Brexit

China and Britain have vowed to continue and strengthen cooperation on a wide range of economic, financial and trade issues, including speeding the introduction of a London-Shanghai stock connect programme. In a joint statement on Saturday, coinciding with an official visit to China by British finance minister Philip Hammond, the countries also said they opposed trade protectionism and reaffirmed their support for the World Trade Organisation as a key pillar of the global trade system. The statement comes as China, in an unusual step, accused the United States and the European Union of breaking promises that they made when China joined the WTO. Speaking at a press conference in Beijing together with Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai, Hammond said the two countries were also discussing a long-awaited London-Shanghai stock connect programme, as well as a possible scheme to connect their bond markets. "We have agreed to accelerate the final preparations for the London-Shanghai stock connect initiative and we've agreed to commence feasibility studies for a UK-China bond connect and for mutual recognition of funds between the two jurisdictions", he said. Other areas of cooperation highlighted in the joint statement include encouraging each country's banks to increase their presence and activity in the other country, the promotion of China-UK cross-border yuan business, and support of the yuan as a settlement currency. China and the UK will establish a new joint expert group to exchange views on macroeconomic and fiscal policy, the joint statement said. Former British prime minister David Cameron will also be involved in a proposed $1 billion bilateral investment fund, the statement added. Slow progress Talks on the Shanghai-London stock connect scheme, which would allow investors on one bourse to invest in the other, started two years ago, but progress has been slow partly due to Britain's unexpected decision to leave the European Union. Closer ties between China and UK's capital markets would be welcome by London, whose future as a global financial hub is clouded by Brexit. It would also be a boon to the London Stock Exchange Group, which is grappling with the turmoil that saw the departure of chief executive Xavier Rolet recently. For China, connecting London and Shanghai's exchanges would mark another milestone in its capital markets deregulation. Beijing's commitments to financial reform have won global recognition as US index publisher MSCI has agreed to include China A-shares into its global indexes next year. The London-Shanghai stock connect is modelled after a similar scheme that links Hong Kong and Shanghai, but unlike the Shanghai-Hong Kong stock connect, it faces more technical and regulatory challenges as Chinese and British investors trade in different time zones.

China, UK vow to strengthen economic, financial cooperation

European Union leaders agreed Friday to open crucial talks on a future relationship with Britain but warned they would be even tougher than the first tortuous phase of negotiations.

EU President Donald Tusk said the bloc would open &quot;exploratory contacts&quot; with London after European leaders endorsed an interim deal on the terms of Britain&#39;s divorce, and approved the next stage of discussions.

However, they agreed that while talks will begin in January on a post-Brexit transition period of around two years, actual negotiations on future trade ties would not start until March.

&quot;It is now time for internal EU 27 preparations and exploratory contacts with the UK to get more clarity on their vision,&quot; Tusk told reporters at the end of the summit.

He congratulated British Prime Minister Theresa May -- who had left the summit late Thursday -- on the deal, and in return, she offered her thanks to him and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

&quot;Today is an important step on the road to delivering a smooth and orderly Brexit and forging our deep and special future partnership,&quot; May tweeted.

As he arrived for the meeting on Friday, Juncker -- who sealed the deal with May on December 8 after tense all-night talks -- said the British premier had made &quot;big efforts&quot;. 
But he warned the next stage &quot;would be much harder than the first phase, and the first phase was very hard&quot;.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed his comments, saying that while progress had been made, the negotiations ahead would be &quot;even tougher&quot;.

She had earlier warned that &quot;there remain many issues to be solved and we don&#39;t have much time&quot;.

Britain voted to leave the EU in a referendum in June 2016 and is due to end its four-decade membership on March 29, 2019.

After months of difficult talks, May and Juncker agreed on a deal on the key divorce issues of Britain&#39;s exit bill, the future of the Irish border and expatriate rights.

At a meeting without the British premier on Friday, the other EU leaders formally approved negotiating guidelines saying there had been &quot;sufficient progress&quot; and that the second phase could begin. 
May had on Thursday addressed her counterparts over dinner and was &quot;clear about wanting to move onto trade talks as quickly as possible&quot; with &quot;ambition and creativity&quot;, a British official said.

Leaders said there had been polite applause for May, who came to the summit hours after a humiliating parliamentary defeat over her Brexit plans.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said May, who has struggled to assert her authority since a disastrous snap election in June, was &quot;a tough leader in the interest of Britain&quot;.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said she was a &quot;formidable political operator&quot; but that it was &quot;crucial&quot; she sets out Britain&#39;s wish list for long-term ties.

The EU guidelines stress that it is not possible to sign a formal trade deal until after Britain had left the bloc, and officials warned it could take years to do so.

Options for a future relationship include following the model of a recent EU-Canada trade deal, or Norway&#39;s membership of the European Economic Area.

British officials are hoping for a deal by March on a two-year transition out of the bloc, during which their relationship would largely stay the same.

Questions still linger however over the divorce agreement, after Brexit minister David Davis appeared to suggest it was not legally enforceable and that Britain would only pay its exit bill if it got a trade deal.

There are particular concerns about the guarantee made by London -- at Dublin&#39;s request -- that there will be no frontier checks between Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland.

&quot;Even a primary school student will realise there is a problem to solve with the Irish border,&quot; said Austria&#39;s Chancellor Christian Kern.

The 27 counterparts endorsed an interim deal on the terms of Britain's divorce from the European Union.

European Union leaders agreed Friday to open crucial talks on a future relationship with Britain but warned they would be even tougher than the first tortuous phase of negotiations. EU President Donald Tusk said the bloc would open "exploratory contacts" with London after European leaders endorsed an interim deal on the terms of Britain's divorce, and approved the next stage of discussions. However, they agreed that while talks will begin in January on a post-Brexit transition period of around two years, actual negotiations on future trade ties would not start until March. "It is now time for internal EU 27 preparations and exploratory contacts with the UK to get more clarity on their vision," Tusk told reporters at the end of the summit. He congratulated British Prime Minister Theresa May -- who had left the summit late Thursday -- on the deal, and in return, she offered her thanks to him and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. "Today is an important step on the road to delivering a smooth and orderly Brexit and forging our deep and special future partnership," May tweeted. As he arrived for the meeting on Friday, Juncker -- who sealed the deal with May on December 8 after tense all-night talks -- said the British premier had made "big efforts". But he warned the next stage "would be much harder than the first phase, and the first phase was very hard". German Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed his comments, saying that while progress had been made, the negotiations ahead would be "even tougher". She had earlier warned that "there remain many issues to be solved and we don't have much time". Britain voted to leave the EU in a referendum in June 2016 and is due to end its four-decade membership on March 29, 2019. After months of difficult talks, May and Juncker agreed on a deal on the key divorce issues of Britain's exit bill, the future of the Irish border and expatriate rights. At a meeting without the British premier on Friday, the other EU leaders formally approved negotiating guidelines saying there had been "sufficient progress" and that the second phase could begin. May had on Thursday addressed her counterparts over dinner and was "clear about wanting to move onto trade talks as quickly as possible" with "ambition and creativity", a British official said. Leaders said there had been polite applause for May, who came to the summit hours after a humiliating parliamentary defeat over her Brexit plans. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said May, who has struggled to assert her authority since a disastrous snap election in June, was "a tough leader in the interest of Britain". Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said she was a "formidable political operator" but that it was "crucial" she sets out Britain's wish list for long-term ties. The EU guidelines stress that it is not possible to sign a formal trade deal until after Britain had left the bloc, and officials warned it could take years to do so. Options for a future relationship include following the model of a recent EU-Canada trade deal, or Norway's membership of the European Economic Area. British officials are hoping for a deal by March on a two-year transition out of the bloc, during which their relationship would largely stay the same. Questions still linger however over the divorce agreement, after Brexit minister David Davis appeared to suggest it was not legally enforceable and that Britain would only pay its exit bill if it got a trade deal. There are particular concerns about the guarantee made by London -- at Dublin's request -- that there will be no frontier checks between Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland. "Even a primary school student will realise there is a problem to solve with the Irish border," said Austria's Chancellor Christian Kern.

EU opens next Brexit phase with warning of troubles ahead

Britain&#39;s foreign minister visited Iran to press for the release of British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe amid accusations at home that one of his gaffes has seriously harmed her case.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson held two hours of &quot;frank&quot; talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, which also touched on the landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, the future of which has been thrown into doubt by US President Donald Trump.

&quot;They both spoke frankly about the obstacles that remain in the relationship, including the foreign secretary&#39;s concerns about the consular cases of British-Iranian nationals,&quot; the British Foreign Office said in a statement.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian citizen, was arrested at Tehran airport in April 2016 after visiting relatives.

She was given five years in prison over her alleged role in mass protests in 2009, which she denies, and will face additional charges in court on Sunday of &quot;spreading propaganda&quot;.

Husband Richard Ratcliffe, who had lobbied to join Johnson on the visit, says his wife has been used as a pawn in Iran&#39;s efforts to extract some 450 million pounds ($ 600 million) owed to Iran since before the 1979 Islamic revolution.

He has raised concerns about his wife&#39;s mental health, citing the mounting toll of her prolonged incarceration in Tehran&#39;s notorious Evin prison.

The case has become highly politicised, especially after a &quot;slip of the tongue&quot; by Johnson last month when he stated that Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been training journalists in Iran, which has been used by the Iranian authorities to help justify the new charges.

Johnson also met with parliament speaker Ali Larijani and Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran&#39;s Supreme National Security Council, who said Britain needed to do more to open trade and banking ties with Iran.

&quot;Since the JCPOA (nuclear deal), trade and economic cooperation between the two countries have been unsatisfactory and the facilitation of banking relations can be a start for expanding cooperation in other sectors,&quot; Shamkhani said after the meeting, according to official news agency IRNA.

Johnson, who is due to meet President Hassan Rouhani tomorrow, did not speak to reporters.

Meanwhile, the BBC urged Johnson to raise their complaints about the &quot;harassment and prosecution&quot; of their Persian-language staff living abroad.

&quot;While he is in Iran, we urge Boris Johnson to raise the case of BBC Persian staff, who have had a criminal investigation launched against them simply because they work for the BBC,&quot; the broadcaster said on Twitter.&nbsp;

Britain's foreign minister visited Iran to press for the release of British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe amid accusations at home that one of his gaffes has seriously harmed her case

Britain's foreign minister visited Iran to press for the release of British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe amid accusations at home that one of his gaffes has seriously harmed her case. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson held two hours of "frank" talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, which also touched on the landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, the future of which has been thrown into doubt by US President Donald Trump. "They both spoke frankly about the obstacles that remain in the relationship, including the foreign secretary's concerns about the consular cases of British-Iranian nationals," the British Foreign Office said in a statement. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian citizen, was arrested at Tehran airport in April 2016 after visiting relatives. She was given five years in prison over her alleged role in mass protests in 2009, which she denies, and will face additional charges in court on Sunday of "spreading propaganda". Husband Richard Ratcliffe, who had lobbied to join Johnson on the visit, says his wife has been used as a pawn in Iran's efforts to extract some 450 million pounds ($ 600 million) owed to Iran since before the 1979 Islamic revolution. He has raised concerns about his wife's mental health, citing the mounting toll of her prolonged incarceration in Tehran's notorious Evin prison. The case has become highly politicised, especially after a "slip of the tongue" by Johnson last month when he stated that Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been training journalists in Iran, which has been used by the Iranian authorities to help justify the new charges. Johnson also met with parliament speaker Ali Larijani and Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, who said Britain needed to do more to open trade and banking ties with Iran. "Since the JCPOA (nuclear deal), trade and economic cooperation between the two countries have been unsatisfactory and the facilitation of banking relations can be a start for expanding cooperation in other sectors," Shamkhani said after the meeting, according to official news agency IRNA. Johnson, who is due to meet President Hassan Rouhani tomorrow, did not speak to reporters. Meanwhile, the BBC urged Johnson to raise their complaints about the "harassment and prosecution" of their Persian-language staff living abroad. "While he is in Iran, we urge Boris Johnson to raise the case of BBC Persian staff, who have had a criminal investigation launched against them simply because they work for the BBC," the broadcaster said on Twitter.

UK foreign minister in Iran to push for Briton's release

EU President Donald Tusk warned that talks on a post-Brexit trade deal and transition period would be even more difficult than a hard-won agreement on divorce terms that was sealed on Friday.

&quot;Let us remember that the most difficult challenge is still ahead. We all know that breaking up is hard but breaking up and building a new relation is much harder,&quot; Tusk said.

Issuing guidelines for the talks ahead, Tusk said Britain will have to follow all EU laws, including new ones, during the two-year transition period London has requested to reassure businesses.

He said it must also respect budgetary commitments and judicial oversight during a transition in which the remaining 27 European Union member countries continue to meet and make decisions without Britain.

In a sign of the challenges ahead, the former Polish premier said: &quot;We need more clarity on how the UK sees our future relation after it has left the single market.&quot;&nbsp;

He warned that time was of the essence before Britain&#39;s scheduled withdrawal from the bloc on 29 March 2019.

&quot;So much time has been devoted to the easiest part of the task. Now to negotiate a transitional arrangement and the framework for our future relationship we have de facto less than a year,&quot; he said.

The first phase of negotiations began 29 June, about a year after Britain&#39;s shock vote to leave the bloc, and finally wrapped up when British Prime Minister Theresa May rushed to Brussels early Friday.&nbsp;

The European Commission, the EU executive, said it &quot;recommends sufficient progress&quot; had been made by Britain on separation issues including the Irish border, Britain&#39;s divorce bill, and citizens rights.

The agreement paves the way for EU leaders at a summit on December 14-15 to open the second phase of Brexit negotiations, covering trade talks and a transition period.

Britain voted in June 2016 to become the first state to leave the EU, after more than four decades of membership, but the talks have been slow moving and often acrimonious so far.

'So much time has been devoted to the easiest part of the task. Now to negotiate a transitional arrangement and the framework for our future relationship we have de facto less than a year,' Donald Tusk said

EU President Donald Tusk warned that talks on a post-Brexit trade deal and transition period would be even more difficult than a hard-won agreement on divorce terms that was sealed on Friday. "Let us remember that the most difficult challenge is still ahead. We all know that breaking up is hard but breaking up and building a new relation is much harder," Tusk said. Issuing guidelines for the talks ahead, Tusk said Britain will have to follow all EU laws, including new ones, during the two-year transition period London has requested to reassure businesses. He said it must also respect budgetary commitments and judicial oversight during a transition in which the remaining 27 European Union member countries continue to meet and make decisions without Britain. In a sign of the challenges ahead, the former Polish premier said: "We need more clarity on how the UK sees our future relation after it has left the single market." He warned that time was of the essence before Britain's scheduled withdrawal from the bloc on 29 March 2019. "So much time has been devoted to the easiest part of the task. Now to negotiate a transitional arrangement and the framework for our future relationship we have de facto less than a year," he said. The first phase of negotiations began 29 June, about a year after Britain's shock vote to leave the bloc, and finally wrapped up when British Prime Minister Theresa May rushed to Brussels early Friday. The European Commission, the EU executive, said it "recommends sufficient progress" had been made by Britain on separation issues including the Irish border, Britain's divorce bill, and citizens rights. The agreement paves the way for EU leaders at a summit on December 14-15 to open the second phase of Brexit negotiations, covering trade talks and a transition period. Britain voted in June 2016 to become the first state to leave the EU, after more than four decades of membership, but the talks have been slow moving and often acrimonious so far.

EU's Tusk says 'most difficult challenge' ahead in Brexit talks

The European Commission said on Friday enough progress had been made in Brexit negotiations with Britain to allow a second phase of talks on future relations to begin, ending an impasse over the status of the Irish border.

The Commission gave its verdict in a statement after intense talks, which resulted in British Prime Minister Theresa May taking an early-morning flight to Brussels to announce the deal alongside Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

The Commission&#39;s recommendation that sufficient progress has been made will now go to the European Union summit of leaders taking place next week.&nbsp;

&quot;Prime Minister May has assured me that it has the backing of the UK government. On that basis, I believe we have now made the breakthrough we need. Today&#39;s result is, of course, a compromise,&quot; Juncker told a hastily-arranged news conference.

May said she expected a formal agreement to be approved at the summit, which begins on December 14.

&quot;I also look forward to next week&#39;s European Council meeting, where I hope and expect we will be able to get the endorsement of the 27 (member countries) to what is a hard-won agreement in all our interests,&quot; May said.

The commission said it was ready to begin work immediately on phase two talks, which cover a transitional exit period, trade and long-term relations with the bloc.

Moving to talks about trade and a Brexit transition is crucial for the future of May&#39;s premiership, and to keep trade flowing between the world&#39;s biggest trading bloc and its sixth- largest national economy after Britain leaves on March 30, 2019.

May&#39;s key parliamentary ally in Northern Ireland gave a cautious endorsement of the new terms, four days after 11th-hour objections from Belfast scuppered May&#39;s attempt to sign off on an accord over the Irish border during a lunch in Brussels on Monday.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said the border agreement meant there was no way Brexit could lead to a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland - what will become the only land frontier between Britain and the EU after Brexit.

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Will be on <a href="https://twitter.com/morningireland?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@morningireland</a> shortly to explain and outline detail of Irish assurances on Brexit deal - very good outcome for everyone on the island of Ireland - no Hard Border guaranteed!
&mdash; Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) <a href="https://twitter.com/simoncoveney/status/939026242304540672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&quot;Very good outcome for everyone on the island of Ireland - no Hard Border guaranteed!,&quot; Coveney said on Twitter.

In the text, Britain agreed that should London and Brussels fail to agree a final Brexit deal, the United Kingdom will maintain &quot;full alignment&quot; with those rules of the internal market and customs union that help to protect north-south cooperation in Ireland.&nbsp;

It said in the absence of a trade deal, no new barriers would develop between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom unless the devolved government in Northern Ireland agree that distinct arrangements are appropriate.&nbsp;

&quot;In all circumstances, the United Kingdom will continue to ensure the same unfettered access for Northern Ireland&#39;s businesses to the whole of the United Kingdom internal market,&quot; it said.

The commission said it was ready to begin work immediately on phase two talks, which cover a transitional exit period, trade and long-term relations with the bloc

The European Commission said on Friday enough progress had been made in Brexit negotiations with Britain to allow a second phase of talks on future relations to begin, ending an impasse over the status of the Irish border. The Commission gave its verdict in a statement after intense talks, which resulted in British Prime Minister Theresa May taking an early-morning flight to Brussels to announce the deal alongside Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. The Commission's recommendation that sufficient progress has been made will now go to the European Union summit of leaders taking place next week. "Prime Minister May has assured me that it has the backing of the UK government. On that basis, I believe we have now made the breakthrough we need. Today's result is, of course, a compromise," Juncker told a hastily-arranged news conference. May said she expected a formal agreement to be approved at the summit, which begins on December 14. "I also look forward to next week's European Council meeting, where I hope and expect we will be able to get the endorsement of the 27 (member countries) to what is a hard-won agreement in all our interests," May said. The commission said it was ready to begin work immediately on phase two talks, which cover a transitional exit period, trade and long-term relations with the bloc. Moving to talks about trade and a Brexit transition is crucial for the future of May's premiership, and to keep trade flowing between the world's biggest trading bloc and its sixth- largest national economy after Britain leaves on March 30, 2019. May's key parliamentary ally in Northern Ireland gave a cautious endorsement of the new terms, four days after 11th-hour objections from Belfast scuppered May's attempt to sign off on an accord over the Irish border during a lunch in Brussels on Monday. Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said the border agreement meant there was no way Brexit could lead to a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland - what will become the only land frontier between Britain and the EU after Brexit. Will be on @morningireland shortly to explain and outline detail of Irish assurances on Brexit deal - very good outcome for everyone on the island of Ireland - no Hard Border guaranteed! — Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) December 8, 2017 × "Very good outcome for everyone on the island of Ireland - no Hard Border guaranteed!," Coveney said on Twitter. In the text, Britain agreed that should London and Brussels fail to agree a final Brexit deal, the United Kingdom will maintain "full alignment" with those rules of the internal market and customs union that help to protect north-south cooperation in Ireland. It said in the absence of a trade deal, no new barriers would develop between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom unless the devolved government in Northern Ireland agree that distinct arrangements are appropriate. "In all circumstances, the United Kingdom will continue to ensure the same unfettered access for Northern Ireland's businesses to the whole of the United Kingdom internal market," it said.

Britain and EU clinch deal to move Brexit talks forward

Christine Keeler, the woman at the center of a 1960s love triangle between a minister and Soviet naval attache that produced Britain&#39;s biggest political sex scandal, has died at the age of 75.

Committing adultery with then Minister of War John Profumo shocked socially conservative Britain in the early 1960s and created a furore which contributed to the resignation of then Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

Revelations that Keeler was also romantically involved with a Soviet naval attache, Yevgeny Ivanov, turned a sex scandal into a political and diplomatic firestorm, titillated the nation and rocked the Conservative government of the time.

Her son, Seymour Platt, told The Guardian newspaper that Keeler died late&nbsp;on Tuesday&nbsp;evening and the scandal had profoundly affected her.

&quot;There was a lot of good around Chris&rsquo;s rather tragic life because there was a family around her that loved her,&rdquo; he was quoted as saying.

&quot;I think what happened to her back in the day was quite damaging,&quot; he said.

She committed adultery with then Minister of War John Profumo which shocked socially conservative Britain in the early 1960s

Christine Keeler, the woman at the center of a 1960s love triangle between a minister and Soviet naval attache that produced Britain's biggest political sex scandal, has died at the age of 75. Committing adultery with then Minister of War John Profumo shocked socially conservative Britain in the early 1960s and created a furore which contributed to the resignation of then Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. Revelations that Keeler was also romantically involved with a Soviet naval attache, Yevgeny Ivanov, turned a sex scandal into a political and diplomatic firestorm, titillated the nation and rocked the Conservative government of the time. Her son, Seymour Platt, told The Guardian newspaper that Keeler died late on Tuesday evening and the scandal had profoundly affected her. "There was a lot of good around Chris’s rather tragic life because there was a family around her that loved her,” he was quoted as saying. "I think what happened to her back in the day was quite damaging," he said.

Christine Keeler, the love-triangle call girl in Britain's biggest sex scandal, dies

Indian diplomacy is often seen as a balance between its hard power and soft power, and this balance drives New Delhi&rsquo;s &lsquo;great power&rsquo; ambitions. The traditional view of a &lsquo;great power&rsquo; is often associated with hard power and includes economic and military clout that countries leverage in order to influence the international order. The concept of &lsquo;soft power&rsquo;, pioneered by Harvard Professor Joseph Nye, is associated with the power to attract and co-opt as a means of influence.

India has plenty to leverage when it comes to soft power - from yoga and Ayurveda to democratic institutions and its rich history and culture &ndash; but there is definitely something it can learn from China.

China&rsquo;s &lsquo;soft power&rsquo; projections are more often than not, driven by centralised government schemes and conscious efforts of promotion of its culture and society to the world &ndash; be it rapidly spreading Confucius Institutes or extravagant displays of its ancient culture, likes of which the world witnessed during 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. Unlike China, India&rsquo;s &lsquo;attractiveness&rsquo; to the world has grown organically, with little or no strategic government initiatives.

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<h5>To understand China&rsquo;s soft power experiment one should look at its enhanced focus on higher education reforms and projections.</h5>
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However, we have witnessed some of New Delhi&rsquo;s conscious efforts with yoga at heart of it; but it&rsquo;s only on a limited scale. On the contrary, to understand China&rsquo;s soft power experiment one should look at its enhanced focus on higher education reforms and projections. No small parts of China&rsquo;s &lsquo;soft power&rsquo; strategies are its elite scholarship programs, such as Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua University and Yenching Academy at Peking University. Modeled after Oxford&rsquo;s prestigious Rhodes scholarships, these scholarships are designed to educate and influence future leaders of the world.

These scholarships are attracting the best and brightest graduates from across the world, many of whom have graduated from Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge and other top-ranked universities. With the full support of Chinese government and policymakers, these fully funded scholarships are backed by huge endowments and donations. For instance, American billionaire and Chairman of private equity firm Blackstone Group, Stephen Schwarzman have donated 100 million USD.

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<h5>The trend is indicative of the fact that &lsquo;higher education&rsquo; and &lsquo;quality education&rsquo; no longer remain the monopoly of the global north and there is scope for universities and institutes from developing world to compete for the best and brightest minds.</h5>
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The attraction towards these scholarships is representative of China&rsquo;s constantly growing global influence and shifting international order. The specially designed curriculum of these programs is an effective &lsquo;soft power&rsquo; tool deployed by Beijing, as they allow &lsquo;future leaders&rsquo; to explore China&rsquo;s ancient culture and traditions, its politics and its role and aspirations in the 21st century.

The trend is indicative of the fact that &lsquo;higher education&rsquo; and &lsquo;quality education&rsquo; no longer remain the monopoly of the global north and there is scope for universities and institutes from developing world to compete for the best and brightest minds. But it&rsquo;s a long road ahead for India until we focus on our quality of research. India&rsquo;s highest-ranked institution Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc) is not even in the top 250, as per world university rankings by Times Higher Education (THE), while China&rsquo;s Peking and Tsinghua were ranked 27th and 30th respectively and had seven representations in Top 200 of 2018 rankings. Quality of research and teaching are the key areas where Indian institutions continue lacking.

Creation of such elite scholarship/fellowship programs could also be utilised by New Delhi as an instrument of diplomacy; the way Britain and America have done in the 20th century and China has started doing. In the past, Indian corporates and individuals have endowed such funds and scholarships allowing Indians to study abroad &ndash; and now is the time when India should attract &lsquo;future leaders&rsquo; and let them explore India&rsquo;s rich culture and heritage and more importantly understand India&rsquo;s role in global affairs. Such an investment could prove to be highly successful in attracting people to the world&rsquo;s largest democracy.

(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

Creation of such elite scholarship/fellowship programs could be utilised by New Delhi as an instrument of diplomacy; the way Britain and America have done in the 20th century and China has started doing

Indian diplomacy is often seen as a balance between its hard power and soft power, and this balance drives New Delhi’s ‘great power’ ambitions. The traditional view of a ‘great power’ is often associated with hard power and includes economic and military clout that countries leverage in order to influence the international order. The concept of ‘soft power’, pioneered by Harvard Professor Joseph Nye, is associated with the power to attract and co-opt as a means of influence. India has plenty to leverage when it comes to soft power - from yoga and Ayurveda to democratic institutions and its rich history and culture – but there is definitely something it can learn from China. China’s ‘soft power’ projections are more often than not, driven by centralised government schemes and conscious efforts of promotion of its culture and society to the world – be it rapidly spreading Confucius Institutes or extravagant displays of its ancient culture, likes of which the world witnessed during 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. Unlike China, India’s ‘attractiveness’ to the world has grown organically, with little or no strategic government initiatives. To understand China’s soft power experiment one should look at its enhanced focus on higher education reforms and projections. × However, we have witnessed some of New Delhi’s conscious efforts with yoga at heart of it; but it’s only on a limited scale. On the contrary, to understand China’s soft power experiment one should look at its enhanced focus on higher education reforms and projections. No small parts of China’s ‘soft power’ strategies are its elite scholarship programs, such as Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua University and Yenching Academy at Peking University. Modeled after Oxford’s prestigious Rhodes scholarships, these scholarships are designed to educate and influence future leaders of the world. These scholarships are attracting the best and brightest graduates from across the world, many of whom have graduated from Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge and other top-ranked universities. With the full support of Chinese government and policymakers, these fully funded scholarships are backed by huge endowments and donations. For instance, American billionaire and Chairman of private equity firm Blackstone Group, Stephen Schwarzman have donated 100 million USD. The trend is indicative of the fact that ‘higher education’ and ‘quality education’ no longer remain the monopoly of the global north and there is scope for universities and institutes from developing world to compete for the best and brightest minds. × The attraction towards these scholarships is representative of China’s constantly growing global influence and shifting international order. The specially designed curriculum of these programs is an effective ‘soft power’ tool deployed by Beijing, as they allow ‘future leaders’ to explore China’s ancient culture and traditions, its politics and its role and aspirations in the 21st century. The trend is indicative of the fact that ‘higher education’ and ‘quality education’ no longer remain the monopoly of the global north and there is scope for universities and institutes from developing world to compete for the best and brightest minds. But it’s a long road ahead for India until we focus on our quality of research. India’s highest-ranked institution Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc) is not even in the top 250, as per world university rankings by Times Higher Education (THE), while China’s Peking and Tsinghua were ranked 27th and 30th respectively and had seven representations in Top 200 of 2018 rankings. Quality of research and teaching are the key areas where Indian institutions continue lacking. Creation of such elite scholarship/fellowship programs could also be utilised by New Delhi as an instrument of diplomacy; the way Britain and America have done in the 20th century and China has started doing. In the past, Indian corporates and individuals have endowed such funds and scholarships allowing Indians to study abroad – and now is the time when India should attract ‘future leaders’ and let them explore India’s rich culture and heritage and more importantly understand India’s role in global affairs. Such an investment could prove to be highly successful in attracting people to the world’s largest democracy. (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

Opinion: China excels in soft power diplomacy; India doesn't

EU President Donald Tusk said Monday that a deal to unblock stalled divorce talks between the European Union and Britain was closer than ever after a breakthrough on the thorny topic of Ireland.

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Tell me why I like Mondays! Encouraged after my phone call with Taoiseach <a href="https://twitter.com/campaignforleo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@campaignforleo</a> on progress on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Brexit?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Brexit</a> issue of Ireland. Getting closer to sufficient progress at December <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EUCO?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EUCO</a>.
&mdash; Donald Tusk (@eucopresident) <a href="https://twitter.com/eucopresident/status/937663925482590208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&quot;Tell me why I like Mondays!&quot; Tusk, a former Polish president, said on his Twitter account, in an apparent reference to the 1979 hit &quot;I don`t like Mondays&quot;, sung by the Boomtown Rats, fronted by Bob Geldof.

&quot;Encouraged after my phone call with Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on progress on Brexit issue of Ireland. Getting closer to sufficient progress at December (EU summit),&quot; Tusk said.

Varadkar later retweeted Tusk&#39;s message on his own Twitter account. He was due to give a statement later Monday.

The EU had set Monday as the last deadline for Britain to make sufficient progress on three key Brexit divorce issues - Northern Ireland, its exit bill and the rights of EU citizens living in Britain - in order to move on to trade talks at a summit on December 14.

Tusk sent his tweet just hours before sitting down for talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May, which follows a lunch between May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

EU President Donald Tusk said on Monday that a deal to unblock stalled divorce talks between the European Union and Britain was closer than ever after a breakthrough on the thorny topic of Ireland

EU President Donald Tusk said Monday that a deal to unblock stalled divorce talks between the European Union and Britain was closer than ever after a breakthrough on the thorny topic of Ireland. Tell me why I like Mondays! Encouraged after my phone call with Taoiseach @campaignforleo on progress on #Brexit issue of Ireland. Getting closer to sufficient progress at December #EUCO. — Donald Tusk (@eucopresident) December 4, 2017 × "Tell me why I like Mondays!" Tusk, a former Polish president, said on his Twitter account, in an apparent reference to the 1979 hit "I don`t like Mondays", sung by the Boomtown Rats, fronted by Bob Geldof. "Encouraged after my phone call with Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on progress on Brexit issue of Ireland. Getting closer to sufficient progress at December (EU summit)," Tusk said. Varadkar later retweeted Tusk's message on his own Twitter account. He was due to give a statement later Monday. The EU had set Monday as the last deadline for Britain to make sufficient progress on three key Brexit divorce issues - Northern Ireland, its exit bill and the rights of EU citizens living in Britain - in order to move on to trade talks at a summit on December 14. Tusk sent his tweet just hours before sitting down for talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May, which follows a lunch between May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

'Getting closer' to Brexit divorce deal: EU's Tusk

London mayor Sadiq Khan will be arriving in Mumbai tomorrow as part of his first official tour to three Indian cities to promote the British capital&#39;s resilience and strengths post-Brexit.

Apart from Mumbai, Khan would be visiting Delhi and Amritsar and then fly to Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi in Pakistan on his six-day tour to six cities.

As part of the Indian leg of the trade mission aimed at promoting new business links between India and London, the London mayor has a series of meetings planned with senior politicians, business leaders, regional leaders as well as Bollywood personalities.

His central message will be that the British capital remains open to Indian talent post-Brexit.

&quot;Following last year&#39;s EU referendum, it is far more important to get the message of London is open out far and wide and I will be taking that message to India and Pakistan,&quot; he said on the eve of his visit.

Khan would be taking the Jet Airways&#39; recently launched third direct London-Mumbai flight.

&quot;Jet Airways is doing their bit to ensure that the London-India relationship really takes off. The new flight comes as a major boost for the relationship between our two countries and an opportunity to not only deepen and expand our economic ties but to forge even closer social and cultural ties too,&quot; he said.

Mumbai-headquartered Jet Airways recently added a third direct flight between London and Mumbai, taking the total number of direct flights between London and India to four ? with two existing direct routes to Mumbai and one to Delhi.

Jet Airways&#39;s CEO, Vinay Dube, said it reflects the confidence the company has in the robustness of the UK market.

&quot;Whenever people in India think about travelling abroad, the very first city that comes to mind is London. At Jet Airways, we try and follow our customers, and want to play our part in bringing India and the UK closer together,&quot; he said.

&quot;The UK is very important to us. The mayor is going on a trade mission and there is a wide spectrum of travellers on this circuit who are flying Jet. Every aspect is growing,&quot; he said.

The mayor of London?will be accompanied by his Deputy Mayor for Business, Rajesh Agrawal. Their packed itinerary in India will include discussions on business and investment, infrastructure and the environment as well as visas and other opportunities to work together more closely.

London mayor Sadiq Khan will be arriving in Mumbai tomorrow as part of his first official tour to three Indian cities to promote the British capital's resilience and strengths post-Brexit

London mayor Sadiq Khan will be arriving in Mumbai tomorrow as part of his first official tour to three Indian cities to promote the British capital's resilience and strengths post-Brexit. Apart from Mumbai, Khan would be visiting Delhi and Amritsar and then fly to Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi in Pakistan on his six-day tour to six cities. As part of the Indian leg of the trade mission aimed at promoting new business links between India and London, the London mayor has a series of meetings planned with senior politicians, business leaders, regional leaders as well as Bollywood personalities. His central message will be that the British capital remains open to Indian talent post-Brexit. "Following last year's EU referendum, it is far more important to get the message of London is open out far and wide and I will be taking that message to India and Pakistan," he said on the eve of his visit. Khan would be taking the Jet Airways' recently launched third direct London-Mumbai flight. "Jet Airways is doing their bit to ensure that the London-India relationship really takes off. The new flight comes as a major boost for the relationship between our two countries and an opportunity to not only deepen and expand our economic ties but to forge even closer social and cultural ties too," he said. Mumbai-headquartered Jet Airways recently added a third direct flight between London and Mumbai, taking the total number of direct flights between London and India to four ? with two existing direct routes to Mumbai and one to Delhi. Jet Airways's CEO, Vinay Dube, said it reflects the confidence the company has in the robustness of the UK market. "Whenever people in India think about travelling abroad, the very first city that comes to mind is London. At Jet Airways, we try and follow our customers, and want to play our part in bringing India and the UK closer together," he said. "The UK is very important to us. The mayor is going on a trade mission and there is a wide spectrum of travellers on this circuit who are flying Jet. Every aspect is growing," he said. The mayor of London?will be accompanied by his Deputy Mayor for Business, Rajesh Agrawal. Their packed itinerary in India will include discussions on business and investment, infrastructure and the environment as well as visas and other opportunities to work together more closely.

London mayor Sadiq Khan to visit Mumbai tomorrow

United Nations Security Council ministers will meet on Dec. 15 to discuss North Korea&#39;s nuclear and missiles programs and the body will also meet separately this month to discuss human rights abuses in the North Asian country, an annual meeting that its ally China has tried to prevent for the past three years.

Japan&#39;s UN&nbsp;Ambassador Koro Bessho, president of the 15-member council for December, said several ministers were confirmed to attend the Dec. 15 meeting. He also said the meeting on human rights in North Korea could be held on Dec. 11.

China has unsuccessfully tried to stop three previous human rights meetings by calling a procedural vote. A minimum of nine votes are needed to win such a vote and China, Russia, the United States, Britain and France cannot wield their vetoes.

This year&#39;s meeting has the backing of nine members - the United States, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, Senegal, Sweden, Ukraine and Uruguay.

Last year, the United States angered North Korea by blacklisting its leader Kim Jong Un for human rights abuses.

A landmark 2014 UN&nbsp;report on North Korean human rights concluded that North Korean security chiefs - and possibly Kim himself - should face justice for overseeing a state-controlled system of Nazi-style atrocities.

Michael Kirby, chairman of the UN&nbsp;Commission of Inquiry that drew up the report, said at the time that the crimes the team had catalogued were reminiscent of those committed by the Nazis during World War Two. &quot;Some of them are strikingly similar,&quot; he told Reuters.

North Korea has repeatedly rejected accusations of human rights abuses and blames sanctions for a dire humanitarian situation. Pyongyang has been under UN&nbsp;sanctions since 2006 over its ballistic missiles and nuclear programs.

&quot;Despite persistent sanctions and pressure by the US&nbsp;and other hostile forces, my government concentrates all its efforts on improving people&#39;s livelihood and providing them with a better future,&quot; the North Korean Permanent Mission to the United Nations said in a statement on Nov. 14.

United Nations Security Council ministers will meet on Dec. 15 to discuss North Korea's nuclear and missiles programs and the body will also meet separately this month to discuss human rights abuses in the North Asian country, an annual meeting that its ally China has tried to prevent for the past three years

United Nations Security Council ministers will meet on Dec. 15 to discuss North Korea's nuclear and missiles programs and the body will also meet separately this month to discuss human rights abuses in the North Asian country, an annual meeting that its ally China has tried to prevent for the past three years. Japan's UN Ambassador Koro Bessho, president of the 15-member council for December, said several ministers were confirmed to attend the Dec. 15 meeting. He also said the meeting on human rights in North Korea could be held on Dec. 11. China has unsuccessfully tried to stop three previous human rights meetings by calling a procedural vote. A minimum of nine votes are needed to win such a vote and China, Russia, the United States, Britain and France cannot wield their vetoes. This year's meeting has the backing of nine members - the United States, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, Senegal, Sweden, Ukraine and Uruguay. Last year, the United States angered North Korea by blacklisting its leader Kim Jong Un for human rights abuses. A landmark 2014 UN report on North Korean human rights concluded that North Korean security chiefs - and possibly Kim himself - should face justice for overseeing a state-controlled system of Nazi-style atrocities. Michael Kirby, chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry that drew up the report, said at the time that the crimes the team had catalogued were reminiscent of those committed by the Nazis during World War Two. "Some of them are strikingly similar," he told Reuters. North Korea has repeatedly rejected accusations of human rights abuses and blames sanctions for a dire humanitarian situation. Pyongyang has been under UN sanctions since 2006 over its ballistic missiles and nuclear programs. "Despite persistent sanctions and pressure by the US and other hostile forces, my government concentrates all its efforts on improving people's livelihood and providing them with a better future," the North Korean Permanent Mission to the United Nations said in a statement on Nov. 14.

UN council to meet in December on North Korea rights abuses, nuclear programme

President Donald Trump on Wednesday retweeted three anti-Muslim videos posted by the deputy head of a British far-right group who has been convicted of a hate crime, Jayda Fransen.

The first one shows&nbsp;a Muslim hitting a boy on crutches. The second one is seen as an Islamist mob pushing a teenager of a rooftop.

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Video 1 (Twitter)
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The third allegedly shows a Muslim throwing down and smashing a statue of the Virgin Mary.

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The video of the Virgin Mary statue being destroyed has been on YouTube for a long time.

Fransen was declared guilty last year with a hate crime after abusing a Muslim woman wearing a hijab.

Brendan Cox, the widower of MP Jo Cox who was killed by a right-wing extremist last year, said: &quot;Trump has legitimised the far right in his own country, now he&#39;s trying to do it in ours.&quot;

&quot;Spreading hatred has consequences &amp; the President should be ashamed of himself,&quot; he said.

David Lammy, an MP for the opposition Labour Party, said: &quot;The President of the United States is promoting a fascist, racist, extremist hate group whose leaders have been arrested and convicted.

&quot;He is no ally or friend of ours,&quot; he said.

Stephen Doughty, another Labour MP, said the videos were &quot;highly inflammatory&quot; and his colleague Yvette Cooper said Trump had given Fransen a &quot;huge platform&quot;.

Fransen appeared to celebrate the retweets saying: &quot;THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DONALD TRUMP, HAS RETWEETED THREE OF DEPUTY LEADER JAYDA FRANSEN&#39;S TWITTER VIDEOS! DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP! GOD BLESS AMERICA!&quot;

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THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DONALD TRUMP, HAS RETWEETED THREE OF DEPUTY LEADER JAYDA FRANSEN&#39;S TWITTER VIDEOS! DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP! GOD BLESS AMERICA! OCS <a href="https://twitter.com/JaydaBF?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JaydaBF</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> <a href="https://t.co/BiQfQkTra9">pic.twitter.com/BiQfQkTra9</a>
&mdash; Jayda Fransen (@JaydaBF) <a href="https://twitter.com/JaydaBF/status/935842051991711745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Trump&#39;s pokes&nbsp;in British politics and controversial foreign policy have weakened the so-called &quot;special relationship&quot;.

He has infuriated British authorities with his tweets on terrorism in Britain, including highly publicised run-ins with London mayor Sadiq Khan.

Wednesday&#39;s retweets were part of an early morning burst in which Trump again dismissed CNN as &quot;Fake News&quot; and insisted the US economy was in &quot;record territory&quot; by many measures.

US President Donald Trump was &quot;wrong&quot; to retweet three anti-Muslim videos posted by the deputy head of British far-right group Britain First, Prime Minister Theresa May&#39;s spokesman said.

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I hope our Government will condemn far-right retweets by Donald Trump. They are abhorrent, dangerous and a threat to our society.
&mdash; Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeremycorbyn/status/935867651859079168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&quot;Britain First seeks to divide communities through their use of hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tensions. They cause anxiety to law abiding people,&quot; he said.

&quot;British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right, which is the antithesis of the values that this country represents -- decency, tolerance and respect. It is wrong for the president to have done this.&quot;

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour party, had tweeted earlier: &quot;I hope our government will condemn far-right retweets by Donald Trump. They are abhorrent, dangerous and a threat to our society.&quot;

Trump's pokes?in British politics and controversial foreign policy have weakened the so-called "special relationship"

President Donald Trump on Wednesday retweeted three anti-Muslim videos posted by the deputy head of a British far-right group who has been convicted of a hate crime, Jayda Fransen. The first one shows a Muslim hitting a boy on crutches. The second one is seen as an Islamist mob pushing a teenager of a rooftop. Video 1 (Twitter) × Video 2 (Twitter) × The third allegedly shows a Muslim throwing down and smashing a statue of the Virgin Mary. Video 3 (Twitter) × The video of the Virgin Mary statue being destroyed has been on YouTube for a long time. Fransen was declared guilty last year with a hate crime after abusing a Muslim woman wearing a hijab. Brendan Cox, the widower of MP Jo Cox who was killed by a right-wing extremist last year, said: "Trump has legitimised the far right in his own country, now he's trying to do it in ours." "Spreading hatred has consequences & the President should be ashamed of himself," he said. David Lammy, an MP for the opposition Labour Party, said: "The President of the United States is promoting a fascist, racist, extremist hate group whose leaders have been arrested and convicted. "He is no ally or friend of ours," he said. Stephen Doughty, another Labour MP, said the videos were "highly inflammatory" and his colleague Yvette Cooper said Trump had given Fransen a "huge platform". Fransen appeared to celebrate the retweets saying: "THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DONALD TRUMP, HAS RETWEETED THREE OF DEPUTY LEADER JAYDA FRANSEN'S TWITTER VIDEOS! DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP! GOD BLESS AMERICA!" THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DONALD TRUMP, HAS RETWEETED THREE OF DEPUTY LEADER JAYDA FRANSEN'S TWITTER VIDEOS! DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP! GOD BLESS AMERICA! OCS @JaydaBF @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/BiQfQkTra9 — Jayda Fransen (@JaydaBF) November 29, 2017 × Trump's pokes in British politics and controversial foreign policy have weakened the so-called "special relationship". He has infuriated British authorities with his tweets on terrorism in Britain, including highly publicised run-ins with London mayor Sadiq Khan. Wednesday's retweets were part of an early morning burst in which Trump again dismissed CNN as "Fake News" and insisted the US economy was in "record territory" by many measures. US President Donald Trump was "wrong" to retweet three anti-Muslim videos posted by the deputy head of British far-right group Britain First, Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said. I hope our Government will condemn far-right retweets by Donald Trump. They are abhorrent, dangerous and a threat to our society. — Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) November 29, 2017 × "Britain First seeks to divide communities through their use of hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tensions. They cause anxiety to law abiding people," he said. "British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right, which is the antithesis of the values that this country represents -- decency, tolerance and respect. It is wrong for the president to have done this." Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour party, had tweeted earlier: "I hope our government will condemn far-right retweets by Donald Trump. They are abhorrent, dangerous and a threat to our society."

Trump retweets anti-Muslim videos posted by British far-right group head Jayda Fransen

Ireland&#39;s deputy prime minister agreed to resign on Tuesday, broadcaster RTE reported, a move that should end the likelihood of a new election that would have a potentially negative impact on Britain&#39;s Brexit negotiations.

It leaves her governing party and its relations with the opposition propping it up seriously damaged, however.

Citing two senior government figures, RTE radio reported that Frances Fitzgerald had agreed to resign. A spokeswoman for the government media office said they had no information as the cabinet meeting was ongoing.

The decision to resign should end the likelihood of a new election that would have a potentially negative impact on Britain's Brexit negotiations

Ireland's deputy prime minister agreed to resign on Tuesday, broadcaster RTE reported, a move that should end the likelihood of a new election that would have a potentially negative impact on Britain's Brexit negotiations. It leaves her governing party and its relations with the opposition propping it up seriously damaged, however. Citing two senior government figures, RTE radio reported that Frances Fitzgerald had agreed to resign. A spokeswoman for the government media office said they had no information as the cabinet meeting was ongoing.

Irish deputy PM to resign over political crisis

King Edward VIII sacrificed his throne and Queen Elizabeth&#39;s sister Margaret gave up her one true love, but for Prince Harry marrying a divorcee is no longer a bar to being a royal or following his heart. 
 
On Monday, Harry, fifth-in-line to the British throne, announced he was to wed his girlfriend, divorced U.S. actress Meghan Markle, with the blessing of his grandmother, the queen. 
 
British social attitudes have been transformed in recent decades but the monarchy has been bound by a more traditional set of Christian values.

So the queen&#39;s approval is a stark demonstration of how much the monarchy has also changed and modernised in the last 80 years when the idea of a royal marrying someone who was divorced was inconceivable. 
&quot;It&#39;s extraordinary how far we&#39;ve come since the 1930s,&quot; said royal biographer Claudia Joseph. &quot;In less than a century, times have changed beyond all recognition.&quot; 
 
Famously, Harry&#39;s great-great-uncle Edward VIII set off a constitutional crisis in 1936 by insisting on marrying twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson to the horror of the British establishment, the government and the Church of England, which the monarch nominally heads.

It was dubbed &quot;the greatest love story of the 20th century&quot; and Edward abdicated after just 11 months on the throne and ended up living in France, meaning Elizabeth&#39;s father George VI unexpectedly became king. 
 
&quot;You must believe me when I tell you that I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love,&quot; Edward said in his abdication speech.

Such attitudes were still prevalent two decades later. In 1955, Elizabeth&#39;s younger glamorous sister Margaret was forced to call off her proposed marriage to a dashing air force officer, Group Captain Peter Townsend.

Although a royal equerry, Townsend was still deemed an unsuitable husband for the queen&#39;s sister because he was divorced and he was sent off to Brussels by Buckingham Palace. 
 
&quot;MARRIAGE IS INDISSOLUBLE&quot; 
 
&quot;I would like it to be known that I have decided not to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend,&quot; Margaret said in a sad announcement to the nation. &quot;Mindful that Christian marriage is indissoluble and conscious of my duty to the Commonwealth, I have resolved to put these considerations before others.&quot; 
 
While divorce was considered unfathomable in those days, it has since become a common feature for the Windsors. Of Elizabeth&#39;s four children, three of their marriages have ended in divorce, most spectacularly that of Harry&#39;s father, heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and his first wife Princess Diana. 
 
They divorced in 1996, 15 years after their fairytale wedding and a year before she was killed in a car crash in Paris and Charles went on to wed another divorcee Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005. 
 
Camilla was someone who he had first considered marrying in the early 1970s but who royal courtiers had considered unacceptable while she was not keen on taking on the role herself at the time.

However Charles and Camilla could not marry in church, and the queen, who holds strong religious beliefs and has taken her role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England very seriously, declined to attend the civil ceremony. 
 
The Church of England had only ruled three years earlier that a divorced person could &quot;in exceptional circumstances&quot; marry again in church while their former spouse was still alive. 
 
Joseph said Charles&#39;s second marriage had paved the way for Harry. 
 
&quot;I think the dilemma came when Prince Charles married the Duchess of Cornwall,&quot; she told Reuters. &quot;That was a hard thing for the queen to deal with. Somehow they had to marry without compromising her role as head of the church.&quot; 
 
Harry and Meghan&#39;s union, like all those of the first six royals in direct line of succession, must be approved by the queen under the 2013 Succession to the Crown Act, which replaced an even more prescriptive law dating back to the 18th century. 
 
&quot;The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh are delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness,&quot; Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

The queen's approval is a stark demonstration of how much the monarchy has also changed and modernised in the last 80 years when the idea of a royal marrying someone who was divorced was inconceivable

King Edward VIII sacrificed his throne and Queen Elizabeth's sister Margaret gave up her one true love, but for Prince Harry marrying a divorcee is no longer a bar to being a royal or following his heart. On Monday, Harry, fifth-in-line to the British throne, announced he was to wed his girlfriend, divorced U.S. actress Meghan Markle, with the blessing of his grandmother, the queen. British social attitudes have been transformed in recent decades but the monarchy has been bound by a more traditional set of Christian values. So the queen's approval is a stark demonstration of how much the monarchy has also changed and modernised in the last 80 years when the idea of a royal marrying someone who was divorced was inconceivable. "It's extraordinary how far we've come since the 1930s," said royal biographer Claudia Joseph. "In less than a century, times have changed beyond all recognition." Famously, Harry's great-great-uncle Edward VIII set off a constitutional crisis in 1936 by insisting on marrying twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson to the horror of the British establishment, the government and the Church of England, which the monarch nominally heads. It was dubbed "the greatest love story of the 20th century" and Edward abdicated after just 11 months on the throne and ended up living in France, meaning Elizabeth's father George VI unexpectedly became king. "You must believe me when I tell you that I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love," Edward said in his abdication speech. Such attitudes were still prevalent two decades later. In 1955, Elizabeth's younger glamorous sister Margaret was forced to call off her proposed marriage to a dashing air force officer, Group Captain Peter Townsend. Although a royal equerry, Townsend was still deemed an unsuitable husband for the queen's sister because he was divorced and he was sent off to Brussels by Buckingham Palace. "MARRIAGE IS INDISSOLUBLE" "I would like it to be known that I have decided not to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend," Margaret said in a sad announcement to the nation. "Mindful that Christian marriage is indissoluble and conscious of my duty to the Commonwealth, I have resolved to put these considerations before others." While divorce was considered unfathomable in those days, it has since become a common feature for the Windsors. Of Elizabeth's four children, three of their marriages have ended in divorce, most spectacularly that of Harry's father, heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and his first wife Princess Diana. They divorced in 1996, 15 years after their fairytale wedding and a year before she was killed in a car crash in Paris and Charles went on to wed another divorcee Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005. Camilla was someone who he had first considered marrying in the early 1970s but who royal courtiers had considered unacceptable while she was not keen on taking on the role herself at the time. However Charles and Camilla could not marry in church, and the queen, who holds strong religious beliefs and has taken her role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England very seriously, declined to attend the civil ceremony. The Church of England had only ruled three years earlier that a divorced person could "in exceptional circumstances" marry again in church while their former spouse was still alive. Joseph said Charles's second marriage had paved the way for Harry. "I think the dilemma came when Prince Charles married the Duchess of Cornwall," she told Reuters. "That was a hard thing for the queen to deal with. Somehow they had to marry without compromising her role as head of the church." Harry and Meghan's union, like all those of the first six royals in direct line of succession, must be approved by the queen under the 2013 Succession to the Crown Act, which replaced an even more prescriptive law dating back to the 18th century. "The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh are delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

Prince Harry's engagement shows British monarchy has moved on from scandals of past

Ireland and Britain remained at odds on Monday on how to progress talks on the Irish border with a week to go before London could face failure in persuading European Union leaders to open trade talks at a December Brexit summit.

The EU handed Prime Minister Theresa May a 10-day &quot;absolute deadline&quot; on Friday to improve her divorce terms and meet three key conditions, including on the border between EU-member Ireland and Britain`s province of Northern Ireland.

Before it can sign off on the first phase of talks, the Irish government wants Britain to spell out in writing how it intends to make good on its commitment that the 500-km (300-mile) border will remain as seamless post-Brexit as it is today.

Dublin and EU officials say the best way to avoid a &quot;hard border&quot; is to keep regulations the same north and south and that this needs to be agreed in phase one, but a spokesman for May reiterated on Monday that a solution can only be concluded in the second phase of talks.

&quot;We remain firmly committed to avoiding any physical infrastructure but the secretary of state (Brexit minister David Davis) was also clear that we will only be able to conclude them finally in the context of the future relationship,&quot; he told reporters.

May&#39;s spokesman repeated that the whole of the United Kingdom will leave the EU&#39;s single market and customs union but Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said it seemed impossible to Dublin that some form of the hard border could be avoided if there are diverging regulatory regimes north and south.

&quot;It&#39;s simply not credible to say on the one hand that we are going to have a frictionless border and at the same time that all of Britain, including Northern Ireland, is going to leave the customs union, the single market without giving any reassurance on the avoidance of regulatory divergence,&quot; he told national broadcaster RTE.

With the possibility of Ireland vetoing progress on the talks dominating some newspaper front pages in Britain, Coveney added that Dublin would not need to use its veto if it remained dissatisfied since it has the backing of all other EU states.

&quot;We don&#39;t need to use a veto because we have complete solidarity on this issue. It is clear to us that if there is not progress on the Irish border, we will not be moving onto phase two in December and that was reinforced to me as late as last Friday by very senior EU leaders,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

Before it can sign off on the first phase of talks, the Irish government wants Britain to spell out in writing how it intends to make good on its commitment that the 500-km (300-mile) border will remain as seamless post-Brexit as it is today

Ireland and Britain remained at odds on Monday on how to progress talks on the Irish border with a week to go before London could face failure in persuading European Union leaders to open trade talks at a December Brexit summit. The EU handed Prime Minister Theresa May a 10-day "absolute deadline" on Friday to improve her divorce terms and meet three key conditions, including on the border between EU-member Ireland and Britain`s province of Northern Ireland. Before it can sign off on the first phase of talks, the Irish government wants Britain to spell out in writing how it intends to make good on its commitment that the 500-km (300-mile) border will remain as seamless post-Brexit as it is today. Dublin and EU officials say the best way to avoid a "hard border" is to keep regulations the same north and south and that this needs to be agreed in phase one, but a spokesman for May reiterated on Monday that a solution can only be concluded in the second phase of talks. "We remain firmly committed to avoiding any physical infrastructure but the secretary of state (Brexit minister David Davis) was also clear that we will only be able to conclude them finally in the context of the future relationship," he told reporters. May's spokesman repeated that the whole of the United Kingdom will leave the EU's single market and customs union but Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said it seemed impossible to Dublin that some form of the hard border could be avoided if there are diverging regulatory regimes north and south. "It's simply not credible to say on the one hand that we are going to have a frictionless border and at the same time that all of Britain, including Northern Ireland, is going to leave the customs union, the single market without giving any reassurance on the avoidance of regulatory divergence," he told national broadcaster RTE. With the possibility of Ireland vetoing progress on the talks dominating some newspaper front pages in Britain, Coveney added that Dublin would not need to use its veto if it remained dissatisfied since it has the backing of all other EU states. "We don't need to use a veto because we have complete solidarity on this issue. It is clear to us that if there is not progress on the Irish border, we will not be moving onto phase two in December and that was reinforced to me as late as last Friday by very senior EU leaders," he said.

Britain, Ireland at odds on border as Brexit deadline nears

Argentina&#39;s navy revealed Monday that a submarine missing for five days reported a mechanical breakdown in its final communication, and that weekend signals did not come from the vessel, dimming hopes for its 44 crew members.

&quot;The vessel surfaced and it reported a breakdown. It was therefore asked to change course and go to Mar del Plata,&quot; said Gabriel Galeazzi, the head of the naval base in the northeastern city, located 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of Buenos Aires.

Enrique Balbi, a spokesman for the navy, meanwhile told a press conference in the capital that seven signals received by naval bases over the weekend were not attempted distress calls from the submarine, as previously hoped.

&quot;We&#39;ve received the report from the company that analyzed the signals -- the seven attempted calls did not come from the submarine&#39;s satellite phone,&quot; he said, adding: &quot;We have still been unable to contact them.&quot;

The ARA San Juan, a German-built diesel-electric sub, made its last contact on Wednesday.

A multinational air and sea search is under way with help from countries including Brazil, Britain, Chile, the United States and Uruguay.

Argentina's navy revealed Monday that a submarine missing for five days reported a mechanical breakdown in its final communication, and that weekend signals did not come from the vessel, dimming hopes for its 44 crew members. "The vessel surfaced and it reported a breakdown. It was therefore asked to change course and go to Mar del Plata," said Gabriel Galeazzi, the head of the naval base in the northeastern city, located 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of Buenos Aires. Enrique Balbi, a spokesman for the navy, meanwhile told a press conference in the capital that seven signals received by naval bases over the weekend were not attempted distress calls from the submarine, as previously hoped. "We've received the report from the company that analyzed the signals -- the seven attempted calls did not come from the submarine's satellite phone," he said, adding: "We have still been unable to contact them." The ARA San Juan, a German-built diesel-electric sub, made its last contact on Wednesday. A multinational air and sea search is under way with help from countries including Brazil, Britain, Chile, the United States and Uruguay.

Argentina submarine missing for 5 days reported problem in final call: Navy

Buckingham Palace issued a new photographic portrait of Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip on Saturday to mark their upcoming 70th wedding anniversary.

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To mark The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh&#39;s 70th Wedding Anniversary, new photographic portraits have been released worldwide. <a href="https://t.co/Jl6elndhFe">pic.twitter.com/Jl6elndhFe</a>
&mdash; The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) <a href="https://twitter.com/RoyalFamily/status/932006703217995776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The couple married at London&rsquo;s Westminster Abbey on November&nbsp;20, 1947, just two years after the end of World War Two, in a lavish ceremony attended by statesmen and royalty from around the world.

The portrait, taken earlier this month, showed the queen wearing the same dress which she chose for a service of thanksgiving to mark their diamond wedding anniversary held at the Abbey where they were married.

She is also wearing a &ldquo;Scarab&rdquo; brooch in yellow gold, carved ruby, and diamond which Philip gave her in 1966.

Elizabeth has been married for far longer than any other royal, and the newly-released picture showed the couple framed by Thomas Gainsborough&rsquo;s 1781 portraits of George III and Queen Charlotte, who were married for 57 years - the second-longest royal marriage.

The portrait, taken earlier this month, showed the queen wearing the same dress which she chose for a service of thanksgiving to mark their diamond wedding anniversary held at the Abbey where they were married

Buckingham Palace issued a new photographic portrait of Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip on Saturday to mark their upcoming 70th wedding anniversary. To mark The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh's 70th Wedding Anniversary, new photographic portraits have been released worldwide. pic.twitter.com/Jl6elndhFe — The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) November 18, 2017 × The couple married at London’s Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947, just two years after the end of World War Two, in a lavish ceremony attended by statesmen and royalty from around the world. The portrait, taken earlier this month, showed the queen wearing the same dress which she chose for a service of thanksgiving to mark their diamond wedding anniversary held at the Abbey where they were married. She is also wearing a “Scarab” brooch in yellow gold, carved ruby, and diamond which Philip gave her in 1966. Elizabeth has been married for far longer than any other royal, and the newly-released picture showed the couple framed by Thomas Gainsborough’s 1781 portraits of George III and Queen Charlotte, who were married for 57 years - the second-longest royal marriage.

Britain releases official photo of the Queen to mark 70th wedding Anniversary

In the past few months, Google has been actively keeping a check on YouTube content.&nbsp;The video sharing website had removed several extremist videos from the site.

As part of its new policy, Google aims to keep a check on videos featuring people and groups that have been designated as &quot;terrorists&quot;&nbsp;by the US or British government.&nbsp;

The move comes&nbsp;after the company faced increasing pressure from governments.&nbsp;The new policy will restrict terrorist groups based on the government&#39;s list.

However, the policy will not affect news clips or educational videos about terrorism.&nbsp;

Citing that such content in the website radicalises viewers and results in deadly terror attacks, governments and human right groups have been forcing YouTube to crackdown on extremist videos for a long time.&nbsp;

Earlier the company had announced that &ldquo;inflammatory religious or supremacist content&rdquo; that does not violates its policies would be allowed with warning labels.

Such videos were restricted to any advertisement revenue.&nbsp;

Google General counsel Kent Walker had said in a blog post&nbsp;then calling for a &quot;right balance&quot;&nbsp;between &quot;free expression&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;access to information without promoting extremely offensive viewpoints.&quot;

&nbsp;

As part of its new policy, Google aims to keep a check on videos featuring people and groups that have been designated as terrorists by the US or British government

In the past few months, Google has been actively keeping a check on YouTube content. The video sharing website had removed several extremist videos from the site. As part of its new policy, Google aims to keep a check on videos featuring people and groups that have been designated as "terrorists" by the US or British government. The move comes after the company faced increasing pressure from governments. The new policy will restrict terrorist groups based on the government's list. However, the policy will not affect news clips or educational videos about terrorism. Citing that such content in the website radicalises viewers and results in deadly terror attacks, governments and human right groups have been forcing YouTube to crackdown on extremist videos for a long time. Earlier the company had announced that “inflammatory religious or supremacist content” that does not violates its policies would be allowed with warning labels. Such videos were restricted to any advertisement revenue. Google General counsel Kent Walker had said in a blog post then calling for a "right balance" between "free expression" and "access to information without promoting extremely offensive viewpoints."

Google's new policy to widen control on 'extremist' videos on YouTube

Kevin&nbsp;Spacey&nbsp;faced fresh allegations of sexual harassment in Britain on Thursday, with an ex-employee accusing his old theatre of turning a blind eye to the Hollywood star&#39;s misconduct.

Former workers at The Old Vic, where the US actor ruled the roost as its artistic director from 2003 to 2015, told The Guardian newspaper that the London theatre ignored allegations of groping and inappropriate sexual behaviour.&nbsp;&nbsp;

&quot;We were all involved in keeping it quiet. I witnessed him groping men many times in all sorts of different situations,&quot; one said, on condition of anonymity.

The two-time Oscar winner was taking advantage of the fact that he is this great icon. &quot;He touched men on the crotch. Doing it really fast so they couldn&#39;t get out of the way.&quot;

&quot;The thing that really upsets me is the hypocrisy of places like The Old Vic that pretend now that they didn&#39;t know.&quot; Rebecca Gooden, an intern at the theatre in 2010, said there were regular stories about&nbsp;Spacey&#39;s behaviour.

She told The Guardian it was a &#39;running joke&#39;&nbsp;that &#39;pretty&#39;&nbsp;young men were not hired to work in theatre administration.

&quot;I was informed that I was not allowed to talk about it outside the theatre. I am honestly sickened that the theatre has chosen to plead ignorance,&quot; she said.

Spacey&nbsp;became embroiled in Hollywood&#39;s widening<a href="http://www.wionews.com/preview/article/23302"> sexual misconduct scandal</a> when he apologised this week over accusations he made a sexual advance on a 14-year-old actor in the 1980s.

The Old Vic said it was &#39;not currently in a position to comment on specifics of what may have taken place in the past.&#39;

The theatre said it had set up an email address where &#39;anyone who has concerns about the inappropriate behaviour of Kevin&nbsp;Spacey&nbsp;at The Old Vic&#39;&nbsp;could come forward.

&quot;Since we set up this confidential line of communication, we are already seeing the great benefits of the new policy of openness and the safe sharing of information,&quot; a spokeswoman told AFP. &quot;We stand by, support and strongly encourage the industry-wide culture shift that is under way.&quot;

Spacey, 58, found himself in the spotlight when Anthony Rapp accused the star of making a &#39;sexual advance&#39;&nbsp;when he was 14 and&nbsp;Spacey&nbsp;was 26.

Mexican actor Roberto Cavazos then accused&nbsp;Spacey&nbsp;of sexual harassment, saying he fended off two &#39;unpleasant&#39;&nbsp;advances that &#39;bordered on harassment&#39;&nbsp;while at The Old Vic, but that others were afraid to do so.

Film-maker Tony Montana also alleged&nbsp;Spacey&nbsp;grabbed his crotch in a Los Angeles bar in 2003.

On Tuesday, British barman Daniel Beal accused&nbsp;Spacey&nbsp;of exposing himself in front of him and then giving him an expensive watch to keep quiet, according to The Sun newspaper.

Then on Wednesday, a US man who was not identified, told BBC television that when he was 17, he had been invited to stay at&nbsp;Spacey&#39;s New York home and the actor asked him to sleep in his bed.&nbsp;

He slept on the sofa but woke up with&nbsp;Spacey&#39;s arms around him.

Spacey&nbsp;said he could not remember the alleged encounter with Rapp but apologised, saying he was &#39;beyond horrified&#39;.

Kevin?Spacey?faced fresh allegations of sexual harassment in Britain on Thursday, with an ex-employee accusing his old theatre of turning a blind eye to the Hollywood star's misconduct.

Kevin Spacey faced fresh allegations of sexual harassment in Britain on Thursday, with an ex-employee accusing his old theatre of turning a blind eye to the Hollywood star's misconduct. Former workers at The Old Vic, where the US actor ruled the roost as its artistic director from 2003 to 2015, told The Guardian newspaper that the London theatre ignored allegations of groping and inappropriate sexual behaviour. "We were all involved in keeping it quiet. I witnessed him groping men many times in all sorts of different situations," one said, on condition of anonymity. The two-time Oscar winner was taking advantage of the fact that he is this great icon. "He touched men on the crotch. Doing it really fast so they couldn't get out of the way." "The thing that really upsets me is the hypocrisy of places like The Old Vic that pretend now that they didn't know." Rebecca Gooden, an intern at the theatre in 2010, said there were regular stories about Spacey's behaviour. She told The Guardian it was a 'running joke' that 'pretty' young men were not hired to work in theatre administration. "I was informed that I was not allowed to talk about it outside the theatre. I am honestly sickened that the theatre has chosen to plead ignorance," she said. Spacey became embroiled in Hollywood's widening sexual misconduct scandal when he apologised this week over accusations he made a sexual advance on a 14-year-old actor in the 1980s. The Old Vic said it was 'not currently in a position to comment on specifics of what may have taken place in the past.' The theatre said it had set up an email address where 'anyone who has concerns about the inappropriate behaviour of Kevin Spacey at The Old Vic' could come forward. "Since we set up this confidential line of communication, we are already seeing the great benefits of the new policy of openness and the safe sharing of information," a spokeswoman told AFP. "We stand by, support and strongly encourage the industry-wide culture shift that is under way." Spacey, 58, found himself in the spotlight when Anthony Rapp accused the star of making a 'sexual advance' when he was 14 and Spacey was 26. Mexican actor Roberto Cavazos then accused Spacey of sexual harassment, saying he fended off two 'unpleasant' advances that 'bordered on harassment' while at The Old Vic, but that others were afraid to do so. Film-maker Tony Montana also alleged Spacey grabbed his crotch in a Los Angeles bar in 2003. On Tuesday, British barman Daniel Beal accused Spacey of exposing himself in front of him and then giving him an expensive watch to keep quiet, according to The Sun newspaper. Then on Wednesday, a US man who was not identified, told BBC television that when he was 17, he had been invited to stay at Spacey's New York home and the actor asked him to sleep in his bed. He slept on the sofa but woke up with Spacey's arms around him. Spacey said he could not remember the alleged encounter with Rapp but apologised, saying he was 'beyond horrified'.

Kevin Spacey hit by new sexual harassment allegations in UK

A budget plan crucial to President Donald Trump&#39;s hopes for large-scale tax cuts looked set for a close vote in the US&nbsp;House of Representatives on Thursday after some Republicans vowed opposition in an effort to protect a popular tax break.

The rebellious faction is resisting a proposal to eliminate a federal deduction for state and local income taxes, which would hit middle-class voters in high-tax states like New York, New Jersey and California.

The idea is one of several that have been floated as Republicans craft a tax-cut plan. The budget blueprint, which has already been approved by the Senate, is central to their efforts to push tax legislation through Congress in the face of staunch opposition from Democrats.

The proposal &quot;is obviously an issue of concern to a group of members, and the shared goal is to work together to address the issue and move forward,&quot; an aide to House Majority Whip Steve Scalise said on Wednesday.

With the clock ticking toward a vote, the impasse had yet to be settled. Republican lawmakers had planned to meet in House Speaker Paul Ryan&#39;s office at 9 pm&nbsp;to try to hammer out a resolution, but the meeting was postponed until after the budget vote, which was set for 10:30 am.&nbsp;

Republican Representative Tom MacArthur of New Jersey told reporters it was possible there were enough votes to block the budget plan. &quot;It&#39;s got to be close,&quot; he said.

Scalise predicted victory. &quot;We&#39;re going to get it done,&quot; he told Fox News Channel.

Republicans have sketched out a tax package that independent analysts say would cut taxes for businesses and individuals by up to $6 trillion over the next decade, but detailed legislation is not expected to be unveiled until next week.

If Congress approves a tax-cut plan, it would hand Trump his first major legislative win since he took office in January.

&quot;I am urging Republicans who have questions about SALT (the state and local tax deduction) to vote no tomorrow, and keep voting no until we get some compromise we can live with,&quot; Republican Representative Peter King of New York told Reuters.

An aide to Republican Representative Tom Reed of New York said there was discussion of a compromise that would call for a tax credit up to a certain income amount to replace the deduction, and that he would support it.

Republican Representative Leonard Lance of New Jersey told Reuters he was not interested in a compromise at this time, and instead wanted the repeal provision taken off the table.

&quot;I will be voting no on the budget tomorrow,&quot; he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will also travel to London to mark the anniversary.

A budget plan crucial to President Donald Trump's hopes for large-scale tax cuts looked set for a close vote in the US House of Representatives on Thursday after some Republicans vowed opposition in an effort to protect a popular tax break. The rebellious faction is resisting a proposal to eliminate a federal deduction for state and local income taxes, which would hit middle-class voters in high-tax states like New York, New Jersey and California. The idea is one of several that have been floated as Republicans craft a tax-cut plan. The budget blueprint, which has already been approved by the Senate, is central to their efforts to push tax legislation through Congress in the face of staunch opposition from Democrats. The proposal "is obviously an issue of concern to a group of members, and the shared goal is to work together to address the issue and move forward," an aide to House Majority Whip Steve Scalise said on Wednesday. With the clock ticking toward a vote, the impasse had yet to be settled. Republican lawmakers had planned to meet in House Speaker Paul Ryan's office at 9 pm to try to hammer out a resolution, but the meeting was postponed until after the budget vote, which was set for 10:30 am. Republican Representative Tom MacArthur of New Jersey told reporters it was possible there were enough votes to block the budget plan. "It's got to be close," he said. Scalise predicted victory. "We're going to get it done," he told Fox News Channel. Republicans have sketched out a tax package that independent analysts say would cut taxes for businesses and individuals by up to $6 trillion over the next decade, but detailed legislation is not expected to be unveiled until next week. If Congress approves a tax-cut plan, it would hand Trump his first major legislative win since he took office in January. "I am urging Republicans who have questions about SALT (the state and local tax deduction) to vote no tomorrow, and keep voting no until we get some compromise we can live with," Republican Representative Peter King of New York told Reuters. An aide to Republican Representative Tom Reed of New York said there was discussion of a compromise that would call for a tax credit up to a certain income amount to replace the deduction, and that he would support it. Republican Representative Leonard Lance of New Jersey told Reuters he was not interested in a compromise at this time, and instead wanted the repeal provision taken off the table. "I will be voting no on the budget tomorrow," he said.

Britain defends Balfour Declaration, 100 years on

Britain said on Friday it believed North Korea was behind the WannaCry&nbsp;cyber attack in May that disrupted businesses and government services worldwide, including the National Health Service (NHS) in England.

Security Minister Ben Wallace said Britain believed quite strongly&nbsp;that the ransomware attack came from a foreign state.&nbsp;

&quot;North Korea was the state that we believe was involved in this worldwide attack on our systems&quot; he told BBC radio.

&quot;We can be as sure as possible - I can`t obviously go into the detailed intelligence but it is widely believed in the community and across a number of countries that North Korea had taken this role.&quot;

WannaCry infected more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries in a matter of days, demanding victims pay ransoms starting at $300 to regain access to their machines.

Cyber security researchers quickly identified a possible link to North Korea.

More than a third of England&#39;s 236 NHS trusts and an estimated 19,000 appointments were affected, Britain`s National Audit Office said on Friday in a report on the attack.

It also said that WannaCry was a relatively unsophisticated attack that could have been prevented by the NHS had it followed basic IT security best practice.

No NHS organisation had paid the ransom but the government did&nbsp;not know how much the disruption to services costed the NHS.&nbsp;

Wallace said Britain needed to redouble its efforts to strengthen cyber security.

&quot;It&#39;s a salient lesson for us all that all of us, from individuals to governments to large organisations, have a role to play in maintaining the security of our networks,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

Security Minister Ben Wallace said Britain believed quite strongly?that the ransomware attack came from a foreign state.

Britain said on Friday it believed North Korea was behind the WannaCry cyber attack in May that disrupted businesses and government services worldwide, including the National Health Service (NHS) in England. Security Minister Ben Wallace said Britain believed quite strongly that the ransomware attack came from a foreign state. "North Korea was the state that we believe was involved in this worldwide attack on our systems" he told BBC radio. "We can be as sure as possible - I can`t obviously go into the detailed intelligence but it is widely believed in the community and across a number of countries that North Korea had taken this role." WannaCry infected more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries in a matter of days, demanding victims pay ransoms starting at $300 to regain access to their machines. Cyber security researchers quickly identified a possible link to North Korea. More than a third of England's 236 NHS trusts and an estimated 19,000 appointments were affected, Britain`s National Audit Office said on Friday in a report on the attack. It also said that WannaCry was a relatively unsophisticated attack that could have been prevented by the NHS had it followed basic IT security best practice. No NHS organisation had paid the ransom but the government did not know how much the disruption to services costed the NHS. Wallace said Britain needed to redouble its efforts to strengthen cyber security. "It's a salient lesson for us all that all of us, from individuals to governments to large organisations, have a role to play in maintaining the security of our networks," he said.

Britain believes North Korea was behind ransomware 'WannaCry' NHS cyber attack

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said London wanted an urgent explanation after a British human rights activist was barred from entering Hong Kong on Wednesday.

Benedict Rogers, deputy chairman of the governing Conservative Party&#39;s human rights commission, arrived by plane from Bangkok but was turned away by immigration in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

&quot;I am very concerned that a UK national has been denied entry to Hong Kong,&quot; Johnson said in a statement.

&quot;The British government will be seeking an urgent explanation from the Hong Kong authorities and from the Chinese government,&quot; he said.

&quot;Hong Kong&#39;s high degree of autonomy and its rights and freedoms are central to its way of life and should be fully respected.&quot;

Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997 under a &quot;One country, two systems&quot; formula intended to protect its freedoms and way of life. The semi-autonomous city is supposed to handle its own immigration affairs.

Rogers, who lived in Hong Kong between 1997 and 2002, had spoken out against the jailing of activists including Joshua Wong.

Benedict Rogers, deputy chairman of the governing Conservative Party's human rights commission, arrived by plane from Bangkok but was turned away by immigration in the semi-autonomous Chinese city

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said London wanted an urgent explanation after a British human rights activist was barred from entering Hong Kong on Wednesday. Benedict Rogers, deputy chairman of the governing Conservative Party's human rights commission, arrived by plane from Bangkok but was turned away by immigration in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. "I am very concerned that a UK national has been denied entry to Hong Kong," Johnson said in a statement. "The British government will be seeking an urgent explanation from the Hong Kong authorities and from the Chinese government," he said. "Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and its rights and freedoms are central to its way of life and should be fully respected." Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997 under a "One country, two systems" formula intended to protect its freedoms and way of life. The semi-autonomous city is supposed to handle its own immigration affairs. Rogers, who lived in Hong Kong between 1997 and 2002, had spoken out against the jailing of activists including Joshua Wong.

Britain wants answers after rights activist barred from Hong Kong: Boris Johnson

For members of Europe&#39;s biggest Rohingya community in Bradford, Northern England, the news from Myanmar brings a mix of anger, fear and haunting memories of dramatic escapes from their homeland.

Some 300 members of the Muslim minority have settled in Bradford in recent years under a refugee programme and they are desperate to draw international attention to the plight of their brethren.

&quot;If I grew up in Myanmar&nbsp;I would be dead today,&quot; said Omme Kulsum Harun, a 17-year-old wrapped in a traditional long white and yellow robe with a thick grey veil covering most of her head of black hair.

Kulsum said she would like to study nursing in order to help fellow Rohingya, hundreds of thousands of whom have fled into Bangladesh in recent weeks following a crackdown by Myanmar&#39;s military.

Harun&#39;s mother Samuda saw her own aunt raped by a soldier when she was a little girl and was told by villagers that her sister suffered the same fate while the family were trying to flee Myanmar.

&quot;Today, I don&#39;t even know if my sister is alive,&quot; the mother of seven told AFP, holding back tears.

&quot;It makes me so sad and angry when I watch the news and see the situation in Myanmar,&quot; she said.

The contrast could not be bigger with her new life.

Harun shows off a picture of her son Ismail Mohamed, a student at Bradford University.

A former wool-making hub, Bradford is one of Britain&#39;s most diverse cities and around a quarter of the population is Muslim, according to the latest census figures.

We won&#39;t give up

In a city where Victorian-era terraced houses stand side by side with mosques and abandoned industrial plants, Nijam Uddin Mohammed said he has found freedom.

The 36-year-old arrived in 2008 after spending more than 18 years in a refugee camp in Bangladesh.

&quot;My life started in Bradford. In the refugee camps back in Bangladesh we couldn&#39;t do what we wanted.&quot;

&quot;If we wanted to go for a walk or see some friends in another camp we had to seek permission. It was like a mini-prison. It was not a life.&quot; he said.

During the day, the father of two young children works as an interpreter for the state-run National Health Service and at night he drives a minicab.

He also heads up the Rohingya association of Bradford, which holds meetings at the homes of local Rohingya families every Monday.

At these meetings, the Rohingyas share news about their loved ones and discuss how to put pressure on the British government to become more active.

They have started petitions, held public meetings and sent letters to politicians including Prime Minister Theresa May.

&quot;The (Myanmar) army wants to shut us down but here in Bradford we are free and we are not afraid,&quot; Mohammed said.

&quot;Even if they have never known their homeland, our kids will always raise their voices. We won&#39;t give up.&quot;

Suu Kyi &#39;betrayed us&#39;

Their anger has been stoked further by speeches from the head of Myanmar&#39;s civilian administration, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has refused to condemn the military.

&quot;She betrayed us. We had great expectations but instead of helping us she remained silent.&quot;

&quot;She&#39;s doing politics with our lives,&quot; Mohammed said.

Referring to Suu Kyi&#39;s comments about reports of Rohingya suffering as &quot;fake news&quot;, Harun said: &quot;Is it fake news that my sister was raped by the military?&quot;

Mohammed said he welcomed Britain&#39;s decision to suspend military assistance to Myanmar&#39;s army.

But the deputy head of the association, Nur Huda, said it was up to Muslim countries to take the lead and follow the example of Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned &quot;Buddhist terrorism&quot;.

But Mohammed said: &quot;It is not a Muslim issue. We are all human beings who share the same blood and want to live.&quot;

Some 300 members of the Muslim minority have settled in Bradford in recent years under a refugee programme and they are desperate to draw international attention to the plight of their brethren

For members of Europe's biggest Rohingya community in Bradford, Northern England, the news from Myanmar brings a mix of anger, fear and haunting memories of dramatic escapes from their homeland. Some 300 members of the Muslim minority have settled in Bradford in recent years under a refugee programme and they are desperate to draw international attention to the plight of their brethren. "If I grew up in Myanmar I would be dead today," said Omme Kulsum Harun, a 17-year-old wrapped in a traditional long white and yellow robe with a thick grey veil covering most of her head of black hair. Kulsum said she would like to study nursing in order to help fellow Rohingya, hundreds of thousands of whom have fled into Bangladesh in recent weeks following a crackdown by Myanmar's military. Harun's mother Samuda saw her own aunt raped by a soldier when she was a little girl and was told by villagers that her sister suffered the same fate while the family were trying to flee Myanmar. "Today, I don't even know if my sister is alive," the mother of seven told AFP, holding back tears. "It makes me so sad and angry when I watch the news and see the situation in Myanmar," she said. The contrast could not be bigger with her new life. Harun shows off a picture of her son Ismail Mohamed, a student at Bradford University. A former wool-making hub, Bradford is one of Britain's most diverse cities and around a quarter of the population is Muslim, according to the latest census figures. We won't give up In a city where Victorian-era terraced houses stand side by side with mosques and abandoned industrial plants, Nijam Uddin Mohammed said he has found freedom. The 36-year-old arrived in 2008 after spending more than 18 years in a refugee camp in Bangladesh. "My life started in Bradford. In the refugee camps back in Bangladesh we couldn't do what we wanted." "If we wanted to go for a walk or see some friends in another camp we had to seek permission. It was like a mini-prison. It was not a life." he said. During the day, the father of two young children works as an interpreter for the state-run National Health Service and at night he drives a minicab. He also heads up the Rohingya association of Bradford, which holds meetings at the homes of local Rohingya families every Monday. At these meetings, the Rohingyas share news about their loved ones and discuss how to put pressure on the British government to become more active. They have started petitions, held public meetings and sent letters to politicians including Prime Minister Theresa May. "The (Myanmar) army wants to shut us down but here in Bradford we are free and we are not afraid," Mohammed said. "Even if they have never known their homeland, our kids will always raise their voices. We won't give up." Suu Kyi 'betrayed us' Their anger has been stoked further by speeches from the head of Myanmar's civilian administration, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has refused to condemn the military. "She betrayed us. We had great expectations but instead of helping us she remained silent." "She's doing politics with our lives," Mohammed said. Referring to Suu Kyi's comments about reports of Rohingya suffering as "fake news", Harun said: "Is it fake news that my sister was raped by the military?" Mohammed said he welcomed Britain's decision to suspend military assistance to Myanmar's army. But the deputy head of the association, Nur Huda, said it was up to Muslim countries to take the lead and follow the example of Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned "Buddhist terrorism". But Mohammed said: "It is not a Muslim issue. We are all human beings who share the same blood and want to live."

'I would be dead': Britain's Rohingyas speak out

The&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korean&nbsp;issue&nbsp;should&nbsp;be resolved&nbsp;peacefully&nbsp;through talks, Chinese President&nbsp;Xi&nbsp;Jinping told British Prime Minister&nbsp;Theresa&nbsp;May&nbsp;in a telephone call, state radio said on Monday.

Chinese President?Xi?Jinping told British Prime Minister?Theresa?May

The North Korean issue should be resolved peacefully through talks, Chinese President Xi Jinping told British Prime Minister Theresa May in a telephone call, state radio said on Monday.

North Korea issue should be peacefully resolved: Xi to Theresa May

The leaders of&nbsp;Britain, France and Italy will push social media companies on Wednesday to remove &quot;terrorist content&quot; from the internet within one to two hours of it appearing because they say that is the period when most material is spread.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni will raise the issue at an event on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.

Internet companies including Facebook Inc, Microsoft Corp Alphabet Inc&#39;s Google said they will attend the meeting.

Google will be represented by general counsel Kent Walker, who will also speak on behalf of a recently formed industry group called the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism.

Facebook is sending Monika Bickert, head of global policy management, who is expected to make remarks reiterating the companies&#39; commitment to combating online extremism.

Microsoft is sending Dave Heiner, a senior policy advisor.

The European Union has threatened legislation if internet companies do not step up efforts to police what is available on the web.

The British UN&nbsp;mission said May will welcome progress, but urge companies to go &quot;further and faster&quot; to stop groups like Islamic State spreading material that promotes extremism or shows how to make bombs or attack pedestrians with vehicles.

&quot;Terrorist groups are aware that links to their propaganda are being removed more quickly, and are placing a greater emphasis on disseminating content at speed in order to stay ahead,&quot; May plans to tell the event.

&quot;Industry needs to go further and faster in automating the detection and removal of terrorist content online, and developing technological solutions which prevent it being uploaded in the first place,&quot; she will say.

Responding to pressure from governments in Europe and the United States after a spate of militant attacks, key firms created the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism in June to share technical solutions for removing extremist content and work more with counter-terrorism experts.

Twitter said it had removed 299,649 accounts in the first half of this year for the &quot;promotion of terrorism&quot;, a 20 percent decline from the previous six months, although it gave no reason for the drop. Three-quarters of those accounts were suspended before posting their first tweet.

May said ahead of Wednesday&#39;s event: &quot;We need a fundamental shift in the scale and nature of our response &ndash; both from industry and governments &ndash; if we are to match the evolving nature of terrorists&#39; use of the internet.&quot;

Internet companies including Facebook Inc, Microsoft Corp Alphabet Inc&#39;s Google said they will attend the meeting.

Google will be represented by general counsel Kent Walker, who will also speak on behalf of a recently formed industry group called the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism.

Facebook is sending Monika Bickert, head of global policy management, who is expected to make remarks reiterating the companies&#39; commitment to combating online extremism.

Microsoft is sending Dave Heiner, a senior policy advisor.

The European Union has threatened legislation if internet companies do not step up efforts to police what is available on the web.

The British UN&nbsp;mission said May will welcome progress, but urge companies to go &quot;further and faster&quot; to stop groups like Islamic State spreading material that promotes extremism or shows how to make bombs or attack pedestrians with vehicles.

&quot;Terrorist groups are aware that links to their propaganda are being removed more quickly, and are placing a greater emphasis on disseminating content at speed in order to stay ahead,&quot; May plans to tell the event.

&quot;Industry needs to go further and faster in automating the detection and removal of terrorist content online, and developing technological solutions which prevent it being uploaded in the first place,&quot; she will say.

Responding to pressure from governments in Europe and the United States after a spate of militant attacks, key firms created the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism in June to share technical solutions for removing extremist content and work more with counter-terrorism experts.

Twitter said it had removed 299,649 accounts in the first half of this year for the &quot;promotion of terrorism&quot;, a 20 per cent decline from the previous six months, although it gave no reason for the drop. Three-quarters of those accounts were suspended before posting their first tweet.

May said ahead of Wednesday&#39;s event: &quot;We need a fundamental shift in the scale and nature of our response &ndash; both from industry and governments &ndash; if we are to match the evolving nature of terrorists&#39; use of the internet.&quot;

British Prime Minister Theresa May, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni will raise the issue at an event on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.

The leaders of Britain, France and Italy will push social media companies on Wednesday to remove "terrorist content" from the internet within one to two hours of it appearing because they say that is the period when most material is spread. British Prime Minister Theresa May, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni will raise the issue at an event on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations. Internet companies including Facebook Inc, Microsoft Corp Alphabet Inc's Google said they will attend the meeting. Google will be represented by general counsel Kent Walker, who will also speak on behalf of a recently formed industry group called the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism. Facebook is sending Monika Bickert, head of global policy management, who is expected to make remarks reiterating the companies' commitment to combating online extremism. Microsoft is sending Dave Heiner, a senior policy advisor. The European Union has threatened legislation if internet companies do not step up efforts to police what is available on the web. The British UN mission said May will welcome progress, but urge companies to go "further and faster" to stop groups like Islamic State spreading material that promotes extremism or shows how to make bombs or attack pedestrians with vehicles. "Terrorist groups are aware that links to their propaganda are being removed more quickly, and are placing a greater emphasis on disseminating content at speed in order to stay ahead," May plans to tell the event. "Industry needs to go further and faster in automating the detection and removal of terrorist content online, and developing technological solutions which prevent it being uploaded in the first place," she will say. Responding to pressure from governments in Europe and the United States after a spate of militant attacks, key firms created the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism in June to share technical solutions for removing extremist content and work more with counter-terrorism experts. Twitter said it had removed 299,649 accounts in the first half of this year for the "promotion of terrorism", a 20 percent decline from the previous six months, although it gave no reason for the drop. Three-quarters of those accounts were suspended before posting their first tweet. May said ahead of Wednesday's event: "We need a fundamental shift in the scale and nature of our response – both from industry and governments – if we are to match the evolving nature of terrorists' use of the internet." Internet companies including Facebook Inc, Microsoft Corp Alphabet Inc's Google said they will attend the meeting. Google will be represented by general counsel Kent Walker, who will also speak on behalf of a recently formed industry group called the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism. Facebook is sending Monika Bickert, head of global policy management, who is expected to make remarks reiterating the companies' commitment to combating online extremism. Microsoft is sending Dave Heiner, a senior policy advisor. The European Union has threatened legislation if internet companies do not step up efforts to police what is available on the web. The British UN mission said May will welcome progress, but urge companies to go "further and faster" to stop groups like Islamic State spreading material that promotes extremism or shows how to make bombs or attack pedestrians with vehicles. "Terrorist groups are aware that links to their propaganda are being removed more quickly, and are placing a greater emphasis on disseminating content at speed in order to stay ahead," May plans to tell the event. "Industry needs to go further and faster in automating the detection and removal of terrorist content online, and developing technological solutions which prevent it being uploaded in the first place," she will say. Responding to pressure from governments in Europe and the United States after a spate of militant attacks, key firms created the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism in June to share technical solutions for removing extremist content and work more with counter-terrorism experts. Twitter said it had removed 299,649 accounts in the first half of this year for the "promotion of terrorism", a 20 per cent decline from the previous six months, although it gave no reason for the drop. Three-quarters of those accounts were suspended before posting their first tweet. May said ahead of Wednesday's event: "We need a fundamental shift in the scale and nature of our response – both from industry and governments – if we are to match the evolving nature of terrorists' use of the internet."

At UN, Britain to push internet firms to remove extremist content quicker

Britain&#39;s&nbsp;foreign minister&nbsp;Boris&nbsp;Johnson&nbsp;was&nbsp;accused&nbsp;by cabinet colleagues on Sunday of &quot;backseat driving&quot; on&nbsp;Brexit&nbsp;after setting out his own vision of the country&#39;s future outside the European Union.

Only days before Prime Minister Theresa May is due to speak in Italy about&nbsp;Britain&#39;s&nbsp;planned EU departure,&nbsp;Johnson&nbsp;on Saturday published a 4,300-word newspaper article that roamed well beyond his ministerial brief and, in some cases, the approach set out by the government.

Interior minister Amber Rudd said it was &quot;absolutely fine&quot; for the foreign secretary to intervene publicly but that she did not want him managing the&nbsp;Brexit&nbsp;process.

&quot;What we&#39;ve got is Theresa May managing that process, she&#39;s driving the car,&quot; Rudd told the BBC&#39;s Andrew Marr on Sunday.

Asked if&nbsp;Johnson&nbsp;was backseat driving, she replied: &quot;Yes, you could call it backseat driving, absolutely.&quot;

Johnson&#39;s article re-ignited speculation that he would challenge May for the leadership of the Conservative Party.

Rudd, however, said she did not think&nbsp;Johnson&nbsp;was laying the groundwork to challenge May.

&quot;I think that he, like I, supports the prime minister at this difficult time as we try to conclude the negotiations with the EU,&quot; she said.

May&#39;s deputy, Damian Green, also weighed in, saying that&nbsp;Johnson&nbsp;had written a &quot;very exuberant&quot; article but it was &quot;absolutely clear to everyone that the driver of the car in this instance is the prime minister&quot;.

&quot;It is the job of the rest of us in the cabinet to agree on a set of proposals and get behind those proposals and get behind the prime minister,&quot; Green told BBC TV.

&#39;MISUSE OF STATISTICS&#39;

Johnson&nbsp;wrote in the Daily Telegraph that Britain would not pay to access the EU market in the future. Once out of the EU, the country should borrow to invest in infrastructure, reform the tax code and set immigration levels as it sees fit, he said.

Johnson&nbsp;also repeated the&nbsp;Brexit&nbsp;campaign claim that the government would be 350 million pounds ($476 million) a week better off outside the EU.

Government officials criticised&nbsp;Johnson&nbsp;for repeating the claim, saying the figure does not take into account the funding Britain receives back from Brussels.

David Norgrove, of the UK Statistics Authority, said he was &quot;surprised and disappointed&quot; thatJohnson&nbsp;was still quoting a figure that confused gross and net contributions.

&quot;It is a clear misuse of official statistics,&quot; Norgrove said in a letter to&nbsp;Johnson&nbsp;on Sunday.

Johnson&nbsp;said in reply that Norgrove&#39;s letter was &quot;based on what appeared to be a wilful distortion of the text of my article&quot; and asked the official to withdraw it.

The timing of&nbsp;Johnson&#39;s article -- published a day after a bomb injured 30 people on a train in London -- also drew criticism from some colleagues.

Reacting to the furore his article had generated,&nbsp;Johnson&nbsp;tweeted on Saturday: &quot;Looking forward to PM&#39;s Florence Speech. All behind Theresa for a glorious&nbsp;Brexit.&quot;

Only days before Prime Minister Theresa May is due to speak in Italy about?Britain's?planned EU departure,?Johnson?on Saturday published a 4,300-word newspaper article that roamed well beyond his ministerial brief and, in some cases, the approach set out by the government.

Britain's foreign minister Boris Johnson was accused by cabinet colleagues on Sunday of "backseat driving" on Brexit after setting out his own vision of the country's future outside the European Union. Only days before Prime Minister Theresa May is due to speak in Italy about Britain's planned EU departure, Johnson on Saturday published a 4,300-word newspaper article that roamed well beyond his ministerial brief and, in some cases, the approach set out by the government. Interior minister Amber Rudd said it was "absolutely fine" for the foreign secretary to intervene publicly but that she did not want him managing the Brexit process. "What we've got is Theresa May managing that process, she's driving the car," Rudd told the BBC's Andrew Marr on Sunday. Asked if Johnson was backseat driving, she replied: "Yes, you could call it backseat driving, absolutely." Johnson's article re-ignited speculation that he would challenge May for the leadership of the Conservative Party. Rudd, however, said she did not think Johnson was laying the groundwork to challenge May. "I think that he, like I, supports the prime minister at this difficult time as we try to conclude the negotiations with the EU," she said. May's deputy, Damian Green, also weighed in, saying that Johnson had written a "very exuberant" article but it was "absolutely clear to everyone that the driver of the car in this instance is the prime minister". "It is the job of the rest of us in the cabinet to agree on a set of proposals and get behind those proposals and get behind the prime minister," Green told BBC TV. 'MISUSE OF STATISTICS' Johnson wrote in the Daily Telegraph that Britain would not pay to access the EU market in the future. Once out of the EU, the country should borrow to invest in infrastructure, reform the tax code and set immigration levels as it sees fit, he said. Johnson also repeated the Brexit campaign claim that the government would be 350 million pounds ($476 million) a week better off outside the EU. Government officials criticised Johnson for repeating the claim, saying the figure does not take into account the funding Britain receives back from Brussels. David Norgrove, of the UK Statistics Authority, said he was "surprised and disappointed" thatJohnson was still quoting a figure that confused gross and net contributions. "It is a clear misuse of official statistics," Norgrove said in a letter to Johnson on Sunday. Johnson said in reply that Norgrove's letter was "based on what appeared to be a wilful distortion of the text of my article" and asked the official to withdraw it. The timing of Johnson's article -- published a day after a bomb injured 30 people on a train in London -- also drew criticism from some colleagues. Reacting to the furore his article had generated, Johnson tweeted on Saturday: "Looking forward to PM's Florence Speech. All behind Theresa for a glorious Brexit."

Britain's Boris Johnson accused of Brexit 'backseat driving'

Britain feels it is in a good position in Brexit negotiations and wants to agree with the European Union to move on to discussions about its future relationship by October,&nbsp;Prime Minister Theresa May&#39;s spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

Britain and the European Commission are holding <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/brexit-britain-and-the-eu-to-meet-next-week-for-another-round-of-negotiations-19502">a third round of talks this week</a>, which the European Union has said must focus on the rights of EU and British citizens living abroad, a financial settlement and the Ireland/Northern Ireland border.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker stressed on Tuesday that negotiations about a future EU-UK trading relationship after Britain leave the European Union could only start once divorce issues were resolved.

&quot;We believe we&#39;re in a good position and we would like to move on to discuss our future relationship,&quot; May&#39;s spokeswoman told reporters.

&quot;As David Davis has said we believe that we need the EU to show some more imagination and flexibility when it comes to these discussions ... we are seeking to agree by October Council that we can move to talk about our future relationship.&quot;

Britain and the European Commission are holding the third round of talks this week

Britain feels it is in a good position in Brexit negotiations and wants to agree with the European Union to move on to discussions about its future relationship by October, Prime Minister Theresa May's spokeswoman said on Tuesday. Britain and the European Commission are holding a third round of talks this week, which the European Union has said must focus on the rights of EU and British citizens living abroad, a financial settlement and the Ireland/Northern Ireland border. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker stressed on Tuesday that negotiations about a future EU-UK trading relationship after Britain leave the European Union could only start once divorce issues were resolved. "We believe we're in a good position and we would like to move on to discuss our future relationship," May's spokeswoman told reporters. "As David Davis has said we believe that we need the EU to show some more imagination and flexibility when it comes to these discussions ... we are seeking to agree by October Council that we can move to talk about our future relationship."

Britain in 'good position' in Brexit talks: PM May

Online abuse will be treated as seriously as offline offences, Britain&#39;s prosecution service said on Monday in new guidance on handling hate crimes.

The rules, which included guidelines on helping disabled and bisexual victims, were meant to encourage more people to come forward and press courts to impose longer sentences, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

&quot;This is a crime that&#39;s under-reported. Sometimes people feel that they just have to put up with it ... That&#39;s absolutely not the case,&quot; Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions, told the BBC.

The new advice was in response to the growth of social media, the CPS said. There have been several high-profile instances of successful prosecutions of people who had abused lawmakers and other public figures online.

The rules, which included guidelines on helping disabled and bisexual victims, were meant to encourage more people to come forward and press courts to impose longer sentences, the Crown Prosecution Service said

Online abuse will be treated as seriously as offline offences, Britain's prosecution service said on Monday in new guidance on handling hate crimes. The rules, which included guidelines on helping disabled and bisexual victims, were meant to encourage more people to come forward and press courts to impose longer sentences, the Crown Prosecution Service said. "This is a crime that's under-reported. Sometimes people feel that they just have to put up with it ... That's absolutely not the case," Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions, told the BBC. The new advice was in response to the growth of social media, the CPS said. There have been several high-profile instances of successful prosecutions of people who had abused lawmakers and other public figures online.

Britain to treat internet hate crime as seriously as offline offences

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