The World Briefly

November 09, 2023

A Little Finger-Wagging

United Kingdom

The British government rejected criticism from the United Nations’ official in charge of poverty and human rights, Olivier de Schutter, who accused the country of violating international law over its poverty levels, according to the Guardian. De Schutter’s comments as he is preparing to visit the...

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The World Briefly

October 23, 2023

Pain and Gain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom’s Labour Party dealt a crushing blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives, winning two previously safe parliamentary seats in upsets analysts say foreshadow electoral pain in upcoming national elections, Reuters reported. The double defeat last Thursday underscored a steep decrease in support for...

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The World Briefly

October 20, 2023

Law & Disorder

United Kingdom

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and at least two dozen other protesters demonstrating at an energy conference in London were charged by British police Wednesday for violating public order, under a controversial law many say violates civil liberties, the Washington Post reported. The 20-year-old Swedish climate...

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The World Briefly

September 19, 2023

Actual Responsibility

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom plans to ban American Bully XL dogs in the country, following a series of incidents involving the dog breed that prompted Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to label them as “a danger to our communities,” CBS News reported. Last week, Sunak announced his intention...

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Need to Know

August 21, 2023

Bregret

United Kingdom

Seven years ago, a majority of British voters opted to remove their country from the European Union. Now many are having second thoughts – or “Bregret,” as the New Statesman termed it. The United Kingdom’s exit from the EU is estimated to have shaved four percent...

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The World Briefly

June 30, 2023

The Waiting Room

RwandaUnited Kingdom

Britain’s Court of Appeals ruled against a controversial plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, a decision that marks another setback for the ruling Conservative government as it seeks to tackle the number of migrant boats entering the country via the English Channel, the New...

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The World Briefly

June 16, 2023

BoJo’s Farewell

United Kingdom

A British parliamentary inquiry found that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament over gatherings held in his Downing Street office and residence during the country’s strict Covid-19 lockdowns, USA Today reported Thursday. In a 30,000-word report, the lower house’s Privileges Committee – which probes...

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The World Briefly

May 05, 2023

Long Live the King

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is finalizing the preparations for the coronation of King Charles III Saturday, a major event marked with pomp, tradition, and religiosity that comes amid questions about the future of the centuries-old British monarchy, the Associated Press reported Thursday. Charles automatically ascended to the...

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The World Briefly

March 09, 2023

The Legal Walls

United Kingdom

The British government on Wednesday defended a new bill aimed at stopping asylum seekers from illegally entering the country. against fierce criticism from human rights campaigners and the United Nations’ refugee agency that it violates both British and international law, Politico reported Wednesday. “We are confident...

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The World Briefly

February 27, 2023

Less for More

United Kingdom

The trial of a four-day workweek in Britain found that employees working shorter hours were more productive and less stressed, while a company’s revenue remained largely unchanged, the Associated Press reported this week. Billed as the largest experiment of its kind in the world, the pilot...

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The World Briefly

February 23, 2023

Scrubbing the Past

United Kingdom

Critics and authors are accusing a British publisher of Roald Dahl’s children’s books of censorship after it removed colorful language and phrases from some of the author’s classic works to make them more acceptable to modern young readers, the Associated Press reported. New editions of Dahl’s...

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Need to Know

February 21, 2023

Winter of Discontent

United Kingdom

The British press is invoking memories of Margaret Thatcher, the arch-conservative prime minister who fought coal mining unions and other workers’ groups in the 1980s, to describe the current labor unrest that is crippling the United Kingdom. British workers left their jobs for a total...

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The World Briefly

February 02, 2023

Walking Out

United Kingdom

More than half a million British workers went on strike across the country Wednesday over pay disputes and working conditions, the biggest walkout in the United Kingdom in more than a decade, CNBC reported. The strikes included hundreds of thousands of teachers, along with civil servants,...

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The World Briefly

January 19, 2023

Pre-emptive Strikes

United Kingdom

The British government is planning to give police more powers to shut down protests that are deemed disruptive, a move that human rights groups have criticized as an attack on the right to protest, the Evening Standard reported. The amended Public Order Bill will give officers...

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The World Briefly

December 21, 2022

Cleared for Take-off

United Kingdom

The UK’s High Court ruled this week that the government’s controversial immigration plan to deport potential asylum-seekers to Rwanda was lawful, a verdict that came just months after the policy’s introduction, NPR reported. The court found that the immigration plan did not violate the UK’s legal...

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The World Briefly

December 13, 2022

Slow, Steady Wheels

United Kingdom

US authorities apprehended a Libyan man accused of making the bomb that destroyed a passenger plane over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, a major milestone in a decades-long investigation into the deadliest terrorist attack in the United Kingdom, NPR reported. Scottish officials confirmed that the US took...

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The World Briefly

December 12, 2022

Safe Spaces

United Kingdom

The UK is planning a bill to criminalize sexual harassment in public, which would make certain offenses such as catcalling punishable by law, the Washington Post reported. The Conservative government, which dominates parliament, said it would back a bill to introduce harsher penalties for individuals who...

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The World Briefly

November 29, 2022

Only The Best

United Kingdom

Foreign students may be barred from studying in the United Kingdom unless they have secured a spot at a “top university,” a move observers say is part of the Conservative government’s efforts to curb migration to the country, CNBC reported. A report by the Times newspaper...

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The World Briefly

November 24, 2022

Should We Stay Or Should We Go

ScotlandUnited Kingdom

The UK’s Supreme Court in London ruled Wednesday that Scotland needs consent from the UK Parliament to hold a new independence referendum, throwing cold water on the nation’s prospects of leaving the United Kingdom, CNBC reported. The top court said that the Scottish legislature did not...

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The World Briefly

November 15, 2022

Bailing Water

FranceUnited Kingdom

France and the United Kingdom signed an agreement Monday that aims to stop migrants from crossing the English Channel to the UK, a deadly pathway that has also become a source of friction between the neighboring countries, the Associated Press reported. The accord, which was signed...

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