Donald Trump refuses to sign G-7 statement, snubs Justin Trudeau

President Trump upended two days of global economic diplomacy late Saturday, refusing to sign a joint statement with America’s allies, threatening to escalate his trade war on the country’s neighbours and deriding Canada’s prime minister as “very dishonest and weak.” In a remarkable pair of acrimony-laced tweets from aboard Air Force One as he flew away from the Group of 7 summit toward a meeting with North Korea’s leader, Trump lashed out at Justin Trudeau. 

He accused the prime minister, who hosted the seven-nation gathering, of making false statements. Literally moments after Trudeau’s government proudly released the joint statement, noting it had been agreed to by all seven countries, Trump blew apart the veneer of cordiality that had prevailed throughout the two days of meetings in a resort town on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. “Based on Justin’s false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our US farmers, workers and companies, I have instructed our US Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the US Market!” Trump wrote. A few hours earlier, Trudeau said the seven nations had reached broad agreements on a range of economic and foreign policy goals. But he acknowledged that deep disagreements remained between Trump and the leaders of the other nations, especially on trade.

Britain expresses regret to 12 Caribbean nations over 'Windrush' residents

Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday personally apologised to Caribbean leaders after her government threatened to deport people who emigrated to Britain in the 1950s and 1960s.

At a meeting in Downing Street, May told representatives of the 12 Caribbean members of the Commonwealth that she took the treatment of the so-called Windrush generation "very seriously".

"I want to apologise to you today. Because we are genuinely sorry for any anxiety that has been caused," she told the hastily-convened gathering.

She added: "I want to dispel any impression that my government is in some sense clamping down on Commonwealth citizens, particularly those from the Caribbean." The government has faced outrage for its treatment of people who came to Britain between 1948, when the ship Windrush brought over the first group of West Indian immigrants, and the early 1970s.

They and their parents were invited to help rebuild Britain after World War II and with many of them legally British -- they were born while their home countries were still colonies -- they were given indefinite leave to remain.

Airstrikes on Syria, Riyadh-Tehran tension dominate Arab League Summ

Arab leaders -- minus Syrian President Bashar al-Assad -- meet in Saudi Arabia for a summit on Sunday as world powers face off over Syria and tensions rise between Riyadh and Tehran.

Saudi Arabia is pushing for a tough, unified stance against its regional arch-rival Iran at the annual gathering of the 22-member Arab League.

The two regional titans, locked in proxy wars in Syria and in Saudi Arabia's southern neighbour Yemen, back opposing parties in Iraq and Lebanon.

The summit begins 24 hours after the United States, France and Britain launched controversial air strikes in war-torn Syria in response to a reported regime chemical attack on the decimated rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta last week.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which both voiced support for the strikes, remain locked in a months-long diplomatic standoff, with Riyadh accusing Doha of supporting Islamist extremists and being too close to Iran.

Julian Assange a free man now? Ecuador grants WikiLeaks founder citizenship

Ecuador has granted citizenship to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been sheltering at its London embassy for five years to avoid arrest, Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa announced on Friday.
Espinosa told a press conference in Quito that Assange, an Australian, became an Ecuadoran citizen on December 12.

As a result, she said Ecuador had asked London to recognise Assange as a diplomat, which would give him immunity from arrest, a request Britain has refused.
"The Ecuadoran government is empowered to grant nationality to the protected person and thus facilitate... his inclusion in the host state," Espinosa told reporters.

She said the request to Britain to accept diplomatic status for Assange was made on December 20, and denied a day later.
The foreign minister said Quito would not insist further on the issue because of the "good relations we have with the United Kingdom".

The British foreign ministry said in a statement that Ecuador had "recently requested diplomatic status for Mr Assange here in the UK.

The UK did not grant that request, nor are we in talks with Ecuador on this matter."
Ecuador's attempt to obtain diplomatic status for Assange comes as part of the country's broader efforts to resolve the case of their long-term lodger, who moved into the embassy in 2012 to avoid arrest over a Swedish probe into rape allegations.

Facebook, Twitter to face sanctions if they don't help in fake news inquiry

Facebook and Twitter have been warned of sanctions if they fail to provide all the necessary information to a British Parliamentary committee investigating Russian interference in the EU referendum through spread of the so called "fake news" on the social networking platforms, a media report said.

The social media giants have time until January 18 to hand over information the committee has requested, The Telegraph reported on Thursday.

If they fail to comply, the committee will consider sanctions that could be imposed, such as encouraging the advertising industry to withdraw business on "ethical" grounds, said Damian Collins, Chair of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport ( DCMS) select committee, which is conducting the "fake news" inquiry.

There are allegations that during the EU referendum campaign, Facebook and Twitter platforms were used by the Russians to spread false information.

Therefore, the DCMS committee has asked the companies for details of the accounts and pages operated by Russians suspected of meddling.

"There has to be a way of scrutinising the procedures that companies like Facebook put in place to help them identify known sources of disinformation, particularly when it's politically motivated and coming from another country," Collins told The Guardian.

"But what there has to be then is some mechanism of saying: if you fail to do that, if you ignore requests to act, if you fail to police the site effectively and deal with highly problematic content, then there has to be some sort of sanction against you," Collins added.
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Russia 'could cut UK's undersea internet cables', warns defence chief

The head of Britain's military says Russia could try to sever undersea communications cables, and protecting them is a defense priority for NATO.

Air Chief Marshal Stuart Peach says cutting or disrupting the cables could have a "potentially catastrophic" economic effect.

Peach told an audience at the Royal United Services Institute that "along with our Atlantic allies, we have prioritised missions and tasks to protect the sea lines of communication."

In yesterday's speech, Peach said that Russia "in addition to new ships and submarines continues to perfect both unconventional capabilities and information warfare." He said NATO is working "to match and understand Russian fleet modernization."

Earlier this month the Policy Exchange think-tank highlighted how Russia had "easily" severed all digital communications to Crimea during its 2014 invasion of the Black Sea peninsula.
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Royal family joins bereaved families in London tower fire memorial

Britain's royals and Prime Minister Theresa May joined survivors and families of those who died in London's Grenfell Tower fire for a memorial service today for the 71 people killed in the June blaze.

Prince Charles, his wife Camilla, Prince Harry, Prince William and his wife Kate joined some 1,500 people at the multi-faith service at St Paul's Cathedral, held exactly six months after the June 14 fire that engulfed a residential tower block in west London.

Emma Dent Coad, a Labour lawmaker for the neighbourhood, said "emotions are still very raw" and the service was a "recognition that people from all walks of government are going to come down and grieve with them."

As they filed out of the service, many of the bereaved paused on the steps of St Paul's to comfort each other. Some held aloft photos of their loved ones and clutched white roses.

In all, 71 people including a stillborn baby died in the fire, which started in a refrigerator in one apartment before racing through the 24-story tower, home to a largely immigrant and working-class population.

The disaster shocked Britain and raised many questions about the country's rich-poor divide, not least because it took place at a publicly owned tower block in Kensington and Chelsea, one of London's -- and Britain's -- richest boroughs.
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Brexit will work not just for citizens but for animals too: Britain

Brexit must work for animals too, Britain's Environment Secretary Michael Gove said today, promising that welfare standards would improve after leaving the European Union.

"We are a nation of animal lovers so we will make Brexit work not just for citizens but for the animals we love and cherish too," said Gove, a leading pro-Brexit campaigner for the 2016 EU referendum.

Gove was presenting a draft law that would enshrine the concept of animal sentience into British law and introduce new jail sentences for animal abusers.

"Britain outside the European Union can have higher standards on the environment and indeed on animal welfare," he said.

The move follows a social media storm after MPs last month during a heated Brexit debate voted against transposing an EU protocol recognising animals as sentient beings into British law.

Commentators took that to mean MPs had voted to say animals did not have feelings.

"As we leave the EU we will deliver a green Brexit, not only maintaining but enhancing animal welfare standards," Gove said.
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Europe's Unibail makes $16-bn bid for Westfield to counter online threat

Europe's biggest property firm Unibail-Rodamco is to buy US and UK mall operator Westfield Corp for $16 billion, a defensive move to create a global leader in a sector grappling with the online shopping challenge led by Amazon.

The deal gives Europe-focused Unibail, which owns 'Les 4 Temps' and 'Forum des Halles" in Paris and has centres spreading from Helsinki to Valencia, exposure to the United States and Britain, where Westfield operates 35 malls, including landmark premises in London.

Under its Australian billionaire chairman and co-founder Frank Lowy, Westfield has pioneered US mall redevelopment, introducing upscale food courts, high-end restaurants, bars, cinemas and boutique fashion outlets to entice shoppers.

Talks to seal a deal had taken just six weeks, said Lowy whose family will no longer run the company he set up in 1960 but will end up with a 2.8 per cent stake in the combined group.

Lowy said it made sense to sell because Unibail offered a "very good price", but acknowledged that the sale partly reflected global consolidation and the pressure on retailers.

After ICJ defeat, Britain replaces UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft

Britain today appointed Karen Pierce as its new Ambassador to the UN, replacing incumbent Matthew Rycroft under whom it suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of India in the recent election to the International Court of Justice.

Pierce is the first woman appointed to this role, and is uniquely suited for the position having previously served as Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, and more recently as the Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, the UK Mission to the UN said in a statement.

Britain's Permanent Mission to the United Nations did not give any reason for appointing Pierce as new ambassador to the world body, which comes days after it failed to get its judge Christopher Greenwood elected to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after India's Judge Dalveer Bhandari consistently received nearly two-third of the votes in the UN General Assembly.

Bhandari was on Tuesday re-elected to the ICJ as the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly threw its weight behind him, forcing Britain to withdraw its candidate from the hard- fought race to the world court.

This is for the first time in 70 years that Britain would have no judge in the 15-member panel of the ICJ.
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Paradise Papers: EU pushes for tax blacklist after leak

EU finance ministers sought today to break resistance against creating Europe's first ever blacklist of tax havens after new revelations from the "Paradise Papers" showed how major firms escape tax.

The 28 members of the European Union have struggled for over a year to finalise a list of non-EU tax havens, with smaller countries such as Ireland, Malta and Luxembourg loath to scare off major firms headquartered in their low tax capitals.

Soon-to-quit Britain has also drawn up resistance, hoping to protect the near zero-tax rates offered in several of its dependencies, such as Jersey or the British Virgin Islands, that have been identified in the series of leaks that also include Panama Papers and the Luxleaks scandal.

The island of Jersey, a few kilometres (miles) off the coast of France, was where the latest reports said Apple shifted much of its offshore wealth when Ireland changed its laws under pressure from the EU.

"It is important that this list comes out (...) in 2017, it must be credible and up to the challenge," said EU Economics Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, who is leading the blacklist effort.

The EU ministers will try to bridge their differences and draw up an official list of unwanted tax havens in December, whittling down an initial list of 92 countries finalised last year.

Sources said EU officials have warned about 60 countries that their tax policies may be problematic and at risk of blacklisting, demanding further information before a November 18 deadline.
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Paradise Paper leaks reveal US commerce chief, UK queen's offshore investments

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has business ties to a shipping firm linked to Vladimir Putin's inner circle, according to a vast leak of financial documents that also revealed Britain's Queen Elizabeth II's investments in tax havens.

It was also revealed that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's top fundraiser and senior advisor Stephen Bronfman, heir to the Seagram fortune, moved some $60 million to offshore tax havens with ex-senator Leo Kolber.

The findings have emerged as part of the Paradise Papers released by the US-based   (ICIJ), which was behind the Panama Papers made public last year.

There is no suggestion that Ross, Bronfman or the queen's private estate acted illegally.

But Ross's ties to Russian entities raise questions over potential conflicts of interest, and whether they undermine Washington's sanctions on Moscow.

The revelations about Bronfman could spell trouble for Trudeau, who was elected two years ago riding on the coattails of promises to reduce economic inequality and tax avoidance.

In the case of Queen Elizabeth's private estate, critics may question whether it is appropriate for the British head of state to invest in offshore tax havens.

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UK may ban kids under 13 from social media to curb sexual abuse

Under a new legislation to be debated in the UK's House of Lords later this week, children under the age of 13 will be banned from joining Facebook and Twitter to keep them safe from child abuse on the social media platforms.

According to a report in The Telegraph, the government's Data Protection Bill will legally enshrine the age at which children will be allowed to create accounts on social media platforms.

The proposal, however, might not get support from cross-party peers who are insisting that the measure must be accompanied by new rules forcing companies to adapt their sites for younger users.

The move comes as Home Secretary Amber Rudd is to meet executives from the Internet giants in the US this week.

Writing in a national daily The Sun on Sunday, Rudd said social media giants must do more to stop child sexual exploitation, adding that the companies have a "moral duty" to go "further and faster" in their efforts to tackle the abuse.

"Online technology had made 'vile child sexual abuse content vastly easier to find'. It is an absolute urgency that I call on all Internet companies to go further and go faster in tackling online child sexual abuse.

"We need you all to bring your resources and your technical expertise to help us turn the tide on this horrendous scourge. It is your moral duty," she added.

During her trip to Washington, Rudd will attend a roundtable discussion which will be joined by tech companies, including Google, Facebook and Microsoft.

As per a BBC report, new government figures show there was a 700 per cent increase in the number of indecent images identified on technology company servers and flagged to law enforcement agencies between 2013 and 2017.

Each month there are more than 400 arrests for indecent images of children offences in Britain and some 500 children are being protected from online sexual exploitation, BBC cited the government data as saying.
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Brexit to cost UK 10,000 finance jobs on day-1, 75,000 in all: BoE governor

Job losses totalling 75,000 in banking and insurance because of Brexit are "plausible", Bank of England Deputy Governor Sam Woods said on Wednesday.

Woods told British lawmakers that the 65,000 to 75,000 estimate was drawn up by consultants Oliver Wyman and not the Bank of England, but that it was within a "plausible range of scenarios".

Woods also told a House of Lords committee that it was reasonable to expect that the UK financial sector will have lost about 10,000 jobs on "day one" of Brexit when Britain leaves the European Union in March 2019.

"It's a moving feast," Woods said.

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Brexit a 'very big disadvantage' for UK, says Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton said Brexit would put Britain at a "very big disadvantage" and force companies to move resources to continental Europe, in an interview aired today.

Britain leaving the European Union could cause serious disruption for the country as it tries to reorder its trading relationships, she told BBC television.

"I think it would be a very big disadvantage to Britain," said Clinton, the Democratic Party candidate who lost to Donald Trump in last year's US presidential election.

"No deal meaning no preferential trade deals, which means products in Britain would not have the kind of easy access to the European market that you've had under EU membership.

"It could very well mean that there would be more pressure on businesses in Britain, if not to leave completely, at least (to) also have sites and employment elsewhere in Europe.

"The disruption for Britain could be quite serious," the former US secretary of state said.
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BAE Systems to axe more than 1,000 jobs in Britain: Report

British military equipment maker BAE Systems will axe more than 1,000 jobs in Britain, or just over one per cent of its total workforce, media reported today.

BAE will cut "well over 1,000" jobs, Sky News reported citing unnamed insiders. Sources added that Brexit was "not a factor" behind the move.

The London-listed company has 34,600 staff in Britain and 83,000 worldwide.

BAE faces slowing demand for the Eurofighter Typhoon jet, developed with the help of Italy's Finmeccanica and Airbus as part of a European consortium.

"BAE Systems continually reviews its operations to make sure we are performing as effectively and efficiently as possible, delivering our commitments to existing customers and ensuring we are best placed to secure future business," the firm said in a brief statement issued to media.

"If and when there are any changes proposed we are committed to communicating with our employees and their representatives first," it added.
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Brexit talks stutter, but EU leaders might give Theresa May a break

European Union (EU) negotiators see no big breakthrough in a new round of Brexit talks from Monday nor when Theresa May attends a summit next week, yet leaders could offer the beleaguered British prime minister a hand, EU officials believe.

Talks which began on Monday in Brussels have a thin schedule - British Brexit Secretary David Davis is to meet EU negotiator Michel Barnier on Tuesday and again on Thursday. But Wednesday is blank on the timetable and officials will not touch on the knottiest outstanding problem - how much Britain pays the EU.
That all but rules out "miracles" on key divorce issues that Barnier's boss says are needed for May's 27 fellow EU leaders to agree to open the talks she wants on a post-Brexit free trade pact when they all meet in Brussels next Thursday and Friday.

The prime minister revived an increasingly sour dialogue two weeks ago by offering concessions in a speech in Florence. But talks that followed left big gaps on three core issues on which the EU demands "significant progress" before Barnier can so much as mention what happens after Britain leaves in 18 months time.

Yet such is the opposition to compromise that May faces within her own party that many EU diplomats think leaders could give her some hope at the summit to help her face down calls for Britain to simply walk out without a deal - an eventuality that the Europeans are nonetheless preparing for.
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UK Air Force jets escort passenger plane after 'hoax' security alert

Two Royal Air Force (RAF) jets were scrambled to escort a passenger plane en route from Lithuania to the UK on Wednesday after a "hoax" security alert.

The Ryanair Flight FR2145bound for Luton Airport in Bedfordshire had to be escorted into Stansted airport in Essex instead, with flights temporarily grounded as the plane was redirected.

A Ryanair spokesperson said, "A flight from Kaunas (Lithuania) to London Luton diverted to London Stansted in line with procedures after Lithuanian authorities received a suspected hoax security alert.

"The aircraft landed normally at Stansted and customers will be transferred to Luton by coach when cleared to do so," he said.

Local Essex Police are now investigating the incident.

"The runway was closed for a short time but has now re- opened. Police are on scene and enquiries are ongoing," a spokesperson said.

Britain's RAF aircraft are on stand-by to secure the country's airspace and have the clearance to travel at supersonic speed over land only in emergency situations.
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Uber CEO Khosrowshahi to meet London transport chief in bid to keep licence

Uber's new global boss Dara Khosrowshahi will meet London's transport regulator on Tuesday as the taxi hailing app fights to keep its licence in one of its most important foreign markets.

Transport for London (TfL), which runs and regulates the capital's transport system, shocked Uber last month by deeming it unfit to run a taxi service and refusing to renew its licence.

TfL cited the firm's approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks on drivers.

Reuters reported on Monday that Uber's top boss in Britain, Jo Bertram, would be quitting in the next few weeks to take up an undisclosed new role outside the company.

Uber's British management has been criticised by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who is also chairman of TfL. Khan said the firm needed to spend less time hiring "an army of PR experts and an army of lawyers" and instead address issues raised by TfL.

Khan, a centre-left politician from Britain's opposition Labour Party, approved Tuesday's meeting between Khosrowshahi and TfL Commissioner Mike Brown, who is in charge of TfL's day-to-day operations.
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Committed to working together with India to tackle global challenges: UK

Hailing the "longstanding" UK-India ties, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that the UK was committed to working together with India to tackle global challenges.

In his message to India on its Independence Day, Johnson, whose wife is of Sikh origin, said the India-UK partnership was rooted in the Indian diaspora population based in the UK.

He said: "On behalf of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, I extend my warmest wishes to the people of India and the British-Indian community in the United Kingdom on the occasion of India's Independence Day.

"The United Kingdom and India share a deep and longstanding partnership, rooted in the 1.5 million British Indian diaspora in the UK who contribute so richly to our society. Our two countries are committed to working together to promote our people's prosperity, improve global security and tackle the global challenges that we face today."

Making a reference to the ongoing 2017 UK-India Year of Culture, the Conservative Party minister said the UK will continue to celebrate the strength of the bilateral ties including "our shared history, values, culture and language".
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