UK news

The UN commissioner who investigated human rights in North Korea on Friday recommended establishing a panel of experts to study how crimes against humanity in the reclusive state can be punished.

"What do you do if we bring home powerful evidence of crimes against humanity -- and a veto" from one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council "prevents you taking it further? How can you deal with that problem?" said Michael Kirby at a conference in London on human rights in North Korea.

Creating a panel of experts "would be a good step because it would keep the focus on the follow up and actions on the COI (Commission of Inquiry) report" he produced, said the Australian judge.

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said in December that it was essential to take cases to the International Criminal Court.

However, China, traditionally Pyongyang's closest ally, could always wield its UN Security Council veto.

In London, Kirby said it was vital for the international community to keep Beijing engaged because China "likes to keep talking, and there lies the hope on the issues of Korea".

Published: 12 March 2016

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Prime Minister David Cameron stands accused of unleashing "Project Fear" to try and keep Britain in the EU at a June referendum -- but experts say both camps are resorting to negative campaign tactics to win support.

Cameron's old friend and nemesis Boris Johnson, who came out for Brexit in a surprise snub to the premier last month, has led the attacks with a string of well-crafted broadsides accusing the "Remain" camp of scaremongering.

"The agents of Project Fear -- and they seem to be everywhere -- have warned us that leaving the EU would jeopardise police, judicial and intelligence cooperation," Johnson wrote in the Daily Telegraph shortly after announcing he would support the "Leave" camp.

"In every case, the message is that Brexit is simply too scary -- and the reality is that these threats are so wildly exaggerated as to be nonsense."

Another leading anti-EU figure, Cameron's welfare minister Iain Duncan Smith, accused the other side of "spin, smears and threats".

But neither side is innocent of the charge of negative campaigning, according to observers ahead of the June 23 referendum.

"The reality is that so far, this campaign has largely been Project Fear meets Project Fear," said Raoul Ruparel, co-director of think-tank Open Europe.

"This also suggests that the campaign will predominantly be fought on the issue of risk."

Published: 11 March 2016

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Five men involved in a daring London heist that drew comparisons with the film "Ocean's Eleven" -- albeit with pensioners filling the lead roles -- were jailed for a combined total of 34 years on Wednesday.

Prosecutors called the raid on Hatton Garden, London's jewellery district, the "biggest burglary in English legal history", netting £14 million ($20.1 million, 18.5 million euros) worth of booty including jewellery, gold and cash.

A jury at Woolwich Crown Court in southeast London last month convicted Carl Wood, 59, and William Lincoln, 60, of conspiracy to commit burglary, and also conspiracy to conceal, convert or transfer criminal property.

Hugh Doyle, 48, was also found guilty of concealing, converting or transferring criminal property.

Another four men -- John Collins, 75, Daniel Jones, 61, Terrence Perkins, 67 and Brian Reader, 77 -- earlier pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to burgle.

Published: 10 March 2016

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Rupert Murdoch married model Jerry Hall in London Friday less than two months after they got engaged, prompting the media mogul to describe himself as the "luckiest" man in the world.

It is the fourth marriage for 84-year-old Murdoch and technically the first for Hall, 59, although she had a long-term relationship and four children with Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.

The couple tied the knot in a civil ceremony at Spencer House, an elegant 18th-century mansion in London's exclusive St James's district which was built for an ancestor of the late Diana, princess of Wales.

Murdoch wore a blue suit while Hall sported a pale trenchcoat and flat shoes as the couple smiled for photographers following the ceremony.

"No more tweets for ten days or ever! Feel like the luckiest AND happiest man in world," Murdoch wrote on Twitter shortly afterwards.

The couple, who have 10 children between them, are expected to hold a ceremony of celebration on Saturday at St Bride's Church on London's Fleet Street, where celebrity guests will reportedly include actor Michael Caine and London Mayor Boris Johnson.

While no major national newspapers are based there any more, Fleet Street is the historic heart of Britain's press and St Bride's calls itself "the spiritual home of the media".

With an estimated fortune of more than $11 billion, Murdoch owns some of the world's most famous newspapers including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post and British tabloid The Sun.

His third marriage to Wendi Deng ended in 2013 amid media reports that she had developed a crush on Britain's former prime minister Tony Blair. Blair has denied any impropriety.

Hall had a Hindu wedding ceremony with Mick Jagger in 1990 in Bali, although a court ruled the ceremony was not legally binding when they split up nine years later.

Published: 05 March 2016

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Captain Eric Brown, a legendary Royal Navy pilot who flew 487 types of aircraft and survived 11 plane crashes, died in hospital on Sunday at the age of 97.

Brown, known as "Winkle", was a world record holder, flying more types of aircraft than anyone else in history and making 2,407 landings on aircraft carriers.

He was also the most decorated pilot of the Fleet Air Arm, the Royal Navy's airborne wing, earning the British royal honours MBE, OBE and CBE.

British Astronaut Tim Peake tweeted a tribute from space: "So sad to hear that Capt Eric 'Winkle' Brown has died - to my mind the greatest test pilot who has ever lived. A true inspiration."

Published: 22 February 2016

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London's mayor Boris Johnson on Sunday threw his weight behind the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, in a blow for his old friend and rival Prime Minister David Cameron, who had appealed for his backing.

"After a great deal of heartache... I will be advocating vote 'Leave'," Johnson said, making his long-awaited announcement to a large crowd gathered outside his home in north London.

Johnson, a popular politician from Cameron's Conservative Party who is seen as a potential successor to the British prime minister, said he wanted ties with Europe based on "trade and cooperation" and not "a political project".

He said Cameron had done "fantastically well" in negotiating concessions from European Union leaders at a summit last week that paves the way for a membership referendum on June 23.

But he added: "I don't think anybody could realistically claim that this is fundamental reform of the EU or of Britain's relationship with the EU".

- 'Better off inside the EU' -

The declaration will be seen as a key victory for supporters of a British departure from the EU -- or "Brexit".Compared to other anti-EU politicians, the mayor of London is popular even with those who do not share his political views, thanks to his witty soundbites and shambolic appearance.

"I'm really disappointed that he's backing leave because I think we should stay," said Andy Burton, 36, a director at a healthcare company who watched Johnson make his statement alongside around 70 other passers-by.

"He's just got a real presence, he's very popular, he will sway Londoners".

Published: 21 February 2016

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Every night Andrew, Cristian and Shafiqul visit a church in the wealthy central London district of Westminster to share a meal and get a place for the night sleeping off the cold and wet streets.

Currently homeless, the three are among 15 people given places to sleep by six churches and a synagogue, alternating on a daily schedule, as part of the "Westminster Winter Night Shelter" programme.

The network has grown to encompass more than 90 such shelters across Britain, including 24 in London, compared to just a handful in the early 2000s.

"There's 50 percent more people sleeping rough now than there were five years ago in London," said Jon Kuhrt, executive director of social work at the West London Mission, a Methodist group that helps the homeless in central London.

There were 7,581 homeless people in the British capital in 2014-2015, compared to 3,673 in 2009-2010, according to official estimates.

"In the last 10 years, we've seen more and more ordinary people on the street," said Peter Mwaniki, a coordinator at the Mission

"That's been the biggest shock to the system. The churches have stepped in where the government was not able or not willing to do it," he said.

Kuhrt added: "Rents are ridiculously high in London and we have a real problem with affordable housing".

"When that's combined with relationship breakdown, with refugees, with people coming from Eastern Europe for work, it puts a huge amount of pressure on all the systems and more and more people end up sleeping rough."

Poverty rates have remained broadly stable during years of budget austerity under Prime Minister David Cameron's governments, even though economic growth and employment levels have recovered.

The use of food banks has risen sharply, with one of the main charity providers, the Trussell Trust, reporting a 19 percent increase between 2014 and 2015.

- Community atmosphere -

The shelters are particularly suitable for people who find themselves unexpectedly homeless, without suffering from problems like addiction, and just need temporary support to allow them to find housing and, for those without employment already, a job.

Shafiqul, 37, lived in Westminster for 15 years before he found himself on the streets just before Christmas, following an argument with his wife.

A British citizen originally from Bangladesh, Shafiqul was able to join the shelter in mid-January.

Published: 21 February 2016

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British Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday embarked on a daunting challenge to persuade ministers in his own cabinet and the country at large to vote for Britain to stay in the European Union.

Cameron will hold a cabinet meeting -- the first on a Saturday since the Falklands War in 1982 -- and will announce the date for a membership referendum after striking a deal in Brussels that gives Britain special concessions.

"The cabinet will this morning discuss the UK's new special status in the EU -- afterwards I'll announce the planned referendum date," Cameron tweeted following a gruelling two-day summit with EU leaders.

The announcement of the date -- widely expected to be June 23 -- sounds the launch of a campaign that will be bitterly contested, with opinion polls showing Britons fiercely divided on the question and the media pouring cold water on Cameron's claims to have won substantial concessions from his EU peers.

Following the cabinet meeting, ministers who want Britain to become the first member state to leave the EU will be allowed to speak out for the first time.

Justice minister Michael Gove is expected to be one of around five or six ministers who will declare their support for a British EU exit or "Brexit".

Much of the political suspense is over whether Mayor of London Boris Johnson, a popular politician from Cameron's Conservative Party, will join them.

"I will be campaigning with all my heart and soul to persuade the British people to remain in the reformed European Union that we have secured today," Cameron told a press conference on Friday evening.

He said the deal contained a seven-year "emergency brake" on welfare payments for EU migrants and meant Britain would be "permanently out of ever closer union" -- one of the EU's key objectives.

Published: 20 February 2016

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday threw her weight behind Prime Minister David Cameron's reform demands as EU leaders readied a make-or-break summit on Britain's future in the bloc.

"These are not just about Britain's individual interests on some issues or questions, rather it is about several points that are justified and understandable," Merkel told parliament in Berlin.

Cameron has four key demands -- welfare restrictions to help curb immigration, safeguards for non-euro Britain, increasing competitiveness plus an opt-out from closer EU integration -- and they have all exposed sharp differences over what direction the European Union should take.

Up to now, Merkel, the European Union's undoubted power-broker, has offered polite support with the caveat that any changes must not compromise fundamental EU values and achievements, such as free movement of people.

Now, she said, Germany shared Britain's concerns.

"Like David Cameron, I believe that it is necessary for the EU to improve our competitiveness, transparency and (reduce) bureaucracy. Germany has shared these concerns for many years," she said.

Published: 17 February 2016

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EU officials thrashing out a deal to keep Britain in the bloc want to ring-fence any accord for fear other member states may use it as a precedent to demand changes they want, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.

"This negotiation is meant to be a UK specific exercise and it should stay like that," one of the sources said ahead of a two-day EU leaders summit in Brussels beginning Thursday which will be dominated by the 'Brexit' issue.

"If we extend the possibilities and facilities we are creating now for the UK to other member states, then it is a completely different discussion," said the source, asking not to be named.

Prime Minister David Cameron has demanded four key reforms -- on welfare, the euro single currency, closer EU integration and competitiveness -- in return for backing Britain's continued membership of the bloc.

The key sticking point is his demand that EU citizens working in Britain not be allowed to claim welfare benefits for four years while payments of child support in their home countries should be cut.

Published: 17 February 2016

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