Tag: UK

  • Scotland’s first minister Yousaf quits after a year

    Scotland’s first minister Yousaf quits after a year

    Edinburgh, United Kingdom – Humza Yousaf announced his resignation as Scotland’s first minister on Monday, before he was due to face two confidence votes this week sparked by his ditching of junior coalition partners in a row over climate policy.

    The 39-year-old quit following a turbulent year as head of the devolved administration, during which support for his pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) has fallen.

    Yousaf had been facing growing calls to resign since unceremoniously ending the SNP’s power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens in the Scottish parliament last week.

    His government had earlier abandoned ambitious targets for the transition to net-zero carbon emissions, angering the Greens.

    The opposition Scottish Conservatives then lodged a vote of no-confidence in Yousaf, which was due to be held as early as Wednesday and which the first minister was at risk of losing.

    Scottish Labour also lodged another no-confidence vote in his government.

    The Tories, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens had all said they would vote against him in the personal vote, forcing him to seek the backing of the sole lawmaker from the pro-independence Alba party.

    Alba’s Ash Regan is a former SNP colleague of Yousaf who ran against him in the March 2023 leadership election to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as first minister.

    Yousaf — the first Muslim leader of a major UK political party — said in a statement that he thought winning was “absolutely possible”.

    But he added that he was “not willing to trade in my values or principles or do deals with whomever simply for retaining power”.

    He added: “I have concluded that repairing our relationships across the political divide can only be done with someone else at the helm.”

    Divisions

    Yousaf’s pro-independence SNP has 63 members in the 129-seat parliament — two short of a majority. The presiding officer has a casting vote.

    Yousaf initially said he had no intention of quitting and intended to win the confidence votes.

    But following his announcement, parliament now has 28 days to choose a new first minister.

    He only became Scotland’s leader 13 months ago, after Sturgeon sensationally announced she was quitting, citing tiredness after eight years in charge.

    Yousaf defeated Kate Forbes and Regan in a bruising contest that highlighted divisions in the party between those on the left wing and others closer to the right.

    His leadership was quickly plunged into turmoil when Sturgeon was arrested with her husband, Peter Murrell, over claims of mismanagement of SNP finances.

    Murrell was charged in the case earlier this month. Sturgeon has not been charged.

    Controversies

    Sturgeon had been the figurehead of the Scottish independence movement.

    She oversaw a surge in support for the SNP, particularly after Brexit — in which Scotland opposed leaving the European Union — and during the Covid pandemic.

    But the SNP, which has run the Scottish government since 2007, has suffered a drop in popularity under Yousaf.

    He also came under pressure over controversial new laws which made it an offence to stir up hatred against a number of groups, including transgender people.

    The law has been heavily criticised, including most prominently by “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling, who lives in Edinburgh.

    Relations between the SNP and the Greens were also strained by the recent pause in prescribing puberty blockers in Scotland.

    Some within the SNP wanted Yousaf to end the coalition with the Greens because they felt the deal was pulling the party further leftwards.

    The SNP’s slump has also come in the context of a resurgent Labour party, which is tipped to win a UK general election due later this year.

    Scotland voted against independence in a referendum in 2014, with 55 percent of electors choosing “No”.

    The SNP has argued that the UK’s vote to leave the EU in 2016 had put separatism back on the table, because Scotland overwhelmingly voted to remain part of the bloc.

    But the party, in power in Edinburgh for 17 years, has struggled to build momentum for another vote, and the independence movement is at arguably its lowest ebb in recent memory.

    The Scottish Parliament, re-established in 1999, has limited powers to set policy in areas such as health, education, transport and the environment.

    The UK government in London retains powers for countrywide issues such as defence and foreign policy.

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    © Agence France-Presse

  • No India: Anant Ambani, Radhika Merchant set to marry in London

    No India: Anant Ambani, Radhika Merchant set to marry in London

    The pre-wedding celebrations of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant in Jamnagar, Gujarat, caught the world’s attention, and some couldn’t believe that it wasn’t the actual wedding. Now, all eyes are on what the Ambanis will do next. But unexpectedly, throwing a curveball to India, the Ambanis have decided to have the marriage in England instead of their home country.

    According to recent reports, the couple will tie the knot at the Stoke Park estate in London. While some festivities might still happen in Mumbai, the main ‘I do’s’ will happen in The King’s land.
    With Nita Ambani overseeing every detail, preparations are in full swing. Invitations have already been sent out to Bollywood stars, ensuring a star-studded celebration.
    Like the extravagant pre-wedding celebrations in Jamnagar, guests can expect luxurious arrangements and a strict dress code for the London ceremony.

  • US says new sanctions on Iran coming soon

    US says new sanctions on Iran coming soon

    The United States said Tuesday it would soon impose new sanctions on Iran’s missile and drone program after its retaliatory attack on Israel, and that it expects its allies and partners to follow with parallel measures.

    US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s announcement came after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen indicated punitive measures were in the works, and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said his office was working on it.

    Iran sent more than 300 missiles, drones and rockets at Israel over the weekend, in what it said was retaliation for a deadly strike on Tehran’s consulate in Damascus. Nearly all of the projectiles were intercepted, and there was little damage.

    “In the coming days, the United States will impose new sanctions targeting Iran, including its missile and drone program” as well as the Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian defense ministry, Sullivan said in a statement.

    “We anticipate that our allies and partners will soon be following with their own sanctions,” he added.

    “These new sanctions and other measures will continue a steady drumbeat of pressure to contain and degrade Iran’s military capacity and effectiveness and confront the full range of its problematic behaviors.”

    US authorities have been using economic tools to counter Iran’s activities, taking aim at its drone and missile programs, as well as its financing of groups like Hamas, which launched its own attack on Israel on October 7.

    Earlier, Yellen previewed the sanctions, telling reporters: “Iran’s actions threaten the region’s stability and could cause economic spillovers.”

    The Treasury will not hesitate to work with US allies to “use our sanctions authority to continue disrupting the Iranian regime’s malign and destabilizing activity,” she said.

    She added that “all options to disrupt terrorist financing” will be on the table.

    ‘More that we could do’

    Months of Israeli genocide in Gaza have triggered violence in the region involving Iranian proxies and allies who say they are acting in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

    But tensions have soared even higher with Tehran’s first direct assault on Israel, which has prompted appeals for de-escalation by world leaders fearing wider conflict.

    Yellen did not offer specifics on the possible measures to be taken, but said Washington has been working to diminish Iran’s ability to export oil, adding there might be “more that we could do.”

    The United States is also looking to work with G7 partners and countries including China to constrain Iran’s ability to access goods needed to build weapons, a senior Treasury official told reporters.

    “We’re going to have conversations with all major suppliers around the world,” the official said.

    In Brussels, Borrell said after an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers that some member states had proposed “the adoption of expanded restrictive measures against Iran” and that his office would begin preparatory work.

    “We have to move away from the edge of the abyss,” Borrell said.

    Sullivan said that Washington had sanctioned more than 600 Iran-linked individuals and entities “connected to terrorism, terrorist financing and other forms of illicit trade, horrific human rights abuses, and support for proxy terrorist groups.”

    “The pressure will continue,” he warned.

    “We will not hesitate to continue to take action, in coordination with allies and partners around the world, and with Congress, to hold the Iranian government accountable for its malicious and destabilizing actions.”

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    © Agence France-Presse

  • UK parliament debates law phasing out smoking

    UK parliament debates law phasing out smoking

    London, United Kingdom – The UK parliament on Tuesday kicked off its first debate on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s planned flagship legislation to prevent young people from smoking, despite opposition from many in his own Conservative Party.

    The law would ban the selling of tobacco products to anyone born after January 1, 2009 –- effectively raising the smoking age by a year each year until it applies to the whole population.

    “This has the potential to phase out smoking in young people almost completely as early as 2040,” the government said when it unveiled the plan, calling the move “historic”.

    While the law looks set to pass thanks to support from opposition parties — including Labour, which is expected to win a general election due this year — Sunak faces the prospect of a rebellion from backbench Tory MPs.

    The beleaguered leader has little political capital to expend within his fractured party as he struggles to revive its fortunes following months of dire polling.

    Smoking is the UK’s biggest preventable killer and opinion polls show that around two-thirds of people in the UK back a phased smoking ban.

    However, libertarian-leaning MPs on the right of the ruling Conservatives, including former prime minister Liz Truss, have branded the move an attack on personal freedoms.

    Conservative MP Simon Clarke told BBC radio that he was “both sceptical and downright opposed” to the plans.

    “I think that an outright ban risks being counterproductive, I think it actually risks making smoking cooler, it certainly risks creating a black market, and it also risks creating a unmanageable challenge for the authorities,” he said.

    Former prime minister Boris Johnson also said at an event in Canada last week it was “mad” that the party of Winston Churchill was “banning cigars”.

    Vaping clamp down

    Opening the debate for the government, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins told the House of Commons that there is “no liberty in addiction”.

    “Nicotine robs people of their freedom to choose. The vast majority of smokers start when they are young, and three quarters say that if they could turn back the clock they would not have started,” she said.

    MPs are due to vote on whether to approve the plans for the next stage of the legislative process on Tuesday evening.

    Conservative MPs have been given a free vote, meaning they are able to defy the government without fear of being suspended from the party.

    Westminster watchers will closely study the size of the rebellion to see what it suggests about Sunak’s authority, amid reports that some cabinet members are considering voting against.

    The proposed ban was supposedly inspired by a similar plan in New Zealand which was later dropped.

    Official figures show smoking causes about one in four deaths from cancer and leads to 64,000 deaths in England per year.

    “If parliament passes this new bill, it will put the UK at the very forefront of the fight to eradicate one of the most harmful inventions of modern times,” said Lion Shahab, co-director of the tobacco and alcohol research group at University College London.

    The legislation also seeks to clamp down on young people vaping by restricting flavours and packaging to make less appealing to children.

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    © Agence France-Presse

  • Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi supports stricter rules on social media use

    Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi supports stricter rules on social media use

    During a press conference in Lahore held on Monday, federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi pointed out that everyone knows how people who share fake videos in the United Arab Emirates or the UK are treated by those countries.

    He added that while there should be freedom of speech in Pakistan, there must also be a law under which a person making a false accusation can be arrested.

    As for the issue of the increased street crime in Karachi, the Interior Minister acknowledged the fact that the crimes are taking place in the city, but he also asserted that the police are fighting there on a daily basis.

  • Mahira Khan wants trolls to reflect in light of Kate Middleton’s cancer

    Mahira Khan wants trolls to reflect in light of Kate Middleton’s cancer

    The Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, shared on Friday evening that she is battling cancer and receiving chemotherapy. The announcement came after many rumors circulated on social media about her health and whereabouts. Kate, 42, had not been seen in public since Christmas. However, a video surfaced this week showing her with her husband, Prince William, walking near their Windsor home. This sparked discussions among celebrities, many of whom criticized the digital speculation surrounding Kate’s absence.

    Some famous people criticized the rumors and asked for kindness.
    Actress Mahira Khan took to social media to write, “I wonder how people feel when they sit and type crap about public personalities. When they spend days believing their own ridiculous conspiracy theories, talking smack and being mean. Life is the same for all. Painful and terrible at times. Be kinder than you feel. You have absolutely no idea what someone is dealing with.”

  • ‘Katespiracy’ explodes after UK royal photo gaffe

    ‘Katespiracy’ explodes after UK royal photo gaffe

    The picture was meant to douse speculation about the whereabouts and health of Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales, but instead her manipulated image unleashed a torrent of internet-breaking rumors and conspiracy theories.

    The storm in the royal tea pot erupted after Kate, 42, on Monday apologized and admitted to editing a palace-issued photograph of herself with her three children after the altered image was withdrawn by news agencies including AFP.

    The fiasco gave way to a fresh swirl of speculation about the British royal — dubbed online as “Katespiracy” — laying bare the fragility of the digital landscape in the age of rampant disinformation that has eroded trust and turned social media users into amateur sleuths.

    The internet guessing game had already begun after the princess was not seen in public since attending a Christmas Day church service and underwent abdominal surgery in January.

    Amid a vacuum of information, online posts speculated whether her marriage to William, heir to the British throne, was on the rocks. Others pondered whether Kate was recovering from an eating disorder or the cosmetic procedure known as a Brazilian butt lift — while some wondered whether she were even alive.

    Proof of life landed on Sunday, when the palace released a photograph they said was recently snapped by William, but eagle-eyed social media users began tearing it apart for inconsistencies, such as a misaligned zipper on Kate’s jacket.

    The inconsistencies were so clear that several global news agencies, including AFP, pulled the picture from publication.

    Then the rumor mill began spinning even faster after the princess declared in a statement that, whoops, she had edited the photograph — without disclosing the reasons for doing so or what she had edited out.

    “The moral of the editing of the royal picture is simple. Tell all,” wrote Guardian newspaper columnist Simon Jenkins.

    “At this stage, privacy does not work. It breeds rumour, gossip and fabrication.”

    Internet rabbit holes

    That is exactly what happened. Social media exploded with memes exploring what the palace was hiding.

    “Every family hides a secret,” read the text inscribed in one photo swirling on Twitter, now X, designed as a promo for a fictitious Netflix show titled: “Royal Conspiracy. The disappearance of Kate Middleton.”

    Kensington Palace declined to release an unedited copy of the photograph, prompting social media detectives to go down new rabbit holes.

    Some observers called it the Streisand effect, royal edition — the palace secrecy and botched PR had made the speculation about Kate worse, leaving even those who typically steer clear of such gossip hooked.

    There were questions about whether or not it was actually Kate who had edited the image.

    Some turned to horticulturists, demanding to know the plant in the background of the altered photograph, as it looked suspiciously leafy for this time of the year in England.

    A breed of self-declared Kate Middleton Truthers demanded to know her whereabouts, while some speculated –- with a dash of humor — whether she had ditched her family to do an intensive Photoshop course.

    An entreaty from royal sympathizers seemingly went ignored as they insisted Kate was entitled to her privacy and should to be left alone.

    ‘Transparency’

    The manipulated image dropped at a time when concerns around false or misleading visual information are at an all-time high, particularly following the rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence.

    “People now feel a pervasive, low-grade disorientation, suspicion, and distrust,” US writer Charlie Warzel wrote in the Atlantic Monthly.

    “As the royal photo fiasco shows, the deepfake age doesn’t need to be powered by generative AI — a hasty Photoshop will do.”

    The furore also prompted many to ask whether British royals had altered images before, with media outlets such as CNN saying they were reviewing all handout photos previously provided by Kensington Palace.

    The climate of online distrust has spurred new calls for transparency, even among British royal family members with a long tradition of secrecy.

    Last month, King Charles III, Kate’s father-in-law, won plaudits for publicly announcing his cancer diagnosis.

    But many health experts faulted him for not declaring the type of cancer, a move that would have encouraged members of the British public to emulate him and get themselves examined.

    “If the royals really want to model important values to the nation, they should start by overhauling their approach to media in favour of transparency (and) scrupulous honesty,” Catherine Mayer, author of the book “Charles: The Heart of a King,” wrote on X.

    “They should stand against disinformation, not contribute to it.”

  • Kate and William spotted leaving Windsor Castle after apologising for photo manipulation

    Kate and William spotted leaving Windsor Castle after apologising for photo manipulation

    Hours after Kate Middleton apologized for “any confusion” caused by an edited family picture, she was photographed leaving Windsor Castle alongside husband Prince William on March 11.

    The photos, published by the Daily Mail, showed the couple sitting next to each other in the backseat of a car as Kate—who is reportedly recovering from abdominal surgery—looked out of her window. The prince was heading to the Commonwealth Day services while his wife, Kate, the princess of Wales, was heading to a ‘private’ appointment, the publication said.

    Earlier, Kate issued an apology over an altered official photo that saw news agencies, including AP and AFP pull the image from their systems.

    “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused,” Kate wrote in a statement.

    Background

    A recently released image of Kate Middleton, issued by Kensington Palace to put all rumors about her health to rest, has ended up creating new controversies.

    Various news agencies have issued notices not to use the image of Kate and her three children, including the Associated Press (AP), Reuters, Getty Images, and Agence France-Presse (AFP). All three on Sunday night withdrew it and told media outlets to “kill” the photo from their systems and archives because they believe that it has been manipulated.

    The AP said the photo had been withdrawn because upon “closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image” and the photo showed an “inconsistency in the alignment” of the left hand of Kate’s daughter, Princess Charlotte.

  • First official image published of UK’s Princess Kate after surgery

    First official image published of UK’s Princess Kate after surgery

    Kensington Palace released the first official photo of Princess Kate on social media on Sunday, nearly two months after her abdominal surgery, during which she has stayed out of the public eye.

    The 42-year-old princess, whose husband Prince William is heir to the British throne, has been recovering mainly at their home in Windsor, west of London, since leaving hospital on January 29.

    The photo shows the Princess of Wales sitting on a garden chair, dressed in jeans, a sweater and a dark jacket, smiling, surrounded by her three laughing children, George, Charlotte and Louis.

    “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months,” read a message accompanying the photo on X.

    “Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day,” said the message, which was signed “C” for Catherine.

    In a statement the palace clarified that the photo was taken “in Windsor earlier this week” by Kate’s husband, Prince William.

    The family photograph is the first official image of Kate released by the royal family since her hospitalisation at the London Clinic on January 16 for an abdominal surgery.

    The future queen was last pictured in public during a Christmas Day walk in Sandringham, eastern England.

    Photos published by TMZ earlier in March showed Kate wearing sunglasses while being driven in a car, with the celebrity news site saying they were taken Monday near Windsor Castle.

    UK media outlets including the Daily Mail and The Sun have chosen not to publish the photos.

    The sighting came after a flurry of conspiracy theories on social media over the famously hard-working and dutiful princess’s absence from the spotlight.

    The speculation came despite Kensington Palace clearly saying at the time of her surgery that she would be “unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter”.

    It also said the surgery was not related to cancer.

    Kate’s hospitalisation came almost simultaneously with the announcement that William’s father, King Charles, had been admitted for surgery for a benign prostate condition and subsequently diagnosed with an unrelated cancer.

    Charles, 75, visited his daughter-in-law’s bedside after being admitted himself on January 26.

    The king withdrew from public duties during his treatment, though he attended church services and held his weekly audience with the prime minister.

    – Camilla steps in –

    Charles’s wife Queen Camilla, 76, has been the most visible senior royal, stepping in to cover many of her husband’s public duties during his treatment.

    She is now on a break until March 11, when she is expected to join William and other senior royals at the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.

    She is reported to be on holiday this week, effectively meaning all four of the most senior royals are out of action.

    The princess is one of the most popular members of the royal family.

    She and William have taken on more royal duties since his younger brother Prince Harry and his wife Meghan left for the United States in 2020, and the king’s brother Prince Andrew stepped back because of his friendship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

  • Chahat Fateh Ali Khan Joins ‘Dil Ka Rishta’ app to find a soulmate

    Chahat Fateh Ali Khan may have recently lost an election, but he’s moving forward from the loss and trying something new: online soul mate searching using the ‘Dil Ka Rishta’ app.

    He’s said that he’s impressed by how many people are using the app and decided to give it a try himself. Chahat likes that users have given the app good feedback and thinks it’s a friendly place to be.
    Chahat thinks the app is great for finding a potential partner and wants to recommend it to others. He likes how easy it is to use and how well it matches people up.
    Overall, Chahat Fateh Ali Khan is excited to explore the shaadi app and hopes to find success in his search for love.