The free trade agreement (FTA) talks with India are no longer working towards a Diwali deadline though negotiations are progressing well, UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has said as New Delhi expressed confidence on Friday of an "early date" for a mutually beneficial deal. "There are ongoing negotiations as we know on the FTA. There is interest on both sides to see if we can work towards a deal, an FTA, that is beneficial to both the countries at an early date," external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told reporters in New Delhi. It came as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his UK counterpart, James Cleverly, and referenced the Roadmap 2030 bilateral agreement signed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former UK PM Boris Johnson in May last year, with no specific reference to the FTA.
The UK's National Health Service was already lining up thousands of medics and volunteers to be ready to deliver jabs up and down the country.
Rishi Sunak tightened his grip on the race to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and British prime minister as he bagged 101 votes to again emerge as the winner of the latest voting round on Thursday.
The hope that the ongoing 13th round of negotiations towards an India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) could conclude with a deal for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to sign off in time for the India versus England World Cup cricket clash in Lucknow on October 29 seem to be fading, according to a UK media report on Wednesday. The Financial Times quoted officials briefed on the negotiations to say that a lack of movement towards opening up of the Indian market to British professional services in the field of law and accountancy is among the factors for the slowdown. So much so that cricket fan Sunak's proposed return visit to India after an inaugural visit as UK Prime Minister to New Delhi for the G20 Summit last month is looking "very, very unlikely to happen".
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan will inspire terrorists and trigger an "explosion" of extremism and security challenges for the world, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warned on Thursday.
In their first phone call since Truss assumed office earlier this week, Modi conveyed his condolences on the death of Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of all Indians and paid tribute to the 96-year-old late monarch's "lifetime of service".
Boris Johnson on Thursday spent about 35 minutes with Ashfield MP Lee Anderson who has since tested positive.
The UK reported 93,045 cases of coronavirus on Friday, another record high for daily infections for the third consecutive day, as Omicron overtook Delta to become the dominant variant in London and Scotland.
Newly-elected Conservative Party leader and prime minister in waiting Liz Truss is among the senior British politicians known for championing deeper India-UK strategic and economic ties, describing them as a "sweet spot" of global trade dynamics.
The bill will now go to the House of Lords on Monday for voting before royal assent from Queen Elizabeth II to become law.
Rishi Sunak on Wednesday clinched his place for the final leg of the race to succeed Boris Johnson and will go head-to-head with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss as one of two finalists to take charge as Conservative Party leader and British prime minister.
After being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, Trump started his inaugural address with a sentence that echoed Modi's coinage some years ago, notes Modi biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
I don't read anything into it until I see what their actions are, Biden told reporters.
An ardent backer of Brexit, Boris Johnson has a reputation for brashness, bombast, bending the truth, and really bad hair, which has earned him more than a few comparisons to United States President Donald Trump (who also happens to be a fan of his). Here are some interesting facts about BoJo, as he is called by the British media.
He is among several leaders of Indian heritage who have ascended to the highest echelon of public service globally.
'We have got Brexit done and we can now take full advantage of the fantastic opportunities available to us as an independent trading nation, striking trade deals with other partners around the world,' Downing Street said in a statement.
The video shows the 42-year-old British Indian former minister interacting with voters and is also seen catching a quick power nap on a bench as a voiceover praises his efforts to "fight for every inch".
That a brown skinned man -- albeit one who speaks with a posh English accent -- would one day be the front-runner in a race to elect Boris's successor and head the party once led by Churchill and Thatcher would seem indigestible to the white men and women who have formed the trunk of the Conservative party for generations.
The British government said on Friday that recreational cricket which has been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be allowed to resume from July 11. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would set out a timetable next week for when amateur cricket can return as well as the reopening of indoor gyms and swimming pools which were closed due to the coronavirus lockdown.
The Football Association said fans who exhibited such "disgusting behaviour" were not welcome and urged the authorities to hand out "the toughest punishments possible".
Thousands of lives have been lost, large areas in Ukraine have been destroyed, but Vladimir Putin refuses to end a cruel and senseless war.
Britain's Prime Minister-elect Liz Truss will spend Monday putting finishing touches to her new cabinet after being elected Conservative Party leader and is expected to unleash a complete shake up of outgoing leader Boris Johnson's top team.
"God save the King" were the words with which those gathered reaffirmed the proclamation made by the clerk of the council.
This comes as flight services from the UK to India have been suspended till December 31 over the spread of a new strain of coronavirus in London and England.
He said the government had done everything that was important to handle the COVID-19 situation in the last one year.
Tottenham Hotspur recorded 13 COVID-19 cases at the club last week, while Leicester City and Manchester United were also affected by the virus.
Johnson revealed that the number of hospital patients has increased to nearly 27,000, almost a third higher than the peak of the first wave of the pandemic in April 2020.
CNN quoted a South Korean defence official as saying that the missile launch was carried out from North Korea's Sinpo region in South Hamgyong Province.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said there will be a move towards greater "personal responsibility" as the UK prepares to end lockdown restrictions from July 19.
The first round of ballots will be cast on Wednesday in the race to elect a new Conservative Party leader who will succeed Boris Johnson as United Kingdom Prime Minister, with British Indian former finance minister Rishi Sunak holding on to his lead.
The crux of the UK prime ministerial frontrunner Rishi Sunak's message was around honesty as he clashed with his four remaining rivals in the first televised debate of the race to replace Boris Johnson as the Conservative Party leader.
Some believe that, as prime minister, Sunak will be particularly friendly to India and that he would return the Kohinoor and do similar gestures to his motherland. Such wishful thinking is not likely to materialise as he will act in the best interests of the UK and will not even appear to favour India, argues Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
What the UK is getting out of the Serum Institute is what India is losing. And the responsibility of the Indian State ought to have been to dictate where Serum Institute's vaccine doses should go, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In an interview via email days ahead of his visit to New Delhi to attend the G20 summit on September 9 and 10, Sunak said Wednesday the response from the Indian people to his appointment as the prime minister was "overwhelming and humbling."
The Duchess of Sussex who is due to give birth to the couple's second child, a girl, in early summer will stay home in California on her doctor's advice
Boris Johnson urged the public to contain their impatience against the lockdown.
He acknowledged that police had been caught off-guard by local delinquents who turned up to cause trouble at the match. But defending the security protocols in place, the minister said France had only had three months to prepare after the venue was moved from Russia.
Sunak, who has been leading the UK government's economic response during the COVID-19 lockdown as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will automatically step in as part of an established order of precedence in the UK -- which does not have a written Constitution.
England scripted history on Sunday by claiming their first-ever World Cup title. The finals will be remembered for ages as it did not have a winner after the 50-over and super over action both ended in a tie.
