A surprising appointment for the UK…

Former British leader David Cameron was named as the country’s new Foreign Secretary on Monday, in a surprise appointment made by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as he reshuffled his top team.

David Cameron, 57, served as British prime minister from 2010 to 2016, resigning after the outcome of the Brexit referendum, when Britain voted to leave the European Union.
Former British Prime Minister David Cameron walks outside 10 Downing Street in London

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron walks outside 10 Downing Street in London, Britain November 13, 2023. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett Acquire Licensing Rights

His unexpected return to the front-line of British politics comes after he spent the last seven years writing his memoirs and involving himself in business, including Greensill Capital, a finance firm which later collapsed.
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Greensill’s demise fuelled questions about the extent to which former leaders can use their status to influence government policy after Cameron repeatedly contacted senior ministers in 2020 to lobby for the firm.

Sunak’s office said on Monday that King Charles had approved giving Cameron a seat in Britain’s upper chamber, the House of Lords, allowing him to return to government as a minister despite no longer being an elected member of parliament.

Reuters:

Reporting by Kylie MacLellan, writing by Sarah Young

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is considering introducing measures for people in the UK that would ban the next generation from ever being able to buy cigarettes. This information was first reported by The Guardian on Friday (Sept 22), citing government sources.

The prime minister is looking at anti-smoking measures similar to laws New Zealand announced last year, which include a ban on selling tobacco to anyone born on or after Jan 1, 2009, the report said.

“We want to encourage more people to quit and meet our ambition to be smoke-free by 2030, which is why we have already taken steps to reduce smoking rates,” a British government spokesperson said in an emailed response to Reuters.

Those measures include free vape kits, a voucher scheme to incentivize pregnant women to quit, and consulting on mandatory cigarette pack inserts, the spokesperson added on Friday.

The spokesperson declined to comment further on The Guardian latest report.

The policies under consideration are part of a new consumer-focused drive from Sunak’s team before next year’s expected election, the report said.

Bunmi Bailey

The United Kingdom (UK) has announced a new travel rule for citizens of every country except British and Irish nationals wishing to visit the UK.

The new rule, effective November 15, 2023, states that citizens of any other country wishing to travel to the UK need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) card before they enter or transit through the country.

Travellers who were formerly permitted to enter the UK without visas, e.g, Americans, Canadian, Australians etc, may not be allowed to board without a valid ETA.

“The UK travel requirements are changing. Except for British and Irish citizens, everyone, including children who enter or transit through the UK, will soon require permission before they travel,” a statement from the UK home office said.

“This means that if you were previously eligible to visit the UK without a visa and not already legally resident in the UK, you will need an ETA, your stay must be shorter than six months and could include tourism or visiting family and friends, transit, business, and short term study,” it added.

According to the UK government, there is no need to show a paper copy, but it may be helpful to prove the confirmation email for a person’s records. While an ETA grants permission to travel to the UK, it does not grant entry.

The video found below in this post shows the shocking extent of carnage during an XL Bully dog attack that left three people injured in Birmingham.

West Midlands Police say they are continuing to investigate the incident, which lasted roughly two minutes and took place at a Texaco petrol station in the Bordesley Green area on Saturday afternoon.

CCTV footage from the station shows several men attempting to fend off and subdue a crossbreed Bully XL/Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppy.

It followed after the animal chased an 11-year-old girl, who sustained injuries to her shoulder and forearms.

The dog was then restrained by its owner but broke free again shortly after.

In the video, one of the men is seen to slip and fall to the floor before the dog bites at his leg and shoulder.

Others then rush to help the man, kicking and using a shovel, broom, sticks and even a gas hose to beat the animal back.

Source

Who is Daniel Abed Khalife? Ex-British Army soldier who escaped Wandsworth Prison – what is he accused of?

A massive UK manhunt is underway after an ex-soldier facing terrorism charges slipped out of a London prison by strapping himself to the bottom of a van while dressed as a chef — with his escape going unnoticed for nearly an hour.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, is thought to have gone missing inside Wandsworth Prison at around 7 a.m. Wednesday — with the alarm only raised just before 8 a.m., according to The Times of London.

He’d been working a morning shift in the jail’s kitchens and was wearing a cook’s uniform of a white T-shirt and red checkered trousers when he lashed himself with straps to the bottom of a departing food delivery van, police said.

The manhunt quickly alerted Britain’s ports and airports, including London Heathrow — Britain’s busiest airport — where travelers faced delays because of additional security checks over fears Khalife would try to flee.

This is a significant temperature anomaly for the UK and the rest of western Europe, including Ireland, France, and Benelux. A general rule of thumb translates these temperatures to the ground with roughly 12-14 °C higher values to get an idea of peak temperatures at the surface. So we can expect that peak daytime well above +30 °C.

The first week of September results in temperatures back into the low 30s for London and the rest of southern and southeastern England. This happens due to an unusually strong heatwave intensifying over western Europe, associated with the Omega Blocking High and Heat Dome in the upper levels.

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Considering that the Tories have been in office, one way or another, since May 2010 – almost 12½ years – you might expect most areas of life in Britain to be markedly conservative, stamped with the imprint of our political masters.

Certainly, a very different country from the land ruled by New Labour’s Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

But in very many key areas of national life, there has actually been a strong drift to the Left.

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