England

LONDON (AP) — Eurostar services to and from London were canceled Saturday after a tunnel under the River Thames became flooded, disrupting festive travel plans.

Hundreds of travelers trying to get across the English Channel were stranded at London’s St. Pancras International station and the Gare du Nord station in Paris. Eurostar, which runs services from London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, said it canceled at least 29 trains Saturday and is not expected to run any services for the rest of the day because of the flooding.

LONDON, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- At risk of recession, the United Kingdom (UK) has witnessed a year of poor economic performance in 2023, and next year does not look promising either.

Inflation in the country has been running high for more than two years, making the cost-of-living crisis a heated topic across the nation. The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 3.9 percent in the 12 months to November 2023, mainly due to a drop in fuel prices and slower growth in food prices.

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III reflected his coronation theme of public service Monday in a Christmas message that he connected to the health of the planet and wars that are raging.

In a prerecorded video shot with him standing beside a Christmas tree in Buckingham Palace, the king spoke of the message of Jesus’ life in serving those less fortunate as he honored the “selfless army” that forms the “backbone of our society” helping others.

LONDON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Former TV journalist Yekaterina Duntsova was disqualified on Saturday as a candidate for Russia's next presidential election, preventing her from running against Vladimir Putin on a platform of opposition to the war in Ukraine.

Members of the central electoral commission voted unanimously to reject her candidacy, citing "numerous violations" in the papers she had submitted in support of her bid.

LONDON (AP) — Detectives are investigating the alleged theft of a Banksy work of art after witnesses shot photos and video of a man removing a red stop sign adorned with three military drones, London police said Saturday.

The sign was taken less than an hour after the elusive street artist posted a photo of the work on his Instagram page Friday.

LONDON (AP) — A boy and a girl were found guilty Wednesday of murdering a transgender teenager in northwest England earlier this year, in a frenzied knife attack that was described as “horrific” by police.

Brianna Ghey, 16, was stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times in her head, neck, chest and back in broad daylight after being lured to a park in the town of Warrington on Feb. 11.

LONDON, December 18. /TASS/: EU member states are considering the possibility of stripping Hungary of its voting rights in order to conclude an agreement on allocating funds to Ukraine, The Financial Times has quoted European diplomats as saying.

LONDON (AP) — A member of Britain’s House of Lords has acknowledged that she repeatedly lied about her links to a company that was awarded lucrative government contracts to supply protective masks and gowns during the coronavirus pandemic.

Underwear tycoon Michelle Mone said that she had made an “error” in denying connections to the company PPE Medpro, and regretted threatening to sue journalists who alleged she had ties to the firm. Her husband, Doug Barrowman, has acknowledged he led the consortium that owns the company.

LONDON, December 15. /TASS/: The United Kingdom will impose a ban on imports of diamonds from Russia beginning from January 1, 2024, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office said in a statement.

"The UK government is introducing separate legislation to ban the import of diamonds from Russia and plans to proceed with a prohibition on ancillary services relating to metals when this can be done in concert with international partners," the statement says.

LONDON (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels have escalated attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea during the Israel-Hamas war, raising concerns about the impact on the flow of oil, grain and consumer goods through a major global trade artery.

Israeli-linked vessels have been targeted, but the threat to trade has grown this week as a Norwegian-flagged oil tanker was struck and missiles were fired at a vessel carrying jet fuel toward the Suez Canal, where about 10% of the world’s trade passes through.