England

Trump will ‘no longer deal’ with UK envoy who panned him

LONDON (AP) — President Donald Trump threatened Monday to cut off contact with Britain’s ambassador to the United States after leaked diplomatic cables revealed the envoy called the Trump administration “dysfunctional” and “inept.”

The U.S. leader tweeted about Ambassador Kim Darroch a day after a British newspaper published the diplomat’s unflattering assessments of the current administration in Washington.

UK hunts culprit behind leak of envoy’s frank Trump missives

LONDON (AP) — The British government is hunting for the source of a leak of diplomatic cables from Britain’s ambassador in Washington that branded President Donald Trump’s administration “dysfunctional” and “inept.”

British officials are embarrassed by the publication of Kim Darroch’s unflattering assessment — but more alarmed that sensitive confidential information has been leaked, possibly for political ends.

The leak embarrasses outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May, who has sometimes clashed with Trump.

Top UK diplomat in USA criticizes Trump in leaked memos

LONDON (AP) — Leaked diplomatic cables reveal that Britain’s ambassador to the United States regards President Donald Trump’s administration as inept, hobbled by infighting, and unlikely to improve.

The memos published in the Mail on Sunday contain highly critical comments from Ambassador Kim Darroch about the current state of Trump’s government, providing a rare look at how a senior British diplomat views the government of Britain’s closest ally.

UK Conservatives face ballot glitch in contest for new PM

LONDON (AP) — Members of Britain’s Conservative Party have started receiving their postal ballots in the contest to choose the country’s next prime minister, but concerns emerged Saturday that some people have been sent more than one voting paper.

About 160,000 members of the governing party are choosing Britain’s next leader, in a country of 64 million people. They are deciding between Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and his predecessor in that job, Boris Johnson.

In Hong Kong, colonial flag still a symbol of prized values

LONDON (AP) — They smashed glass windows, sprayed rude graffiti and defaced Hong Kong’s official emblem with black paint. But of all the dramatic photos showing hundreds of young protesters storming the city’s legislative building this week, one image makes for particularly uncomfortable viewing in Beijing: The British colonial flag draped aloft a podium in the assembly’s chamber.

3-D printing recreates ancient sculpture destroyed by ISIS

LONDON (AP) — A figure of a roaring lion, about the size of a loaf of bread, is the latest step in the fight to preserve culture from conflict.

The sculpture is a replica of a colossal 3,000-year-old statue from the Temple of Ishtar in Nimrud, in what’s now Iraq. The stone statue was one of many artifacts from the Mosul Museum destroyed by the Islamic State group after it overran the city in 2014.

Race to win keys to Downing Street hots up as gap between rivals narrows

LONDON, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Boris Johnson, Britain's former foreign secretary, remains favorite to become the new occupant of 10 Downing Street, but latest odds show the gap between him and his trailing rival has narrowed.

Current Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has been given new hope of catching up and overtaking Johnson in the race to become Theresa May's successor as Britain's prime minister.

London’s stance in PACE violates principle of equality of states — Russian Embassy

LONDON, June 26. /TASS/: British parliamentarians’ refusal to support the restoration of the rights of the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) deliberately violates the principle of sovereign equality of states, a spokesman for Russian Embassy in London told TASS on Wednesday.

He was commenting on the fact that the majority of the UK delegation members voted against the resolution allowing Russian parliamentarians to take part in the June session of PACE.

Boris Johnson fails to answer questions on private quarrel

LONDON (AP) — Boris Johnson failed to shut down questions about his private life Tuesday as a round of media appearances served only to bog him down further in questions about character and trust.

Johnson, who is running to be the next leader for both the Conservative Party and the nation, has refused to address personal questions despite an ongoing clamor to face public scrutiny after a reported quarrel with his girlfriend last week prompted a police visit.

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