World powers gathered in London on Wednesday to try to break a deadlock over how to stop Iran enriching uranium, as Tehran again warned against military intervention. Senior officials from the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Russia and China will discuss a European proposal at the closed-door talks.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair faced warnings on Monday of the need to avoid a ”corrosive” power struggle as he prepared to take on Labour Party rebels accused of trying to oust him after poor local election results. Blair has pledged to complete a third term in power but not stand for a fourth straight term in office.
The British government announced plans on Wednesday to deport virtually all foreign convicts in a bid to defuse a scandal that threatens to damage the governing Labour Party’s results in local elections. Thursday’s elections to more than 4 000 local authority seats are a key test for Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government.
China carried out 80% of the world’s 2 148 known executions last year, while Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States accounted for most of the rest, Amnesty International said on Thursday. The London-based human rights group said in a statement that these countries bucked a steady two-decade trend towards the abolition of the death penalty.
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/ 8 February 2006
The British authorities faced questions on Wednesday about why it took so long to act against radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri who was jailed for inciting racial hatred and soliciting murder. During sentencing on Tuesday in London, Judge Anthony Hughes said 47-year-old Abu Hamza’s sermons had helped generate a climate in which some now regarded it as a ”moral duty” to kill.
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/ 26 January 2006
The race for the leadership of the Liberal Democrats, Britain’s second opposition party, was buffeted on Thursday by news reports of gay sex, lies and alcohol. Simon Hughes, the leadership contender for Britain’s second opposition Liberal Democrats, admitted on Thursday having had gay relationships and lying about it when asked.
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/ 19 November 2005
George Best, the former Northern Ireland and Manchester United soccer great, suffered a ”big setback” on Friday in his battle with serious infections that put him near death last month, his doctor said. Best (59) who had been recovering recently, was back in intensive care with a ”new and severe infection” affecting his kidneys and ”everything else”.
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/ 9 November 2005
Making a last-ditch bid to win a parliamentary vote on holding terror suspects for up to three months without charge, British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Wednesday said two terrorist plots had been foiled since July’s attacks in London. A rejection of the plan would be Blair’s first legislative defeat since he came to power in 1997.
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/ 13 September 2005
British Defence Secretary John Reid called on Tuesday for thousands of extra Nato troops to be sent to Afghanistan as the alliance expands into areas harbouring Taliban fighters and drug traffickers. Reid made the remarks before departing for an informal meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation defence ministers in Berlin, who are expected to discuss United States and Nato deployment plans for next year in Afghanistan.
Millions of Londoners returned to work on Monday riding rush hour trains and buses, trading fretful glances amid security warnings that new attacks could occur as long as the bombers remained at large. The police also closed central streets, including Downing Street, after a suspect package was found in the Whitehall area.