British government

The European Commission opened two new criminal proceedings against Britain on Wednesday after London announced plans to unilaterally repeal some post-Brexit rules governing trade in Northern Ireland.

For a few months now, the issue of the return of the Parthenon Sculptures has acquired a special dynamic. In recent months, the density of reports in the British media is perhaps the highest ever. UNESCO's proposal for direct bilateral talks between the British and Greek Ministries of Culture was accepted by the British government for the first time in the history of the Sculpture claim.

Personnel restrictions are being introduced in response to British sanctions against members of the State Duma of Russia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia announced.

The leader of the Anglican church strongly criticized the British government's plan to put some asylum-seekers on one-way flights to Rwanda, saying "sub-contracting out our responsibilities" to refugees can't stand up to God's scrutiny.

The new director of the Acropolis Museum has called for an end to the long-running dispute for the return of the Parthenon marbles to Greece, noting that London's parliament could rule on the issue.

"It's time for the matter to be closed," Nikos Stampolidis told AFP in an interview.

London's Heathrow Airport announced yesterday that it narrowed annual losses only slightly in 2021 despite the reopening of global air travel, blaming what it said were stricter passenger curbs in Britain compared to the neighboring EU.

Heathrow recorded pre-tax losses totalling 1.8 billion pounds ($2.4 billion) last year, it said in a statement.

Britain is considering deploying significant forces within NATO as part of a plan to strengthen Europe's borders in response to the build-up of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, the British government said on Saturday, Reuters reported.

The United Kingdom says any Russian entry into Ukraine will be met with swift sanctions and will be devastating for both sides.

The British government on Saturday accused Russia of seeking to replace Ukraine's government with a pro-Moscow administration, and said former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevheniy Murayev is being considered as a potential candidate.

Murayev is head of the small pro-Russian party Nashi, which currently has no seats in Ukraine's parliament.

The foreign ministers of six Western Balkan countries will meet in London today to discuss the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is stated in a statement by British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss, who will chair the event.

Air Chief Marshall Sir Stuart Peach has been named British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Envoy for the Western Balkans, adding to the list of international envoys to the region after the United States and European Union did the same with Gabriel Escobar and Miroslav Lajcak.