UNITED KINGDOM

The two candidates battling to be Britain's next prime minister vied to present themselves as defenders of Scotland's place in the United Kingdom on Tuesday, promising more scrutiny of Scotland's government to undermine a new push for independence.

New Zealand is sending 120 military personnel to Britain to help train Ukrainians in front-line combat, the government said on Monday.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex returned to the U.K. in June for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The Bank of England will deliver another bumper 50 basis points (bps) increase to borrowing costs next month but then slow the pace to a more regular 25 basis point rise in November before pausing, a Reuters poll forecast.

Stood on her hind legs to greet any prospective owner who might approach her glass-doored kennel, Harriet is a black English cocker spaniel abandoned as a deepening cost-of-living crisis pushes growing numbers of Britons to part with their pets.

Britain's main opposition Labour Party will call for the energy price cap to be frozen this autumn, a party source said, to help the public deal with another expected surge in energy bills during the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades.

Britain's economy contracted by less than feared in June, when public holidays had been expected to exert a big drag.

The source of the River Thames has dried up further downstream than ever before, as England looks set to enter a drought that some experts say the country is unprepared for.

A British man accused of being part of an Islamic State (IS) kidnap-and-murder cell known as the "Beatles" appeared in court in London.

Spain's Ferrovial is looking at options for its 25% stake in London's Heathrow, two sources told Reuters, and has held preliminary talks with external advisers on the future of its holding in Britain's biggest airport.

The sweltering conditions come just weeks after the last heatwave pushed the mercury over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time in Britain.

Portugal's border agency SEF has faced criticism for delays in issuing post-Brexit ID cards to thousands of British nationals in the country, putting the spotlight on a structural problem that has affected various other migrant communities for years.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey pushed back at suggestions by the front-runner to become Britain's next prime minister Liz Truss and her supporters that the government should have a bigger role in how the central bank operates.

Liz Truss, front-runner to be Britain's next prime minister, will set out her economic plans to finance sector officials on Friday, including scrapping legacy EU laws by the end of 2023.

British foreign minister Liz Truss clashed over the future of the economy with former finance minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday as the two contenders to be Britain's next prime minister debated the Bank of England's warnings of a long recession.

Former British finance minister Rishi Sunak said it was still "early days" in the contest to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as two opinion polls showed his rival Liz Truss had extended her lead in the race to be Britain's next leader.

More than 28,500 -- most of them young men -- arrived on British shores last year. The all-time daily record of 853 was set in November 2021.

Britain's financial watchdog said on Tuesday that the cost of living crisis, meeting climate targets and improving diversity should be reflected in how banks determine pay and bonuses.

British foreign minister Liz Truss, the front-runner to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister, was forced to backtrack on one of her most striking pledges a day after announcing it following a backlash from fellow Conservatives and opposition parties.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed Nobel Peace laureate David Trimble as a giant of British history for leading Northern Ireland's Protestant majority to a 1998 peace deal, as allies and former enemies joined to pay their respects at his funeral.

Around 5,000 train drivers across almost a quarter of Britain's rail network went on strike on Saturday, as part of a campaign for higher pay after the country's inflation rate hit its highest in 40 years.