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Sued by British campaigner, Tiktok vows to 'vigorously' defend action
TiTtok has said it will "vigorously defend" itself after England's former children's commissioner announced legal action against the social networking platform. Anne Longfield, the former Children’s Commissioner for England, announced on Wednesday she was suing TikTok and its parent company ByteDance for "illegally collecting millions of children’s private information in the UK and Europe and sharing it with unknown third parties for profit." The legal claim argues TikTok takes children’s personal information without sufficient warning, transparency or the necessary consent required by law, an...
DPA
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British PM promised Dyson founder he would fix tax rules, reports say
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the founder of household appliance firm Dyson he would not pay extra tax if he came to Britain and produced ventilators, according to reports. Text messages published on Wednesday between Johnson and James Dyson appeared to show the prime minister promising to "fix" an issue regarding tax, then following up by saying: "Rishi [the chancellor of the exchequer] says it is fixed! We need you here!" In a follow-up message, Dyson appears to seek further reassurance for the tax status of the firm and "senior individuals," with Johnson responding his governmen...
DPA
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Queen Elizabeth II thanks public for tributes to Prince Philip
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has issued a thank you message to the public for their tributes to her recently deceased husband, Prince Philip. While marking her 95th birthday, the queen issued a statement saying she has received "many messages of good wishes" to mark the milestone, adding she "very much appreciates" them. "While as a family we are in a period of great sadness, it has been a comfort to us all to see and to hear the tributes paid to my husband, from those within the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and around the world," she added. "My family and I would like to thank you all for...
DPA
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British PM promised Dyson founder he would fix tax rules, reports say
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the founder of household appliance firm Dyson he would not pay extra tax if he came to Britain and produced ventilators, according to reports. Text messages released on Wednesday between Johnson and James Dyson appeared to show the prime minister promising to "fix" an issue regarding tax, then following up saying: "Rishi [the chancellor of the exchequer] says it is fixed! We need you here!" In a follow-up message, Dyson appears to seek further reassurance for the tax status of the firm and "senior individuals," with Johnson responding his government wi...
DPA
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Queen Elizabeth remains in mourning at Windsor Castle on birthday
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is spending her birthday at Windsor Castle while continuing to observe a period of mourning after the death of Prince Philip earlier this month, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace. "Today is the queen’s 95th birthday," the palace tweeted on Wednesday. "[Her majesty] was born on 21 April 1926 at 17 Bruton Street in London, the first child of the duke and duchess of York. "This year the queen remains at Windsor Castle during a period of royal mourning following the death of the duke of Edinburgh," it added. It comes after sources told dpa the queen will ...
DPA
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Britain to announce new emission targets at Biden climate summit
The British prime minister is due to announce further ambitious targets to cut carbon emissions in the coming decades. At an online summit on Thursday, hosted by US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to unveil plans to reduce carbon emissions by 78 per cent by 2035 compared to levels in 1990. The pledge, called the Carbon Budget, will ensure Britain remains on track to end its contribution to climate change while remaining consistent with the Paris Agreement temperature goal to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and pursue efforts towards 1.5 degree...
DPA
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British government sets up medicine group for coronavirus treatments
The British government is launching a new "antivirals taskforce" to establish what treatments could prevent people from becoming severely ill with Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, the prime minister said on Tuesday. The group will run trials and investigate which medicines work with an aim to try and make the drugs available in the autumn, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told journalists at a London press briefing. "This means, for example, that if you test positive for the virus that there might be a tablet you could take at home to stop the virus in its tracks and significantly ...
DPA
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Britain's Johnson muses on ending trade barriers to Northern Ireland
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday he wants to get rid of "ludicrous barriers" curtailing trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the country. "What we’re doing is removing, what I think of as the unnecessary protuberances and barriers that have grown up,” Johnson told the BBC in an interview set to air on Tuesday to mark Northern Ireland's centenary, which takes place on June 22. "We’re getting the barnacles off the thing and sandpapering it into shape.” As part of the Brexit deal, British-administered Northern Ireland has remained aligned with EU customs rules to avo...
DPA
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Morrissey slams Simpsons over unflattering parody
Los Angeles (AFP) - Morrissey has accused The Simpsons of "hatred" and "ignorance" after the show's latest episode featured an unflattering parody of a moody British singer in part inspired by the former Smiths frontman. In the episode, first aired Sunday in the United States, the precociously intelligent Lisa Simpson makes a new imaginary friend: a depressed but charismatic indie rocker from 1980s Britain with an uncanny resemblance to Morrissey. The character, named Quilloughby and voiced by Hollywood star Benedict Cumberbatch, is a devoted vegan -- like Morrissey and Lisa -- who inspires he...
AFP
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Health secretary: India added to British government's 'red list'
India has been added to Britain's "red list" of countries, the health secretary has announced. British and Irish residents who have visited the nation in the proceeding 10 days when arriving on British or Irish soil must quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 10 days from the time of arrival, Matt Hancock said on Monday. The new rules will come into force at 0300 GMT on Friday, he added. "I understand the impact of this decision, but I hope the House [of Commons] will concur we must act because we must protect the progress we have made in tackling this awful disease," Hancock said. It c...
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