World

Downing Street has refused to say whether new City Minister Emma Reynolds is able to make decisions about the UK's dealings with China.Reynolds was appointed by Sir Keir Starmer after the resignation of Tulip Siddiq amid growing pressure over an anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh.Questions have been raised about whether Reynolds has a conflict of interest, because she was a director of public affairs at a banking trade group involved in lobbying for fewer restrictions on Chinese businesses.The prime minister's official spokesman repeatedly declined to say whether Reynolds' background meant she had to recuse herself, or step back, from decisions about China. He said the new City minister "brings a wealth of experience to the role". But he added: "When it comes to the...

Former United States President Bill Clinton has been discharged from hospital after he was treated for the flu, his office said. developing a fever, his office has announced. Clinton, 78, was released from hospital on Tuesday. He had been admitted to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC for testing and observation on Monday afternoon after developing a fever, Angel Urena, Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, said. Urena had earlier said that Clinton was in “good spirits” and was appreciative of the care he was receiving. “He remains in good spirits and deeply appreciates the excellent care he is receiving,” Urena said in a post on X. Clinton, who served as the 42nd US president from 1993 to 2001 under the Democratic Party banner, has faced a series of health is

President-elect Donald Trump appears to be entertaining an American territorial expansion that, if he’s serious, would rival the Louisiana Purchase or the deal that netted Alaska from Russia. In the past week, he’s taunted Canadian officials by suggesting the US could absorb its northern neighbor and make it the 51st state. He threatened to take over the Panama Canal, the US-made waterway controlled for a quarter century by its Central American namesake. And on Sunday, he resurfaced his first-term desire to obtain Greenland, a Danish territory he has long eyed. With Trump, the differences between serious policy proposals and rhetorical flourishes intended to stoke media attention or energize his base are not always clear. At other times, his provocations have appeared to be the open

A top campaign adviser to US President-elect Donald Trump has called the incoming UK ambassador to the US, Lord Peter Mandelson, "an absolute moron". In a post on social media, Chris LaCivita said Lord Mandelson "should stay home". Mr LaCivita, who was a co-campaign manager for Trump's presidential election bid, criticised the British government's decision saying it was replacing a "professional universally respected ambo [ambassador] with an absolute moron". Lord Mandelson is one of the best-known figures in British politics, having served in multiple ministerial roles under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown before taking up a life peerage in the Lords. He called his appointment as the UK's next ambassador to the US as "a great honour". As first reported in The Times, Lord Mande...