Every new geopolitical threat has served to bring the United Kingdom and the European Union a little closer. For a year now, London and Brussels have been in a process of accelerated and silent reconnection. The Russian invasion of Ukraine opened the doors to defense cooperation, and the Trump disruption, now magnified by the horizon of economic and energy crisis generated by the war in Iran, has increased the need for economic and commercial understanding.

The United Kingdom faces a decisive decade for its energy future at a time when most of its nuclear fleet is nearing the end of its lifespan due to aging. Currently, the country generates approximately 15% of its electricity from nuclear power, thanks to an installed capacity of around 6.5 gigawatts, generated by nine reactors at four plants. But all but one must be decommissioned by 2030. This has forced the British government to accelerate a political and financial commitment to a new generation of power plants, a commitment that is fraught with controversy and challenges. Currently, the UK is building two major projects: Hinkley Point C in Somerset and Sizewell C in Suffolk. Both, the first new plants built since 1988, symbolize both the ambition and the difficulties of the British nuclear model. With estimated costs reaching €54.57 billion for the first and €43.23 billion for the second, these plants have become some of the most expensive energy infrastructure projects in the world, as the Working Group on Nuclear Regulation, established by Keir Starmer the previous February, warned at the end of November of last year. The cost overruns and delays have been so significant that EDF, the French state-owned company in charge of building Sizewell C, has accumulated multimillion-euro losses and has demanded that the British government assume almost all the financial risk for the project to move forward. Hinkley Point C is expected to come online between 2030 and 2031; Sizewell C, in 2035-36. The Working Group also warned that the UK has become the most expensive country in the world to build a nuclear power plant, not so much because of the technology used, but because of an accumulation of environmental, safety, and administrative processes that, according to the report, often do not provide real benefits in terms of public health or environmental protection. The document denounced a regulatory culture that is excessively risk-averse, which has resulted in thousands of pages of environmental impact assessments and increasingly lengthy and unpredictable planning processes.

Gorton and Denton is an electoral district in Greater Manchester. Where there were once mines and textile industries, there is now poverty. Elections were held in Gorton and Denton on Thursday, and the seat went to the Greens, followed by the far-right Reform Party, and in third place, Labour. The Conservatives didn't even show up. The result demonstrates how the political map of the United Kingdom is changing. But there's something even more interesting: the Greens won thanks to the Muslim vote.

Telefónica makes its first major acquisition to grow in Europe telecom The Spanish company chaired by Marc Murtra has reached an agreement with Liberty Global, co-owner of the British telecommunications company VMO2, and InfraVia Capital, to acquire 100% of the share capital of the British firm Netomnia for 2.294 billion euros, as reported Wednesday afternoon by MV. The deal began to circulate a few days ago, when the Financial Times He announced that Telefónica, together with the other two companies, was negotiating the acquisition of what is the second largest fiber optic operator in the United Kingdom.

We live in turbulent times, if you'll pardon the obvious. A new empire, China, threatens the hegemony of another, the United States. New technologies like artificial intelligence propel us into the unknown. Mass migrations alter societies' self-perception. The basest popular passions (racism, xenophobia, classism) are unleashed, the middle class is sinking, and truth and lies are becoming blurred. And not even the most robust democratic mechanisms seem capable of surviving the chaos.

Labour wants to turn back the clock ten years, but doesn't know how to do it without being accused of betraying the mandate the British people gave with the Brexit referendum in June 2016The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, outlined on Wednesday what is, so far, the most drastic change of course announcement. since Keir Starmer came to power In July 2024.

Something good can come from something bad, provided there's some luck. That's the small consolation the British government and crown can take for the moment after the various events that have shaken London in the last 72 hours. On the one hand, the crisis that has been taken on by the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmerwhich nearly ended his leadership and has left him in political intensive care. Furthermore, the extraordinary statements that Charles III and Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton have made public regarding with the Epstein affair and the increasingly dirty stain spreading over Andreu Mountbatten-Windsor, brother of the king, uncle of the heir to the throne and, until a few months ago, also a prince (title he was stripped of last year).

Tensions between Denmark and the United States continue to escalate. Following Donald Trump's repeated threats to invade Greenland, the Danish military increased its presence in the territory on Monday, according to Reuters. The Danish military says a plane will land Monday night in Kangerlussuaq—a settlement in western Greenland—and that this represents a "substantial contribution" of troops. Several European allies have already announced the deployment of more soldiers to Greenland and intend for the mission to have NATO support. But the Atlantic Alliance is under scrutiny. de facto by the United States, and therefore it is difficult to imagine a mission by the military entity aimed at defending itself against a potential US aggression. However, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who remains very close to the interests of the White House, expressed hope for a coordinated increase in the allies' military presence in the Arctic. "I hope we can establish a framework to carry this out," said the former Dutch Prime Minister. Beyond these words, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas; the Danish Minister of Defense, Troels Lund Poulsen; and the Greenlandic Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vivian Motzfeld, appear to have gained nothing further from their meeting with Rutte this Monday in Brussels. Nevertheless, Kallas wanted to make it clear in a message on social media that the European allies do not intend to back down in the face of Trump's threats. "We have no interest in picking a fight, but we will stand firm in our position," the EU's foreign policy chief tweeted. It's worth remembering that it was following a military exercise on the island led by Danish troops, in which several militaries participated, that Trump threatened the eight participating states—including Germany, France, and the UK—with additional 10% tariffs starting next month. Starmer also says enough is enough.

Downing Street's appeasement of Trump has thus far proven not only a failure but also a humiliation. Keir Starmer believed that by fawning over the US president, even making him appear King Charles III almost like a servant For his enjoyment, it might contain the Republican's most authoritarian instincts. Nothing could be further from the truth.

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Eurostar, the high-speed train service connecting the UK with mainland Europe, gradually resumed rail services through the Maneg Channel Tunnel on Tuesday evening after several hours with the infrastructure shut down. However, on Wednesday morning, the company warned that delays and last-minute train cancellations were still possible throughout the day. "We plan to operate all services today, although, due to the effects of the strike, there may still be some delays and possible last-minute cancellations," the text added. On Tuesday, the rail company had announced the closure of the tunnel due to a power outage and the subsequent breakdown of the Le Shuttle train—the service that transports cars and trucks between France and Great Britain—forcing the company to "suspend all services today until nine." While Eurostar initially warned of the risk of "significant delays and last-minute cancellations," it later confirmed the suspension of all scheduled services on Tuesday. Hours later, it announced that it was gradually resuming train traffic on this infrastructure. Complications began Monday night into Tuesday morning due to a power outage affecting trains in a section of the Channel Tunnel, disrupting train and convoy traffic and requiring technical intervention. Eurostar, the company that operates high-speed lines from London to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam and is one of the main users of the Channel Tunnel, had to suspend its services Tuesday morning after many of its trains experienced delays, some lasting several hours.

Eurostar is offering affected passengers the option to rearrange their plans by changing their booking free of charge to travel in the same class, on a different date or time; canceling their booking and requesting an e-voucher to use within 12 months of the cancelled travel date; or canceling their booking and receiving a refund. Eurostar also states that affected LNER customers, the North East London Rail operator, with tickets dated Tuesday, December 30, "will be able to travel on an alternative LNER train today." In addition, customers who had to abandon their journey at London St. Pancras station will be able to return to their original station on the next available LNER service at no extra cost, while LNER customers who choose to postpone their Eurostar journey will be able to use their existing LNER ticket for travel on the same day.

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Activist Greta Thunberg was arrested Tuesday in London for demonstrating in support of several activists from the Palestine Action organization who have been on hunger strike in prison for 50 days. Thunberg was arrested, according to police, under anti-terrorism legislation for carrying a sign that read, "I support Palestine Action prisoners. I oppose genocide." The Swedish activist was arrested during a protest outside the Aspen Insurance building, which insures Elbit Systems, an Israeli-owned arms manufacturer and one of the country's main weapons producers. During the protest, in which two demonstrators sprayed red paint on the insurance company's building, Thunberg and the other protesters were supporting pro-Palestinian activists on hunger strike to demand the closure of Elbit.

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The vacuum cleaner is making a strange noise. It's barely picking up any dust. James Dyson stops in the middle of the dining room, turns it off, and bends down. He opens the lid, takes out the bag, replaces it, and tries again. Nothing: the dust has accumulated inside the bag's fabric and completely clogged it. Dyson mulls over the problem. It's the late seventies. Dyson lives in Bath, in southwest England, and is an industrial designer. For some years now, he's been working on developing all sorts of products, like the Ballbarrow, a wheelbarrow with a spherical wheel, designed to improve stability on construction sites and in gardens. He takes the vacuum cleaner to the workshop and completely disassembles it: he's looking for the source of the problem. If the suction disappears, it's because something, somewhere along its path, is blocking it.

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New confirmation of Brexit failureAnd the punishment it has meant for the younger generations affected by the divorce, who have had to accept it without having been able to make their voices heard in the 2016 referendum. The European Union and the United Kingdom announced this Wednesday in a joint statement that London is rejoining the Erasmus student exchange program. May summit", between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the European Commission.

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The government of Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer will present a package of measures this Monday that tightens immigration policies, similar to those already implemented by the Danish Social Democratic government. The aim is to discourage illegal immigration by boat across the English Channel, through which an estimated 40,000 people enter each year, and also to increase the time required to obtain permanent residency from the current 5 years to 20. The mastermind behind the operation is the Pakistani Minister and a contender to succeed Starmer in Downing Street should he fall before the end of his term.

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"Hitler only had one…". Regarding the famous music from the film The Bridge over the River Kwai –a British military march composed in 1914, and which was adapted ad hoc For the David Lean and Alec Guinness film—during World War II and even many decades later, all British children grew up singing an irreverent song mocking the Nazi leader. The title: Hitler has only got one ball (Hitler only has one eggThe full lyrics say: "Hitler only has one testicle / Göring has two, but very small ones / Himmler has something similar / but poor Goebbels has none / Hitler only has one testicle / the other one is in the old Town Hall / his mother stole the other one / and now Hitler has none."

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Eleven years after the Church of England authorized the ordination of female bishops, for the first time one of them will be its head. Sarah Mullally, 63, until now head of the Archdiocese of London, was appointed this Friday as Archbishop of Canterbury. Starting in January, when she takes office, she will assume the highest pastoral authority of the denomination. In his first statements after being appointed, the archbishop stated that he faces the new ministry "with a spirit of service to God and others," a commitment that, he recalled, has accompanied him since embracing the faith as a teenager. "I know it is an enormous responsibility, but I do so with peace and confidence that God will sustain me, as He always has," he added.

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Just under a year before the 2014 European elections, Nigel Farage He was convinced that the party he then led, UKIP, would cause a "political earthquake." It was September 2013, and during the party's annual conference, he claimed credit for changing the terms of the debate on immigration and the United Kingdom's then-membership of the European Union. Many didn't take him seriously, but UKIP eventually won the election, with 27% of the vote.

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One of the two fatalities in Thursday's attack on a synagogue in Manchester, northern England, was killed by gunfire fired by responding officers, police said. According to preliminary information, officers also injured another person.

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Some of the best-known names in UK business – brands also known around the world – have been affected in 2025. by major cyberattacks that have caused them serious operational consequences and enormous economic losses. Marks & Spencer, Co-operative Group, Harrods—which suffered two, one in May and a second last week—and HM have all suffered the effects of the hacker attack. The automobile company Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has also suffered two: the first, last March, carried out by a group called Hellcat. However, the company was able to continue its activity without major disruptions.

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Next time you visit London and get on one double-decker to go up and down Oxford Street, the Strand or Whitehall with the aim of obtaining the perfect tourist certificate, they probably won't realize it, but perhaps they will no longer use one of the icons of an era and a city: the famous red double-decker buses, the Routemasters, introduced in 195 and get off while moving. In 2005 they were retired from service and in 2012 the New Routemaster was reintroduced – they called it Borismaster, because Boris Johnson promoted it when he was mayor –, to keep a cultural symbol alive.

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A balancing act between a guilty conscience, the United Kingdom's eternal interests, more closely tied than ever to the United States, and an increasingly rebellious public opinion against the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Keir Starmer formally announced this Sunday, in a pre-recorded video, the recognition of the State of Palestine, an announcement made at the same time as his counterparts from Australia and Canada, members of the Commonwealth. The announcement is part of a wave of similar pronouncements from Israel's traditional allies, which seek to halt the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu's policy of wiping the Palestinians off the map, while seeking to isolate Hamas and force it into an unconditional surrender of Gaza. Currently, 147 UN member states, including Spain, recognize Palestine. Portugal has now joined the party, and France (the other former colonial power in the Middle East), Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, and possibly New Zealand and Liechtenstein will also be added.

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