INDIA and France on Wednesday (4) called for "an immediate cessation of hostilities" in Ukraine, with prime minister Narendra Modi again stopping short of condemning Russia's invasion of its neighbour.
India, which imports much of its military hardware from Russia, has long walked a diplomatic tightrope between the West and Moscow - notably refusing to denounce the latter or vote against it at the United Nations over its actions in Ukraine.
"France and India expressed their deep concern over the humanitarian crisis and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine," Modi and French president Emmanuel Macron said in a joint statement after they met in Paris for talks and a working dinner.
"Both countries unequivocally condemned the fact that civilians have been killed in Ukraine, and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in order for the two sides to come together to promote dialogue and diplomacy, and to put an immediate end to the suffering of the people."
However, only France condemned "Russian forces' illegal and unjustified aggression against Ukraine".
The two countries said they would "respond in a coordinated and multilateral way" to the risk the conflict would intensify a global food crisis, with Ukraine one of the world's main wheat producers.
Ahead of the meeting, Macron's office had said he would "emphasise the consequences of the war for the international order well beyond the European Union, including in Asia" to Modi.
France wants to "help the Indians diversify their supply" away from Russian arms and energy, officials added.
The aim, they said, "is not to leave the Indians with no way out, but to offer solutions".
Modi told reporters after meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Monday (2) that "there won't be any winners in this war and everyone will lose".
'Trusting relationship’
The Elysee said Macron has an "extremely warm relationship" with Modi, who has visited France three times since 2017, while the French leader went to India in 2018.
Modi invited Macron to visit India again to deepen cooperation on defence technology and the transition to clean energy.
The two men embraced and posed for photographs when Modi arrived in the courtyard of the Elysee Palace, where he was also greeted by Macron's wife Brigitte.
Going into the meeting, officials described France's relationship with India as "trusting", and the joint statement reaffirmed the two countries' desire to strengthen the "strategic Franco-Indian parnership, particularly in the Indo-Pacific".
Securing France's place in the region is especially important after Britain, the United States and Australia last year sealed their AUKUS security pact - dumping a lucrative French contract to supply Canberra's next generation of submarines along the way.
India has bought dozens of French Rafale fighter jets and six submarines, and cooperates with Paris on civil nuclear projects.
French state-owned energy giant EDF wants to build six next-generation EPR reactors in Jaitapur on India's west coast.
The Elysee said it was pushing hard to get that deal signed, fitting in with Macron's vow ahead of his re-election last month to renew France's nuclear industry and replace its fleet of ageing power plants.
AN INDIAN restaurant in north London has lost its licence after it was found to have repeatedly employed illegal workers.
Harrow council determined that the evidence suggested that using illegal workers was a “systemic approach” to running the premises and it had a “lack of trust” in the business to comply with the law.
Harrow council’s Licensing Panel chose to strip Mumbai Local, an Indian restaurant on Streatfield Road, of its licence at a meeting on August 20, the outcome of which has now been made public.
The review came after Immigration Officers found people working there illegally on three separate visits dating back to 2023.
The panel found that the restaurant owner had “disregarded the law” on employing illegal workers on a number of occasions and it “had no trust” in them to remedy the situation.
An option to simply suspend the licence was considered but the panel concluded that it had “no confidence” in the licence holder’s ability to comply with their legal obligations and had “no choice” but to revoke it entirely.
The Home Office had called on Harrow council to review Mumbai Local’s licence due to a “continual pattern” of hiring illegal workers.
Immigration Officers told the panel that six illegal workers had been found at the restaurant following a visit on November 16, 2023, with a further two found during a follow up visit on July 4, 2024.
A compliance check was carried out on July 17, 2025, where a man who had previously been arrested was present on the premises, as well as another lady who told officers she would get the manager before disappearing.
On August 15, 2024, the company running the restaurant was given a £120,000 civil penalty for employing two people who did not have the right to work. This was reduced to £60,000 for employing one illegal worker following an appeal. A further appeal has been lodged but this remains ongoing.
The premises licence holder (PLH) “held their hands up” to the illegal workers being on the premises in November 2023, according to the meeting minutes, but claimed that the July 2024 incident “had more to it”. The PLH claims this worker came to the country having been sponsored by an IT company that went bust so he was out of work. They suggested the man is “like a son” to them and provided free food to him as he had nowhere to go and believes he “has a duty towards him”.
The PLH tried to suggest that the panel suspend the licence for just one month, claiming this would already “be crippling” to the business but the panel would “never see him again” as they had no other sanctions against them. However, under questioning the PLH admitted that there had been issues at another premises they own and they were forced to pay a £30,000 fine.
Ultimately, the panel didn’t feel the option of a suspension and additional conditions imposed on the licence “would be an appropriate remedy”. It determined that it “did not have the confidence in the PLH’s ability to comply with his legal obligations and had no option but to use their powers to revoke the licence.”
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FILE PHOTO: US president Donald Trump meets with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump said India and Russia seem to have been "lost" to China after their leaders met with Chinese president Xi Jinping this week, expressing his annoyance at New Delhi and Moscow as Beijing pushes a new world order.
"Looks like we've lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!" Trump wrote in a social media post accompanying a photo of the three leaders together at Xi's summit in China.
"I don't think we have," he said. "I've been very disappointed that India would be buying so much oil, as you know, from Russia. And I let them know that."
Asked about Trump's social media post, India's foreign ministry told reporters in New Delhi that it had no comment. The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment and representatives for the Kremlin could not be immediately reached.
Xi hosted more than 20 leaders of non-Western countries for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, including Russian president Vladimir Putin and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.
Putin and Modi were seen holding hands at the summit as they walked toward Xi before all three men stood side by side.
"I'll always be friends with Modi," Trump told reporters. "He's a great prime minister. He's great. I'll always be friends, but I just don't like what he's doing at this particular moment. But India and the US have a special relationship. There's nothing to worry about. We just have moments on occasion."
"Deeply appreciate and fully reciprocate president Trump's sentiments and positive assessment of our ties," the Indian prime minister said in an X post early on Saturday (6).
India and the US have a "very positive ... forward-looking Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership," Modi said.
Trump has chilled US-India ties amid trade tensions and other disputes. Trump this week said he was "very disappointed" in Putin but not worried about growing Russia-China ties.
Trump has been frustrated at his inability to convince Russia and Ukraine to reach an end to their war, more than three years after Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
He told reporters on Thursday (4) night at the White House that he planned to talk to Putin soon.
(Reuters)
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Nigel Farage gestures as he speaks during the party's national conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, Britain, September 5, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
POPULIST leader Nigel Farage vowed to start preparing for government, saying the nation's two main parties were in meltdown and only his Reform UK could ease the anger and despair plaguing the country to "make Britain great again".
To a prolonged standing ovation by a crowd at the annual party conference on Friday (5), Farage for the first time offered a vision of how Britain would be under a Reform government: He pledged to end the arrival of illegal migrants in boats in two weeks, bring back "stop-and-search" policing and scrap net zero policies.
Despite having only four lawmakers in the 650-strong British parliament, Farage is becoming increasingly confident that his party - which was on the fringes for three years until last year - can beat both Labour and the Conservatives, taking the initiative on every issue from immigration to free speech.
Everything from the large crowds queuing to enter the two-day, sold-out conference in the English city of Birmingham, to the standing ovations and Farage chants, underscored a newfound confidence in the party which, according to current opinion polls, is on course to take power at an election due in 2029.
Farage said British people frequently told him he was "the last chance we've got to get this country back on track", describing the nation as being abandoned by Labour and as being run by unqualified people "not fit for government".
"All I can do is promise that I will give this everything, I will give this absolutely everything that I've got," he said. "No one cares more about the state of this country than I do. I am determined to do something about it."
When he spoke later on the stage to encourage supporters to attend an evening party, one young woman shouted "Tax the rich!", prompting six security guards to carry her out of the conference hall.
Zia Yusuf looks on during the party's national conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, Britain, September 5, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
Unveiling a new defection to Reform from the Conservatives - former culture secretay Nadine Dorries - Farage said he was setting up a department for the preparation of government and appointing ex-Reform chairman Zia Yusuf as head of policy.
He said the move was part of "the next steps" - the banner of the conference - towards government, building on Reform victories at local elections earlier this year and the increasing professionalism of a party once better known for candidates making reported racist or offensive remarks.
Loved or loathed after being instrumental in winning the 2016 Brexit referendum to get Britain out of the European Union, Farage says that by bolstering his team, the party will be a fighting force well before 2029, when the next election is expected.
Farage has led the running against Britain's traditional two mainstream parties on immigration, unveiling - when prime minister Keir Starmer was on holiday - a plan to repeal human rights laws to allow for mass deportations of asylum seekers.
Despite analysts questioning the legality of those plans, they seemingly prodded the government into beefing up its own plans to tackle the high numbers of arrivals.
Farage has also orchestrated a debate about freedom of speech in Britain, criticising arrests of people for making comments on social media deemed to incite violence.
A friend of Donald Trump, Farage went to Washington this week to urge US politicians to persuade Britain to put an end to what he called a North Korea-style clampdown on free speech, before visiting the US leader in his Oval Office.
Starmer criticised Farage for going to Washington to criticise Britain, calling it "unpatriotic".
Reform UK has yet to command as many political donations as the two main parties, and it was not clear how many business representatives were at the conference, although Farage promised to end what he called an "exodus" of the wealthy from Britain.
Before leaving the stage to blaring music and pyrotechnics, he said the party's ambitious programme was what Britain needs.
"It needs hope, it needs belief, it needs to smile again, it needs to believe in who we are."
(Reuters)
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Newly appointed home secretary Shabana Mahmood arrives at Number 10 at Downing Street as Keir Starmer holds a cabinet reshuffle on September 5, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)
The King approved a series of new appointments on Friday. David Lammy becomes lord chancellor and secretary of state for justice, and will also serve as deputy prime minister. Yvette Cooper has been named secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs.
Mahmood moves from justice secretary to the Home Office. Lisa Nandy will stay on as culture secretary despite months of speculation about her future.
Steve Reed is the new secretary of state for housing, communities and local government. Pat McFadden has been appointed secretary of state for work and pensions.
Peter Kyle is the new secretary of state for business and trade and president of the Board of Trade. Liz Kendall takes over as secretary of state for science, innovation and technology. Emma Reynolds becomes secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs. Douglas Alexander has been named secretary of state for Scotland.
Jonathan Reynolds has been appointed parliamentary secretary to the Treasury (chief whip) and will sit in cabinet. Sir Alan Campbell becomes lord president of the council and leader of the House of Commons, and will also attend cabinet.
Darren Jones has been appointed chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and will continue as chief secretary to the prime minister.
Angela Rayner, Lucy Powell and Ian Murray have left the government.
Rayner resigned earlier after admitting she had underpaid stamp duty on a seaside flat. In a letter to Starmer, ethics chief Laurie Magnus said Rayner had failed to "heed the caution" of legal advice and considered the ministerial code to have been breached.
"I accept that I did not meet the highest standards," Rayner wrote in her resignation letter, adding she would also step down as housing minister and deputy leader of the Labour Party. "I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice. I take full responsibility for this error."
In his reply, Starmer said he was "very sad" to see her leave government but added: "You will remain a major figure in our party."
Rayner confirmed she had underpaid stamp duty following reports that she had saved £40,000 ($53,000) by removing her name from the deeds of another property.
(With inputs from agencies)
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The protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping triggered a series of demonstrations across the country during heightened tensions over immigration. (Photo: Getty Images)
AN ETHIOPIAN asylum seeker, whose arrest in July led to protests outside a hotel near London where he and other migrants were housed, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage girl and another woman.
The protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, about 20 miles (30 km) from London, triggered a series of demonstrations across the country during heightened tensions over immigration.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was convicted at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman. He was also found guilty of attempting to sexually assault the girl, inciting her to engage in sexual activity, and harassment.
"This was an incident which became a cause of deep concern for the local community," said prosecutor Rebecca Mundy.
Immigration has become the main political issue in Britain, overtaking concerns about the economy, with record numbers of asylum claims and migrant arrivals by small boats across the Channel.
Prosecutors said that on July 7 the girl had offered Kebatu pizza because he looked hungry. He then tried to kiss her, touched her thigh, said he wanted a baby with her and her friend, and invited them back to the hotel.
The next day, when the girl was in her school uniform, he again attempted to kiss her.
District Judge Christopher Williams said the girl’s evidence was consistent and he did not believe she or other witnesses fabricated their accounts.
Kebatu, who had moved to the Bell Hotel about a week before the incident, denied the charges, telling the court he was "not a wild animal".
The asylum seeker said he was a teacher in Ethiopia and claimed the woman had given him her phone number and repeatedly invited him to her home.
His arrest sparked protests outside the hotel, some of which turned violent. The local council obtained a temporary injunction to prevent asylum seekers from being housed there, but it was overturned last week after a government appeal.
Opposition politicians accused prime minister Keir Starmer of prioritising migrants’ rights over those of local residents.
Government data shows that just over 32,000 migrants were housed in hotels across the UK as of the end of June. The government has said it will end the practice before the next election, scheduled for 2029.