United Kingdom

of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

He wants intervention in Syria and Somalia. Will he get his way?...(full article)

In a few days' time, David Cameron will be journeying to Washington to visit Barack Obama, and according to a White House Statement, his visit will "highlight the fundamental impor...(full article)

Barack Obama and his wife Michelle welcome David and Samantha Cameron in Washington this week, and his staff are talking more warmly than ever of Britain....(full article)

Mutual interest still sustains the increasingly fraught Lib Dem-Tory alliance. But Iran could tear them apart....(full article)

As the 30th anniversary of the start of the Falklands War approaches, most Britons believe their country should be cautious in handling its oil exploration operations around the is...(full article)

Most Recent Articles

Britain Must Not Fall for Krugman's Charms - Jeremy Warner, Telegraph

Superstar economist Paul Krugman wants us to change course, but his solutions are simplistic....

Europe Needs a Global Rescue - Gordon Brown, Christian Science Monitor

The G8 summit at Camp David failed to find a plan for economic growth in Europe and to deal with a euro crisis that goes beyond debt. It may seem strange to propose that the worl...

English Is Still Lingua Franca - Gwynne Dyer, Japan Times

The second president of the United States, John Adams, predicted in 1780 that "English will be the most respectable language in the world and the most universally read and spoken i...

Drones, Missiles & Gunships: Welcome to the Olympics! - Dave Zirin, Star

As many as 48,000 security forces. 13,500 troops. Surface-to-air missiles stationed on top of residential apartment buildings. A sonic weapon that disperses crowds by creating h...

We'll Never Know Truth About Lockerbie - Robert Fisk, The Independent

So the old scoundrel has died. Midday Tripoli time, at his home, peacefully, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, after a long struggle with cancer, "bravely borne" no doubt. But "scoundre...

Will Great Britain Survive the Euro Crisis? - Niall Ferguson, Newsweek

Like much of Europe, the U.K. economy now finds itself in a double-dip recession. Last week the Bank of England once again revised its growth forecast downward. Although (mercif...

What Happened to Obama's Asia Pivot? - Leslie Gelb, The Daily Beast

The great bulk of U.S. trade and investments comes to and from Europe and Canada, to say nothing of Japan. For all the economic difficulties of Europe and Japan, America's econom...

The British Monarchy Is Weird, But It Works - Doug Saunders, Globe & Mail

After 60 years seeing her face on the money, on the postage stamps, on the TV screen and in our strangest dreams, we have become so accustomed to her that we hardly ever stop to ...

Don't Blame the Germans - Learn from Them - Andrew Rawnsley, Observer

Other leaders are being hypocritical when they shove all the responsibility for the euro crisis on to Angela Merkel....

Britain Has a Friend in Mitt Romney - Charles Moore, Daily Telegraph

Thirty years ago this coming Monday, British troops began to land at San Carlos Bay in the Falkland Islands. Just over three weeks later, the Argentine forces surrendered to them. ...

British Spending Cuts a Myth - Stephen Glover, Daily Mail

Another week and another slew of hair-raising stories about the devastating effects of draconian cuts. The Government is reported to be considering a further round of reductions in...

Spain Caught Between the Rock and the Euro Crisis - Daily Telegraph

The Spanish snub to the Queen smacks of a government that is anxious to distract public attention from its domestic woes....

Britain Should Leave Euro to Its Fate - Peter Oborne, Daily Telegraph

European leaders were driven by three motives when they embarked upon that ill-fated monetary experiment, the euro. The first was financial: they were set upon the creation of a g...

Will David Cameron Be Laughed Out of Office? - Alex Massie, Foreign Policy

Polls show Cameron's Conservatives trailing Labour by as many as a dozen points; worse still, just 65 percent of 2010's batch of Conservative voters say they would back Cameron's p...

London's Victorian Social Cleansing - James Heartfield, New Geography

Unscrupulous landlords are forcing poorer tenants out of their London homes, freeing them up to rent out to visitors to the Olympics this summer, according to the housing charity ...

Miliband's Challenge to Win over Britain - Mary Riddell, Daily Telegraph

Britain's Got Talent is not thought to feature on the must-watch list of either David Cameron or Ed Miliband. None the less, the triumph of a dog dancing to the theme tune of Missi...

Don't Leave Britain with Europe's Bills - Daily Telegraph

The eurozone countries wish to remain part of a currency union that cannot be sustained without severe fiscal contraction....

Boris Johnson vs. the European Zeitgeist - Chan Akya, Asia Times

Johnson with his characteristic blonde, unruly mop of hair may well be the closest thing to a political voice in Europ...

We Still Don't Really Know David Cameron - Janet Daley, Daily Telegraph

The Prime Minister is certainly not the bluff county dimwit his ill-advised friends portray....

When Will UK Leaders Wake Up to the Eurozone Disaster? - Daily Mail

Like everyone who loves this country, the Mail prays the worst won’t happen, as it still may not. But it is the job of any responsible government to prepare for it. Just hopi...

UK Politics Enter Post-Liberal Era - David Goodhart, Financial Times

Politics in Britain feels stuck. The Conservative party has not won a parliamentary majority since 1992 and last week’s local election results rubbed in its continuing weakne...

Gay Marriage a Needless Fight in the UK - Fraser Nelson, Daily Telegraph

The Prime Minister is in retreat over gay marriage - but he should never have picked the fight to begin with....

Osborne Turning British Cities into Detroit - Simon Jenkins, The Guardian

Britain's economy needs smart growth, not dumb policies that have delivered a double-dip recession....

The Woman Who Could Bring Down Cameron - Peter Jukes, The Daily Beast

What started as a scandal over phone hacking at the News of the World has now become an investigation into what could be an even bigger political scandal....

Pakistan Holds Key to Security at UK Olympics - Con Coughlin, Telegraph

Instead of a military lock-down in London, politicians should focus energies on Islamabad....

I Get the Message, But Reform Takes Time - David Cameron, The Telegraph

My reaction to last week’s local election results is straightforward: I get the message, loud and clear. I know that the familiar excuses – low turnout, mid-term blues – aren...

News Not All Bad for UK Conservatives - Daily Telegraph

To see where things are going wrong, consider the attempt to introduce elected mayors. This was a bold reform with the potential to reinvigorate local government. Yet it was overwh...

Knives Are Out for David Cameron - Donata Huggins, Daily Telegraph

The night of the long knives is coming for David Cameron – or at least so it seems this morning. Junior minister Gerald Howarth said Tory supporters are "gagging" for more Ri...

Ignorance Will Break Up the UK - Martin Kettle, The Guardian

Those of us who wish that the people of this country thought more about their own history, to better understand who they are and take reasoned decisions about their future, can som...

Romney Camp Attacks David Cameron - Tisdall & MacAskill, The Guardian

'You don't take sides in election year', senior aide says of flattering toast David Cameron gave to US president in March...

Why Cameron Must Pay Attention to France - Benedict Brogan, Telegraph

Cameron's austerity drive could be blown off course by the fall of his ally in the Elysee....

Rupert Murdoch: Failing the Fitness Test - The Guardian

Until recently, Britain's political leaders jostled to eat out of Rupert Murdoch's hand. Now he is deemed 'not fit' to run his empire....

Ed Miliband: Britain's Next Prime Minister? - Mary Riddell, The Telegraph

Glory fades. Sooner or later, almost every party leader is seen as a husk who never possessed greatness or who lost it along the way. David Cameron, hurtling from crisis to c...

Britain Adapts to Decline - George Friedman, Stratfor

The British strategy represents a classic case of a nation accepting reversal, retaining autonomy, and accommodating itself to its environment while manipulating it. All the whil...

Beware PR Men Bearing Dictators' Gifts - Nick Cohen, The Observer

From Hungary to Kazakhstan and Putin's Russia, despots see the British as the masters of the black art of spin....

Recession and Sleaze a Toxic Political Combo - The Independent

There is a strong sense of a change in the political weather in Westminster. Between them, the slump back into recession and the Rupert Murdoch saga are a potentially deadly combin...

Britain Is Splintering Along Party Lines - Fraser Nelson, Daily Telegraph

When the local elections are held next month, it could well be that a new picture of Britain starts to emerge. Rather than being one nation, with Tory shires and Labour cities,...

Will Murdochs Bring Down Cameron? - Peter Oborne, Daily Telegraph

Rupert Murdoch presented an impression of almost otherworldly innocence in Court 73 of the Royal Courts of Justice: harmless, cuddly, a bit forgetful for sure, but nevertheless a ...

The Dreaded Double Dip - Daily Telegraph

The political uproar over the Government’s relationship with News International has deflected attention from a development of far greater significance to most people in this ...

Obama's Undiplomacy - Victor Davis Hanson, National Review

The problem is not just that Obama has no knowledge of geography, but that he has none either about history or diplomacy....

Cameron Must Scrap a Tired Old Script - Iain Martin, Standpoint

According to the Blair blueprint, a good-looking young leader and a "time for a change" mantra would deliver Tory victory in 2010. But it didn't. What went wrong? Without realising...

Does David Cameron Have a Plan? - Matthew d'Ancona, Daily Telegraph

At Wednesday’s political Cabinet, the Coalition’s most senior ministers were told by Number 10 officials that the relationship between politicians and public is defined...

Right-Wing Agitators Out to Get David Cameron - Peter Oborne, Telegraph

The Prime Minister is besieged by Conservative critics oblivious to the man on the street....

David Cameron: Charity Case - The Guardian

After a month, the budget is the gift that keeps giving – to the coalition's enemies....

No Alternative to American Leadership - Max Boot, Commentary Magazine

There is no reason we cannot continue to exercise global leadership - and every reason why we must continue to do so. Post-1945 Britain could cede the mantle gracefully to the U....

Time to Take Ed Miliband Seriously? - Matthew Norman, The Independent

The ritual disclaimer that Cameron is too clever to be underestimated begins to look outmoded....

Cameron Cozies Up to Burma - Francis Wade, Asia Times

  YANGON - British Prime Minister David Cameron came bearing gifts to Myanmar on Friday with the announcement his government would push for the suspension of European Union sanct...

Tipping Point from West to Rest Just Passed - Peter Hartcher, Sydney M.H.

It's much easier to see that we're at the end of an old world order than the beginning of a new one....

Any Takers for the Toughest Job in Britain? - Ed Conway, Daily Telegraph

Wanted: a unique candidate for Britain's biggest economics job. Must thrive in high-stress situations. Economics background preferable. Backstabbing and spinning skills helpf...

Britain's Growth Depends on Asia - David Cameron, Daily Telegraph

With the eurozone producing sluggish growth, we simply can’t rely on trade with Europe to generate the jobs and growth we need. We need to look south and east and do a much ...

About United Kingdom

  • Great Britain and Northern Ireland
  • Population: 60,975,000 (22nd)
  • Area Size: 94,526 sq mi (79th)
  • GDP: $2.78 trillion (6th)
  • Currency: Pound Sterling (GBP)
  • Official Language: English
  • Capital City: London
  • Largest City: London

United Kingdom Prosperity Rank: 13

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