United Kingdom

Sir Keir Starmer would be “ready and willing” to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine to enforce any peace deal; it is the first time the Prime Minister has explicitly said he is considering deploying British peacekeepers to the country

176 World War II unexploded bombs were discovered under a children's playground in Wooler, Northumberland, and it is feared that more will be unearthed; it is believed that the area was used as a Home Guard training camp

Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, London, will be demolished almost eight years after the fire that killed 72 people; it will take around two years to dismantle the tower and it will be done in a 'sensitive' manner, the government said

Fraudsters who fail to repay their debts of over £1.000 could be stripped of their driving licences and punished with a driving ban of up to two years, under government plans to crack down on fraud

Railway regulator Transport Focus urged rail companies to adopt a system of 'yellow cards' for passengers travelling without the correct ticket, rather than handing out penalties or prosecution that should only be used in the event of a relapse

London Zoo is about to carry out the census of its over 20.000 individuals from 698 species of animals; the annual survey is expected to take about a week and results will be shared with zoos around the world to help manage global conservation programmes

In his annual Christmas speech, King Charles addressed a personal message of gratitude to the health workers who supported him during his cancer treatment; he called for unity, saying that ethnic and faith diversity is a sign of "strength, not weakness"

So-called puberty-blocking drugs will be banned indefinitely in the country, whereas until a few months ago they were prescribed to trans children and adolescents to delay the puberty period and to orientate their sexual development differently

Many farmers protested for changes to inheritance tax for farms announced in the budget: from April 2026, inherited farm assets worth more than £1 million, previously exempt, would be subject to inheritance tax at 20%, half the normal rate

The coronation of King Charles III last year cost taxpayers £72 million, including £50 million for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and almost £22 million for policing costs, Government figures revealed

Weird weather across the UK has been blamed on an anticyclonic gloom: fog, low clouds and spots of drizzle caused Odiham, a small town in Hampshire where some 4.400 people live, to record just 12 minutes of sunshine in the past 11 days

The new budget bill, the first of the new Labour government, includes a large tax increase, totalling £40 billion revenues, with the specific aim of funding more investment

There will not be an apology over Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade, when King Charles and Sir Keir Starmer visit the Commonwealth summit in Samoa 25-26 October, and a Downing Street spokesperson already ruled out financial reparations