LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) – Britain and France raised the pressure on other European Union members on Tuesday to lift a ban on supplying arms to Syria, where anti-government rebels are outgunned by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

Britain warned that it could break with the embargo altogether, which requires unanimous agreement by the EU’s 27 members to take effect, while France hinted it would push to get the bloc to agree to amend the ban to allow the supply of arms.

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain on Wednesday dramatically expanded the scale and scope of the aid it is giving the Syrian opposition and pledged to supply armored vehicles and chemical weapons testing kits to anti-government rebels.

In his strongest comments yet on the conflict in Syria, Foreign Minister William Hague said international policy on Syria had been an “abject failure”, saying the chances of an immediate solution to the two-year crisis were slim.

LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) – A referendum on the fate of the
Falkland Islands is a publicity stunt with no legal status,
Argentina’s ambassador to Britain said on Monday, warning that
oil exploitation around the territory was impossible without
better regional ties.

The inhabitants of the islands, some 300 miles (480 km) off
the Argentine coast and which Buenos Aires calls “Las Malvinas”,
are due to take part in a referendum on March 10-11 to find if
they want to remain British.

LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) – Dubbed the “entente frugale” by wags and criticized by some as a dangerous dilution of military sovereignty, Franco-British defense cooperation is nonetheless growing stronger.

Shrinking budgets, a less indulgent United States and Europe’s diminishing military clout in the world have bolstered the two countries’ determination to work together.

LONDON (Reuters) – The longer Syria’s conflict goes on, the greater the risk it will breed a new generation of battle-hardened militants who will pose a threat to Britain and other countries in Europe, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Thursday.

Hague aimed his comments at Russia, which has had its own problems with attacks by Islamist militants, and has along with China repeatedly blocked U.N. Security Council action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

LONDON (Reuters) – Turkey is committed to joining the European Union despite mounting frustration over decades of talks on the issue, but has little appetite for adopting the euro currency, a senior Turkish official said on Wednesday.

In a speech in London, Turkey’s chief negotiator on EU accession said it was time the EU made up its mind on whether Turkey can join the 27-member bloc, and said it should be allowed in even if some countries object.

LONDON (Reuters) – The government said on Friday crime lay behind some cases of horsemeat finding its way into “beef” products on supermarket shelves, amid a growing scandal in a country where many regard the idea of eating horse with horror.

Investigations into suppliers have been launched in recent weeks after the revelation that beef products sold to companies including Britain’s biggest grocer Tesco and fast-food chain Burger King contained horsemeat.

LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Britain said on Friday crime lay
behind some cases of horsemeat finding its way into “beef”
products on supermarket shelves, amid a growing scandal in a
country where many regard the idea of eating horse with horror.

Investigations into suppliers have been launched in recent
weeks after the revelation that beef products sold to companies
including Britain’s biggest grocer Tesco and fast-food
chain Burger King contained horsemeat.

LONDON (Reuters) – Argentina stepped up its row with Britain over the Falklands on Wednesday with its foreign minister thanking God for the decline of the British Empire and vowing to prosecute oil firms exploring off the remote South Atlantic islands.

In a defiant news conference, held in London but conducted in Spanish, Hector Timerman called Britain the “greatest colonial empire from the 19th century … that thank God has been defeated worldwide”.

LONDON (Reuters) – Argentina accused Britain on Tuesday of promoting Israeli-type settlement on occupied land in the Falkland Islands, while British parliamentarians said Buenos Aires was using “megaphone diplomacy” to assert its claims to the islands.

A bid to build confidence and bolster trade between Britain and Argentina in London’s parliament descended into acrimony as British lawmakers and Argentinian Foreign Minister Hector Timerman traded barbs over the remote South Atlantic islands.