Politics

Britain's Conservative government raised the minimum wage that is pocketed by more than a million people Friday, trumpeting it as a transformative step for the economy but winning few plaudits from employers or austerity-weary unions.

Affecting between 1.3 million and 1.8 million people according to varying estimates, the minimum gross salary for all British workers aged over 25 climbed by 7.5 percent to £7.20 ($10.36, 9.10 euros) an hour as of April 1, a pay boost that far outstrips inflation.

The pay rise, first announced by Prime Minister David Cameron's government last July, represents a complete about-turn for the Conservative party, which opposed the introduction of the minimum wage in 1999 when then prime minister Tony Blair's Labour was in power.

"The National Living Wage will play a central role in moving Britain to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare economy," British finance minister George Osborne said as the pay boost came into effect.

"It will also mark the end of the gender pay gap for some of our lowest paid and hardest working people."

The opposition Labour party criticised the policy as a "cruel sleight of hand", however, pointing to the government's enactment of sharp cutbacks in welfare spending.

- Stagnant wage growth -

Other nations, too, have raised minimum wages in recent years to address stagnant wage growth and inequality between rich and poor.

France lifted the minimum wage at the start of this year to almost 9.70 euros an hour.

Germany launched a minimum wage one year earlier at 8.50 euros, where it remains.

And in the United States, California plans to raise the pre-tax minimum wage to $15 per hour (13.28 euros) in a move which might be followed by other US states.

In Britain, where unemployment is relatively low at around 5.0 percent, large wage inequalities persist and London School of Economics professor Alan Manning described the new living wage as "more symbolic" than anything else.

"It's significant but I don't think one should exaggerate its significance," he told AFP.

Britain will team up with the United States and European partners to exchange its nuclear waste for material to be used in the fight against cancer, Prime Minister David Cameron will announce Thursday.

The British leader is expected to unveil the plan at a two-day international summit in Washington, beginning Thursday, aimed at ensuring that nuclear material in the world's roughly 1,000 atomic facilities is secured.

The deal will see Britain send waste from nuclear facilities in Scotland for processing in US reactors in the "largest-ever movement of highly-enriched uranium out of the UK," according to a British government source.

In exchange, the US will send uranium for use in reactors in the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).

Indian steel giant Tata Steel on Wednesday put its British business up for sale, placing thousands of jobs at risk and striking a heavy blow to the crisis-hit steel industry.

Tata said in a statement that trading conditions had "rapidly deteriorated" in Britain and Europe due to a global oversupply of steel, a "significant increase" in cheaper imports into Europe, weak domestic demand, high costs and currency volatility.

"These factors are likely to continue into the future and have significantly impacted the long term competitive position of the UK operations," read the statement issued in Mumbai.

The company's European arm Tata Steel Europe will now "explore all options for portfolio restructuring including the potential divestment of Tata Steel UK, in whole or in parts" -- including Britain's biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in Wales.

"Given the severity of the funding requirement in the foreseeable future, the Tata Steel Europe board will be advised to evaluate and implement the most feasible option in a time-bound manner," it said.

Tributes were paid to a Muslim shopkeeper killed in what police described as a "religiously prejudiced" attack, as a Muslim suspect remained in custody.

Asad Shah, 40, died after being found with serious injuries outside his shop in Glasgow on Thursday evening.

He was believed to be a member of the minority Ahmadi Muslim community, and media reports said he was originally from Pakistan.

Police arrested a 32-year-old Muslim man on Friday, and a spokeswoman said: "A full investigation is underway to establish the full circumstances surrounding the death which is being treated as religiously prejudiced."

Cambridge ended a run of three straight defeats by Oxford with victory in the 162nd edition of the University Boat Race in London on Saturday.

The heavier and more experienced crew, Cambridge were the favourites for this year's renewal on the 4 miles, 374 yards (6.8 km) course between Putney and Mortlake on the River Thames.

Victory saw the Light Blues extend their overall lead in a race first run in 1829 to 82 wins to 79.

On a day when rough water had played havoc with the preceding women's race, Cambridge were ahead almost from the start and although Oxford hung on grimly they never looked at any stage as if they would overtake their ancient rivals in this latest contest between England's two oldest universities.

Cambridge, who won the toss, had the early advantage of the Surrey bend in their favour were sufficiently far ahead of the Dark Blues to make it across to the safety of the Middlesex riverbank in increasingly choppy water.

Britain's press regulator on Saturday censured Rupert Murdoch's The Sun tabloid for a "significantly misleading" story claiming one in five British Muslims sympathise with jihadist fighters.

The ruling on the front-page story from November comes amid heightened community tensions following the Brussels attacks this week claimed by the Islamic State group, which left 31 people dead.

The mass-selling daily claimed an exclusive poll revealed "1 in 5 Brit Muslims' sympathy for jihadis", and published a picture of Mohammed Emwazi, the British IS executioner known as Jihadi John, alongside the shock headline.

The story generated more than 3,000 complaints to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), most of them challenging the coverage on the grounds of accuracy.

The final print edition of The Independent newspaper went on sale Saturday, ending its 30-year appearance on British newsstands with an exclusive on an assassination plot against a former Saudi king.

A poignant wrap-around front page carried the words "STOP PRESS" in red lettering on a white background, followed by the words "Read all about it in this, our final print edition - 1986- 2016".

The newspaper will now be available online only, with its final editorial claiming history would be the judge of its "bold transition....as an example for other newspapers around the world to follow".

In its final front-page exclusive, the "Indy" reported that British-based dissident Mohammed al-Massari was being pursued through the courts over a plot ordered by former Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi to assassinate Saudi king Abdullah.

Journalists earlier posted footage online of the team "banging ourselves out" -- an old tradition of banging the desks to mark the departure of a colleague.

"Today the presses have stopped, the ink is dry and the paper will soon crinkle no more," it said.

"But as one chapter closes, another opens, and the spirit of The Independent will flourish still."

Amnesty on Tuesday urged Washington and London to halt arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia, which is leading a military coalition against rebels in Yemen, for the sake of saving civilian lives.

In a statement released one year into the Saudi-led intervention and titled "Reckless arms flows decimate civilian lives," the rights watchdog urged the two Western powers and other states to "halt all transfers of arms for use in the Yemen conflict".

"Saudi Arabia’s international partners have added fuel to the fire, flooding the region with arms despite the mounting evidence that such weaponry has facilitated appalling crimes and the clear risk that new supplies could be used for serious violations," said James Lynch, Amnesty International's regional deputy director.

Amnesty said that Washington and London, the largest arms suppliers to Saudi Arabia, "have continued to allow transfers of the type of arms that have been used to commit and facilitate serious abuses, generating a humanitarian crisis on an unprecedented scale."

London's Gatwick airport stepped up security on Tuesday after a string of explosions in Brussels as British Prime Minister David Cameron prepared to hold an emergency cabinet meeting on the attacks.

"As a result of the terrible incidents in Brussels, we have increased our security presence and patrols around the airport," the airport said in a statement.

Cameron earlier said on Twitter he was "shocked and concerned" by the events in Brussels. "I will be chairing a COBRA meeting on the events in Brussels later this morning," Cameron said.

A judge at England's High Court on Monday pleaded with US pop megastar Madonna and her British film director ex-husband to resolve a legal dispute over their son Rocco amicably.

Alistair MacDonald said it would be a "very great tragedy" if any more of the 15-year-old's childhood was lost in the spat between Madonna and Guy Ritchie over where he should live.

Judges have heard that Rocco had remained in London with his father after a visit in early December. Madonna wants the teenager to return to live with her in the State of New York.

MacDonald made his plea for peace after ruling that the proceedings in the English courts could be halted. Litigation is also under way in New York.

"At the root of these proceedings... is a temporary breakdown in trust," the judge said.

"I renew, one final time, my plea for the parents to seek, and to find, an amicable resolution to the dispute between them. Because agreement is not possible today does not mean that agreement will not be possible tomorrow.

"The boy very quickly becomes the man. It would be a very great tragedy for Rocco if any more of the precious and fast receding days of his childhood were to be taken up by this dispute.

"Far better for each of his parents to spend that time enjoying, in turn, the company of the mature, articulate and reflective young man who is their son and who is a very great credit to them both."