British and Spanish PMs agree Gibraltar deal unlocks 'huge opportunity'
LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a phone call with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, agreed that a deal on the status of Gibraltar unlocked the opportunity for both countries to advance bilateral relationship, Starmer's office said on Wednesday.
"Prime Minister Sánchez congratulated the Prime Minister on his leadership," a Downing Street spokesperson said.
"Both leaders also agreed that this development unlocks huge opportunity to advance the bilateral relationship between the UK and Spain, on behalf of the British and Spanish people."
Starmer also spoke to Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo, the spokesperson said, adding that they both agreed the agreement would allow them to "plan for the long-term while protecting British sovereignty."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
30 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Fiery Air India crash kills 241 people aboard, leaving 1 survivor, airline says
Indian Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed that he met the sole survivor at the hospital. A doctor said he had examined the survivor, whom he identified as Vishwashkumar Ramesh. 'He was disoriented with multiple injuries all over his body,' Dr. Dhaval Gameti told The Associated Press. 'But he seems to be out of danger.' Advertisement Another medic said Ramesh told him that immediately after the plane took off, it began descending and suddenly split in two, throwing him out before a loud explosion. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Black smoke billowed from the site where the plane crashed near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city of more than 5 million and the capital of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state. Firefighters doused the smoking wreckage of the plane, which would have been fully loaded with fuel shortly after takeoff, and adjacent multistory buildings with water. Charred bodies lay on the ground and parts of the fuselage were scattered around the site. Indian army teams were assisting civil authorities to clear debris and help treat the injured. Advertisement A video on social media showed the jet slowly descending as if it were landing. As soon as it disappeared from view behind rows of houses, a giant fireball filled the sky. The Associated Press was able to verify the video by matching up the flight path of the plane from the runway with the crash site and the nearby residential area. At the crash site, the tail cone of the aircraft, with its damaged stabilizer fins still attached, was lodged near the top of one of the buildings. Modi called the crash 'heartbreaking beyond words' and said 'my thoughts are with everyone affected.' Sambit Patra, a lawmaker from Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, said Gujarat's former chief minister, Vijay Rupani, was among the dead. Divyansh Singh, vice president of the Federation of All India Medical Association, said at least five students from the medical college were killed on the ground and 50 others were injured. Singh said some of them were in critical condition and many people are 'feared buried in the debris.' Air India confirmed in a statement posted on X that 229 passengers and 12 crew members were killed in the crash. The only survivor was a British national of Indian origin. The flight bound for London Gatwick Airport had 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian aboard. 'Our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of all those affected, their families and loved ones,' the airline said. This is the first crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. Boeing said it was 'working to gather more information.' India's aviation regulatory body said the aircraft gave a mayday call, signaling an emergency, but then did not respond to the calls made by the airport traffic control. Advertisement Aviation consultant John M. Cox, the CEO of Safety Operating Systems, told the AP from Los Angeles that while the first images of the crash were poor, it appeared the aircraft had its nose up and was not climbing, which is one of the things that investigators would look at. 'The 787 has very extensive flight data monitoring — the parameters on the flight data recorder are in the thousands — so once we get that recorder, they'll be able to know pretty quickly what happened,' he said. The wide-body, twin-engine aircraft was introduced in 2009, and more than 1,000 have been delivered to dozens of airlines, according to the flightradar24 website. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government was in constant contact with Indian authorities and encouraged loved ones of passengers on the Air India flight to contact the foreign office. 'Our hearts and our thoughts are absolutely with the friends and families of all those affected who are going to be absolutely devastated by this awful news,' Starmer said. British Cabinet minister Lucy Powell said the government will provide 'all the support that it can' to those affected by the crash. Britain has very close ties with India. There were nearly 1.9 million people in the country of Indian descent, according to the 2021 UK census. Condolences also poured in from King Charles III, who said he and his wife, Queen Camilla, were 'desperately shocked' by the crash. 'Our special prayers and deepest possible sympathy are with the families and friends of all those affected by this appallingly tragic incident across so many nations,' he said in a statement. Advertisement The last major passenger plane crash in India was in 2020, when an Air India Express Boeing-737 skidded off a hilltop runway in southern India, killing 21 people. The worst air disaster in India was on Nov. 12, 1996, when a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight collided midair with a Kazakhstan Airlines Flight near Charki Dadri in Haryana state, killing all 349 people on board the two planes. Boeing has been in recovery mode for more than six years after Lion Air Flight 610, a Boeing 737 Max 8, plunged into the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia minutes after takeoff from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board. Five months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 Max 8, crashed after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing 157 passengers and crew members.
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US sees no immediate reason to ground Boeing 787 after Air India crash
By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. officials said on Thursday they have not seen any immediate safety data that would require halting Boeing 787 flights after a fatal Air India accident killed over 240 people. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Acting Federal Aviation Administration head Chris Rocheleau made the comments at a news conference and said they had seen videos of the crash in India. Duffy said he had spoken to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy. An NTSB and FAA team, with support from Boeing and engine manufacturer GE Aerospace, was going to India, Duffy said. "They have to get on the ground and take a look. But again right now it'd be way too premature," Duffy said. "People are looking at videos and trying to assess what happened, which is never a strong, smart way to make decisions on what took place." Duffy said the FAA was reviewing information with Boeing and GE as part of the investigation into the crash. Duffy also emphasized the U.S. government "will not hesitate to implement any safety recommendations that may arise. We will follow the facts and put safety first." Rocheleau said, "As we proceed down this road with the investigation itself, if there's any information that becomes available to us regarding any risk, we will mitigate those risks." Duffy said the FAA is "prepared to send additional resources to get the data we need to ensure the safety of the flying public."
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Anti-Israel ringleader Mahmoud Khalil posts $1 bond after federal judge rules Trump admin can't detain him
Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University anti-Israel ringleader, has posted bond after the Trump administration was temporarily blocked from deporting him amid their continued effort to hold him on "foreign policy" grounds. Khalil posted his $1 bond on Thursday afternoon. He has not been released. The government has until 9:30 a.m. on Friday to appeal the decision before Khalil must be released. The move came after U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz sided with Khalil on Wednesday, writing: "The government cannot claim an interest in enforcing what appears to be an unconstitutional law." Federal Judge Sides With Anti-israel Ringleader Mahmoud Khalil, Halts Trump Administratino's Deportation Bid Anti-israel Ringleader Mahmoud Khalil's Free Speech Lawsuit Against Us Government Must Be Heard: Judge Read On The Fox News App The ruling was a significant legal setback for the administration's efforts to deport Khalil, who has been held at a detention facility in Louisiana following his involvement in anti-Israel demonstrations at Columbia University. The court's decision will remain on hold until Friday morning, giving the government time to appeal. Khalil, a green card holder, was arrested after leading student protests on the Ivy League campus. He has argued that his free speech rights were being "eroded" by the Trump administration. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) attorneys have argued that Khalil's free speech claims were a "red herring," saying that the 30-year-old lied on his visa applications. Federal Judge Says Attempted Deportation Of Anti-israel Ringleader Mahmoud Khalil May Be Unconstitutional Khalil, they said, willfully failed to disclose his employment with the Syrian office in the British Embassy in Beirut when he applied for permanent U.S. residency. The agency also accused Khalil of failing to disclose his work with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and membership in Columbia University Apartheid Divest. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has cited a provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 to justify Khalil's removal from the U.S. The provision allows the Secretary of State to deport noncitizens if the secretary determines their presence in the U.S. "would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences." Rubio accused Khalil of participating in "antisemitic protests and disruptive activities, which foster a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States." "Condoning antisemitic conduct and disruptive protests in the United States would severely undermine that significant foreign policy objective," Rubio wrote. Khalil has Algerian citizenship through his mother, but was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in article source: Anti-Israel ringleader Mahmoud Khalil posts $1 bond after federal judge rules Trump admin can't detain him
