The UK’s King Charles III has welcomed Nigerian President Bola Tinubu at Windsor Castle in the first state visit by the leader of Africa’s most populous nation in nearly four decades.
More than 1,000 soldiers were out in force on Wednesday for the diplomatic show of soft power by the royal family.
With trade between the two countries at a record high, Charles is using the two-day visit to highlight the pair’s deep cultural and commercial links.
Tinubu has made less formal visits to the United Kingdom several times during his tenure, and the two countries remain major partners in trade, aid and defence. London is also home to a large Nigerian diaspora of about 300,000 people.
Nigeria’s presidency said the visit signalled a “renewed chapter” and reflected a shared commitment to “advancing trade and strengthening diplomatic ties”.
King Charles and Queen Camilla greeted the president and his wife in Windsor, west of London, as artillery fired salutes.
Both Nigerian flags and Union Jacks fluttered amid the procession.
The Nigerian president and his wife earlier chatted with heir-to-the-throne Prince William and his wife Catherine, at a hotel in the town.
Calling the visit “historic”, London announced Nigerian companies, including banks, are expanding operations and creating hundreds of jobs in the UK, strengthening it as a global hub for African business.
The party then rode in carriages to the historic Windsor Castle.
Later, the king and queen showed the president and first lady items from the UK’s colonial rule of Nigeria, which existed until 1960. (AlJazeera)
US President Donald Trump on Saturday urged other nations to send ships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, the critical chokepoint for global oil supplies disrupted by the Mideast war.
Trump, who has said the United States will soon start escorting tankers through the strait, posted on Truth Social that “Many countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe.”
The US president added: “Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area.”
Iranian strikes have all but halted maritime traffic in the strait, through which a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally pass. It is just 54 kilometers (34 miles) wide at its narrowest point.
With oil prices spiking, Trump was asked Friday when the US Navy would begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. “It’ll happen soon, very soon,” he said.
In his post on Saturday, Trump asserted that Iran’s military capability had been eliminated but he conceded that it was still able to attack the strait.
“We have already destroyed 100% of Iran’s Military capability, but it’s easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close range missile somewhere along, or in, this Waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are,” he wrote.
As he urged nations to send ships to the strait, he added that “the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water. One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE!” (Channels)
Sir Keir Starmer has defended the government’s approach to the conflict in Iran, saying protecting British nationals is his “number one priority”.
It comes after President Trump criticised the prime minister for refusing to allow the use of UK bases in the initial US-Israel strikes on Saturday, saying he is “no Winston Churchill”.
During Prime Minister’s Questions Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Sir Keir of “asking our allies to do what we should be doing ourselves” by not taking “offensive action” after British bases in Bahrain and Cyprus were attacked.
But the PM said he was not prepared for the UK to join a war without “a lawful basis and a viable, thought-through plan”.
On Sunday the UK agreed to a US request to use British military bases but only for defensive strikes on Iranian missile sites.
However, Trump has responded angrily to Sir Keir’s refusal to be involved in the initial strikes, describing the decision as “shocking” and saying the UK-US relationship was “not what it was”.
Dismissing suggestions the relationship between the two countries had been weakened, Sir Keir said US planes operating out of British bases was “the special relationship in action” not “hanging on to President Trump’s latest words”.
Sir Keir said: “We’re taking action to reduce the threat with planes in the sky in the region intercepting incoming strikes, deploying more capability to Cyprus, and allowing US planes to use UK bases to take out Iran’s capability to strike.
“What I was not prepared to do on Saturday was for the UK to join a war unless I was satisfied there was a lawful basis and a viable, thought-through plan. That remains my position.”
The PM said the government had also been pre-deploying capabilities in the region for a number of weeks, including radar systems, ground-based air defence, counter-drone systems and F35 jets.
He added that wildcat helicopters with anti-drone capabilities would be in Cyprus this week, with a Royal Navy warship, HMS Dragon, also deployed to the region.
However, Badenoch accused the PM of “catching arrows rather than stopping the archer” in his approach.
“I would say to Labour MPs, we are in this war whether they like it or not. What is the prime minister waiting for?” she added.
She pointed out HMS Dragon was still in Portsmouth and the government “should be doing more”.
The Conservative leader also criticised the government for not investing more in defence.
In response, Sir Keir accused the Conservatives of cutting the defence budget, missing Army recruitment targets and leaving forces “hollowed out” when they were in government.
Following PMQs, western officials said HMS Dragon was expected to sail from Portsmouth next week, with the warship currently being loaded with ammunition.
Two Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters, armed with Martlet missiles capable of shooting down drones, are expected to arrive in Cyprus separately and sooner.
A western official said that so far US bombers have not used the British bases of Diego Garcia or RAF Fairford – but said the UK was ready to accept them. The official said he expected them to arrive within the next few days.
Earlier, former Conservative Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he thought the prime minister had “made a big misjudgement” by not allowing the US to use British military bases for offensive strikes on Iran.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that international law was “not settled on this issue” and depended on whether there was an imminent risk of attack from Iran.
Hunt said the Americans had a significant role in defending Europe and in this situation, “to weaken our alliance with the United States was a big mistake”.
“President Trump is not interested in that rules-based order,” Hunt said.
“He’s said so absolutely explicitly. And we have to recognise the brute strength of the American military is something we depend on now in Europe and will depend on for at least a decade.”
Gen Sir Richard Shirreff, a retired British Army officer, said the UK “has got to focus on its interests” because “America has made it clear it’s not going to underwrite European security”.
Sir Richard, Nato’s former deputy supreme allied commander Europe, said it was in Britain’s interest to protect its military bases abroad.
“There is absolutely a case for getting involved,” Sir Richard said. “But I would not get involved in any way, shape or form in an operation where the end-stage is not clear.
“There is clearly no strategy and yet again we have an American president who has launched a war of choice with no clear understanding where this thing is going to end.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday his government was writing to the Commonwealth realms that it would back the removal for former prince Andrew from the line of royal succession.
Albanese said he had been in touch with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the former royal who is being investigated for alleged misconduct in public office, after new revelations of his links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Australia likes being first and we have made sure that everyone knows what our position is and we’ll be writing today to the other realm countries as well, informing them of our position,” Albanese told public broadcaster ABC.
Albanese told reporters that Australians were “disgusted” by the “grave” revelations.
“King Charles has said that the law must now take its full course. There must be a full, fair and proper investigation. And that needs to occur,” he added.
Meanwhile, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s office said it would also back such a move, in a statement to media on Tuesday.
“The bottom line is no one is above the law, and once that investigation is closed, should the UK government decide to remove him from the line of succession, that is something we would support,” Luxon told reporters after the statement was released.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, is the third child of late Queen Elizabeth II.
He is currently eighth in the royal line of succession, behind Prince William; William’s children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis; William’s brother Prince Harry; and Harry’s children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Last week, Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of leaking confidential government documents while in public office. The allegations originate from documents released by the US Department of Justice as part of the so-called Epstein Files.
The UK Police released Mountbatten-Windsor “under investigation” after 11 hours in custody but the arrest itself was unprecedented in modern British history.
Mountbatten Windsor has denied any wrongdoing over his ties to Epstein, having been named by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre in her posthumous memoir, but has not responded to the latest allegations.
In response to the investigation, the British government said it was considering introducing legislation to ensure the former prince could never be king. The Commonwealth realms would also have to consent to the move for a formal removal. (DW)
The British government is considering formally removing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the royal line of succession once the police investigation into allegations of misconduct in public office has concluded, a source familiar with the deliberations told NBC News.
Any such move would require an act of Parliament, a lengthy and politically uncertain process that would also likely have to be approved by other Commonwealth countries, such as Canada and Australia, where the British monarch is the head of state.
The former Prince Andrew became the first British royal in centuries to be arrested Thursday. He was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and released “under investigation” hours later, meaning he has been neither charged nor exonerated.
The Thames Valley Police force earlier this month said it was looking into a claim that the former prince, while serving as the United Kingdom’s trade envoy in 2010, had shared confidential documents with the late convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Mountbatten-Windsor has previously denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein but has made no comment on his arrest this week or allegations arising from the recent release of Epstein files.
Previously, the controversy swirling around Mountbatten-Windsor centered on the accusations of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who alleged that Epstein trafficked her to his powerful friends, including the former prince. In 2022, the royal reached a settlement in a sexual assault case brought by Giuffre for an undisclosed amount without admitting any wrongdoing. Mountbatten-Windsor has denied ever having met Guiffre, who died by suicide last year.
Despite being stripped of his remaining royal titles last year, Mountbatten-Windsor remains eighth in line to succeed his brother King Charles III, though it is highly unlikely he would ever be crowned.
At birth, he was second in line to succeed his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, behind Charles, but he has moved steadily down the line as Charles’ own family has grown.
Mountbatten-Windsor is now behind Prince William and his three children, as well as Prince Harry and his two children.
In October, amid a renewed storm of controversy over Mountbatten-Windsor’s friendship with Epstein, Charles stripped his brother of his princely title and ordered him to leave his Windsor residence, the Royal Lodge.
However, no action was taken to remove him from the royal line of succession, and Buckingham Palace also did not take other steps, such as seeking the formal abolition of Mountbatten-Windsor’s Duke of York title, that would have required cooperation from British lawmakers.
At the time, the palace cited concerns about taking up parliamentary time on the issue.
A poll by YouGov on Friday found 82% of Britons now believe that Mountbatten-Windsor should be removed from the line of succession.
A move to exclude a named royal from the line of succession is without precedent in modern times, with royal rule continuing largely unaltered since the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936.
Reforms to royal succession were passed in 2013 to give male and female royals an equal right to the throne in future, ending centuries of male-preference primogeniture. The reforms also abolished centuries-old rules that disqualified royals who married a Catholic from the line of succession. (NBC)
Nigerian travellers to the United Kingdom will begin receiving electronic visas instead of physical visa stickers from February 25, 2026.
The announcement was made in a statement on Monday by the Senior Communications Officer at the British High Commission in Abuja, Onyinye Madu.
“From 25 February 2026, all Nigerian nationals applying for a UK Visit visa will receive an eVisa, rather than a vignette (sticker) in their passports,” the statement said.
Under the new system, the commission said successful applicants will access their visa electronically through a UK Visas and Immigration account, marking a shift toward a fully digital visa process.
It explained that the requirements for Nigerian applicants remain unchanged, saying “Travellers will continue to apply online, attend a Visa Application Centre to provide biometric information, and meet all existing eligibility criteria.”
The only change, it noted, is the format in which the visa is issued, saying that instead of a physical sticker, applicants will receive a secure digital record of their immigration status.
It added that Nigerians who already hold valid vignette stickers do not need to take any action, as their physical visas will remain valid until they expire or require replacement.
Highlighting the benefits of the transition, the commission stated, “The move to eVisas brings a number of benefits for Nigerian travellers. Passports will be returned more quickly, and travellers can manage their immigration status online at any time, from any location. The digital format offers stronger security as eVisas cannot be lost, stolen, or tampered with.”
Also commenting on the development, the British Deputy High Commissioner in Abuja, Gill Lever, said the change would simplify the process for travellers.
“We are committed to making it easier for Nigerians to travel to the UK. This move to digital visas will streamline a key part of the visa process, making it more secure while reducing dependence on paper documents. We look forward to continuing to welcome Nigerian visitors, students and workers to the UK,” she said.
According to the statement, once a visa application is approved, applicants will be required to create a free UKVI account to access their eVisa. (Punch)
New Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior has been convicted of speeding after fog delayed his flight back to the UK, where he was due to complete a speed awareness course.
Rosenior admitted being behind the wheel of the vehicle, which had been travelling at 36mph in a 30mph zone in Rykneld Road, Littleover, Derbyshire, at 11.41am on 7 July.
He was offered the chance to avoid a criminal prosecution by completing a speed awareness course, but did not turn up to the session, which had been arranged.
Rosenior explained, in a note to Derby Magistrates’ Court he “had to stay another night and be on a plane the next day during the time of the course”.
He added: “Unfortunately, the course could not be fulfilled due to unforeseen circumstances. Understandably, due to circumstances, I have to accept the situation as is.”
Rosenior was convicted at a single justice procedure hearing on 2 January, with a magistrate ordering him to pay out a total of £1,052 in fines, costs, and court fees.
The former Strasbourg boss was appointed as head coach on Tuesday following Enzo Maresca’s exit.
London-born Rosenior, 41, has admitted his new position at the Premier Leagueclub represents a significant step up from his previous job in France.
“The reality is Strasbourg is not on the level as Chelsea,” he said at press conference at the French club – also owned by Chelsea’s parent company BlueCo.
“There are certain clubs you just cannot just turn down. I hope the [Strasbourg] fans can see that.”
Rosenior, who played in England for 16 years, began his managerial career at Derby County – where he got the top job on an interim basis.
His first permanent position was at Hull City, where he lasted for 18 months and took the Championship to the brink of the play-offs before being sacked by the owner who said the pair had a difference in footballing philosophy.
Rosenior, who has been given a six-and-a-half year contract at Chelsea, said on Tuesday that managing a “world-class” club was “something I have always dreamed of”.
“I am looking forward to the challenge,” he said. “If I didn’t think I was ready, I wouldn’t have accepted it.
Chelsea said that the club’s new head coach had “signed a contract with the club that will take him through to 2032”.
Rosenior becomes Chelsea’s fourth permanent boss since owners BlueCo took control in 2022.
Maresca was dismissed on New Year’s Day, leaving abruptly following a deterioration in his relationship with bosses.
It also followed a disappointing run of results – one win from the last seven Premier League games – that left the club 15 points adrift of leaders Arsenal.
Maresca is understood to have stepped down because he felt his position was untenable, while Chelsea were already considering sacking the head coach due to poor results, his comments in the media, disagreements with the medical team and reports linking him with other clubs. (SkyNews)
MTV shut down five of its music channels in the United Kingdom.
The television channel officially stopped broadcasting on its MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live channels in the country on Wednesday, Dec. 31, according to multiple reports, after reports of the move first surfaced in October. 24-hour music channels in other countries are also said to be off-air.
BBC journalist Jono Read captured MTV Music’s final moments in an X post on Wednesday. The station ended its run with The Buggles’ 1979 single “Video Killed the Radio Star” – the first video ever to air on MTV – followed by a sign-off animation. At the bottom, a news ticker read: “MTV Music is now closed. Continue watching over at MTV.”
USA TODAY has reached out to MTV for comment.
The flagship U.K. station MTV HD remains on air, and its American MTV channels – including MTV, MTV2, MTV Live, MTV Classic and MTV Tres – are unaffected.
Four decades after the revolutionary station aired music videos 24/7, MTV’s decision is a further sign of the times. MTV’s flagship channel began increasingly circulating reality-show-heavy programming in the 2000s with series like “The Real World,” “Teen Mom” and “Jersey Shore.” The network’s sister channels feature more music-centered content, though with significantly less reach, distribution and revenue.
In 2023, MTV shuttered its music news division and website, MTV News. Its campus-centered offshoot, MTVU, ceased airing at universities in 2018, and currently airs only as a digital cable channel.
MTV changed the television landscape with its launch in 1981, playing music around the clock and related programming guided by video jockeys, or VJs, and was influential in the growth of the music video as an artistic medium. The channel also evolved in the genres of music videos it promoted. MTV moved from rock to pop and R&B – and later, hip-hop – after it broke its own color barrier in the 1980s with the promotion of Michael Jackson’s music videos for “Billie Jean” and “Thriller.” (USAToday)
The Vatican has announced that Richard Moth will be the new Archbishop of Westminster, making him the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
He succeeds Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who has held the role since 2009 and has stepped down aged 80.
For the past 10 years Richard Moth has been Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, and before that served as Bishop of the Forces.
As Archbishop of Westminster he will become president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and lead an estimated four million Catholics.
Cardinal Nichols reached retirement age when he was 75, but was asked to stay on by Pope Francis. In May he took part in the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.
The search for a replacement for Cardinal Nichols was led by the Apostolic Nuncio, or papal ambassador to the UK, who presented a list of potential candidates to Pope Leo.
Earlier this week, Archbishop Moth released a joint statement calling for empathy for “those who come to this country for their safety”, reminding Catholics that Jesus’s family fled to Egypt as refugees.
He has been one of the bishops leading the Church’s response to social justice issues in the UK, including praising the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap.
Speaking at a news conference on Friday, outgoing Cardinal Nichols said his successor would bring “experience and practical wisdom to the life of the diocese”.
Archbishop Moth said: “My first task here is to get to know everybody… to get to know priests and people, to get to know schools, to get to know the life of this wonderful diocese here in Westminster”.
He said his focus had “consistently been in the area of social justice”, adding he had a “particular concern for prisons”.
Archbishop Moth will face the challenge of declining numbers of people attending churches nationally, though there is growth in some churches with immigrant Catholics.
In response to the growing use of Christian symbols at, for example, rallies organised by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson, Bishop Moth has talked of his concern.
Last weekend, Robinson held an event in London saying he wanted to “reclaim” the country’s heritage and Christian identity.
“We are concerned about the tensions that are growing in society and the desire by some groups to sow seeds of division within our communities. This does not reflect the spirit or message of Christmas,” Bishop Moth said in a statement with the Archbishop of Birmingham.
The Catholic Church has been heavily involved in providing assistance to those who have suffered in the cost of living crisis.
As archbishop, Richard Moth will also lead the Church’s constant challenge of dealing with safeguarding issues.
In 2020, a wide-ranging inquiry into child sexual abuse found that between 1970 and 2015 the Catholic Church in England and Wales received more than 3,000 complaints of child sexual abuse against more than 900 individuals connected to the Church.
In fact, the leadership of Archbishop Moth’s predecessor, Cardinal Nichols, was criticised in the inquiry report, which said he cared more about the impact of abuse on the Church’s reputation than on the victims.
At the time, Cardinal Nichols apologised and said he accepted the report, adding: “That so many suffered is a terrible shame with which I must live and from which I must learn.”
Cardinal Nichols retires having led the Church in England and Wales for 16 years, during which it faced enormous change.
He is the son of two teachers and was born in Crosby. The lifelong Liverpool FC fan took up his first role as a priest in Wigan.
In 2010, he welcomed Pope Benedict XVI to England on an official visit. (BBC)
Tourists from dozens of countries including the UK could be asked to provide a five-year social media history as a condition of entry to the United States, under a new proposal unveiled by American officials.
The new condition would affect people from dozens of countries who are eligible to visit the US for 90 days without a visa, as long as they have filled out an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) form.
Since returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump has moved to toughen US borders more generally – citing national security as a reason.
Analysts say the new plan could pose an obstacle to potential visitors, or harm their digital rights.
Asked whether the proposal could lead to a steep drop-off in tourism to the US, Trump said he was not concerned.
“No. We’re doing so well,” the president said on Wednesday.
“We just want people to come over here, and safe. We want safety. We want security.
“We want to make sure we’re not letting the wrong people come enter our country.”
The US expects a major influx of foreign tourists next year, as it hosts the men’s football World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico, and for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The proposal document was filed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its component agency Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
It was published in the Federal Register, the official journal of the US government.
The proposal says “the data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last 5 years”, without giving further details of which specific information will be required.
The existing ESTA requires a comparatively limited amount of information from travellers, as well as a one-off payment of $40 (£30). It is accessible to citizens of about 40 countries – including the UK, Ireland, France, Australia and Japan – and allows them to visit the US multiple times during a two-year period.
As well as the collection of social media information, the new document proposes the gathering of an applicant’s telephone numbers and email addresses used over the last five and 10 years respectively, and more information about their family members.
The text cites an executive order from Trump in January, titled “Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats”.
The new proposal regarding ESTA data collection for tourists invites views from the public for 60 days.
“Nothing has changed on this front for those coming to the United States,” a spokesperson for CBP said in a statement.
“This is not a final rule, it is simply the first step in starting a discussion to have new policy options to keep the American people safe.”
Sophia Cope, of digital rights organisation the Electronic Frontier Foundation, criticised the plan, telling the New York Times it could “exacerbate civil liberties harms”.
Meanwhile, immigration law practice Fragomen suggested there could be practical impacts as applicants could face longer waits for ESTA approvals. (BBC)
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