British Prime Minister David Cameron wants a new kind of European Union – or, at the very least, a new relationship between Britain and the EU, where there will be a “two-way flow,” powers flowing not just from nations states to Brussels but the reverse too. He is all set to unveil his plans at a speech in the Netherlands on Friday, and Indian diplomats would do well to grab a seat. Read more

According to a 2012 UK Home Office report, India is among 10 countries that are the main sources of illegal immigration to Britain. The report, which uses the term ‘irregular’ rather than ‘illegal’, says that 5,895 Indian nationals were ordered to leave the UK in 2010, the year the current coalition government took control. Read more

The debate over immigrant students is heating up in Britain, following the publication of the latest immigration figures that show a fall in the number of student visas. Overseas students from India, China and other countries from outside the European Union has become a subject of debate because they are included in overall immigration figures. Read more

In the aftermath of London 2012 Olympics success, Prime Minister David Cameron dismissed Indian dance as not-physical education. Sports lessons in schools were being filled with “Indian dance or whatever,” he said – activities that “you and I wouldn’t think of as sport.” Read more

If the opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games was all about might, London 2012 showcased what is right: health for all, deaf children singing the national anthem, seven young people lighting the flame, 500 construction workers giving a guard of honour to the Olympic torch carrier, Suffragettes, women athletes and nursing to name only a few. Read more

The news for Indian and other foreign students wishing to study in Britain’s excellent universities is not getting any better. This, reportedly, is because the government needs to make cuts in the number of foreign students if it is to fulfill its pledge to cut immigration numbers to “tens of thousands, not hundreds of thousands.” Read more

The Indian Parliament’s standing committee on personnel, public grievances, law and justice is scheduled to discuss the Lokpal Bill that is designed to combat widespread corruption affecting every conceivable area of public and personal life. Read more

Lord Tim McNully, minister of state in the UK’s justice ministry, briefed a power-packed Indian business team at London’s Chatham House last week about the UK’s new anti-bribery law, which has already been dubbed the world’s toughest and “most draconian.” Read more