UNITED KINGDOM

A man threw petrol bombs attached to fireworks at a centre for processing migrants in the southern English port of Dover on Sunday and then killed himself, a Reuters photographer said.

India and its former colonial ruler have been negotiating for around 18 months on a trade deal.

The crime rate in England and Wales has hit an all-time high, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS)

It has been without a functioning government since February, after the pro-UK Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) collapsed the executive over its staunch opposition to post-Brexit trade rules there.

Rishi Sunak is set to become Britain's first prime minister of colour on Tuesday, an achievement that many, particularly in the Asian community, held up as a cultural milestone standing out above the economic chaos and political tumult.

Johnson had hinted when resigning in July that he would likely attempt a second stint in office -- though even his allies would have thought it unlikely so soon.

Investors welcomed Rishi Sunak as Britain's new prime minister on Monday, but they're likely to give him little leeway to diverge from spending restraint and tax rises after his predecessor shook their faith in the Conservative party's management of the economy.

Earlier Sunday, Sunak formally announced he was standing for the top job, just weeks after having failed in a first attempt.

Fabulously rich from his pre-politics career in finance, he has been mocked as out of touch with Britons struggling with decades-high inflation.

Johnson cut short a luxury stay in the Dominican Republic to join the seemingly three-way tussle, with allies saying he was "up for it."

Britain's third female prime minister beat Johnson's former finance chief Rishi Sunak for the top job on a platform of sweeping tax cuts that won over the Tory rank-and-file.

The crisis-hit PM, elected Conservative leader just six weeks ago on a tax-slashing platform, announced her resignation Thursday.

British banks are bracing for a potential tax hit to their profits as the government scrambles to plug an estimated 40 billion pound ($45 billion) hole in its finances.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss's insistence that she would not quit after sparking a financial crisis was met with howls of laughter, incredulity and shouts of "resign, resign" as she spoke in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Britain told China's Charge d'Affaires in London that the right to peaceful protest must be respected, after he was summoned to explain an incident in which a protester was seen being pulled into the grounds of a Chinese consulate and beaten.

British company owners are pulling investments as a crisis triggered in Westminster pushes up borrowing costs and hits confidence in an economy once seen by businesses as a haven of stability.

Sterling rallied 1.1 percent to $1.1293 ahead of Jeremy Hunt's fiscal announcement due 1000 GMT.

Britain's political and economic turmoil has been greeted with thinly veiled satisfaction among pro-European and leftist politicians abroad, with some commentators drawing parallels to chaotic Italy.

New finance minister Jeremy Hunt promised to win back Britain's economic credibility by fully accounting for the government's tax and spending plans, while insisting his boss Liz Truss remained in charge of the country.

Britain's new finance minister Jeremy Hunt faces an early test of his attempt to stem the crisis of confidence in Prime Minister Liz Truss on Monday when the bond market delivers its verdict on his weekend overhaul of her economic programme.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday rebuked the British government over its planned tax cuts, telling its finance minister and central bank chief that their policies should not be contradictory.