Authorities in the United Kingdom have charged over 240 people with sexual abuse of children. The National Crime Agency says police staff, teachers and civil servants are among those charged with possessing child abuse images. More than 740 people have been arrested as part of a nationwide investigation launched into the case just over a year ago. Hundreds of other suspects are still under investigation. Authorities are also under fire for quote-failing to act quickly enough on information about the issue which had been provided by Canadian police.

UK Chancellor George Osborne has delivered his sixth and final budget of this parliament in the House of Commons. As a part of his party’s battle to gain control in the general elections in May, Osborne stressed his ‘economic plan was working.’ The opposition Labour party called it a budget ‘for the few’ from a government people ‘don’t trust.’

The British government has admitted to possessing the power to hack into computers, phones and communications networks anywhere in the world. The startling revelation surfaced after a legal challenge by a civil rights group in 20-14. Privacy International sought to examine allegations relating to state-sponsored hacking uncovered by whistleblower Edward Snowden. The group later obtained a court document penned by government lawyers. There, the British government outlined its authority to infiltrate mobile phones, laptops, tablets and networks used on a daily basis. Privacy International says these powers amount to a massive invasion of privacy. It says intelligence agencies exploit communications networks in clandestine maneuvers that seriously undermine the security of the World Wide Web.

Turkey arrests a British woman on suspicion of planning to travel to Syria to join a terrorist group.

Britain has applied to join a major multinational investment bank created by China triggering criticism from the United States. Officials in London say the move has been in line with Britain’s national interests. They say they don’t expect the decision to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, AIIB, to damage ties with the US. Washington says London decided to join the AIIB without any consultation. It also says the move shows Britain is increasingly accommodating to China. Meanwhile, Beijing has welcomed London’s decision to join the bank. The AIIB, that will be launched in October, is seen as an emerging rival to powerful institutions like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. China and 20 other countries have so far joined the financial institution while the US, Japan, South Korea and some other countries have declined to do so.

Rights organizations are urging the British government not to use proposed guidelines on hate speeches issued to universities to unfairly discriminate against Muslims. The plea comes amid a growing row between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats on the best way of preventing educational institutions from becoming breeding grounds of radicalization.

An analyst says the UK lies about its interests in Bahrain as it has ‘deep’ ties with the corrupt Al Khalifa regime.

The United Kingdom and Spain express opposition to the provision of lethal military aid to the Ukrainian government.

A group of activists have staged a protest outside an arms factory in southeastern England, in condemnation of Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians. The activists occupied and shut down the factory located in Kent. They were protesting against its arms sales to Israel, accusing the company of complicity in causing Palestinian suffering in Gaza. The Kent factory is a subsidiary of Israel’s arms company Elbit that manufactures drones used against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel is highly criticized for its apartheid policies against Palestinians. It’s been facing growing criticism since last summer when it launched a fifty-day war on Gaza. More than two thousand-140 Palestinians were killed in the war, most of them women and children.

A study has found that thousands of people worldwide take their own lives every year because of issues related to unemployment. In the U-K, campaigners are hopeful the shocking statistics will encourage more resources to be made available for those dealing with the consequences of the recent economic downturn.