Portal:United Kingdom

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The United Kingdom Portal

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom
Coat of Arms for the United Kingdom
Coat of Arms for the United Kingdom
Map of the United Kingdom in the British Isles.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of the smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea, and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is 94,354 square miles (244,376 km2), with an estimated population of nearly 67.6 million people in 2022.

In 1707, the Kingdom of England (which included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland united under the Treaty of Union to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Acts of Union 1800 incorporated the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Most of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922 as the Irish Free State, and the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 created the present name, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The UK became the first industrialised country and was the world's foremost power for the majority of the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly during the "Pax Britannica" between 1815 and 1914. At its height in the 1920s, the British Empire encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and population, and was the largest empire in history. However, its involvement in the First World War and the Second World War damaged Britain's economic power and a global wave of decolonisation led to the independence of most British colonies. British influence can be observed in the legal and political systems of many of its former colonies, and British culture remains globally influential, particularly in language, literature, music and sport. English is the world's most widely spoken language and the third-most spoken native language.

The UK has the world's sixth-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP), and the ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. It is a recognised nuclear state and is ranked fourth globally in military expenditure. The UK has been a permanent member of the UN Security Council since its first session in 1946. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Council of Europe, the G7, the OECD, NATO, the Five Eyes, AUKUS and the CPTPP. (Full article...)

Featured article

Red deer stag in Glen Torridon, Scotland

The fauna of Scotland is generally typical of the north-west European part of the Palearctic ecozone, although several of the country's larger mammals were hunted to extinction in historic times and human activity has also led to various species of wildlife being introduced. Scotland's diverse temperate environments support 62 species of wild mammals, including a population of Wild Cats, important numbers of Grey and Harbour Seals and the most northerly colony of Bottlenose Dolphins in the world. Many populations of moorland birds, including Blackcock and the Red Grouse, live here, and the country has internationally significant nesting grounds for seabirds such as the Northern Gannet. The Golden Eagle has become a national icon, and White-tailed Eagles and Ospreys have recently re-colonised the land. The Scottish Crossbill is the only endemic vertebrate species in the British Isles. Scotland's seas are among the most biologically productive in the world; it is estimated that the total number of Scottish marine species exceeds 40,000. An estimated 14,000 species of insect, including rare bees and butterflies protected by conservation action plans, inhabit Scotland. Conservation agencies in the UK are concerned that climate change, especially its potential effects on mountain plateaus and marine life, threaten much of the fauna of Scotland. (Full article...)

Featured biography

Robert Falcon Scott in 1912

Robert Falcon Scott (1868–1912) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13. During this second venture, Scott led a party of five which reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912, only to find that they had been preceded by Roald Amundsen's Norwegian expedition. On their return journey, Scott and his four comrades all perished from a combination of exhaustion, starvation and extreme cold. Following the news of his death, Scott became an iconic British hero, a status maintained for more than 50 years and reflected by the many permanent memorials erected across the nation. In the closing decades of the 20th century, however, in a more sceptical age, the legend was reassessed as attention focused on the causes of the disaster and the extent of Scott's personal culpability. From a previously unassailable position, Scott became a figure of controversy, with questions raised about his competence and character. Commentators in the 21st century have on the whole regarded Scott more positively, emphasising his personal bravery and stoicism while acknowledging his errors, but ascribing his expedition's fate primarily to misfortune. (Full article...)

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Wikinews UK

23 April 2024 –
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak announces that he plans to raise the United Kingdom's defence budget to 2.5% of its GDP by 2030, totaling around 85 billion pounds. (The Guardian) (Reuters)
22 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
The United Kingdom announces its largest ever military support package for the Ukrainian military, pledging 400 vehicles, including 162 MXT-MVs, 60 boats, 1,600 air defence missiles, 4 million rounds of firearm ammunition, and an additional £500 million in funding. (The Guardian)
18 April 2024 – Palestine and the United Nations, Enlargement of the United Nations
The United States vetoes a UN Security Council resolution supporting the State of Palestine joining the United Nations. The vote was 12 in favor, the United States opposed, and two abstentions, from the United Kingdom and Switzerland. (AP)
15 April 2024 – Sudan–United Kingdom relations, War in Sudan
The United Kingdom sanctions Alkhaleej Bank and Al-Fakher Advanced Works, two companies financing the Rapid Support Forces, and Red Rock Mining, which finances the Sudanese Armed Forces. (Radio Tamazuj)
12 April 2024 – Iran–Israel proxy conflict
The British government advises against all travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories due to the imminent possibility of an Iranian strike. (Middle East Monitor)
1 April 2024 – Israel–Hamas war
Seven volunteers from the World Central Kitchen, including six British, Polish, Australian and Palestinian nationals and a dual American-Canadian citizen, are killed in an Israeli airstrike south of Deir el-Balah. (Al Jazeera)

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