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Trust in vaccines - one of the world's most effective and widely-used medical products - is highest in poorer countries but weaker in wealthier ones where skepticism has allowed outbreaks of diseases such as measles to persist, a global study found on Wednesday. France has the least confidence of any country in the world in the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, with a third believing that vaccines are unsafe, according to the study. While most parents do choose to vaccinate...

The CBI warn of "Brexit uncertainty biting" as factory orders slump to their lowest since the months following the EU referendum in 2016 Reuters report. British factory orders slid in June against a backdrop of stoppages in car production following uncertainty about when Britain will leave the European Union, the CBI's monthly industrial trends survey showed on Wednesday. The Confederation of British Industry survey's total order book balance sank to -15 this month from -10 in May, the weakest reading...

Evidence suggests Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman and other senior Saudi officials are liable for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a U.N. rights investigator said on Wednesday. There was no immediate reaction from Riyadh which was sent the 100-page report in advance - but the kingdom has regularly denied accusations that the prince was involved. Agnes Callamard, the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, called for countries to widen sanctions to include the Crown Prince and his...

Emissions need to be halved by 2030 to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius but temperatures are on track to reach double that by the end of the century even if countries' current plans are fully implemented, research by scientists shows. A group of European researchers, Climate Action Tracker, tracks countries' progress towards the globally agreed aim of limiting warming to well below 2C and a more ambitious target of 1.5C. Public concerns about climate change are growing and have...

Italian unions refused on Monday to load electricity generators onto a Saudi Arabian ship with weapons on board in a protest against the war in Yemen. The Bahri-Yanbu vessel loaded arms in the Belgian city of Antwerp earlier this month, but was prevented from picking up another consignment of weapons in the French port of Le Havre following protests by humanitarian groups. Rights campaigners say the weapons contravene a U.N. treaty because they might be used against civilians in Yemen,...

An elderly woman is in hospital with serious injuries after she was struck by a police motorbike escort for Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's convoy was travelling from London to Windsor on Monday afternoon when the accident occurred. The woman, Irene Mayor, who is in her 80s, is in a serious but stable condition, police said. The Sun newspaper, citing witnesses, said the escort was on the wrong side of the road...

U.S. President Donald Trump is refusing to cooperate with numerous congressional probes of himself and his administration, taking a defiant stance that is likely to result in a court battle with Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Trump's stonewalling hardened after the mid-April release of a redacted report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller on how Moscow interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election in Trump's favour and his attempts to impede Mueller's probe. In most of the cases where...

What will the candidates vying to replace British Prime Minister Theresa May do about Brexit? May has resigned as Conservative Party leader, triggering a contest that will bring a new leader to power. Her successor's biggest task will be to take Britain out of the European Union - a job that requires finding an approach to Brexit that will be approved by parliament. Below are the remaining five Conservative lawmakers in the running and an overview of their Brexit plans....

 Rory Stewart, a contender to replace British Prime Minister Theresa May, said he is in talks with environment minister Michael Gove, a rival candidate, about teaming up. Boris Johnson, the frontrunner in the contest, won the most votes cast in the second round of voting to be leader of the Conservative Party. "We are talking about combining forces because it is clear that Boris is going into the last round and the question is who is best placed to sit...