If, as is expected, Boris Johnson becomes the new Prime Minister this week, he will find himself engaged in a political fire-fight almost before he has even got his feet under the desk at 10 Downing Street.

A push for Irish reunification and Scottish independence are "real threats" of a no-deal Brexit, UK International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has said.

The Government has warned Scotland it will not back down over the deepening Rockall fishing rights stand-off and will take EU court action if the Scottish threaten fishermen with navy vessels.

Politicians and their pasts

Global shares rose on the belief more central banks will be forced to cut interest rates to shelter the global economy from the trade wars, but crash-out Brexit fears weighed heavily on sterling.

The Philippines has withdrawn its diplomats as Canada missed the deadline yesterday to take back tonnes of rubbish that was mistakenly sent to the Philippines back in 2013.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been warned to give clear backing to a second EU referendum, or risk losing millions of pro-EU voters.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London this morning.

British prime minister Theresa May’s “humiliating” defeat in the House of Commons increases the risk of a disorderly Brexit, the Government has warned.

Latest: Former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said the backstop needs to "come out" of Thresea May's Withdrawal Agreement with the EU in order to allow Brexit.

The EU should be “flexible” on its red-line Brexit issues if British Prime Minister Theresa May is to force through her Chequers plan for a soft Brexit, according to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

Political chaos in the wake of shock resignations from Theresa May’s Cabinet is threatening to stall crucial negotiations over Brexit.

The EU should cut Theresa May some slack after she softened the UK's position on Brexit, according to a former Taoiseach.

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Yulia Skripal has said her strength is "growing daily" after the nerve agent attack which left her and her father in intensive care.

Russia has accused Britain of deliberate concealing evidence in the escalating war of words over the Salisbury nerve agent attack.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has vowed that Britain will respond "robustly" if evidence of state responsibility emerges after a Russian double agent was left fighting for his life following suspected exposure to an unknown substance.

The Government has denied trying to provoke Britain with a special status deal for the North amid accusations the EU is trying to use the border to stop Brexit.

Theresa May accused Labour of betraying Britons over Brexit as she faced calls to put the country ahead of her Cabinet's "oversized egos".

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has admitted a hard border with checkpoints between the Republic and the North is inevitable if Britain leaves the EU without any deal.

Britain's final EU withdrawal bill could be as high as £100 billion, a former Brexit minister has suggested.

Families of the British men held in an Indian jail on weapons charges for four years have spoken of their relief and said their "dreams had come true" after all six were acquitted.

British prime minister Theresa May is facing fresh pressure over her plans to deal with the border after Brexit, with Ireland’s European Commissioner urging her to change course.

The UK could be required to follow new rules implemented by the European Union during a Brexit transition period according to leaked plans reportedly drawn up by Brussels' chief negotiator.

A British mother jailed in Iran has spoken from prison in Tehran to thank those campaigning for her release.

A secret letter from Boris Johnson and Michael Gove giving Theresa May apparent instructions on how to run Brexit has emerged.

Conversations about what might happen next in Spain and Catalonia now feature frightening references to the prospect of another bloody, disastrous civil war.

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has sidestepped calls to apologise for his comments about clearing bodies from a Libyan city.

Theresa May's allies publicly rallied round their embattled leader as opponents plotted to force her out.

Theresa May's party conference speech descended into chaos as a prankster handed her a P45 unemployment notice on stage.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May is "bitterly disappointed" by a US Department of Commerce decision to impose a tariff of nearly 220% on a new model of passenger jet manufactured by Bombardier, one of the North's biggest employers, Downing Street said.

The Government has rejected calls for a UK reparations fund for victims of Libyan-sponsored IRA attacks.

Around 100 "very serious" prisoners have escaped from jail on the British Virgin Islands in the wake of Hurricane Irma, a British minister has said.

Hurricane Irma is showing signs of weakening and could be downgraded to a tropical storm on Monday.

With the EU unyielding in its Brexit demands, and with the third round of talks failing, the UK will become ever more dependent on its largest trading partner says John Lloyd

Latest: US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis has reacted to North Korea's latest nuclear test by saying threats to the United States and its allies "will be met with a massive military response".

Southeast Asia's top diplomats have criticised North Korea over its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has dismissed reports of splits in the Cabinet over Brexit, saying senior ministers are united on delivering a global Britain after its departure from the European Union.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said Britain stands "shoulder to shoulder" with Japan in efforts to put an end to North Korea's nuclear and missile tests.

Catch up on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com this morning.

Brexit negotiations which could define the UK's political and economic future have begun, with David Davis calling for a "new deep and special partnership" between Britain and Brussels.

British prime minister Theresa May has yet to secure an agreement with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionists (DUP) on a deal to prop up her minority government after last week’s catastrophic election resulted in a hung parliament.

"But now is not the time to do anything to subtract from the fundamental responsibility of those individuals, that individual in particular, who committed this atrocity."

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has declared martial rule in the country's south for 60 days to deal with with an attack by Muslim extremists allied with the Islamic State group who laid siege to a southern city.