George Blake, a famous "mole" in British intelligence who spied for the Soviet KGB during the 1950s before fleeing across the Iron Curtain, has died aged 98, Russian news agencies reported Saturday.
The 94-year-old monarch, who spent her first Christmas in decades without a larger royal family gathering, called for tolerance and mutual respect and reminded people of the contribution made to national life by people of many faiths and backgrounds.
All four cases involved people who recently arrived from the UK, the Madrid regional government's deputy health chief Antonio Zapatero told a news conference.The four cases involved people who recently arrived from the UK, the Madrid regional government's deputy health chief Antonio Zapatero told a news conference.The four cases involved people who recently arrived from the UK, the Madrid regional government's deputy health chief Antonio Zapatero told a news conference.
The EU has offered Britain unprecedented tariff- and quota-free access to its single market of 450 million consumers. But it has in return secured London's commitment to respect its always-evolving rules in some areas such as environmental protection, labour regulation and tax. The UK has also signed up to guarantees that it will not abuse state aid to firms to seek an unfair advantage.
A mutated coronavirus strain spreading in Britain is on average 56 per cent more contagious than the original version, scientists have warned in a study, urging a fast vaccine rollout to help prevent more deaths.
Negotiators from the European Union and Britain worked through the night and into Christmas Eve to put the finishing touches on a trade deal that should avert a chaotic economic break between the two sides next week.
Vaccines are the world's best hope of ending a pandemic that has claimed more than 1.7 million lives globally. More than 60 Covid-19 vaccine candidates are currently undergoing human trials, according to the World Health Organization.
Some of the thousands of lorry drivers stuck near the British port of Dover said they feared there was little chance of making it across the Channel in time for the holidays.
Britain has some of the most sophisticated genomic surveillance efforts in the world, which allowed scientists there to discover the variant when it might have gone unnoticed elsewhere, experts said. Dr Hans Kluge, the WHO's regional director for Europe, said that member states would try to come up with a coherent approach to any threat posed by the variant.
LONDON: Europe on Wednesday began lifting travel bans on Britain put in place to contain a new fast-spreading Covid strain while WHO experts were set to meet on a response to it. Meanwhile, in the United States, President Donald Trump rejected a massive Covid economic relief package passed by Congress, branding it "a disgrace" as millions of Americans are suffering fallout from the pandemic.
Republic TV owner Arnab Goswami’s Hindi news channel in Britain, Republic Bharat, has been fined £20,000 by the UK's broadcasting regulator for promoting and justifying hatred towards Pakistani people.
Scientists in the UK are investigating the impact of a new mutant variant of coronavirus, named VUI-202012/01, on children and whether its faster transmission in parts of England is down to the younger segment of the population.
Dozens of countries around the world have slapped tough travel curbs on the U.K. in recent days: From Canada to India, nations banned flights from Britain, while France barred the entry of trucks from the country for 48 hours from late Sunday while the strain is assessed.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was to chair a crisis meeting Monday as a growing number of countries blocked flights from Britain over a new highly infectious coronavirus strain the UK said was "out of control". The World Health Organization also called for stronger containment measures across Europe, which has passed 500,000 deaths from Covid-19.
France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Belgium, Israel and Canada shut off travel ties after Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that a highly infectious new strain of the virus was a danger to the country.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was to chair the COBR emergencies committee on Monday, his office said, after a slew of nations from Turkey to Canada blocked arrivals from Britain by air.
British health secretary Matt Hancock said Sunday that the government has imposed a strict Christmas lockdown in London and southeast England because a new strain of the coronavirus was "out of control".Hancock warned that the strict measures that affect almost a third of England's population could stay in place until the virus vaccine is fully rolled out.
London and southeast England may stay under tighter coronavirus curbs for some time, Britain's health minister suggested on Sunday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tore up plans on Saturday to allow three households to mix indoors for five days over the festive period, imposing new Tier 4 level curbs similar to a recent national lockdown on London and southeast England.
