UK

British intelligence agencies now believe it is “feasible” that the COVID-19 pandemic began with a coronavirus leak from a Chinese laboratory, a media report said on Sunday, prompting UK”s Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi to demand that the WHO must fully investigate the origins of the deadly virus. The origins of …

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) and the British Army are reeling from a spate of suicides in the armed forces, with veterans of grueling Afghanistan tours being hit the hardest. Five mostly Army veterans and at least two serving soldiers have killed themselves in the past 15 days, with campaigners …

British PM Boris Johnson married his fiancee Carrie Symonds in a secret ceremony at Westminster Cathedral on Saturday. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson married his fiancee Carrie Symonds in a secret ceremony at Westminster Cathedral on Saturday, the Sun and Mail on Sunday newspapers reported. A spokeswoman for Johnson’s Downing …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson “unwisely” allowed a refurbishment of his residence to proceed without more rigorous consideration of how it would be funded but did not break the ministerial code of conduct, an official report said on Friday. Johnson has in recent weeks faced intense scrutiny over how the …

Scientists hope the scrappy predators’ reintroduction can balance ecosystems ravaged by invasive species. Tasmanian devils have been born in the wild on Australia’s mainland 3,000 years after the marsupials disappeared from the continent, conservation groups said Tuesday, raising hopes that a major rewilding effort could succeed. Aussie Ark and a …

The UK and the European Union (EU) have once again clashed over the terms and conditions of the Northern Ireland Protocol as post-Brexit tensions show no sign of subsiding. The latest spat was sparked after European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said there is no alternative but the “full …

The BBC said Monday it will review its editorial policies and governance after an independent report found one of its journalists used deception to secure a landmark interview with Princess Diana. The British broadcaster’s board said the internal probe would be conducted by a group of non-executive directors led by …

Britain is to announce plans for a “fully digital border” including the introduction of US-style electronic travel authorization to pre-check travelers to the UK, interior minister Priti Patel said Sunday. The minister will announce the plans in parliament on Monday as part of a wider overhaul of the country’s immigration …

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said he did not get an immediate sense from his meeting with British counterpart Boris Johnson that London wants to rewrite Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements. Irish national broadcaster RTE reported on Monday that the Irish government is increasingly concerned that London wants to completely …

Travelers in England were packing their bags, bartenders were polishing their glasses and performers were warming up as Britain prepared Sunday for a major step out of lockdown — but with clouds of worry on the horizon. Excitement at the reopening of travel and hospitality vied with anxiety that a …

Amazon is to create more than 10,000 new permanent UK jobs this year across its corporate offices, Amazon Web Services division and its operations network. The move will take the online retail giant’s total UK workforce to more than 55,000 by the end of the year. Corporate roles will be …

Men detained in a Home Office van have been released following a face-off between police and protesters in Glasgow. A crowd of around 200 people gathered in Kenmure Street this morning, with people lying under a Home Office van to stop it from moving. Dozens of police officers surrounded the …

A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accused Paris of issuing a fresh “EU threat,” following reports the French government is set to block a post-Brexit financial services deal over the fishing access dispute. The latest war of words between London and Paris comes after it was reported …

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday apologised “unreservedly” on behalf of the British government for the deaths of 10 innocent people killed in a 1971 incident in Belfast during a British Army operation. A judge-led inquiry on Tuesday found that British soldiers unjustifiably shot or used disproportionate force in …

Former British diplomat, Craig Murray, has been sentenced to eight months imprisonment over his blog posts about the infamous Alex Salmond trial. Murray, who was UK ambassador to Uzbekistan between 2002 and 2004, posted a series of articles online about the Scottish nationalist leader’s High Court trial in 2020. Prosecutors …

The financial health of British households deteriorated in August at a faster pace than last month, in an unpromising sign for the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey showed on Monday. The Household Finance Index from data company IHS Markit fell to 40.8 in August from 41.5 in …

The British government was criticised by lawmakers in its own party on Sunday after a mounting row over English exam grades awarded during the pandemic intensified, in the latest hit to its reputation. With a nationwide lockdown forcing exams to be cancelled, the government used an algorithm to assess grade …

Britons rushed home from summer holidays in France on Friday after their government said it would soon impose a 14-day quarantine on travellers from across the Channel due to rising coronavirus infections there. Britain’s government announced late on Thursday that it would impose a quarantine from 0300 GMT on Saturday …

Britain will impose a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from France, the Netherlands, Malta, and three other countries, transport minister Grant Shapps said on Thursday, citing rising COVID-19 infection rates. The British government, wary of the second wave of coronavirus, has been removing countries from its safe travel list over …

Three people died in a train derailment in eastern Scotland on Wednesday that left carriages overturned and piled on top of each other on a steep wooded slope, making it hard for emergency services to access the scene. Dark smoke billowed from the site of the accident for most of …