Tag Archives: United Kingdom

Violent gusts of over 150 kilometers per hour disrupted everyday lives across Ireland and Scotland, as Storm Barra hit and left people without power. The storm from the Atlantic, which broke earlier in the week, tore through numerous regions of the UK and Ireland for at least two days. Dubbed …

British researchers said on Wednesday they had identified proteins in the coronavirus that are recognised by T-cells of people who are exposed to the virus but resist infection, possibly providing a new target for vaccine developers. Immunity against COVID-19 is a complex picture, and while there is evidence of waning …

The United Nations’ nuclear organization has sounded the alarm over Australia’s plan to obtain nuclear-powered submarines. Under a trilateral deal between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States dubbed AUKUS, Australia will be given nuclear-propulsion technology for submarines. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) set up a task force to …

Russia has angrily rejected a recent allegation in a British tabloid that it has stolen and used the design for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to develop its Sputnik V shot. The British tabloid newspaper The Sun published an article on Monday accusing Russia of having “stolen… the vaccine blueprint and crucial …

The UK government on Monday said it stood ready to abandon a post-Brexit trading accord for Northern Ireland “soon” unless the EU agreed to wholesale changes. Addressing the annual conference of the ruling Conservative party, Brexit minister David Frost said: “The long bad dream of our EU membership is over. …

France has accused Britain of playing politics with post-Brexit fishing rights after London and the Channel Island of Jersey refused dozens of French fishing boats a licence to operate in their territorial waters. The disputes between the UK and France over post-Brexit fishing rights in the English Channel have flared …

Transport Minister Grant Shapps on Sunday called on Britons to behave normally when buying petrol, saying there was no shortage of fuel and the government was stepping in to ease a shortage of drivers bringing it to petrol stations. In recent days long lines of vehicles have formed at petrol …

The British royals, who trace their history back more than 1,000 years, could be gone within two generations, writer Hilary Mantel said in an interview published on Saturday. The monarchy traces its history back at least to William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066 but also claims ties to …

Britain plans to further extend post-Brexit grace periods on some goods imports to Northern Ireland, Brexit minister David Frost said on Monday, in a move designed to give London and Brussels more time for talks about trade with the province. The fate of British-ruled Northern Ireland was the most contentious …

A rescue crew was able to find a swimmer who was missing for 12 hours off the Ireland coast after they spotted a dolphin pod surrounding him, the BBC reported last week. “The RNLI volunteers spotted the exhausted man among the dolphins in the sea near Castlegregory in County Kerry,” …

According to the French president, Paris and London are submitting a draft resolution to the UN to establish a safe zone in Kabul to allow humanitarian operations to continue in Afghanistan. On Sunday morning, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a plan to establish a “safe zone” in Kabul, the capital …

China has blasted a “mendacious” report by the US intelligence community that concluded a months-long investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, warning Washington against politicization of the issue. The strong condemnation by China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu on Saturday came a day after the US intelligence report on …

Thousands of Afghan asylum seekers who have already arrived in the UK are stuck in a “nightmarish limbo” amid mounting pressure to grant them the right to stay in Britain permanently. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, said on Monday that the Conservatives’ “chaotic handling” of Afghanistan evacuation “has put lives in danger …

As part of their nationwide campaign against an Israeli arms manufacturer, pro-Palestine activists in the UK have staged a protest outside the company’s plant in the borough of Oldham. Palestine Action, a London-based pro-Palestine advocacy group, shared a series of tweets showing masked activists standing on the roof of the …

Climate change activists held a demonstration in the City of London on Sunday as they started two weeks of protests focused on the capital’s financial district. About 200 demonstrators from the group Extinction Rebellion took part in the demonstration, aimed at highlighting the role of high finance in the climate …

The Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Scottish Greens have signed a power-sharing agreement after months of intense negotiations, giving the opportunity to the members of the Green Party to take leading positions in the Scottish government for the first time in the UK. Announcing the deal on Friday, Nicola …

Some 125 Afghans who had been hired to guard the British embassy in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, have been reportedly informed that they are not eligible for a British scheme designed to help people who worked for the UK resettle abroad, amid the takeover of the country by the Taliban militants. …

EU citizens living in the United Kingdom are being threatened with deportation despite having applied correctly for settled status, the Observer reports. Under the Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the EU, which sets out the terms of relations after Brexit, EU citizens are entitled to apply for settled status …

The UK drew up a blueprint to respond to a COVID-19-type outbreak in 2005 – but the contingency plan was apparently “lost” and never considered when the coronavirus surged across the world, according to a new report. The Independent reported on Wednesday that the document, drawn up in response to …

Doctors are warning that increasing numbers of young people infected with the coronavirus are being admitted to hospital in the UK, including to intensive care wards. After the majority of Covid restrictions were lifted, pictures were released of crowded nightclubs, filled with people not wearing masks or social distancing. According …