England

LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) - Britain on Thursday sanctioned one of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's envoys, Alex Saab, in connection with an allegedly corrupt deal to obtain supplies for Maduro’s government-run food subsidy programme.

Saab, a Colombian national, is currently detained in Cape Verde facing extradition to the United States, which accuses him of helping Maduro's government skirt U.S. sanctions imposed in 2019. 

LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday to consider seriously Britain's proposals to change what he called the "unsustainable" way a Brexit deal is governing trade with Northern Ireland.

Since it completed its exit from the EU at the end of last year, Britain's ties with the bloc have reached new lows, with both sides accusing each other of acting in bad faith over an agreement for post-Brexit trade with Northern Ireland.

LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - The English city of Liverpool was removed from UNESCO's list of world heritage sites on Wednesday because new buildings undermined the attractiveness of its Victorian docks, making it only the third site to be removed from the prestigious list.

Liverpool was named a World Heritage Site by the United Nation's cultural organisation in 2004, joining landmarks such as the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

LONDON (AP) — The British government said Wednesday that post-Brexit trade rules it negotiated with the European Union “cannot go on” and need a major rewrite, straining already tense U.K.-EU relations.

The government said Britain would be justified in unilaterally suspending the legally binding Brexit agreement but had decided not to do so just yet.

LONDON, Jul 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) – England lifted almost all its remaining COVID-19 restrictions yesterday, according to its roadmap out of lockdown.

As the number of daily infections continues to rapidly increase, the final stage of easing virus restrictions came with a note of caution.

Yesterday was described by the British government as Freedom Day, where almost all legal restrictions on social contact have been removed.

LONDON (AP) — A disgruntled former top aide to Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the British leader was dismissive of the threat posed by surging coronavirus cases last year, saying he did not want to impose a new lockdown because the disease was only killing the elderly.

Dominic Cummings left his job as an adviser in November and has since launched a series of excoriating attacks on his former boss.

In an interview with the BBC, Cummings said Johnson resisted locking down the country in the fall of 2020 because “the people who are dying are essentially all over 80.”

BRUSSELS/LONDON, July 19 (Reuters) - Britain will threaten this week to deviate from the Brexit deal unless the European Union shows more flexibility over Northern Ireland, one UK and three EU sources told Reuters, a move that could thrust the five-year Brexit divorce into tumult.

Deviating from the deal's so-called Northern Ireland Protocol is a risky step: its aim was to prevent Brexit from disrupting the delicate peace brought to Northern Ireland by the U.S.-brokered 1998 agreement that ended three decades of sectarian conflict.

LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - Britain is backing 15 new studies into the treatment and diagnosis of "long COVID", a condition that can include dozens of symptoms and last for months after an initial bout of infection with COVID-19.

The projects, which will have nearly 20 million pounds ($27.54 million) of government funding, will focus on better understanding the condition, identifying effective treatments and the best ways to care for those suffering from it.

LONDON, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Britain has reported another 54,674 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 5,386,340, according to official figures released Saturday.

The figure is up from 51,870 cases reported on Friday, which was the highest since mid-January.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will spend 10 days self-isolating after contact with a confirmed coronavirus case, his office said Sunday — reversing an earlier announcement that he would not have to quarantine.

Johnson’s 10 Downing St. office said Sunday that the prime minister and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak were both alerted overnight by England’s test-and-trace phone app. He had a meeting on Friday with Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. Javid, who has been fully vaccinated, says he is experiencing mild symptoms.