England

LONDON, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Samples from a study suggesting that COVID-19 was circulating outside China by October 2019 have been re-tested at the World Health Organization's (WHO) request, a Reuters report quoted two scientists leading the research as saying on Tuesday.

While COVID-19 was first identified in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, a study published last year suggested antibodies to either the virus or a variant had been detected elsewhere prior to the first confirmed report of the virus in China.

LONDON (AP) — Buckingham Palace barred ethnic minorities from office jobs during the 1960s, the Guardian newspaper reported Thursday, citing documents in Britain’s National Archives.

The revelation, published on the newspaper’s front page, was based on papers showing that Queen Elizabeth II’s chief financial manager told civil servants in 1968 that it was not the palace’s practice to hire “coloured immigrants or foreigners” for clerical posts and other office jobs.

(Reuters) --- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday he would be cautious in lifting coronavirus restrictions as it is still unclear how protected the population would be against a new surge of COVID-19 cases should lockdown end as planned in June.

Johnson has previously warned that the swift spread of the B.1.617.2 variant of concern first identified in India could derail his plans to end England's COVID restrictions on June 21.

(Reuters) --- The decision to lift final lockdown measures in England on June 21 will be made after data on infection, hospitalisation, vaccination and new variants are assessed, Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Sunday.

"We will share the evidence with the country on the 14th of June to basically explain exactly where we are on infection rates, on hospitalisation, and of course, sadly, on deaths," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr.

"We have to be cautious; we have to look at the data and share it with the country."

LONDON, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Unfounded allegations by some U.S. politicians that the COVID-19 virus escaped from a Chinese lab are making it harder for nations to collaborate on ending the pandemic, and fueling online bullying, said a recent article in British scientific journal Nature.

"Even without strong supporting evidence," calls to investigate Chinese laboratories have reached a fever pitch in the United States, said the article, adding that for many researchers, the tone of the growing demands is unsettling, which could thwart efforts to study the virus's origins.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was meeting Hungarian President Viktor Orban on Friday, and faced criticism for inviting the hardline European leader to 10 Downing St.

Johnson’s office said it was a routine meeting with the leader of a major European Union nation. The prime minister’s spokesman, Max Blain, said “cooperation with Hungary is vital to the U.K’s prosperity and security.”

LONDON, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Another 3,180 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, according to official figures released Wednesday, meaning that the number of daily COVID cases reported in the country passed 3,000 for the first time since mid-April.

The latest figures brought the total number of coronavirus cases in Britain to 4,470,297, according to the official data.

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s health minister on Thursday defended his handling of the coronavirus pandemic after a former top government aide alleged the government’s botched response had led to tens of thousands of needless deaths.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock hit back after Dominic Cummings singled him out for criticism in an excoriating attack on the government.

(Reuters) --- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejected criticism from his former adviser Dominic Cummings on Wednesday, saying he did not accept Cummings' accusation that government inaction led to unnecessary deaths.

Asked by opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer whether he accepted the central allegations of Cummings' testimony to a parliamentary committee, Johnson said "No."

LONDON (AP) — European Union officials unveiled plans Wednesday to beef up the bloc’s code of practice on online disinformation, with the aim of preventing digital ad companies from profiting off of “fake news.”

EU officials said they were strengthening the three-year-old voluntary code to make it more effective at fighting the false information flooding tech platforms.