England

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a grilling from opponents in Parliament on Wednesday — and a more worrying threat from his own party’s restive lawmakers, dozens of whom are plotting to oust him over a string of lockdown-flouting government parties.

Conservative legislators are judging whether to trigger a no-confidence vote in Johnson amid public anger over the “partygate” scandal. It’s a stunning reversal of fortune for a politician who just over two years ago led the Conservatives to their biggest election victory in almost 40 years.

LONDON, Jan 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) –The MI5, Britain’s domestic intelligence service, has warned MPs that a Chinese agent by the name of Christine Ching Kui Lee has infiltrated Westminster to interfere in UK politics. Beijing has denied the accusations.

The alleged spy was said to have “established ties” on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with deputies and would-be deputies and according to the BBC, she “facilitated” donations to politicians.

Jan 14 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to lift Plan B COVID restrictions in England, the Telegraph reported on Friday, as government scientists warn on dropping of Plan B prematurely.

COVID passports and work from home guidance are widely expected inside Whitehall to be lifted from Jan. 26 for England, the report said, adding that some rules on face masks may remain.

An announcement could come as soon as this week, it said.

LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson has apologised for attending a "bring your own booze" gathering at his official residence during Britain's first coronavirus lockdown, and an internal inquiry is being carried out to establish the facts.

British media have reported that at least 11 gatherings took place at Johnson's 10 Downing Street residence or in other government departments between May 2020 and April 2021, when COVID-19 rules limited how many people could meet socially.

LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Oil prices that rallied 50% in 2021 will power further ahead this year, some analysts predict, saying a lack of production capacity and limited investment in the sector could lift crude to $90 or even above $100 a barrel.

Though the Omicron coronavirus variant has pushed COVID-19 cases far above peaks hit last year, analysts say oil prices will be supported by the reluctance of many governments to restore the strict restrictions that hammered the global economy when the pandemic took hold in 2020.

LONDON, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- An estimated 4.3 million people in private households in Britain had COVID-19 last week, up from 3.7 million in the previous week and set a new record, the British Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Wednesday.

Prevalence of the coronavirus continues to be highest in England, where around one in 15 people are estimated to have had the virus in the week to Jan. 6, according to ONS figures.

LONDON (AP) — With varying degrees of enthusiasm, senior British government ministers on Thursday expressed support for Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson and rejected demands he resign for attending a garden party during the country’s first coronavirus lockdown.

Many other Conservatives held their tongues, waiting to see whether the crisis threatening Johnson’s premiership will fade or intensify.

LONDON (AP) — England’s deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam, one of the scientists who led the U.K.’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, will leave his role in March, the government said Thursday.

Van-Tam became a household name for his frequent appearances at the government’s televised COVID-19 news briefings, and is known for his no-nonsense style and engaging analogies that helped explain the coronavirus to the public.

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized Wednesday for attending a garden party during Britain’s first coronavirus lockdown, but brushed aside opposition demands that he resign for breaching the rules his own government had imposed on the nation.

The apology, which stopped short of admitting wrongdoing, was Johnson’s attempt to assuage a tide of anger from the public and politicians after repeated accusations he and his staff flouted pandemic restrictions by socializing when it was banned.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced a wave of public and political outrage on Tuesday over allegations that he and his staff flouted coronavirus lockdown rules by holding a garden party in 2020 while Britons were barred by law from meeting up with more than one person outside their households.