England

LONDON, May 07 (APP): A new biological reagent was now available to labs around the United Kingdom and the world that would help them to set up and develop accurate diagnostic tests for coronavirus (COVID-19).

According to a UK Government statement,”the reagent is intended to be used in tests that confirm whether an individual is currently infected with the virus”.

The reagent can be used as a positive control for the testing systems used to detect the presence of COVID-19.

LONDON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The British government has not seen any evidence to suggest that the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 was man-made, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said.

Hancock made the remark while attending a Q&A program with Sky News on Wednesday to answer questions from the broadcaster's viewers and readers on coronavirus.

LONDON, May 06 (APP): British Labour Friends of Kashmir chairman and member parliament (MP) Andrew Gwynne expressing his deep concerns over human right abuses in Indian occupied Kashmir has said that Kashmir dispute is an issue of social justice and human rights.

LONDON, May 6 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday was faced with tough questions in the House of Commons (lower house of parliament) as he is mulling a "comprehensive" plan to ease the COVID-19 lockdown.

On the second day after Britain overtook Italy as the worst-hit European country by the novel coronavirus, Johnson had his first head-to-head encounter with the newly elected main opposition leader -- Labour's Keir Starmer -- during the Prime Minister's Questions, which gives MPs the chance to question Johnson.

LONDON (AP) — Britain now has Europe’s highest official coronavirus death toll after the latest round of daily figures Tuesday showed it overtaking Italy. Only the United States has recorded more virus-related deaths.

The British government said another 693 people died in hospitals, nursing homes and other settings after testing positive for COVID-19, taking the total to 29,427 — above Italy’s 29,315.

LONDON, May 03 (APP): Chairman Jammu and Kashmir Self-determination Movement-International, (JKSDI) (United Kingdom ), Raja Najabat Hussain strongly condemned the Indian forces indiscriminate and unprovoked firing on the civilian population in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and said it would escalate tension on Line of Control (LoC).

In a statement here Raja Najabat Hussain warned international community including the United Kingdom (UK) that turning a blind eye to India’s blatant acts of belligerence would be a catastrophic for entire region and the global peace.

LONDON (Reuters) - A government-backed loan scheme to help Britain’s small businesses survive the coronavirus lockdown comes into effect on Monday, allowing firms such as hairdressing salons, coffee shops and florists to receive emergency cash.

Finance minister Rishi Sunak, who previously opposed 100% state backing for commercial loans, announced the new facility on April 27, bowing to pressure to do more for the smallest companies after a previous scheme got off to a slow start.

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson has offered more insight into his hospitalization for coronavirus, telling a British newspaper that he knew doctors were preparing for the worst.

The 55-year-old Johnson, who spent three nights in intensive care during his week of treatment in a London hospital after falling ill with COVID-19, told The Sun newspaper he was aware that doctors were discussing his fate.

“It was a tough old moment, I won’t deny it,” he said. “They had a strategy to deal with a ‘death of Stalin’-type scenario.’’

LONDON (AP) — National traumas or major political convulsions have been familiar and bloodied territory in the latter 20th and early 21st centuries for some of the countries currently ravaged by the coronavirus.

Whether by long and brutal wars, invasions, civil wars, revolutions, terror attacks, assassinations of leaders and anti-mafia judges, or natural disasters, distress has often shaped nations psyches. So it is for — among others — the United States, China, Iran, Italy, Spain, France, Britain and India.

LONDON (Reuters) - Two thirds of companies in Britain have applied for the government’s emergency scheme to pay workers who are laid off temporarily during the coronavirus crisis, according to a survey published by the country’s statistics office on Thursday.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was the most popular of the government’s measures to help companies through the shutdown of much of the economy, with 66% of companies saying they had applied, while 56% had sought deferrals of value-added tax.