England

GRANTHAM, England, July 23 (Reuters) - Former British finance minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday described himself as the underdog in the contest to become Britain's next prime minister.

Sunak's resignation helped trigger a revolt that saw Prime Minister Boris Johnson agree to step down after a series of scandals. Members of the ruling Conservative Party will vote for a successor over the summer, with an announcement due on Sept. 5.

Sunak led all rounds of the voting among party lawmakers to reduce the field to two candidates.

LONDON (AP) — The expanding monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries is an “extraordinary” situation that qualifies as a global emergency, the World Health Organization chief said Saturday, a declaration that could spur further investment in treating the once-rare disease and worsen the scramble for scarce vaccines.

LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) - Russia's defence ministry said on Friday its forces had destroyed four U.S.-supplied high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) in Ukraine earlier this month.

Between July 5-20, "four launchers and one reloading vehicle for the U.S.-made multiple launch rocket systems (HIMARS) were destroyed," it said in a daily briefing.

Kyiv rejected Moscow's claims, calling them "fakes" designed to undermine the West's support for Ukraine.

Reuters could not verify battlefield reports.

LONDON (AP) — Britons heading off on holiday by ferry faced hours-long waits at the port of Dover on Friday, with authorities blaming French officials for the chaos.

Dover authorities said a lack of French border officials was leading to waits of up to six hours for border checks at the English Channel port, with queues of tourist and freight traffic snarling roads for miles (kilometers) around.

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry can take the British government to court over his security arrangements in the U.K., a judge in London ruled Friday.

Harry and his wife Meghan lost publicly funded U.K. police protection when they stepped down as senior working royals and moved to North America in 2020. The prince wants to pay personally for police security when he comes to Britain, and is challenging the government’s refusal to permit it.

LONDON (AP) — The European Medicines Agency said Friday that the smallpox vaccine made by Bavarian Nordic should also be authorized against monkeypox, as the outbreak of the once-rare disease continues to sicken people across the continent.

The European Union drug regulator said its recommendation was based on animal studies that suggest the vaccine protects non-human primates from monkeypox. It is up to the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, to formally approve the vaccine based on the EMA’s recommendation.

LONDON, July 21. /TASS/: UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Thursday came out against the direct involvement of British troops in the Ukrainian conflict.

The politician, who reached the final round of the race for the post of the Conservative Party leader and the prime minister, told the BBC: "We are doing all we can to support Ukraine. We've led the international coalition on sending weapons, we're putting the sanctions in place, but I do not support the direct involvement of UK troops."

LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke by phone on Thursday and underlined the importance of further cooperation within the OPEC+ group of oil producers, the Kremlin said.

The conversation took place six days after U.S. President Joe Biden visited the prince in Saudi Arabia - highlighting the kingdom's importance to both Washington and Moscow at a time when Russia's war in Ukraine is roiling global energy markets.

LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson bowed out of his final showpiece parliamentary appearance with a round of applause from his party, jeers from opponents and an enigmatic exit line: "Mission largely accomplished ... hasta la vista, baby."

Johnson was forced to announce his resignation earlier this month after a mass rebellion against the latest in a string of scandals that his party decided had undermined his ability to lead the country any longer after three turbulent years in charge.

LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that Moscow's military "tasks" in Ukraine now went beyond the eastern Donbas region, in the clearest acknowledgment yet that it has expanded its war goals.

In an interview with state media nearly five months after Russia's invasion, the foreign minister also said peace talks made no sense at the moment because Western governments were leaning on Ukraine to fight rather than negotiate.

Ukraine's foreign minister retorted that Russia wanted "blood, not talks".