United Kingdom

26 May 2021; MEMO: Parents and pupils are pushing back against efforts to suppress solidarity with the Palestinians following Israel's latest military offensive against Gaza, in which more than 250 people were killed, including 66 children, 39 women and 17 elderly people.

(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.

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s former chief aide said Wednesday that the government “failed” the British people and “fell disastrously short” in handling the coronavirus pandemic.

Dominic Cummings made a blistering attack on the government he once served, telling lawmakers investigating Britain’s pandemic response that some ministers and officials went on vacation as the virus swept toward the U.K. in February 2020.

LONDON, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The final step of easing the coronavirus lockdown in England on June 21 is not "not inevitable", a British government adviser said Tuesday.

Adam Kucharski, a member of Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M), told the BBC that "we need to keep all options on the table".

The SPI-M gives expert advice to the Department of Health and Social Care and the wider British government on scientific matters relating to Britain's response to an influenza pandemic or other emerging human infectious disease threats.

The British far-right extremist Tommy Robinson joined a pro-Israel rally in London on Sunday, alongside an estimated 1,500 Zionists voicing their support for the occupation state. The counter-demonstration followed Saturday's pro-Palestine march in the capital where more than 200,000 people marched through the West End to a rally in Hyde Park. Demonstrations were held across Britain and around the world against the Israeli occupation and brutal military assault on Gaza.

(Reuters) --- Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson is critically ill after being shot in the head in south London in the early hours of Sunday, her political party said.

London's Metropolitan Police appealed for witnesses after offices found a woman, who they said was thought to be in her 20s, suffering a gunshot injury in Peckham.

Police said the woman, who they have not named, remained in hospital with life-threatening injuries.

(Reuters) --- The Scottish government is facing a new legal challenge over its February rejection of a motion to investigate former U.S. President Donald Trump’s all-cash purchases of two golf courses, reviving an effort to force Trump to disclose how he financed the deals.

23 May 2021; MEMO: Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through London and other British cities on Saturday to protest against Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip during fighting with the Islamist group Hamas, reports Reuters.

Protesters called for sanctions on Israel during the march in London. Some were draped in Palestinian flags and set off green and red smoke flares. Others carried banners declaring "Free Palestine", "Stop bombing Gaza" and "Sanctions on Israel".

(Reuters) --- Britain's early plan to combat COVID-19 was a "disaster" and "awful decisions" led to the government imposing lockdowns that could have been avoided, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's former top adviser said.

Dominic Cummings, who left Johnson's staff late last year, made his comments in a series of tweets just days before he is due to give evidence to members of parliament about the government's handling of the pandemic.