United Kingdom

LONDON, Jan 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Britain became the first nation to approve a lower-cost vaccine partially developed by Oxford University as the Covid-19 pandemic raged worldwide.

New Year’s Eve marks one year since the World Health Organization first mentioned a mysterious pneumonia in China later identified as Covid-19, which went on in 2020 to kill more than 1.79 million people and devastate the global economy in unprecedented ways.

London, Jan 1 (AP-PTI) Britain's long and sometimes acrimonious divorce from the European Union ended on Thursday with an economic split that leaves the EU smaller and the UK freer but more isolated in a turbulent world.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Thursday its decision to suspend retaliatory tariffs against the United States was already bearing fruit after it was spared in a new round of U.S. tariff increases which hit French and German produce.

Britain said earlier this month it would use its new-found freedom outside the European Union to diverge from common EU trade policy towards the United States, deciding to unilaterally suspend tariffs relating to a 16-year dispute on aircraft subsidies.

(Reuters) - Britain on Wednesday became the first country in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University as it battles a winter surge driven by a new, highly contagious variant of the virus.

ANTONELLA VIOLA, PROFESSOR OF IMMUNOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF PADUA

LONDON (AP) — British hospitals are canceling non-urgent procedures and scrambling to find space for COVID-19 patients as coronavirus cases continue to surge despite tough new restrictions imposed to curb a fast-spreading new variant of the virus.

Another 41,385 confirmed cases were recorded across the U.K. on Monday. It was the first time the daily number of cases reported in the country surpassed 40,000, although many more tests are being performed than earlier in the pandemic.

LONDON (AP) — First came the Brexit trade deal. Now comes the red tape and the institutional nitty gritty.

Four days after sealing a free trade agreement with the European Union, the British government warned businesses Monday to get ready for disruptions and “bumpy moments” when the new rules take effect on Thursday night.

Firms are scrambling to digest the details and implications of the 1,240-page deal sealed by the EU and the U.K. on Christmas Eve, just a week before the year-end deadline.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose to hit $52 a barrel on Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump’s signing of a coronavirus aid package and the start of a European vaccination campaign outweighed concern about weak near-term demand.

After Trump backed down from a threat to block the package, Democrats on Monday will try to push through expanded $2,000 relief payments. Europe, meanwhile, launched a mass vaccination drive on Sunday. [nL1N2J804R]

LONDON (AP) — Hurricane-force winds reaching up to 106 mph (170 kph) and heavy rainstorms battered parts of Britain on Sunday, disrupting train services and stranding drivers in floodwaters.

The Isle of Wight saw Storm Bella’s strongest gusts hit 106 mph, while parts of the south coast of England and north Wales also saw gusts of around 80 mph (129 kph). Flooding on the tracks caused train cancellations and delays in southern England, and a main train line into London was blocked by a fallen tree.

LONDON (AP) — The head of drugmaker AstraZeneca, which is developing a coronavirus vaccine widely expected to be approved by U.K. authorities this week, said Sunday that researchers believe the shot will be effective against a new variant of the virus driving a rapid surge in infections in Britain.

AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot also told the Sunday Times that researchers developing its vaccine have figured out a “winning formula” making the jab as effective as rival candidates.

LONDON, Dec 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Another 34,693 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases to 2,256,005, according to official figures released yesterday.

Another 210 have died within 28 days of a positive test, bringing the total number of deaths to 70,405.

The reporting of cases and deaths was affected by the Christmas holidays in some devolved regions, and will be reported later on, which means the true total number of cases and deaths is likely to be higher.