United Kingdom

LONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Britain, the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine in late 2020, has now also given the first green light to a variant-adapted shot that targets both the original and Omicron version of the virus.

The UK medicines regulator (MHRA) gave the so-called bivalent vaccine made by U.S. drug company Moderna (MRNA.O) conditional approval as a booster for adults on Monday.

Britain's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is now expected to issue a recommendation soon on how the vaccine should be deployed in the country.

LONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia was ready to sell advanced weapons to allies globally and cooperate in developing military technology, nearly six months into the Ukraine war in which his army has performed worse than expected.

With its forces beaten back from Ukraine's two biggest cities and making slow headway at heavy cost in eastern provinces, the war has so far proved an unconvincing showcase for Russia's arms industry.

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will visit the U.K. next month for the first time since they returned for Queen Elizabeth II ’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

A spokesperson for the couple said Monday that they will “visit with several charities close to their hearts” in the U.K. and Germany.

LONDON (AP) — British drug regulators have become the first in the world to authorize an updated version of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine that aims to protect against the original virus and the omicron variant.

In a statement on Monday, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency said it had given the green light to Moderna’s combination “bivalent” vaccine, which will be used as an adult booster shot.

LONDON (AP) — British health officials say the monkeypox outbreak across the country “shows signs of slowing” but that it’s still too soon to know if the decline will be maintained.

In a statement on Monday, the Health Security Agency said authorities are reporting about 29 new monkeypox infections every day, compared to about 52 cases a day during the last week in June. In July, officials estimated the outbreak was doubling in size about every two weeks. To date, the U.K. has recorded more than 3,000 cases of monkeypox, with more than 70% of cases in London.

LONDON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Rishi Sunak, one of two candidates seeking to become Britain's next prime minister, said Friday's attack on author Salman Rushdie should serve as a wake-up call to the West over Iran, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

Indian-born author Rushdie, who spent years in hiding after Iran urged Muslims to kill him over his novel "The Satanic Verses", was stabbed in the neck and torso on stage at a lecture in New York state. After hours of surgery, Rushdie was on a ventilator and unable to speak as of Friday evening.

LONDON (AP) — It’s not just the economy. While inflation and recession fears weigh heavily on the minds of voters, another issue is popping up in political campaigns from the U.K. and Australia to the U.S. and beyond: the “China threat.”

The two finalists vying to become Britain’s next prime minister, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, clashed in a televised debate last month over who would be toughest on China.

LONDON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Britain's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is 22 percentage points ahead of her rival Rishi Sunak in the contest to become the country's next prime minister, a poll of Conservative Party members by Opinium Research showed on Saturday.

Among a sample of 450 party members who had decided how they would vote in the ongoing leadership election put Truss, who other polls have also shown to be the clear frontrunner, on 61%, with former finance minister Sunak on 39%, Opinium said.

LONDON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Russian ex-president Dmitry Medvedev issued a veiled threat on Friday to Ukraine's Western allies who have accused Russia of creating the risk of a nuclear catastrophe by stationing forces around the Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia power station.

Ukraine has accused Russia of firing at Ukrainian towns from the site in the knowledge that Ukrainian forces could not risk returning fire. It says Moscow has shelled the area itself while blaming Ukraine.

Russia says it is Ukraine that has shelled the plant.

LONDON (AP) — Heathrow Airport in London said Thursday that its limit on the number of passengers is easing a travel crunch that has led to flight cancellations and lost luggage as soaring demand for summer trips runs up against pandemic-era staffing shortages.

Britain’s busiest airport has capped the daily number of departing passengers at 100,000 until Sept. 11 and asked airlines to stop selling tickets and cut flights, stirring criticism. The cap has cut down on last-minute flight cancellations and improved baggage delivery and on-time planes, Heathrow said in a statement.