UK

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will switch to Apple (AAPL.O) and Google (GOOGL.O) technology for its COVID-19 test-and-trace app, ditching its homegrown system which was not working well enough on Apple’s iPhone, the government said on Thursday. The test-and-trace programme is key to reopening the country but has been dogged by problems. A smartphone app developed

LONDON (Reuters) – Vera Lynn, the singer who became a symbol of hope in Britain during World War Two and again during the coronavirus pandemic with her song “We’ll Meet Again”, has died at the age of 103. FILE PHOTO: Second World War British Forces Sweetheart Vera Lynn attends the Battle of Britain commemoration outside

FILE PHOTO: Second World War British Forces Sweetheart Vera Lynn attends the Battle of Britain commemoration outside the Churchill War Rooms in London August 20, 2010. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor LONDON (Reuters) – Singer Vera Lynn, who became a symbol of hope in Britain during World War Two and more recently during the coronavirus pandemic with her

Workers remove the protective boards around the Winston Churchill statue in Westminster, in London, Britain, June 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) – Workmen began removing protective hoarding around a statue of Britain’s wartime leader Winston Churchill on Wednesday ahead of a visit from French President Emmanuel Macron, after the monument was covered up during

LONDON (Reuters) – Shows including “Hamilton” and “Les Miserables” will not return to the London stage until 2021, producer Cameron Mackintosh said on Wednesday, blaming uncertainty over when the British government would lift social distancing measures. FILE PHOTO: Cameron Mackintosh, producer of the film “Les Miserables”, which is a best picture Oscar nominee, arrives at

BERLIN (Reuters) – The German government is urging other EU states to prepare for a no deal Brexit, according an internal document that casts doubt on Britain’s optimism over chances of an early agreement on its future ties with the bloc. FILE PHOTO: European Union and British flags flutter in front of a chancellery ahead

LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s car was shunted by a security vehicle outside parliament on Wednesday when Kurdish protesters ran into the road, two Reuters witnesses said. Johnson’s office said no one had been injured. The vehicle was leaving the parliamentary estate with police outriders when a protester ran into the road,

File Photo: Britain’s Secretary of State of Health Matt Hancock at Downing Street, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), London, Britain, April 27, 2020. REUTERS/John Sibley LONDON (Reuters) – Health minister Matt Hancock apologised on Wednesday to England soccer player Marcus Rashford for getting his name wrong, suggesting that confusion with the star

FILE PHOTO: European Union and British flags flutter in front of a chancellery ahead of a visit of British Prime Minister Theresa May in Berlin, Germany, April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke BERLIN (Reuters) – Negotiations on the future relationship between Britain and the European Union will enter a hot phase from September, a German government

FILE PHOTO: Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson will provide a summer food fund for struggling families in England, bowing to pressure from England forward Marcus Rashford and his campaign to prevent children from going hungry during the coronavirus pandemic. British ministers originally said school food vouchers

(Reuters) – The report on Tuesday of a powerful treatment for the new coronavirus brought skepticism along with optimism among U.S. doctors, who said the recent withdrawal of an influential COVID-19 study left them wanting to see more data. A pharmacist displays a box of Dexamethasone at the Erasme Hospital amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

LONDON (Reuters) – A cheap and widely-used steroid called dexamethasone has become the first drug shown to be able to save the lives of COVID-19 patients in what scientists said is a “major breakthrough” in the coronavirus pandemic. A pharmacist displays a box of Dexamethasone at the Erasme Hospital amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak,

LONDON (Reuters) – A cheap and widely-used steroid called dexamethasone has become the first drug shown to be able to save lives among COVID-19 patients in what scientists said is a “major breakthrough” in the coronavirus pandemic. FILE PHOTO: A computer image created by Nexu Science Communication together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a

FILE PHOTO: A computer image created by Nexu Science Communication together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus which is the type of virus linked to COVID-19, better known as the coronavirus linked to the Wuhan outbreak, shared with Reuters on February 18, 2020. NEXU Science Communication/via REUTERS LONDON

LONDON (Reuters) – The number of people on British company payrolls fell by more than 600,000 in April and May as the coronavirus lockdown hit the labour market, and vacancies plunged by the most on record, official data showed on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: People walk through the Canary Wharf financial district of London, Britain, December

FILE PHOTO: A faculty building of Imperial College London, Britain, May 27, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville//File Photo LONDON (Reuters) – Scientists at Imperial College London will start the first clinical trials of a potential COVID-19 vaccine this week with more than 45 million pounds in backing from the UK government and philanthropic donors. The trials are

FILE PHOTO: Willie Walsh Chief Executive of International Airlines Group (IAG) attends the Europe Aviation Summit in Brussels, Belgium March 3, 2020. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) – British Airways is fighting for its survival and has acted lawfully, Willie Walsh, the chief executive of the airline’s owner IAG (ICAG.L) said on Monday, in a

LONDON (Reuters) – Long queues of shoppers snaked around stores in England on Monday, with discount fashion retailer Primark proving a particular draw as shops reopened their doors after 83 days of lockdown. Customers wearing face masks enter a Primark store as it is reopening following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, on Oxford Street in

FILE PHOTO: Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a daily briefing to update on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at 10 Downing Street in London, Britain June 10, 2020. Pippa Fowles/10 Downing Street/Handout via REUTERS LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday the outstanding disagreements between Britain and the European

LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson came under pressure on Monday to deliver action on racism after he launched a commission on the issue following Black Lives Matter protests. Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the M&S clothing department and other retail outlets in Westfield Stratford to see the COVID-19 measure taken before reopening

Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the M&S clothing department and other retail outlets in Westfield Stratford to see the COVID-19 measure taken before reopening tomorrow, in London, Britain June 14, 2020. John Nguyen/Pool via REUTERS LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said a cross-government commission would examine racism and the disparities experienced by

LONDON (Reuters) – After 83 days of coronavirus lockdown, non-essential stores in England reopen their doors on Monday, hoping to get the tills ringing again and start a long road to recovery. A woman walks past a banner, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Oxford Circus in London, Britain June 14, 2020.

LONDON (Reuters) – “That’s not what we do!” Patrick Hutchinson, a protester, carries a suspected far-right counter-protester who was injured, to safety, near Waterloo station during a Black Lives Matter protest following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, in London, Britain, June 13, 2020. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez Reuters photographer Dylan Martinez heard the

LONDON (Reuters) – It was party time this weekend for the gorillas at London Zoo – complete with treats like nuts, leeks and broccoli to eat and bunting in their treehouses – as they got ready to see visitors for the first time in nearly three months. The zoo, located in Regent’s Park, closed in

FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), London, Britain, June 3, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain’s two-metre social distancing rule was under review ahead of a potential further easing of lockdown measures on July 4, adding

FILE PHOTO: Britain’s Chancellor Rishi Sunak chairs the daily COVID-19 briefing at 10 Downing Street in London, Britain May 29, 2020. Andrew Parsons/10 Downing Street/Handout via REUTERS LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will urgently review its two-metre social distancing rule as it tries to help the economy recover from a 25% coronavirus crisis collapse, finance minister

Protesters walk across Waterloo Bridge during a Black Lives Matter protest following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, at Westminster, in London, Britain, June 13, 2020. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez LONDON (Reuters) – Fights broke out between rival groups and police outside London’s Waterloo station on Saturday, with missiles and fireworks thrown, a Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned “racist thuggery” after far-right protesters clashed in London on Saturday with anti-racist demonstrators and police trying to keep the two sides apart. Fights broke out between groups outside London’s Waterloo station, with fireworks thrown before police cordoned off areas. On a nearby bridge, stones were lobbed

FILE PHOTO: Head teacher Polly Goodson and Deputy Head Claire Cowgill measure out social distancing lines at the entrance to St Anne’s CE primary school as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Sale, Britain, May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Phil Noble LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is working with Education Minister

A protester carries an injured counter-protester to safety, near the Waterloo station during a Black Lives Matter protest following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, in London, Britain, June 13, 2020. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez LONDON (Reuters) – A man identified by the crowd as a far-right protester was carried to safety on Saturday