Fully vaccinated people in England will from today no longer be required to self-isolate if they have had close contact with a coronavirus case, as restrictions continue to be eased.

All 16- and 17-year-olds in England will be offered their first COVID-19 vaccine dose by August 23, according to a target set by British Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

Britain will not abandon Afghanistan, Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed on Friday, even as he confirmed the imminent withdrawal of most embassy staff in the face of a rapid Taliban onslaught. 

Six people, including a child, were killed in a mass shooting in the city of Plymouth in southwest England on Thursday evening, in an incident described by the British Home Secretary as "shocking".

Britain's Heathrow Airport said that passenger numbers surged in July as the government eased travel restrictions and a recovery was underway, but warned that overall numbers were still down 80% on pre-pandemic levels as many barriers remain.

Britain imposed sanctions on Belarus's potash and petroleum product exports on Monday in an attempt to put pressure on President Alexander Lukashenko, who swiftly retorted that London should "choke on" the new measures.

Opposition leaders yesterday condemned Prime Minister Boris Johnson as “crass and offensive” for joking that former leader Margaret Thatcher’s coal mine closures had given Britain a head start in fighting climate change.

The protection that vaccines give against coronavirus infection, and potentially severe disease, is highly likely to wane over time so vaccine campaigns will continue for years to come, scientists told the British government’s advisory group. 

England will allow fully vaccinated visitors from the European Union and United States to arrive without needing to quarantine from next week, in a huge and long-awaited boost for airlines and travel companies.

Britain reported its highest number of deaths and people in hospital with coronavirus since March on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging caution despite a week of lower reported numbers of infection.

London's Heathrow Airport urged Britain to open up travel to vaccinated passengers after its recovery fell behind hubs elsewhere in Europe, pushing its cumulative pandemic losses to $4 billion.

British health minister Sajid Javid apologised for and deleted a tweet urging people to take a Covid-19 vaccine and not to “cower” from the virus, saying on Sunday he had made “a poor choice of word”. 

Britain said it would permanently deploy two warships in Asian waters after its Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier and escort ships sail to Japan in September through seas where China is vying for influence with the United States and Japan. 

Renowned British journalist and former Ekushey TV Managing Director Simon Dring died on Friday while undergoing an abdominal surgery at a London hospital.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was not prepared to impose lockdown restrictions to stop the spread of Covid-19 to save the elderly and denied the National Health Service would be overwhelmed, his former top adviser said in an interview aired on Monday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will spend 10 days self-isolating after contact with a confirmed coronavirus case, his office said Sunday — reversing an earlier announcement that he would not have to quarantine.

A twin-fuselage jet took off yesterday carrying a Virgin Galactic rocket plane primed to soar more than 50 miles above the New Mexico desert with British

A British police officer yesterday admitted murdering Sarah Everard, whose killing sparked anger, protests and soul-searching across the country about what the authorities and society could do to stop male violence against women.

A British parliamentary standards committee yesterday cleared Prime Minister Boris Johnson of breaching a lawmakers’ code of conduct over a luxury Caribbean holiday, but criticised his handling of the matter. 

A group of British lawmakers yesterday urged the government to take tougher action against China over its treatment of minority groups, including a partial Winter Olympics boycott and cotton trade ban.