Delayed second and third doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine boost immunity against Covid-19, a study by Oxford University, which developed the jab with the British-Swedish firm, said yesterday.

A mixed schedule of vaccines where a shot of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine is given four weeks after an AstraZeneca shot will produce better immune responses than giving another dose of AstraZeneca, an Oxford study said yesterday.

Hong Kong police arrested the lead opinion writer of Apple Daily on national security grounds as he tried to fly out of the city, local media reported, days after the pro-democracy newspaper was forced to shut down.

AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford yesterday began new trials to test a modified vaccine against the Beta variant, which first emerged in South Africa.

Britain’s mass Covid-19 vaccination campaign has weakened the link between infections and deaths but it has not yet been completely broken, the head of a scientific advisory body to the government said yesterday.

Britain’s government will investigate how footage of former minister Matt Hancock kissing and embracing his aide found its way into the media and forced his resignation, in the latest scandal to hit Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government.

The British government yesterday said that the new Delta coronavirus variant is 60 percent more transmissible in households than the variant that forced the UK to lock down in January.

The Delta variant of the coronavirus is estimated to be 40 percent more transmissible than the Alpha variant that caused the last wave of infections in the UK, Britain’s health minister said yesterday.

Scientists said there are signs the UK is in the early stages of a third wave of coronavirus infections, casting doubt on plans in England to lift all lockdown restrictions in three weeks’ time.

Britain yesterday announced plans to accelerate its relocation of Afghan staff who worked with the military and their families ahead of a planned withdrawal of US-led Nato forces.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds married over the weekend, his office confirmed yesterday, in what media reports have described as a “secret ceremony”.

The centre-right party has been dogged for years by accusations of anti-Muslim sentiment that have been levelled against members, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Ahead of a much-anticipated hearing into Britain’s coronavirus response, former chief adviser Dominic Cummings has accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of lying about pursuing a strategy of herd immunity when the pandemic first hit.

The Scottish National Party yesterday appeared likely to fall short of its goal of an absolute majority in the devolved parliament as it pushes for a new independence referendum, a plan condemned as reckless by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Britain yesterday defended cuts to its aid spending, stressing the budget impact of the coronavirus pandemic, after several UN agencies warned they would translate into thousands of deaths among the world’s poor.

Faced with growing pressures among British MPs of all parties for intervention in Bangladesh war, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, British foreign secretary,

Revelations that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s personal mobile number has been circulating online for 15 years raised national security concerns yesterday, amid a raft of probes into his conduct.

Britain will ramp up its commitment to cut carbon emissions ahead of hosting a UN climate summit this year, vowing a 78 percent reduction by 2035, reports said yesterday.

Britain said yesterday that it “stands in full support of our Czech allies” after Prague expelled 18 Russian diplomats identified as secret agents of the Russian intelligence services suspected of involvement in a 2014 explosion.

Britain told Hong Kong yesterday that it had “no right” to order other countries not to accept a UK travel document for a popular youth working scheme after the city confirmed it had made the request to several other nations.