BRITAIN

Queen references Diwali, Vaisakhi and Eid in Christmas message

5:59 pm December 26, 2020

London: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II chose a theme of diversity and hope as she referenced all major festivals spent in lockdown this year as part of her traditional Christmas Day speech. The 94-year-old monarch, who spent her first Christmas in decades without a larger royal family gathering, called for tolerance and mutual respect and reminded people of […]

British army helps clear backlog of virus-stranded drivers

6:52 pm December 25, 2020

London: Around 1,000 British soldiers were spending Christmas Day trying to clear a huge backlog of truck drivers stuck in southeast England after France briefly closed its border to the UK then demanded coronavirus tests from all amid fears of a new, apparently more contagious, virus variant. Even as 4,000 international truck drivers spent yet another day cooped up […]

Rajasthan records three more Covid deaths, 55 new cases

One in 85 test positive for coronavirus in England as cases spike

6:40 pm December 25, 2020

London: A record number of people have tested positive for COVID-19 in England as millions spend Christmas Day away from friends and family due to a continuing spike in coronavirus infections on Friday. Figures from the National Health Service’s (NHS) Test and Trace network show that between December 10 and 16, 173,875 people received a […]

UK, EU clinch post-Brexit free trade agreement, hail biggest bilateral deal

11:06 pm December 24, 2020

London: Britain clinched a historic deal with the European Union on Thursday as both sides managed to thrash out a post-Brexit free trade agreement (FTA) just days before the December 31 deadline. Thousands of pages of legal text accompanies the deal, with details of the agreement set to emerge in the course of the next […]

Timeline of events in Britain’s exit from the European Union

10:29 pm December 24, 2020

London: A timeline of key events related to Britain’s decision to leave the European Union: January 23, 2013: British Prime Minister David Cameron promises a referendum on Britain’s membership in the EU if the Conservative Party wins the next general election. He does so to try to garner support among euroskeptics within his own party. […]