Britain

Politico Europe reports: The British prime minister and his chief medical officer probably didn’t expect to be discussing the alleged testicular misfortune of the rapper Nicki Minaj’s cousin’s friend during a Downing Street news conference. But that’s exactly what happened. Top doc Chris Whitty used his public platform to criticize Minaj for implying in a tweet that COVID vaccines could …

Reuters reports: Britain will begin a COVID-19 vaccine booster program for older and more vulnerable people soon as Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government relies on vaccines rather than further lockdowns to navigate a “bumpy” winter. He also outlined a “Plan B,” involving mandatory vaccine certificates in some settings, mandatory mask wearing, and asking people to work from home, which was …

Politico Europe reports: The U.K. government has dropped plans for vaccine passports to enter crowded venues in England. “I’m pleased to say that we will not be going ahead with plans for vaccine passports,” Health Secretary Sajid Javid [photo] told the BBC. The plan, which was expected to come into force at the end of September, would have meant that …

Reuters reports: The Taliban are in control of Afghanistan and British and NATO forces will not be returning to fight the insurgents, Britain’s defence minister said on Monday. “I acknowledge that the Taliban are in control of the country,” Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News. “I mean, you don’t have to be a political scientist to spot that’s where …

The Wall Street Journal reports: One of Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime accusers filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew Monday, taking accusations that he sexually assaulted her when she was 17 to a formal venue. Lawyers for Virginia Giuffre filed the lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, where Epstein was charged criminally with sex trafficking a month before he killed himself in August …

Reuters reports: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that English nightclubs and other venues with large crowds will require patrons to present proof of full vaccination from the end of September. Clubbers flocked on Monday to the first live music events without restrictions since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The government reopened nightclubs and dropped almost all coronavirus measures …

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Far-right British commentator Katie Hopkins was set to be deported from Sydney on Monday evening after she boasted about flaunting COVID-19 controls and the federal government cancelled her visa. NSW Police also issued Ms Hopkins a $1000 fine for failing to wear a mask on Friday night while in hotel quarantine in Sydney. Ms Hopkins, …

Reuters reports: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and finance minister Rishi Sunak will both self-isolate in line with national guidance, abandoning heavily criticised plans to take part in a pilot scheme that would have allowed them to continue working. The U-turn comes a day after health minister Sajid Javid said he had tested positive for COVID-19 and at a time …

The Christian Post reports: The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has been awarded a financial settlement and received a public apology from a British council that censored the Christian group’s ads. Along with issuing an apology last week for pulling the ads because they opposed the evangelical group’s conservative views on LGBT issues, the Blackpool Council in Lancashire also agreed to …

The New York Times reports: If a British court permits the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face criminal charges in the United States, the Biden administration has pledged that it will not hold him under the most austere conditions reserved for high-security prisoners and that, if he is convicted, it will let him serve his sentence in …

The Washington Post reports: Boris Johnson on Monday announced that Britain was set to soon end virtually all government mandates to control the spread of the coronavirus, telling people that in two weeks it would likely be completely up to them whether to wear a face mask or socially distance. At an evening news conference, the British prime minister said …

The Guardian reports: Thousands of anti-lockdown and anti-vax demonstrators marched through central London on Saturday. It was billed the “Freedom March” by protesters who assembled at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park from midday, some holding banners backing Donald Trump’s run for president in 2024, or supporting the far right conspiracy movement QAnon. Many of those present estimated it was the …

The Guardian reports: The EU is preparing to act against the “disproportionate” amount of British television and film content shown in Europe in the wake of Brexit, in a blow to the UK entertainment industry and the country’s “soft power” abroad. The UK is Europe’s biggest producer of film and TV programming, buoyed up by £1.4bn from the sale of …

Reuters reports: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth met U.S President Joe Biden under the canopy of the world’s largest indoor rainforest on Friday as she hosted a reception for leaders of the Group of Seven richest nations, who are holding a three-day summit. At the reception, held at the Eden Project, whose distinctive bubble-like Biomes house thousands of plant varieties, the queen …

The Irish Times reports: Joe Biden will press Boris Johnson to resolve Britain’s dispute with the European Union over the Northern Ireland Protocol when they meet in Cornwall on Thursday ahead of a summit of G7 leaders. The meeting comes amid signs that talks between London and Brussels are close to collapse, with the EU warning it will retaliate with …

The BBC reports: Prime Minister Boris Johnson has married his fiancee Carrie Symonds in a secretly-planned wedding at Westminster Cathedral. The marriage took place in a “small ceremony” on Saturday afternoon, a Downing Street spokesman said. The spokesman added that the couple would celebrate again with family and friends next summer, with their honeymoon also delayed until then. The prime …

The Daily Mail reports: Boris Johnson referred to Covid as ‘Kung-Flu’ and – before he was infected with the virus – offered to be injected with it live on TV to ‘show it’s nothing to be scared of’, Dominic Cummings will claim today. They are among the explosive allegations that Mr Cummings, Mr Johnson’s former chief adviser, will make to …

Axios reports: German authorities announced it will ban most non-essential travel from the United Kingdom starting Sunday to prevent the spread of new coronavirus variants. Germany classified Britain as “an area of variant of concern,” saying that outbreaks are reemerging and more infectious variants, including the one dominant in India, have been detected. The ban will not apply to German …

Buzzfeed News reports: Buckingham Palace has made a formal request to have a doctored image of Queen Elizabeth II wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat and a QAnon brooch removed from a “Trump Train” bus that was seen at a rally held by Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene in Florida last week. A Palace spokesperson told BuzzFeed …

Reuters reports: Britain will move to ban conversion therapy and provide more support to those in the LGBTQ community who have undergone the treatment, as part of its post-pandemic government agenda. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government said measures would be brought forward to prevent these “abhorrent practices which can cause mental and physical harm,” starting with a consultation on how …