Britain

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 …

Reuters reports: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out on Monday the next phase of lockdown easing in England, giving the green light to “cautious hugging” and allowing pubs to serve customers pints inside after months of strict measures. The country is in the process of gradually lifting its latest lockdown over a period of months, in line with …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Scotland’s future in the U.K. is set to loom over British and European politics for years after pro-independence groups led by Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party expanded their majority in the country’s parliament, setting up a clash with the British government on whether Scots should be allowed a vote on leaving the 300-year-old union. Ms. …

The Guardian reports: Rupert Murdoch has drastically scaled backed plans for a new opinionated television service in the UK, after concluding that it is not financially viable to launch a fully fledged rolling news channel in the style of Fox News. Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of his News UK company, told staff the enormous cost of getting a television …

The BBC reports: Boris Johnson suggested that “bodies could pile high” during a heated discussion in No 10 in the autumn about lockdown, sources familiar with the conversation have told the BBC. On Monday, the Daily Mail reported that Mr Johnson had said “let the bodies pile high in their thousands” rather than order a third lockdown. The PM denied …

The Associate Press reports: British authorities are exploring the possibility of creating a new digital currency that Treasury chief Rishi Sunak [photo] touted as “Britcoin.” The Bank of England and the Treasury said Monday that they will work together to assess the benefits of a central bank digital currency, at a time when cash payments are generally on the decline, …

Reuters reports: People queued up outside retailers across England on Monday to release their pent-up shopping fever and some grabbed a midnight pint or even an early haircut as England’s shops, pubs, gyms and hairdressers reopened after three months of lockdown. After imposing the most onerous restrictions in Britain’s peacetime history, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the reopening was a …

NBC News reports: Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband and the longest-serving consort of any British monarch, has died at age 99. Philip spent 65 years supporting the queen, retiring from his public role in 2017 and staying largely out of the view since. In his active years, he helped set a new course for the monarchy under a young …

The Associated Press reports: Crowds from Protestant and Catholic communities hurled bricks, fireworks and gasoline bombs at police and each other overnight in Belfast, as a week of street violence escalated. Police and politicians tried Thursday to calm the volatile situation in Northern Ireland, where Britain’s exit from the European Union has unsettled an uneasy political balance. The focus of …

The BBC reports: A council breached human rights when it banned adverts for an evangelical Christian event, a court has ruled. Blackpool Borough Council and Blackpool Transport Services removed bus adverts in 2018 for an event in the resort featuring preacher Franklin Graham. Judge Claire Evans said the move disregarded “the right to freedom of expression”. Despite protests and an …

The Verge reports: The Bank of England has revealed the design for the UK’s new £50 note featuring computer scientist and codebreaker Alan Turing. Turing was selected to appear on the note in July 2019 in recognition of his groundbreaking work in mathematics and computer science, as well as his role in cracking the Enigma code used by Germany in …

CNBC reports: Piers Morgan is leaving ITV’s “Good Morning Britain” morning show after facing backlash for comments he made about Meghan Markle on Monday. The news comes shortly after U.K. broadcasting regulator Ofcom said it was investigating Morgan after more than 41,000 people complained. “Following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning …

Reuters reports: A British chain of holiday parks was until recently using an “undesirable guest list” to stop people with Irish surnames from making bookings, an anti-discrimination watchdog said on Tuesday. The list used internally at Pontins and obtained by The I newspaper included surnames commonly found in Ireland and within the Irish diaspora in Britain, such as Doherty, Gallagher, …

The BBC reports: The Queen has urged the public to “think about other people” and get a Covid jab when they are offered one. The monarch, 94, and the Duke of Edinburgh, 99, received their first doses of the vaccine in January. In a video call with health leaders delivering the Covid vaccine across the UK, the Queen was asked …

The Associated Press reports: U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday was setting out a road map for lifting one of Europe’s strictest national lockdowns — but the millions of Britons eager for a haircut or an evening out still face a long wait. Johnson is expected to announce a plan to ease coronavirus restrictions in increments, starting by reopening …

The Hill reports: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday lauded the work of President Biden in his first few weeks in the White House, remarking that America is back “as leader of the free world,” in helping to unite the West. “As you’ve seen and heard earlier, America is unreservedly back as the leader of the free world and …

The BBC reports: The Duke of Edinburgh was admitted to hospital on Tuesday evening “as a precautionary measure” after feeling unwell, Buckingham Palace has said. Prince Philip, 99, was taken to the King Edward VII Hospital in London, the statement added. A palace source told the BBC that he travelled by car to the hospital, where he was admitted as …

The New York Times reports: Beset by declining ratings, upheaval in its on-air ranks and a multibillion-dollar defamation suit related to its election coverage, Fox News is staggering out of the Trump era — blamed by many for seeding the poisonous political culture that brought a violent mob into the halls of the United States Capitol. Yet in Britain, where …

The New York Times reports: People flying into England from South Africa, Brazil and 31 other countries deemed by Britain to be hot spots for coronavirus variants will be required starting Monday to complete a 10-day quarantine in a government-sanctioned hotel, costing nearly $2,500 for a single adult. Scotland is requiring all international air passengers, no matter where from, to …

The Guardian reports: The US government has appealed a UK judge’s ruling against the extradition of the WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange, according to a Justice Department official. The appeal made clear that Joe Biden intends to have Assange stand trial on espionage- and hacking-related charges over WikiLeaks’ publication of hundreds of thousands of US military and diplomatic documents. The Justice …