LONDON — A retired British shop clerk received the first shot in the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program Tuesday, the start of an unprecedented global immunization effort intended to offer a route out of a pandemic that has killed 1.5 million. Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week, got the shot...
UK’s “Yorkshire Ripper” Serial Killer Peter Sutcliffe Dies
LONDON — The British serial killer known as the “Yorkshire Ripper," a man who instilled terror and fear across northern England in the 1970s, died Friday at a hospital there. He was 74. Peter Sutcliffe, a former grave digger, was serving concurrent life sentences for killing 13 women in Yorkshire...
UK to Infect Healthy Volunteers in Vaccine Research Trial
LONDON — U.K. researchers are preparing to infect healthy young volunteers with the virus that causes COVID-19, becoming the first to announce plans to use the controversial technique to study the disease and potentially speed up development of a vaccine that could help end the pandemic. This type of research,...
World Struggles as Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Pass 40 Million
LONDON — The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the planet has surpassed 40 million, but experts say that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the true impact of the pandemic that has upended life and work around the world. The milestone was hit Monday...
Northern Ireland Shuts Schools; Liverpool Slams Revelers
LONDON — Northern Ireland on Wednesday introduced the tightest COVID-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom, closing schools, pubs and restaurants to slow the spread of the virus. The move came as England's new three-tiered system of restrictions took effect, with the northwestern city of Liverpool facing the most severe measures....
Assange May End Up at Colorado Supermax Jail, UK Court Told
LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange would have to be “almost dying” to get out of arguably the most notorious prison in the United States if convicted of espionage charges and sent there, a court at London's Old Bailey heard Tuesday. Assange, who is fighting an extradition request from the...
UK Experts Issue Stark Warning on Exponential Virus Cases
LONDON — Britain’s top medical advisers warned the public Monday they must make further sacrifices to control the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying new coronavirus infections could increase tenfold to almost 50,000 a day next month if nothing is done now to stem the tide. In a briefing...
London Mayor Seeks Answers Over Taser Use on Rapper's Father
LONDON — London’s mayor has called for an urgent investigation after rapper Wretch 32 released a video of his father being tasered in his home by a British police officer. The 36-second clip posted late Tuesday on Twitter shows police entering a house. An officer says “Police officer with a...
US Prosecutors Spar With Prince Andrew in Epstein Probe
LONDON — U.S. prosecutors and attorneys for Britain's Prince Andrew sniped at one another across the Atlantic on Monday, each saying the other side was to blame for the duke's failure to participate in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking probe. Andrew's lawyers said in a statement that he has offered...
BP to Cut 10,000 Jobs Worldwide Amid Virus Pandemic
LONDON — Oil and gas company BP announced Monday that it will slash its global workforce by 10,000 jobs as the COVID-19 pandemic slams the energy industry. Chief Executive Bernard Looney said that the cuts will affect office-based roles in BP's global workforce of 70,000 people and come mostly this...