UK

British airports called for urgent government support and an airline industry representative said the sector was heading for a "very difficult" place after Britain tightened its COVID-19 rules for international travellers on Friday.

Britain is tightening border controls to block new variants of COVID-19, suspending all "travel corridor" arrangements that had meant arrivals from some countries did not require quarantine.

Scottish fishermen have increasingly turned to fish auctions in Denmark in the first two weeks of the year to avoid having their deliveries to the European Union blocked by post-Brexit red tape.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday the government hoped to complete the vaccination programme for care home residents and workers by the end of month, acknowledging problems with infection rates in such settings.

Coronavirus cases in Britain are showing some signs of levelling off but admissions to hospital are expected to keep rising and will not begin to fall for a few weeks, England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said on Friday.

Britain's Prince Harry is heartbroken over his split with the royal family but he and his wife Meghan are happy in their new lives in the United States, broadcaster and confidant to the couple Tom Bradby said in an interview to be aired on Saturday.

Mutations of the novel coronavirus could theoretically get around the current vaccines, but the vaccines themselves can be adapted to new strains, Britain's Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance said on Friday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is taking a stand against "cruel" Japanese whaling, The Telegraph newspaper said on Friday, after a minke whale became caught in fishing nets for 19 days before being killed by fishermen this week,

Small businesses, from restaurants to nightclubs and wedding planners to beauty parlours, on Friday won the right to insurance payouts after Britain's highest court ruled many policies should cover losses caused by coronavirus lockdowns.