The British government of PM Boris Johnson has decided not to join a European Union coronavirus vaccine scheme because of concerns there could be costly delays in securing the vaccines, according The Telegraph, which cited  sources. The European Commission is expected to be notified on Friday.

The British government has announced more than 1.5 billion pounds (€1.73 billion, almost $2 billion) to help the country’s renowned arts and cultural institutions recover from the coronavirus pandemic, after some theatres and music venues warned that without support they might never open again.

Boris Johnson wants a haircut and a beer. Like millions of other Britons, the prime minister will be able to have a trim and a tipple on Saturday, when the country takes its biggest step yet out of coronavirus lockdown with the reopening in England of restaurants, pubs and hairdressers, along with secular and sacred venues including cinemas and churches.

The British government will effectively ditch its air bridge plans and simply end the coronavirus quarantine rules for those arriving from 75 countries so that people can go on holiday, The Daily Telegraph reported. According to the outlet, the ban on non-essential travel will be lifted for nearly all EU destinations, the British territories including Bermuda and Gibraltar, as well as Turkey, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.

Boris Johnson today unveiled a £5bn recovery plan this financial year to brace Britain for the "thunderclap" of coronavirus. The Prime Minister admitted the virus was still "circling like a shark in the water" - but said if he didn't act now, the economy faces collapse.

British authorities imposed a stringent lockdown on the English city of Leicester following a local Covid-19 flare-up just as PM Boris Johnson attempts to nudge the UK back to normality, news wires reported. Leicester accounted for 10% of all positive cases in England in the past week, with 135 cases per 100,000 people, three times higher than the next highest city, the government said.

Julian Assange’s lawyer said on Monday he was surprised US authorities issued a new and wider indictment last week against the WikiLeaks founder whom they are seeking to extradite from Britain.

Iceland's incumbent president, Gudni Johannesson, has secured a new four-year term in office following a decisive win in Saturday's presidential vote. Johannesson won 92.2% of the vote, while his single challenger, Gudmundur Franklin Jonsson, had just under 8%, tallies showed on Sunday.

Three people were killed in a stabbing attack in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Friday, British media reported , with police saying a suspect had been shot and an officer injured. An eyewitness told Sky News she had seen several people covered in blood being treated by emergency services after an incident at a city centre hotel.

Norway will lift travel restrictions to and from European countries that meet criteria regarding their COVID-19 situation from 15 July, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said on Thursday. Norway, which is not a member of the European Union, but belongs to the passport-free Schengen travel zone, currently has some of the strictest travel restrictions in Europe.