The EU is ready to soften its stance on fisheries in negotiations with Britain next week in order to give talks a momentum, Reuters reported citing unnamed sources. The move seems as the first major concession from the bloc in talks on its new relationship with the UK. The issue is particularly sensitive for France, and the Union has said it would not seal a new trade deal with Britain without a stable agreement on that issue.

The UK government decided to introduce a COVID-19 quarantine for all travellers arriving from overseas, which will enter in force from 8 June, interior minister Priti Patel announced on Friday. All international arrivals, including returning Britons, will be required to self-isolate for 14 days and provide details of where they will be staying to the authorities. 

British PM Boris Johnson has been moved out of intensive care as he continues to recover from the Covid-19 disease, a spokesman said on Thursday. "He is in extremely good spirits," the spokesman added.

Italy and Spain, the two European countries hardest hit by the new coronavirus, on Sunday reported encouraging signs in their fight against the deadly Covid-19, news wires reported. While Italy reported its lowest daily death toll in two weeks, in Spain the number of fatalities fell for the third straight day. "This is good news but we should not let our guard down," Italy’s civil protection service chief Angelo Borrelli said.

Queen Elizabeth will make an extremely rare address to the nation on Sunday amid an increasingly deadly coronavirus outbreak in the UK, news wires reported.

A career spy who led the response to the attempted murder of Russian former double agent Sergei Skripal was on Monday named the new head of Britain’s MI5 domestic intelligence agency, news wires reported. Ken McCallum has worked in MI5 for 25 years, and rose through the ranks working across the agency’s main fronts from Northern Ireland to countering Islamist militants and ensuring the safety of the 2012 London Olympics.