By , LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he hoped Britain could return to normality before Christmas, setting out a phased removal of lockdown restrictions, but warned the country still needed to prepare for the worst.Britain’s death toll of more than 45,000 from confirmed cases of COVID-19 is Europe’s highest but the country has begun to lift lockdown measures as case numbers and infection rates fall.Johnson set out the latest timetable for easing on Friday, saying employers would be given more discretion over working from home rules, that the safety of larger gatherings...…By , LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he hoped Britain could return to normality before Christmas, setting out a phased removal of lockdown restrictions, but warned the country still needed to prepare for the worst.Britain’s death toll of more than 45,000 from confirmed cases of COVID-19 is Europe’s highest but the country has begun to lift lockdown measures as case numbers and infection rates fall.Johnson set out the latest timetable for easing on Friday, saying employers would be given more discretion over working from home rules, that the safety of larger gatherings...WW…

By , LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he hoped Britain could return to normality before Christmas, setting out a phased removal of lockdown restrictions, but warned the country still needed to prepare for the worst.Britain’s death toll of more than 45,000 from confirmed cases of COVID-19 is Europe’s highest but the country has begun to lift lockdown measures as case numbers and infection rates fall.Johnson set out the latest timetable for easing on Friday, saying employers would be given more discretion over working from home rules, that the safety of larger gatherings...…By , LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he hoped Britain could return to normality before Christmas, setting out a phased removal of lockdown restrictions, but warned the country still needed to prepare for the worst.Britain’s death toll of more than 45,000 from confirmed cases of COVID-19 is Europe’s highest but the country has begun to lift lockdown measures as case numbers and infection rates fall.Johnson set out the latest timetable for easing on Friday, saying employers would be given more discretion over working from home rules, that the safety of larger gatherings...WW…

By , , MADRID/LONDON/BERLIN (Reuters) - Spain reacted angrily on Tuesday to recommendations from Britain and Germany that their citizens avoid its islands and beaches because of an increase in coronavirus cases during what should be the height of the tourism season.With advisories piling up on top of a quarantine order from Britain for returning travellers, Spain, which depends on summer visits by sun-seeking northern Europeans, is facing a major blow to any hopes of reviving its economy.Tourism accounts for just over 12% of Spain’s GDP and nearly 13% of jobs. The country lost one million...…By , , MADRID/LONDON/BERLIN (Reuters) - Spain reacted angrily on Tuesday to recommendations from Britain and Germany that their citizens avoid its islands and beaches because of an increase in coronavirus cases during what should be the height of the tourism season.With advisories piling up on top of a quarantine order from Britain for returning travellers, Spain, which depends on summer visits by sun-seeking northern Europeans, is facing a major blow to any hopes of reviving its economy.Tourism accounts for just over 12% of Spain’s GDP and nearly 13% of jobs. The country lost one million...WW…

By , LONDON (Reuters) - Britain called on the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday to show proof that Sheikha Latifa, one of the daughters of the ruler of Dubai, was still alive after she said in a video message from a bathroom that she was being held captive in a barricaded villa.The fate of Latifa, 35, and her tempestuous relationship with her father, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has cast a new spotlight on his family affairs and on an international campaign to free his daughter.Dubai is now under growing international pressure to allow Latifa, who tried to flee in 2018 in a dinghy...…By , LONDON (Reuters) - Britain called on the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday to show proof that Sheikha Latifa, one of the daughters of the ruler of Dubai, was still alive after she said in a video message from a bathroom that she was being held captive in a barricaded villa.The fate of Latifa, 35, and her tempestuous relationship with her father, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has cast a new spotlight on his family affairs and on an international campaign to free his daughter.Dubai is now under growing international pressure to allow Latifa, who tried to flee in 2018 in a dinghy...WW…

By LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways warned that its survival was at stake on Friday as its CEO told staff of plans to cut jobs and ground aircraft to tackle the “worsening situation” caused by coronavirus.Chief Executive Alex Cruz told BA’s staff in a message titled “the survival of British Airways” that coronavirus was causing a crisis “of global proportions like no other we have known”, more serious than the financial crisis, SARS or 9/11.“Please do not underestimate the seriousness of this for our company,” read the message from Cruz, a transcript of which was seen by Reuters.The...…By LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways warned that its survival was at stake on Friday as its CEO told staff of plans to cut jobs and ground aircraft to tackle the “worsening situation” caused by coronavirus.Chief Executive Alex Cruz told BA’s staff in a message titled “the survival of British Airways” that coronavirus was causing a crisis “of global proportions like no other we have known”, more serious than the financial crisis, SARS or 9/11.“Please do not underestimate the seriousness of this for our company,” read the message from Cruz, a transcript of which was seen by Reuters.The...WW…

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comLONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - England's shops, hairdressers, gyms and pub gardens will reopen on Monday in what Prime Minister Boris Johnson said was a "major step" towards freedom from the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.Hundreds of thousands of businesses have been closed since early January when England entered a third lockdown to stem surging infections driven by the "Kent" variant of the virus.A vaccination campaign that has delivered a first shot to well over half of adults and lockdown measures have cut deaths by more than 95%...…Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comLONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - England's shops, hairdressers, gyms and pub gardens will reopen on Monday in what Prime Minister Boris Johnson said was a "major step" towards freedom from the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.Hundreds of thousands of businesses have been closed since early January when England entered a third lockdown to stem surging infections driven by the "Kent" variant of the virus.A vaccination campaign that has delivered a first shot to well over half of adults and lockdown measures have cut deaths by more than 95%...WW…

By LONDON (Reuters) - Travellers from England will face 5,000 pound ($6,900) fines in new legislation designed to deter non-essential trips and barricade the nation against imported COVID-19 infections.The news was a disappointment to millions of people hoping for a summer holiday and sent travel stocks - including easyJet, British Airway-owner, Jet2 and TUI - down 2-4% in early trade on Tuesday.Travel shares had also fallen on Monday.Britain has had one of the worst COVID-19 tolls in the world, but deaths and infections are falling fast and a successful vaccination campaign is finally...…By LONDON (Reuters) - Travellers from England will face 5,000 pound ($6,900) fines in new legislation designed to deter non-essential trips and barricade the nation against imported COVID-19 infections.The news was a disappointment to millions of people hoping for a summer holiday and sent travel stocks - including easyJet, British Airway-owner, Jet2 and TUI - down 2-4% in early trade on Tuesday.Travel shares had also fallen on Monday.Britain has had one of the worst COVID-19 tolls in the world, but deaths and infections are falling fast and a successful vaccination campaign is finally...WW…

By LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has hit a COVID-19 vaccination milestone with more than half of all adults having had at least one injection, health secretary Matt Hancock said on Saturday, making it the world’s first major economy to achieve that level of innoculation.Britain’s vaccine roll-out, which has raced ahead of those in the European Union and the United States, means the country is on track to ease lockdown measures and re-open the economy in line with its plan, Hancock said.“The vaccination programme is our route out of the pandemic,” Hancock told Sky News on Saturday. Official...…By LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has hit a COVID-19 vaccination milestone with more than half of all adults having had at least one injection, health secretary Matt Hancock said on Saturday, making it the world’s first major economy to achieve that level of innoculation.Britain’s vaccine roll-out, which has raced ahead of those in the European Union and the United States, means the country is on track to ease lockdown measures and re-open the economy in line with its plan, Hancock said.“The vaccination programme is our route out of the pandemic,” Hancock told Sky News on Saturday. Official...WW…

By LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways’s new boss said vaccinated people should be allowed to travel without restriction and non-vaccinated people with a negative COVID-19 test, as he set out his ideas for a travel restart a month before the UK government finalises its plans.Holidays will not be allowed until May 17 at the earliest, the government has said, but before that, on April 12, Britain will announce how and when non-essential travel into and out of the country can resume.Sean Doyle, appointed BA’s chief executive last October, called on Britain to work with other governments to...…By LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways’s new boss said vaccinated people should be allowed to travel without restriction and non-vaccinated people with a negative COVID-19 test, as he set out his ideas for a travel restart a month before the UK government finalises its plans.Holidays will not be allowed until May 17 at the earliest, the government has said, but before that, on April 12, Britain will announce how and when non-essential travel into and out of the country can resume.Sean Doyle, appointed BA’s chief executive last October, called on Britain to work with other governments to...WW…

By LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will require passengers arriving from countries where worrying coronavirus variants are spreading to pay for 10 days of quarantine in hotels, while rule-breakers will face heavy fines or jail terms, under tighter restrictions from next week.The new travel rules add to restrictions that already ban travel abroad for holidays. The government said the stronger measures were needed to prevent new variants of the virus from thwarting Britain’s rapid vaccination programme.Airlines and travel companies called for more government aid, saying the new rules would deepen...…By LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will require passengers arriving from countries where worrying coronavirus variants are spreading to pay for 10 days of quarantine in hotels, while rule-breakers will face heavy fines or jail terms, under tighter restrictions from next week.The new travel rules add to restrictions that already ban travel abroad for holidays. The government said the stronger measures were needed to prevent new variants of the virus from thwarting Britain’s rapid vaccination programme.Airlines and travel companies called for more government aid, saying the new rules would deepen...WW…