
Deaths from COVID-19 in deprived areas of England was more than double that found in well-off locations, with London by far the worst affected, according to official figures released on Friday.

The Bank of England (BOE), the UK's central bank, cut interest rates by 0.5 percentage points on Wednesday morning as part of an emergency response to the coronavirus, or COVID-19.

The city of Portsmouth in England will continue to seek global relationships following the UK's departure from the European Union by twinning with the Falkland Islands and Halifax in Canada, reports the Plymouth News.

Britain will issue special coins, fly the Union Jack and project a countdown clock on the walls of Downing Street - but not bong Big Ben - on Brexit night, the government said on Friday.

Britain's Labour Party on Monday began the formal contest to replace its leader, with centrists set to battle left-wingers in a fight for its ideological soul. Veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn announced he would step down following last month's crushing defeat to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives.

Scotland's leader Nicola Sturgeon is to accuse Prime Minister Boris Johnson of being dangerous and unfit for office as she launches the SNP's election manifesto. The SNP leader will say that a vote for her party on 12 December will be a vote to escape Brexit and put Scotland's future in Scotland's hands.

The Royal Navy's HMS Forth has set sail for a long-term deployment into the Falkland Islands. The ship left Portsmouth Naval Base early Friday for the South Atlantic where she will act as the Islands' Protection Vessel, replacing HMS Clyde.

By Chris Patten – Even after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, the country will face years of talks in which it will be negotiating from a position of weakness. The UK will be less prosperous and influential than before and will be under increasing internal strain because of policies driven by malignant English nationalism.

Argentina's Navy training tall vessel ARA Libertad on her 48th voyage docked on Thursday in London, where she was received by the Argentine Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Carlos Sersale, representatives of the Royal Navy and members of the Argentine community in UK.

Western leaders and ageing veterans will gather on the shores of France on Thursday in a second day of events marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied amphibious assault that opened the way for western Europe's liberation from Hitler's forces.