UK

Gyms have roared back since the pandemic — so much so that faltering new year’s resolutions and an economic downturn might not hit so hard.

The latest economic forecast from the Bank of England and record profits by Shell lead many of Friday's papers.

Cross country began and grew in the cold off-season, and its world championships are usually held in winter mud and slush. This year, however, will be different.

It comes as the Bank raises rates to 4% - the highest since 2008 - as it tries to tackle soaring prices.

World Heritage Site status has been sought for almost half a million acres of blanket bog.

The channel is being revamped following the merger of the two existing UK and worldwide channels.

Demand is expected to be high to see the singer take her acclaimed Renaissance album on the road.

Will Labour's pledge to end tax perks for the rich if they win power drive money away from the UK?

The UK hasn't seen a single named storm so far this autumn and winter. But why?

The tightening of regulations may lead to criminal records for those flouting them, a new policy says.

UK policymakers should combine tough action on inflation this week with a subsequent pause to assess the effects of higher borrowing costs.

The roles are at risk at Tesco as it announces more changes to the way it runs its supermarkets.

Around 160 million people from across the globe will watch the world's biggest song contest live from Liverpool on 13 May.

The IMF says the UK economy is forecast to shrink by 0.6% this year.

It is three years since the UK left the EU and time to start looking at the evidence.

There are benefits to a four-week detox, but the real upside is a change in long-term behavior.

Students throughout Russia will undergo basic military training starting next September, signaling a militarized atmosphere in wartime Russia, the UK Ministry of Defense said.

The then-PM was warned off talking to incoming BBC chairman Richard Sharp, the Sunday Times reports.

The pop-up department store will sell second-hand fashion items supplied by 10 different charities.

The X-Men star says although he was "grateful", his eyes were "opened" over "the toxicity of empire".

A charity says its data highlights how predators took advantage of the worldwide Covid-19 situation.

The home secretary says the changes recommended in the wake of the scandal will no longer go ahead.

Ukraine’s allies have provided thousands of armored vehicles, artillery pieces, aircraft and other weapon systems to help the country fight back against Russia’s invasion. But requests for top-of-the-line, NATO-standard battle tanks — above all the German-made Leopard and US Abrams — long went unfulfilled. The US cited training and logistical hurdles and Germany said it would not make such a move alone. Yet there are reasons why Ukraine’s military wants them.

Up to £200 was offered by some banks to switching customers - prompting the most moves since 2013.

Car production in the UK continued to fall last year, lagging further behind the US and EU.

Ukraine’s allies have provided thousands of armored vehicles, artillery pieces, aircraft and other weapon systems to help the country fight back against Russia’s invasion. But requests for top-of-the-line, NATO-standard battle tanks — above all the German-made Leopard and US Abrams — long went unfulfilled. The US cited training and logistical hurdles and Germany said it would not make such a move alone. Yet there are reasons why Ukraine’s military wants them.

Ukraine’s allies have provided thousands of armored vehicles, artillery pieces, aircraft and other weapon systems to help the country fight back against Russia’s invasion. But requests for top-of-the-line, NATO-standard battle tanks — above all the German-made Leopard and US Abrams — long went unfulfilled. The US cited training and logistical hurdles and Germany said it would not make such a move alone. Yet there are reasons why Ukraine’s military wants them.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's indecision has earned him criticism both nationally and internationally.

Government proposals "damage people's ability to enforce their rights", a group of MPs and peers say.

On her first-ever visit to Scotland, an Insider reporter was surprised by how cheap groceries were and how quickly the weather could change.

The shadow foreign secretary says Labour would forge a new security pact between the EU and the UK if it wins the next election.

The alleged rent arrears relate to office space at Twitter's UK headquarters in central London.

Proposals for a one-off payment from Welsh government are rejected by Royal College of Nurses.

Monday's front pages round up the weekend's top political stories involving Boris Johnson and Nadhim Zahawi.

The UK's two biggest steelmakers are expected to get support to move away from old-fashioned coal.

Sunday's front pages reveal details of King Charles's coronation and report the Tory chairman is battling to save his career.

Unite has written a letter to the Business Secretary Grant Shapps seeking more government support.

The government is poised to help the struggling steelmaker secure thousands of jobs.

I would like to respond to a letter to the editor in the Jan. 2 edition of The Monitor. Invade, assault, swarming: These are all words that inspire hatred and fear toward our fellow humans. So, they work hard, most times far harder than citizens born in the country to which they came. So, write your Congress members and ask them what they are doing to address the situation. Did the world not learn from the flu pandemic of the 1918 to 1920 and the invading tyrants like Hitler?

The Labour leader says the sector needs a strategic plan, following the collapse of Britishvolt.

Jake Davison had his licence revoked in 2020 but police returned it in 2021 ahead of the shooting in Plymouth.

Nine European nations promise more artillery and missiles, ahead of a major donor conference on Friday.

The high-profile businessman criticises the government for its "short-sighted" approach to business.

Britain has a long history of incentivizing retirement savings outside of the public sector.

The Finnish embassy in London allows diplomats to relax while they wrestle with international issues.

The global tour will celebrate the 40th anniversary of her breakthrough single, Holiday, in 1983.

Shona Robison said the move by the UK government was a "dark day for democracy".

The Online Safety Bill shouldn't treat community-run sites like big tech firms its foundation says.

Tuesday's papers largely focus on David Carrick, the police officer who has admitted to being a serial rapist.

A gunman fired multiple shotgun rounds into a gathered crowd of funeral mourners in what was a potential Colombian drug cartel related drive by shooting.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss announced Thursday that she would resign after just six weeks in office, following a disastrous and rapidly reversed economic plan that sent the pound plunging and her government into chaos.

Danish brewer Carlsberg says it saw a strong growth in the first three months of the year despite trying to sell its business in Russia, where it generated around 10% of its sales.

The Nobel Prize ceremonies will be reined in for a second year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

HOUSTON – Two new cases of the UK variant were reported in the Houston area on Monday, including a man in his 50′s who is currently hospitalized, health officials said. The hospital’s lab helped discover the two new cases, along with a case of the South African variant in Fort Bend County. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the UK variant spreads more easily and quickly than other variants, and Dr. Anthony Fauci said it could become dominant in the U.S. by the end of March. Dr. David Persse, Houston’s health authority, said the city has found evidence of the UK variant in very low levels of its wastewater as well. Harris County Public Health reported the first known case of the UK variant in Texas on Jan. 7.

A woman pushes luggage through the arrivals area at Heathrow Airport, in London, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. The UK closed all travel corridors from Monday morning to protect against the coronavirus with travellers entering the country from overseas required to have proof of a negative COVID-19 test. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming White House press secretary says his administration does not intend to lift coronavirus travel restrictions for Europe, the U.K., Ireland and Brazil. The message from Jen Psaki came Monday evening after the White House said President Donald Trump had lifted the restrictions for those countries, effective Jan. 26. They prevented most people without American citizenship or residency from traveling to the U.S. from the affected regions.

(NIAID-RML via AP)DENVER – Colorado on Tuesday reported the first U.S. case of a coronavirus variant that was first detected in the United Kingdom. Jared Polis said the state’s laboratory confirmed the B.1.1.7 COVID-19 variant had been found in a male in his 20 who had no history of travel. “There is a lot we don’t know about this new COVID-19 variant, but scientists in the United Kingdom are warning the world that it is significantly more contagious,” Polis wrote. Today we discovered Colorado’s first case of the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7, the same variant discovered in the UK. pic.twitter.com/fjyq7QhzBi — Governor Jared Polis (@GovofCO) December 29, 2020This developing story will be updated.

“It’s a separate lineage from the U.K. and South Africa,” the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, told reporters. He said the Nigeria CDC and the African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases would analyze more samples. The new virus variant in South Africa is now the predominant one there, Nkengasong said, as confirmed infections in the country approach 1 million. “We believe this mutation will not have an effect” on the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines to the continent, he said of the South Africa variant. Infections across the continent have risen 10.9% over the past four weeks, the Africa CDC director said, including a 52% increase in Nigeria and 40% increase in South Africa.

HOUSTON – Two people who experienced possible allergic reactions after receiving the Pfizer vaccine in the UK are recovering well, according to UK regulators. However, now there’s a warning for those who have a history of severe allergic reactions, such as those to food, medicine, vaccines or need to carry an epi-pen. “There are people who have had true allergic reactions to vaccines in the past. “Work out a strategy about when and how they can safely receive the vaccine,” McCarthy said. “It may mean they need to receive it in a more monitored environment.”Locally, researchers said they’ve witnessed zero allergic reactions to the vaccines in clinical trials.

The government is negotiating with the leaders of Manchester, Lancashire and other communities in northern England about moving into the top risk tier, which would require the closure of many businesses. The opposition Labour Party’s spokesman on health issues, Jonathan Ashworth, described the measures as inadequate to stem the exponential growth of the virus. Hancock said discussions were continuing with Greater Manchester and Lancashire about moving those communities into the government’s highest risk tier. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham once again rejected government pressure to accept the higher risk rating without further financial support. “They are willing to sacrifice jobs and businesses here to try and save them elsewhere,″ a visibly furious Burnham said.

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The UK government says selected sports stars are to be exempt from quarantine requirements when competing in England. However, those involved will instead live and work in bubbled environments behind closed doors, UK culture secretary Oliver Dowden announced on Sunday. The new measures will allow Formula One, international soccer, golf and snooker events to take place. Competitors involved in these events will be granted quarantine exemptions. International cricketers are also now formally exempt, although individual special arrangements have already been made for the touring West Indies and Pakistan teams this summer.

Russian bounties offered to Taliban militants in Afghanistan to kill US or UK troops there are believed to have resulted in the deaths of multiple US troops, the Washington Post reported Sunday, citing US intelligence gathered from military interrogations. CNN previously reported that Russian intelligence officers for the military intelligence agency GRU recently offered money to Taliban militants in Afghanistan as rewards if they killed US or UK troops there, according to a European intelligence official. The New York Times first reported on Friday that US intelligence concluded months ago that Russian military intelligence offered the bounties, amid peace talks. Trump, however, has repeatedly denied receiving a briefing about intelligence that Russians had tried to bribe Taliban fighters to kill US troops. Earlier Sunday, the President had tweeted that "there have not been many attacks" on US troops by Taliban fighters as evidence that the reported intelligence may be "phony."