DANICA KIRKA

This photo issued by the University of Oxford shows of vial of coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, in Oxford, England. (John Cairns/University of Oxford via AP)

December 30, 2020, 10:37 am

UK is 1st to approve use of AstraZeneca’s cheap, easily stored COVID-19 vaccine

Developed by British-Swedish drugmaker and University of Oxford, shots can be stored in a regular refrigerator making them an easy option for many countries

By DANICA KIRKA

90-year-old Margaret Keenan, the first patient in the UK to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, administered by nurse May Parsons at University Hospital, Coventry, England, Dec. 8, 2020 (Jacob King/Pool via AP)

December 8, 2020, 8:34 am

‘V-Day’: UK rolls out trailblazing coronavirus vaccine program as world looks on

Initial 800,000 doses slated to begin to be given to people over 80 who are hospitalized or already have appointments scheduled, in West’s first major inoculation campaign

By DANICA KIRKA

In this December 20, 2017, photo provided by Joel Friedman, Rabbi Avrohom Pinter makes a speech at Canvey Island,in Essex, southeast England. (Joel Friedman via AP)

October 13, 2020, 12:58 pm

UK rabbi felled by COVID remembered for building bridges between people, faiths

Rabbi Avrohom Pinter, who died in Apil, contracted virus as he worked to warn community; was active in interfaith initiatives and acted to improve girls’ education

By DANICA KIRKA

A Muslim man uses hand sanitizer at the Bradford Grand Mosque as Muslims gathered for Eid al-Adha prayers, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, July 31, 2020. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

July 31, 2020, 4:42 pm

UK puts lockdown-easing on hold as virus spread accelerates

Hours before planned rollback of restrictions set to take effect, Johnson says country needs to ‘squeeze [the] brake pedal’ as infections start to climb for first time since May

By DANICA KIRKA and Jill Lawless

Peter Green, founding member of Fleetwood Mac, at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York, on April 7, 2001. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, FILE)

July 25, 2020, 8:26 pm

Peter Green, Fleetwood Mac’s pioneering, troubled, blues guitarist, dies at 73

Green, fourth child of an east London Jewish family, had ‘the sweetest tone I ever heard,’ said B.B. King; wrote ‘Black Magic Woman,’ ‘Oh Well,’ ‘Albatross’

By Robert Barr and DANICA KIRKA

Placards belonging to remain in the European Union, anti-Brexit protesters stand outside the Houses of Parliament in London, January 7, 2020. (Matt Dunham/AP)

July 21, 2020, 2:30 pm

Long-awaited report says hard to prove Russian influence on UK Brexit referendum

But parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee says ‘serious questions needed to be asked’ about government’s slow recognition of threat of meddling

By DANICA KIRKA and SYLVIA HUI

Captain Sir Thomas Moore receives his knighthood from Britain's Queen Elizabeth, during a ceremony at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Friday, July 17, 2020 (Chris Jackson/Pool Photo via AP)

July 17, 2020, 10:32 pm

UK’s Cpt. Tom a knight at 100, no kneeling required

Thomas Moore captivated British public by walking 100 laps around his garden and raising some 33 million pounds for the National Health Service

By DANICA KIRKA

Colleagues and pupils of teacher James Furlong stand together to take part in a period of silence at the Holt School, in Wokingham, England, in memory of teacher James Furlong, a victim of a terror attack in nearby Reading, June 22, 2020. (Steve Parsons/PA via AP)

June 22, 2020, 5:47 pm

English town Reading mourns victims of suspected terror attack

Students light candles, lay flowers for history teacher James Furlong; family of another victim, Joe Ritchie-Bennett from Philadelphia, stranded in US due to virus lockdown

By DANICA KIRKA and Jill Lawless

Black Lives Matter supporters during a protest at Trafalgar Square in central London, June 13, 2020. (AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

June 20, 2020, 6:02 am

Bank of England apologizes for past links to slavery, as UK reckons with past

UK’s central bank disavows former governors who had ties to slave trade; global anti-racism movement forcing British institutions to grapple with uncomfortable histories

By Jill Lawless and DANICA KIRKA

Dame Vera Lynn attends a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, in central London, August 20, 2010. (Lefteris Pitarakis/AP)

June 18, 2020, 2:26 pm

World War II forces sweetheart singer Dame Vera Lynn dies at 103

Iconic artist, who said she was ‘an ordinary girl,’ became famous for entertaining British troops abroad with favorites such as ‘We’ll Meet Again’ and ‘The White Cliffs of Dover’

By DANICA KIRKA

A person is injected as part of the first human trials in the UK to test a potential coronavirus vaccine, taken by Oxford University in England, on April 23, 2020. (Screenshot/Oxford University Pool via AP)

June 14, 2020, 1:31 am

AstraZeneca agrees to make experimental COVID-19 vaccine for Europe

Drugmaker to supply EU states with up to 400 million doses of desperately needed vaccine, as it scales up production with human trials still under way

By DANICA KIRKA

Demonstrators make black power salutes as they make their way toward the US Embassy in central London on May 31, 2020, to protest the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota USA. (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP)

May 31, 2020, 8:52 pm

World horrified, but not surprised, as racism protests tear apart US

Thousands gather in London in solidarity with US demonstrators, while officials in China, Iran and Russia spotlight police violence to criticize Washington

By DANICA KIRKA

Reverend William Taylor, top left, and local people standing with social distancing observe a 30 second silence during a remembrance event as they add the names of five people who recently died to the community "We Grieve" wall at Clapton Common, in London, May 28, 2020 (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

May 31, 2020, 12:26 pm

Grieving London community unites around mural in honor of rabbi killed by virus

Rev. William Taylor started London community project with friend Rabbi Avrohom Pinter, and painted ‘We Grieve’ on wall after Pinter’s death. It’s now the site of a weekly ceremony

By DANICA KIRKA

An Indian Air Force helicopter showers flower petals on the staff of INS Asvini hospital in Mumbai, India, Sunday, May 3, 2020. The event was part the Armed Forces' efforts to thank the workers, including doctors, nurses and police personnel, who have been at the forefront of the country's battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

May 4, 2020, 5:37 am

As lockdowns ease, some countries report new infection peaks

India and Russia see jumps in virus cases and UK faces mounting pressure to ease restrictions, even though it’s still reporting hundreds of deaths daily

By Frances D'Emilio, Pablo Gorondi and DANICA KIRKA

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson shows thumbs up before he applauds on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street in London during the weekly 'Clap for our Carers,' April 30, 2020. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)

May 3, 2020, 4:42 pm

UK’s Johnson: At low point in virus bout, doctors prepared to announce my death

British PM reveals ‘indicators kept going the wrong way’ as he guzzled liters of oxygen in intensive care; names newborn son in honor of physicians who saved him

By DANICA KIRKA