British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday he was looking at toughening the United Kingdom's border controls because of the risk of "vaccine-busting" new variants of the coronavirus.
"We have to realise there is at least the theoretical risk of a new variant that is a vaccine-busting variant coming in - we've got to be able to keep that under control," Johnson told reporters at a vaccination centre.
"We want to make sure that we protect our population, protect this country against reinfection from abroad," Johnson said. "We need a solution."
He said the government was looking at the option of quarantine hotels but that the United Kingdom had one of the tightest regimes in the world.
"That idea of looking at hotels is certainly one thing that we are actively now working on," he said.
Johnson said the United Kingdom was on target to reach its vaccination targets for vulnerable groups by February 15.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the United States remains prepared to play a "constructive role" in helping bring an end to the war in Ukraine, following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of an ASEAN gathering in Manila.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that "fast-track" courts would be set up to prosecute those behind exam paper leaks, his first public response after days of youth protests demanding the resignation of the education minister.
Two earthquakes that rocked Venezuela on June 24 caused $19.6 billion in direct physical damage, but the cost of rebuilding could be twice that much or more, the World Bank said in an early assessment released on Thursday.
Ousted Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on Thursday he would accept no other government position besides his former job, escalating a political crisis that has gripped Ukraine at a pivotal point in the war with Russia.