Roman Abramovich’s 19-year ownership of Chelsea is ending after the British government approved the sale of the Premier League club by the sanctioned Russian oligarch.

Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly will now take over the team.

The government had to be sure that Abramovich, who was sanctioned over his links to Russian President Vladimir Putin, did not profit from the enforced sale of the club.

The reigning FIFA Club World Cup winners and 2021 European champions will be sold for 2.5 billion pounds ($3.1 billion) — the highest price ever for a sports team — once Premier League approval is granted.

Proceeds from the sale will go into a frozen bank account controlled by the government, according to Sky Sports News.

California-based Clearlake Capital will assume the majority shareholding.

The team has been operating under a government license since March, when Abramovich’s assets were frozen.

The license will expire on May 31.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a no-confidence vote on Monday, securing enough support from his Conservative Party to remain in office despite a substantial rebellion that leaves him a weakened leader with an uncertain future.

Known for his ability to shrug off scandals, the charismatic leader has struggled to turn the page on revelations that he and his staff repeatedly held boozy parties that flouted the COVID-19 restrictions they imposed on others. Support among his fellow Conservative lawmakers has weakened as some see a leader renowned for his ability to connect with voters increasingly as a liability rather than an asset in elections.

Johnson won the backing of 211 out of 359 Conservative lawmakers in a secret ballot, more than the simple majority needed to remain in power, but still a significant rebellion of 148 MPs.

Johnson called it a “convincing” win and said the party should now “come together.”

“What it means is that as a government we can move on and focus on stuff that I think really matters to people,” he said.

With no clear front-runner to succeed him, most political observers had predicted Johnson would defeat the challenge. But the rebellion could still be a watershed moment for him — and is a sign of deep Conservative divisions, less than three years after he led the party to its biggest election victory in decades.

Johnson’s winning margin is less than that secured by his predecessor Theresa May in a similar vote in December 2018. She was forced to resign six months later.

Since replacing May as prime minister in 2019, Johnson has led Britain out of the European Union and through a pandemic, both of which have shaken the U.K. socially and economically. The vote comes as Johnson’s government is under intense pressure to ease the pain of skyrocketing energy and food bills.

But the main blow to his leadership has been revelations that he and his staff repeatedly held illegal parties during lockdowns. That caused anger in the country, and unease among many Conservatives.

Discontent that has been building for months erupted after a 10-day parliamentary break that included a long weekend of celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. For many, the four-day holiday was a chance to relax — but there was no respite for Johnson, who was booed by some onlookers as he arrived for a service in the queen’s honor at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Friday.

Conservative Party official Graham Brady announced Monday that he had received letters calling for a no-confidence vote from at least 54 Tory legislators, enough to trigger the measure under party rules. Hours later, party lawmakers lined up by the dozen in a corridor at Parliament to cast their ballots in a wood-paneled room, handing over their phones as they entered to ensure secrecy.

Johnson addressed dozens of Conservative lawmakers in a House of Commons room before the vote as he tried to shore up support, vowing: “I will lead you to victory again.”

Johnson’s allies had insisted he would stay in office if he won by even a single vote.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said Johnson had won the vote “handsomely,” and urged the party to “draw a line under this now.”

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, one of the favorites to succeed Johnson if he is ousted, tweeted: "Pleased that colleagues have backed the Prime Minister. I support him 100%. Now’s the time to get on with the job.”

But previous prime ministers who survived no-confidence votes emerged severely weakened.

Johnson became prime minister in July 2019, capping a rollercoaster journey to the top. He had held major offices, including London mayor and U.K. foreign secretary, but also spent periods on the political sidelines after self-inflicted gaffes. He kept bouncing back, showing an uncommon ability to shrug off scandal and connect with voters that, for many Conservatives, overshadowed doubts about his ethics or judgment.

But concerns came to a head after an investigator’s report late last month that slammed a culture of rule-breaking inside the prime minister’s office in a scandal known as “partygate.”

Civil service investigator Sue Gray described alcohol-fueled bashes held by Downing Street staff members in 2020 and 2021, when pandemic restrictions prevented U.K. residents from socializing or even visiting dying relatives.

Gray said Johnson and senior officials must bear responsibility for “failures of leadership and judgment.”

Johnson also was fined 50 pounds ($63) by police for attending one party, making him the first prime minister sanctioned for breaking the law while in office.

The prime minister said he was “humbled” and took “full responsibility” — but insisted he would not resign.

But a growing number of Conservatives feel that Johnson is now a liability who will doom them to defeat at the next election, which must be held by 2024.

“Today’s decision is change or lose,” said Jeremy Hunt, who ran against Johnson for the Conservative leadership in 2019 but has largely refrained from criticizing him since. “I will be voting for change.”

Lawmaker Jesse Norman, a longtime Johnson supporter, said the prime minister had “presided over a culture of casual law-breaking” and had left the government “adrift and distracted.”

Despite his victory, Johnson is likely to face more pressure. The war in Ukraine, a simmering post-Brexit feud with the EU and soaring inflation are all weighing on the government.

Polls give the left-of-center opposition Labour Party a lead nationally, and the Conservatives could lose special elections later this month for two parliamentary districts, called when incumbent Tory lawmakers were forced out by sex scandals.

Johnson tried to focus on broader issues, promising colleagues he would cut taxes — a policy popular with Tories — and noting that he spoke Monday to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine’s cause, a stance shared by his possible successors.

Cabinet minister Steve Barclay, a Johnson ally, said toppling the leader now would be “indefensible.”

But Steve Baker, a strong Brexit supporter whose opposition to May helped Johnson take power, said he was voting for Johnson to go because the prime minister had broken the law.

He predicted before the vote that Johnson would likely “formally win” but said that would not settle the matter.

“What that means over the months ahead, I don’t know,” Baker said.

A federal police investigator in Brazil says a suspect has confessed to fatally shooting an Indigenous expert and a freelance British journalist in the Amazon, and the investigator said the suspect took officers to where the bodies were buried.

Officer Eduardo Alexandre Torres said at a news conference on Wednesday evening that the prime suspect in the case had detailed what happened to the pair who went missing on June 5. Torres said the suspect confessed he used a firearm to kill Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira of Brazil and freelance reporter Dom Phillips of Britain.

Police say they recovered human remains on Wednesday but they have not yet been positively identified.

“We found the bodies nearly two miles into the woods,” an investigator said. “They put bags of dirt on the boat so it would sink,” he said.

Pereira, 41, and Phillips, 57, were last seen on their boat in a river near the entrance of the Javari Valley Indigenous Territory, which borders Peru and Colombia. That area has seen violent conflicts between fishermen, poachers and government agents.

CNN —

As prices surge and the U.K. economy struggles more than most of its peers, Starbucks is reportedly looking for an exit.

Related video above: Starbucks To Close 16 Stores Over Safety Concerns

The company is engaged with advisers to determine whether it could — or should — sell its business in the United Kingdom, according to U.K. newspaper The Times.

Asked for comment, Starbucks shared with CNN Business an email it sent its U.K. staff over the weekend denying the company is engaged in a "formal sale process" and asserting its desire to remain in the region.

The report comes at a time that the U.K. economy is in tough shape, making it difficult for businesses to operate and for residents to make ends meet. U.K. inflation hit 9.1% in May — a 40-year high and the highest rate among the leading G7 economies. And there's no relief in sight: Inflation is forecast to climb above 11% later this year.

Food prices in particular have been soaring, creating a cost of living crisis for many in the U.K. Disposable incomes are on track for the second biggest fall since record keeping began in 1964, according to the Bank of England.

Prospects are bleak for the entire U.K. economy, according to a report on financial stability published earlier this month from the Bank of England, which said the outlook for the country's economy had "deteriorated materially." The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development forecast in June that the U.K. economy was heading to stagnation, with zero GDP growth forecast for 2023.

That's a downbeat environment for businesses, especially those still recovering from the difficult pandemic years.

For Starbucks, coffee sales were hit when customers began working from home. As employees start making their way back to offices, the trend has turned around. Starbucks' U.K. sales improved significantly in the quarter ended April 3, Michael Conway, group president of international and channel development, said during a May analyst call.

"Traffic continues to come into Central London metro areas, and we are increasing drive-throughs in that market at a significant rate," he said.

Starbucks had about 300 company-operated stores and roughly another 800 licensed locations in the United Kingdom as of October 2021. The coffee chain launched operations in the U.K. in 1998.

LONDON, England —

Video above: Queen Elizabeth Welcomes Britain’s New Prime Minister

Buckingham Palace said Thursday that Queen Elizabeth II is under medical supervision because doctors are “concerned for Her Majesty’s health," as members of her family traveled to be with the 96-year-old monarch in Scotland.

“Following further evaluation this morning, the Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision,” the palace said in a statement that sparked deep concern.

The announcement comes a day after the queen canceled a meeting of her Privy Council and was told to rest. On Tuesday, she presided over the ceremonial handover power to new Prime Minister Liz Truss at her summer residence in Scotland at Balmoral Castle.

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The palace says the queen is “comfortable” and remains at Balmoral. Her son, Prince Charles, and grandson Prince William were traveling to be with her, officials said.

Truss — who was briefed on the news as she delivered a statement in the House of Commons — said “the whole country will be deeply concerned by the news from Buckingham Palace this lunchtime.”

“My thoughts — and the thoughts of people across our United Kingdom — are with Her Majesty The Queen and her family at this time,” she said on Twitter.

Elizabeth marked seven decades on the throne this year. She has increasingly handed over duties to her heir, Prince Charles, and other members of the royal family in recent months as she has struggled to get around.

Video above: Who is and who is not attending the Queen’s funeral

Flights to and from London's Heathrow Airport on the day of the Queen's funeral are being canceled or re-timed "as a mark of respect" to the late monarch.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the U.K.'s busiest airport confirmed that it would be making "appropriate changes" to operations "in order to avoid noise disruption" during Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral at Westminster Abbey and the Committal Service at Windsor Castle on Monday.

U.K.'s national carrier British Airways has already canceled 50 flights short-haul on Monday, while Virgin Atlantic has canceled four U.S. flights to and from Heathrow Airport.

The operational changes, likely to impact thousands of passengers, have been put in place to ensure "quiet skies" during specific times during the day, and will affect about 15% of Heathrow's schedule.

There will be no aircraft movement at the airport for 30 minutes from 11:40 a.m. and 12:10 p.m (GMT) to ensure that there is no disruption during a two-minute silence at the end of the funeral is not disrupted.

'Quiet skies'

Arrivals to Heathrow will also be halted from 1:45 p.m. and 2:20 p.m. "to ensure silence during the ceremonial procession" (GMT,) and there are to be no departures for one hour and 40 minutes from 3:05 p.m. (GMT) as the ceremonial procession approaches Windsor Castle for the interment.

Meanwhile, departures are to be "reduced" from 4:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. during the committal service at St George's Chapel.

"In order to observe these moments on Monday, airlines will need to adjust their schedules accordingly, which will mean some changes to flights," reads a statement from Heathrow.

Video below: Mourners pay respects as queen lies in state

"Passengers affected by these changes will be contacted directly by their airlines about their travel plans and the options available to them."

Flights will also be diverted around Windsor Castle, located around 12 miles from Heathrow, on the day "to minimize noise during the private family service and interment."

Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic has stressed that while "the vast majority" of flights are scheduled to operate as normal, there will be some adjustments to "accommodate restrictions" during the state funeral and committal ceremony.

A number of shops at Heathrow Airport will also be shutting their doors on Monday, which has been declared a public holiday in the U.K.

"As a mark of respect for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her State Funeral, we have reduced our schedule and re-timed some flights at Heathrow to ensure the skies are quiet at certain moments on Monday September 19th," reads a statement from British Airways.

Video below: Royals walk behind Queen's coffin in Edinburgh

"Our thoughts remain with the Royal Family and the nation."

CNN has contacted Heathrow Airport for further comment.

LONDON —

In retrospect, it seems as if she was preparing us all along.

Whether it was due to age, ill health or a sense that the end was near, Queen Elizabeth II spent much of the last two years tying up loose ends, trying to make sure the family firm would keep ticking along after her death.

The transition began slowly, with the queen turning over more public duties to her son and heir, now King Charles III, as she entered her twilight years. But it moved into overdrive in 2022 as Elizabeth celebrated 70 years on the throne. First she expressed her wish that Charles' wife, Camilla, be known as queen consort after her death, and then the future king took center stage during four days of Platinum Jubilee festivities.

"Elizabeth II was preparing the ground for the succession,'' historian Ed Owens said. "We saw a lot more of Charles in the last 10 years stepping in for his mother in a number of key situations at key public events. And that, I think, was partly intentional in that the monarch … wanted her son to sort of gravitate naturally into the limelight, to make this seem as best as possible as though it was a seamless transition.''

Charles' increased role began gradually when the queen began cutting back on long-haul flights, resulting in the then Prince of Wales taking her place at a 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Sri Lanka.

The queen became head of the Commonwealth, a grouping of 54 independent countries with links to the former British Empire, when she ascended the throne and championed its role in world affairs throughout her reign.

In 2018, Elizabeth expressed her "sincere wish" that Charles would follow her as head of the Commonwealth and its leaders agreed.

The previous year, Charles represented the queen at the annual Remembrance Day ceremony honoring the nation's war dead, laying the monarch's wreath at the foot of the Cenotaph in London. It was the first time the queen hadn't performed the solemn ritual, marked by columns of aging veterans marching past the monument, other than when she was pregnant or out of the country.

But what had been a subtle shift became more obvious after the coronavirus pandemic led Elizabeth to take refuge at Windsor Castle outside London and the death of her husband, Prince Philip, reminded the nation of the queen's mortality.

That was underscored by the image of Elizabeth, her face hidden behind a black mask, sitting alone in St. George's Chapel as she mourned the loss of the man who had been her "strength and stay" for over 73 years.

On the anniversary of her accession to the throne in February, the queen moved to end the long-running controversy over the status of Charles' wife.

Camilla has been a divisive figure in Britain because her long-term relationship with Charles was blamed for the breakdown of his first marriage to the widely beloved Princess Diana. The mother of Princes William and Harry died in a Paris car crash in 1997, five years after her messy split with Charles.

When Charles married Camilla in 2005, he made it known that he wanted his wife to become queen when he ascended the throne. Diana's fans objected, saying it would dishonor the princess.

But the public attitude toward Camilla, 75, has warmed in recent years as she took on roles at more than 100 charities, focusing on issues ranging from literacy to domestic violence. Her down-to-earth style and sense of humor have softened Charles' stuffy image and made him appear more relaxed.

When the queen weighed in on Feb. 6., she obliquely recognized that her reign would come to an end.

"When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes king, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me," she said. "And it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as queen consort as she continues her own loyal service."

Video: King Charles, Prince William greet mourners

Late last year, Elizabeth was seen using a walking stick for the first time, and in April she revealed that a bout with COVID-19 had left her feeling "very tired and exhausted."

In May, the queen delegated one of her most important public duties to Charles, asking him to preside over the state opening of Parliament and deliver the annual Queen's Speech laying out the government's legislative program.

The event is a symbol of the monarch's constitutional role as head of state and is accompanied by centuries of tradition designed to demonstrate the strength of Britain's political institutions.

When it came time for the Platinum Jubilee, the palace let it be known that the queen's ongoing "mobility issues" would limit her role.

Instead, Charles took center stage.

He donned full military uniform to review the troops during the queen's ceremonial birthday parade, sat in the position of honor at the front of St. Paul's Cathedral for a service celebrating her reign and led salutes to his mother at a gala concert, appearing with Camilla by his side.

After her death, Charles and Camilla were greeted warmly by crowds of mourners outside Buckingham Palace, with the new monarch shaking hands and chatting with well-wishers who broke into a chorus of "God Save the King."

The reaction, and Charles' first days in his new role, suggest that the public is, at least for now, on board, former BBC royal correspondent Michael Cole said this week outside the palace.

"Look at the thousands of people who have come here of their own accord,'' he said, waving a hand at the crowds. "They're not being bused in. They're not being ordered to be here. They're not being given little flags to wave. This is not North Korea. This is not a parade for Putin in Red Square. These people have come to express their respect for the dead queen and show, a very big word, affection."

___

Follow AP's coverage of Queen Elizabeth II and other stories on the British monarch at https://apnews.com/hub/queen-elizabeth-ii

Production for Netflix's royal drama "The Crown" paused briefly while filming season six of the show as the world paid their final respects to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II after her death.

Season five is still set for release on Nov. 9 and will feature a new actress playing the queen.

Claire Foy played Queen Elizabeth II for the first two seasons of the show. Then for seasons three and four, Olivia Colman took over portraying Her Majesty.

Now for the latest season, Imelda Staunton will take over the role.

Season five is expected to focus on the queen's preparations for the 40th anniversary of her ascension to the throne, Netflix revealed.

"She reflects on a reign that has encompassed nine Prime Ministers, the advent of mass television, and the twilight of the British Empire," the streaming giant said.

The role of then-Prince Charles is portrayed by Dominic West, and Elizabeth Debicki was cast in the role of Princess Diana.

PORTLAND, Ore. —

President Joe Biden on Saturday called embattled British Prime Minister Liz Truss' abandoned tax cut plan a “mistake,” and said he is worried that other nations' fiscal policies may hurt the U.S. amid “worldwide inflation."

Biden said it was “predictable” that the new prime minister on Friday was forced to walk back plans to aggressively cut taxes without identifying cost savings, after Truss' proposal caused turmoil in global financial markets. It marked an unusual criticism by a U.S. president of the domestic policy decisions of one of its closest allies.

“I wasn’t the only one that thought it was a mistake," Biden said. "I disagree with the policy, but that’s up to Great Britain.”

Biden's comments came after weeks of White House officials declining to criticize Truss' plans, though they emphasized they were monitoring the economic fallout closely. He was speaking to reporters at an Oregon ice cream shop where he made an unannounced stop to promote the candidacy of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tina Kotek, as Democrats across the country face a tough political environment amid GOP criticism of their handling of the economy.

Biden said he was not concerned about the strength of the dollar — it set a new record against the British Pound in recent weeks — which benefits U.S. imports but makes the country's exports more expensive to the rest of the world.

The president said the U.S. economy "is strong as hell.”

“I’m concerned about the rest of the world,” he added. “The problem is the lack of economic growth and sound policy in other countries."

Said Biden: “It's worldwide inflation, that's consequential.”

LONDON (AP) — Britain's press erupted in outrage Friday at Prince Harry and Meghan's documentary series, which lambasts the U.K. media over its treatment of the royal couple.

But much of Britain reacted to the Netflix show with a shrug. Buckingham Palace had no comment, and the prime minister didn't watch.

The first three hour-long episodes of "Harry and Meghan" were released Thursday, with three more due Dec. 15. So far, the series has contained few of the bombshells the palace had feared.

In the program the couple, along with friends and Meghan's family members, recount their early lives and blossoming romance, leading up to their fairy-tale wedding at Windsor Castle in 2018, and their growing discontent with what they saw as the media's racist treatment of Meghan and a lack of support from the palace.

Harry and Meghan walked away from royal duties in early 2020 and moved to California to start a new life as campaigners, charity benefactors and media personalities.

At the heart of the show is the symbiotic and sometimes toxic relationship between Britain's royal family and the media. Each side needs the other, but both are often dissatisfied with the arrangements. Prince Harry has long railed against press intrusion that he says clouded his childhood and contributed to the death of his mother, Princess Diana. She was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997 while being pursued by photographers.

Meghan claims in the documentary that the media wanted to "destroy" her, while Harry says his wife was subjected to a press "feeding frenzy."

That riled British newspapers, many of which splashed their anger across front pages and editorial columns.

Some objected to claims in the series that the Commonwealth of the U.K. and its former colonies — an organization led until her death by Queen Elizabeth II — is an extension of the British Empire and its racism. The Daily Telegraph's front page accused the show of being a "direct hit" on the queen's legacy. In an editorial, the conservative-leaning Daily Mail called the show "little more than a hatchet job from start to finish."

The tabloid Sun said the documentary was "made for an American audience — cementing their money-making potential in the US — and to hell with everything and everybody else, including the truth."

Scotland's Daily Record said the palace was stunned by the couple's allegations, running the headline: "We are not amused."

Bob Seely, a lawmaker with the governing Conservative Party, said he would try to introduce a bill in Parliament to strip the couple of their royal titles, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Seely said Prince Harry was attacking important British institutions, "as well as trashing his family and monetizing his misery for public consumption."

Employment Minister Guy Opperman branded the couple "utterly irrelevant" and urged people "to boycott Netflix and make sure that we actually focus on the things that matter."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office said it did not back Seely's bill, or a Netflix boycott.

"It's a matter for the public what channels they want to watch," said spokesman Jamie Davies. He said the prime minister had not watched the series, and the government "would never comment on royal matters."

The show comes at a crucial moment for the monarchy. King Charles III is trying to show that the institution still has a role to play after the death in September of the queen, whose personal popularity dampened criticism of the crown during her 70-year reign.

The king declined to comment on the Netflix series during public engagements in London on Thursday or during a visit Friday to Welsh soccer club Wrexham AFC, where he met the team's owners, Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Both said they had not watched the series, with McElhenney joking, "I've never heard of it."

Many in Britain had mixed feelings about a show that rehashes long-running grievances between the Sussexes, the palace and the press.

In London, 59-year-old Lucy Barratt said the documentary was "too much" — but that she might watch it anyway,

"I know it's awful being a royal, but part of being a royal is not complaining," she said. "Go on, have a drink with a mate and talk about it.

"I'm torn between watching it and I slightly want to cancel Netflix. But then, as a sort of voyeur, I might watch it."

Russia has vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding that Moscow stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw all troops.

Friday’s vote was 11-1, with China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining. It showed significant but not total opposition to Russia’s invasion of its smaller, militarily weaker neighbor.

The United States and other supporters knew the resolution wouldn’t pass but argued it would highlight Russia’s international isolation. The resolution’s failure paves the way for backers to call for a swift vote on a similar measure in the U.N. General Assembly. There are no vetoes in the 193-member assembly. There’s no timetable as yet for a potential Assembly vote.

As Bloomberg reported, Ukraine's government announced on Friday that it was in talks with Russia regarding a time and location to carry out potential peace talks, as ground fighting in Ukraine continues with Russian forces closing in on Ukraine's capital city Kyiv.

All government-mandated coronavirus restrictions in England were lifted on Thursday, including the legal requirement for people who test positive for COVID-19 to isolate at home.

Officials say that those who tested positive will still be advised to stay at home for at least five days. But, from Thursday they are not legally obliged to do so, and those on lower incomes will no longer get extra financial support to make up for a loss of income due to isolation.

The routine tracing of infected people's contacts has also been scrapped. Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out on Monday his Conservative government's strategy for "living with COVID" in the longer term. He said Britain is moving "from legal restrictions to personal responsibility," and that the end of all domestic legal measures marked the end of two of the darkest years in the country's peacetime history. 

The strategy includes plans to massively scale back free universal coronavirus testing from April 1. England already tossed most virus restrictions in January, after infection rates and hospitalizations fell following a surge in late December. Face masks are no longer legally required anywhere and vaccine passports for entering nightclubs and other venues were nixed. 

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which set their own public health rules, have similarly opened up, though at different paces.

Some other European countries,  including Denmark and Sweden, have also recently lifted all COVID-19 restrictions.

Some critics have questioned whether it is too early to end all restrictions, especially isolation laws. The British Medical Association warned that Johnson's strategy fails to protect the most vulnerable people and those at the highest risk of harm from COVID-19.

Some 85% of people aged 12 and older in the U.K. are fully vaccinated, and about 66% have had their third or booster dose. 

The U.K. still has Europe's highest coronavirus toll after Russia, with more than 161,000 recorded deaths.

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Buckingham Palace says Queen Elizabeth II has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild, cold-like symptoms. The palace said Sunday that the 95-year-old British monarch will continue with light duties.

The palace says "she will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines." The queen has received three vaccine shots. Both her eldest son Prince Charles and her daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, have also recently contracted COVID-19.

Britain's longest-reigning monarch, the queen reached the milestone of 70 years on the throne on Feb. 6. Top U.K. politicians, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, quickly issued messages wishing the queen a speedy recovery.

As the Associated Press reported, "She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines," according to a statement from the palace.

MOSCOW —

Russia's Foreign Ministry on Sunday rejected a British claim that Russia was seeking to replace Ukraine's government with a pro-Moscow administration, and that former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevheniy Murayev was being considered as a potential candidate.

Britain's Foreign Office on Saturday also named several other Ukrainian politicians it said had links with Russian intelligence services, along with Murayev who is the leader of a small pro-Russia party that has no seats in the parliament.

The U.K. government made the claim based on an intelligence assessment, without providing evidence to back it up. It comes amid high tensions between Moscow and the West over Russia's designs on Ukraine.

"The disinformation spread by the British Foreign Office is more evidence that it is the NATO countries, led by the Anglo-Saxons, who are escalating tensions around Ukraine," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on the Telegram messaging app Sunday. "We call on the British Foreign Office to stop provocative activities, stop spreading nonsense."

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the information "shines a light on the extent of Russian activity designed to subvert Ukraine, and is an insight into Kremlin thinking."

Truss urged Russia to "deescalate, end its campaigns of aggression and disinformation, and pursue a path of diplomacy," and reiterated Britain's view that "any Russian military incursion into Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake with severe costs.

Britain has sent anti-tank weapons to Ukraine as part of efforts to bolster its defenses against a potential Russian attack.

Amid diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis, U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace is expected to meet Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for talks in Moscow. No timing has been given for the meeting, which would be the first U.K.-Russia bilateral defense talks since 2013.

The U.S. has mounted an aggressive campaign in recent months to unify its European allies against a new Russian invasion of Ukraine. The White House called the U.K. government assessment "deeply concerning" and said it stands with the duly elected Ukrainian government.

"This kind of plotting is deeply concerning," National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said. "The Ukrainian people have the sovereign right to determine their own future, and we stand with our democratically-elected partners in Ukraine."

The assessment came as President Joe Biden spent Saturday at the presidential retreat Camp David outside of Washington huddling with his senior national security team about the Ukraine situation. A White House official said the discussions included efforts to de-escalate the situation with diplomacy and deterrence measures being coordinated closely with allies and partners, including security assistance to Ukraine.

___

Jill Lawless in London, Jari Tanner in Helsinki, and Matthew Lee and Zeke Miller in Washington, contributed to this report.

Police in Britain have arrested two teenagers allegedly connected to Saturday's hostage-taking at a Texas synagogue.

The Greater Manchester Police did not name the suspects Sunday or whether they faced any charges. They described them as teenagers who were in custody for questioning.

The hostage-taker, a British citizen identified as a 44-year-old Malik Faisal Akram, was killed by SWAT team members after holding four people hostage at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville.

The suspect demanded the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted of killing U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan.

The FBI said Sunday that there's no immediate indication the man had connections to any broader plan but that the agency's investigation "will have global reach."

The synagogue says it will hold a service Monday night "to help all of us to begin to put this terrible event behind us and be thankful for a good result." The service, which begins at 7 p.m. local time, will be livestreamed on the congregation's Facebook page.

"We are strong. We are resilient. The time to heal our community has begun," the synagogue said.

LONDON —

Britain became the latest country Saturday to report cases of the new potentially more contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus as world governments sought to shore up their defenses by slapping restrictions on travel from nations in southern Africa.

U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed that two people have tested positive with the omicron variant in the southeastern English town of Chelmsford and in the central city of Nottingham. He said the cases were linked and related to travel from southern Africa.

Video above: Expert on emergence of new COVID variant

Javid said the two confirmed cases are self-isolating alongside their households while contact tracing and targeted testing take place. He also said arrivals from Angola, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia will have to quarantine from Sunday and stressed the importance of booster jabs.

"This is a real reminder that this pandemic is far from over," he said. "If we need to take further action, we will."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, along with his top advisers, will be holding a media briefing later Saturday.

Many countries have slapped restrictions on various African countries over the past couple of days including Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union, Iran, Japan, Thailand and the United States, in response to warnings over the transmissibility of the new variant — against the advice of the World Health Organization. Pharmaceutical companies expressed optimism that they could finesse their vaccines to deal with the new variant though that would clearly take some time.

Despite the banning of flights, there are mounting concerns that the variant has already been widely seeded around the world. In addition to the U.K., cases have been reported in travelers in Belgium, Israel and Hong Kong. Germany also said it suspected a positive case and Dutch authorities were testing whether 61 people who arrived on two flights from South Africa with COVID-19 have the omicron variant.

The planes arrived in the Netherlands from Johannesburg and Cape Town shortly after the Dutch government imposed a ban on flights from southern African nations. The 539 travelers who tested negative were allowed to return home or continue their journeys to other countries. Under government regulations, those who live in the Netherlands and are allowed to return home must self-isolate for at least five days.

Meanwhile, a German official said that there's a "very high probability" that the omicron variant has already arrived in the country.

Kai Klose, the health minister for Hesse state, which includes Frankfurt, said in a tweet that "several mutations typical of omicron" were found Friday night in a traveler returning from South Africa, who was isolated at home. Sequencing of the test had yet to be completed.

The global health body has named the new variant omicron, labeling it a variant of concern because of its high number of mutations and some early evidence that it carries a higher degree of infection than other variants. That means people who contracted COVID-19 and recovered could be subject to catching it again. It could take weeks to know if current vaccines are less effective against it.

With so much uncertainty about the omicron variant and scientists unlikely to flesh out their findings for a few weeks, countries around the world have been taking a safety-first approach, in the knowledge that previous outbreaks of the pandemic have been partly fueled by lax border policies.

Nearly two years on since the start of the pandemic that has claimed more than 5 million lives around the world, countries are on high alert.

The variant's swift spread among young people in South Africa has alarmed health professionals even though there was no immediate indication whether the variant causes more severe disease. In just two weeks, omicron has turned a period of low transmission in the country into one of rapid growth.

A number of pharmaceutical firms, including AstraZeneca, Moderna, Novavax and Pfizer, said they have plans in place to adapt their vaccines in light of the emergence of omicron. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said they expect to be able to tweak their vaccine in around 100 days.

Professor Andrew Pollard, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group which developed the AstraZeneca vaccine, expressed cautious optimism that existing vaccines could be effective at preventing serious disease from the omicron variant.

He said most of the mutations appear to be in similar regions as those in other variants.

"That tells you that despite those mutations existing in other variants the vaccines have continued to prevent serious disease as we've moved through alpha, beta, gamma and delta," he told BBC radio. "At least from a speculative point of view we have some optimism that the vaccine should still work against a new variant for serious disease but really we need to wait several weeks to have that confirmed."

He added that it is "extremely unlikely that a reboot of a pandemic in a vaccinated population like we saw last year is going to happen."

Some experts said the variant's emergence illustrated how rich countries' hoarding of vaccines threatens to prolong the pandemic.

Fewer than 6% of people in Africa have been fully immunized against COVID-19, and millions of health workers and vulnerable populations have yet to receive a single dose. Those conditions can speed up spread of the virus, offering more opportunities for it to evolve into a dangerous variant.

"One of the key factors to emergence of variants may well be low vaccination rates in parts of the world, and the WHO warning that none of us is safe until all of us are safe and should be heeded," said Peter Openshaw, a professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London.

"Global vaccine rollout is vital," he added.

___

Pan Pylas contributed from London. Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II has made a knight of the 100-year-old World War II veteran who captivated the British public by walking 100 laps of his garden and raising some 33 million pounds ($40 million) for the National Health Service.

The queen tapped the blade of a sword once owned by her father on the shoulders of Tom Moore on Friday to turn the hero of a nation into a knight of the realm.

Moore steadied himself against his now-famous walker and wheeled himself close enough to stand in front of Elizabeth but skipped the normal practice of taking a knee before the monarch.

Before being knighted, CNN reports that Moore said, "If I kneel down, I'll never get up again."

He revealed afterward that he and the 94-year-old queen spoke about ages.

A member of production on “The Batman” has tested positive for COVID-19 and the U.K shoot has been temporarily suspended. Multiple media outlets are reporting the film's star, Robert Pattinson, is the person who tested positive.

A spokesperson for Warner Bros. said Thursday that the individual is isolating in accordance with established protocols and filming is temporarily paused. They would not release any other information about the situation or affected crew member.

Vanity Fair and Deadline are both reporting Pattinson tested positive for coronavirus, however no other information about his situation was available.

Pattinson is starring in the new film from director Matt Reeves which had resumed filming just a few days ago after an almost six-month hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The film was originally supposed to hit theaters in June 2021 but was pushed back to October 2021 because of the production delays.

Before filming was stopped earlier this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, enough was shot to put together a trailer for "The Batman."

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky says Ben Jordan, a right-handed pitcher who played last season on the men’s basketball team because of a shortage of players, has died. He was 22 years old.

The school announced Jordan’s death on Monday in a release and a Kentucky baseball spokesman said coach Nick Mingione has spoken with the player’s family. The school release did not specify a cause of death.

Mingione said in a release Tuesday that the program was devastated to learn of Jordan’s passing.

“There are no words to express the shock and heartache our team is feeling with the loss of Ben,” the coach said. “He was an absolute joy to coach and be around. ... We are all hurting and will find a way carry Ben’s legacy forward and keep him in our heart always.”

The 6-foot-9, 250-pound Jordan joined Kentucky’s basketball team last season when it lacked enough players for practice. He played just one minute in two games, but practicing against 6-11 Nick Richards was cited in helping Richards become a first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection by The Associated Press and coaches.

“Ben impacted our team last season in so many ways with his kind heart, his big smile and his wonderful personality,” coach John Calipari said in a release. “He cared so deeply about this place and it meant so much to him to be a part of this team.”

The Olive Hill, Kentucky, native had a 7.27 earned run average in 2019 after pitching 8 2/3 innings over 10 games and allowed eight hits, eight runs (seven earned), 12 walks with eight strikeouts. Jordan redshirted his 2018 freshman season while recovering from an injury.

Jordan was on Kentucky’s 35-man baseball active roster last spring but had not joined the team because of his basketball obligations before the season was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. He also made the SEC spring sports Academic Honor Roll.

Video above: Pfizer study says vaccine protects against variant

The race against the virus that causes COVID-19 has taken a new turn: Mutations are rapidly popping up, and the longer it takes to vaccinate people, the more likely it is that a variant that can elude current tests, treatments and vaccines could emerge.

The coronavirus is becoming more genetically diverse, and health officials say the high rate of new cases is the main reason. Each new infection gives the virus a chance to mutate as it makes copies of itself, threatening to undo the progress made so far to control the pandemic.

On Friday, the World Health Organization urged more effort to detect new variants. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a new version first identified in the United Kingdom may become dominant in the U.S. by March. Although it doesn’t cause more severe illness, it will lead to more hospitalizations and deaths just because it spreads much more easily, said the CDC, warning of “a new phase of exponential growth.”

“We’re taking it really very seriously," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government's top infectious disease expert, said Sunday on NBC's “Meet the Press.”

“We need to do everything we can now ... to get transmission as low as we possibly can,” said Harvard University’s Dr. Michael Mina. “The best way to prevent mutant strains from emerging is to slow transmission.”

So far, vaccines seem to remain effective, but there are signs that some of the new mutations may undermine tests for the virus and reduce the effectiveness of antibody drugs as treatments.

“We’re in a race against time" because the virus “may stumble upon a mutation” that makes it more dangerous, said Dr. Pardis Sabeti, an evolutionary biologist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

Younger people may be less willing to wear masks, shun crowds and take other steps to avoid infection because the current strain doesn’t seem to make them very sick, but “in one mutational change, it might,” she warned. Sabeti documented a change in the Ebola virus during the 2014 outbreak that made it much worse.

MUTATIONS ON THE RISE

It's normal for viruses to acquire small changes or mutations in their genetic alphabet as they reproduce. Ones that help the virus flourish give it a competitive advantage and thus crowd out other versions.

In March, just a couple months after the coronavirus was discovered in China, a mutation called D614G emerged that made it more likely to spread. It soon became the dominant version in the world.

Now, after months of relative calm, “we’ve started to see some striking evolution” of the virus, biologist Trevor Bedford of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle wrote on Twitter last week. “The fact that we’ve observed three variants of concern emerge since September suggests that there are likely more to come.”

One was first identified in the United Kingdom and quickly became dominant in parts of England. It has now been reported in at least 30 countries, including the United States.

Soon afterward, South Africa and Brazil reported new variants, and the main mutation in the version identified in Britain turned up on a different version “that’s been circulating in Ohio ... at least as far back as September,” said Dr. Dan Jones, a molecular pathologist at Ohio State University who announced that finding last week.

“The important finding here is that this is unlikely to be travel-related” and instead may reflect the virus acquiring similar mutations independently as more infections occur, Jones said.

That also suggests that travel restrictions might be ineffective, Mina said. Because the United States has so many cases, “we can breed our own variants that are just as bad or worse” as those in other countries, he said.

___

TREATMENT, VACCINE, REINFECTION RISKS

Some lab tests suggest the variants identified in South Africa and Brazil may be less susceptible to antibody drugs or convalescent plasma, antibody-rich blood from COVID-19 survivors — both of which help people fight off the virus.

Government scientists are “actively looking” into that possibility, Dr. Janet Woodcock of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration told reporters Thursday. The government is encouraging development of multi-antibody treatments rather than single-antibody drugs to have more ways to target the virus in case one proves ineffective, she said.

Current vaccines induce broad enough immune responses that they should remain effective, many scientists say. Enough genetic change eventually may require tweaking the vaccine formula, but “it’s probably going to be on the order of years if we use the vaccine well rather than months,” Dr. Andrew Pavia of the University of Utah said Thursday on a webcast hosted by the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Health officials also worry that if the virus changes enough, people might get COVID-19 a second time. Reinfection currently is rare, but Brazil already confirmed a case in someone with a new variant who had been sickened with a previous version several months earlier.

___

WHAT TO DO

“We’re seeing a lot of variants, viral diversity, because there’s a lot of virus out there,” and reducing new infections is the best way to curb it, said Dr. Adam Lauring, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Loyce Pace, who heads the nonprofit Global Health Council and is a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board, said the same precautions scientists have been advising all along “still work and they still matter.”

“We still want people to be masking up,” she said Thursday on a webcast hosted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“We still need people to limit congregating with people outside their household. We still need people to be washing their hands and really being vigilant about those public health practices, especially as these variants emerge.”

___

AP Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson in Seattle contributed reporting.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

With the start of the 2021 season for the Wildcats nearing, UK Athletics has outlined its policies -- including COVID-19 protocols -- for home games at Kroger Field.

Speculation has been circling over whether UK would require vaccinations or masks for game days amid the current surge of COVID-19, particularly due to the delta variant strain. State leaders and health officials have been sounding the alarm about the current situation, warning about the strain on hospitals and urging Kentuckians to get vaccinated.

So, what's happening at Kroger Field this season?

When it comes to masking, UK Athletics will require masks for all while visiting any indoor areas within Kroger Field, regardless of vaccination status.

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You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Fully vaccinated individuals will not be required to wear masks in the concourse areas or in the upper or lower seating bowls of the stadium. They will also not need them in outside club seating and in suites with the windows open.

In the video player above: Kentucky football's starting QB talks about getting the job

Meanwhile, fans who are not vaccinated are being asked to wear a mask at all times when around others, both indoors and outdoors.

"All fans are strongly encouraged to wear masks, regardless of vaccination status, while not actively eating or drinking," UK Athletics said in its plan.

Indoor spaces include restrooms, Longship Club, Central Bank Club, all elevators, the player/guest entrance, first aid rooms, offices and any other spaces that are fully enclosed.

Click here for more information on mask guidance at Kroger Field.

That means that Kentucky is not instituting a proof of vaccination or proof of negative COVID-19 test to enter Kroger Field.

Earlier this week, Louisiana State University announced Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge will require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for game days. Other schools in the Southeastern Conference have not made decisions yet.

What else to know about game days

UK Athletics said that "nearly everything that goes along with college football Saturdays" is expected to return this season. That includes tailgating, bands, cheerleaders and the Chevy Catwalk.

As announced in the fall of 2020, all venues have moved to mobile ticketing. Season parking permits will also be issued through mobile delivery.

UK Athletics is asking all fans who are sick to stay home. Here's more on campus COVID-19 measures at the University of Kentucky.

London’s police department is under scrutiny for the way officers handled some participants at an unofficial vigil Saturday night for a London woman whose death led to murder charges against a fellow officer and spurred a national conversation about violence against women in the U.K.

Hundreds of people disregarded a judge's ruling and police requests by gathering at Clapham Common in honor of Sarah Everard, 33, who last was seen alive near the south London park on March 3. Demonstrators said they wanted to draw attention to the fear and danger many women see as a daily part of British life.

Everard disappeared while walking home from a friend’s apartment at about 10:30 p.m. and was found dead a week later. The slaying sent shockwaves across the U.K. because a Metropolitan Police officer is charged with her kidnapping and murder.

Video of Saturday's informal vigil turned rally showed officers from the same police force tussling with participants as they pushed their way through the crowd. At one point, several male officers grabbed hold of several women and pulled them away in handcuffs to screaming and shouting from onlookers, Britain's Press Association reported.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan decried the police actions.

“The police have a responsibility to enforce COVID laws, but from images I’ve seen it’s clear the response was at times neither appropriate nor proportionate,” Khan said on Twitter.

Home Secretary Priti Patel tweeted that she had asked the Metropolitan Police for a full report on what happened.

The gathering happened hours after London constable Wayne Couzens, 48, appeared in court for the first time since his arrest in Everard's death. As Metropolitan Police officers approached the Clapham Common bandstand on Saturday evening, boos, jeers and shouts of “Shame on you” came from the crowd, according to the Press Association.

Organizers had hoped to hold “Reclaim the Streets” vigils in Everard’s memory at the south London location and in other U.K. cities on Saturday but canceled the in-person events after a judge refused to grant an order allowing them to go on despite coronavirus restrictions that bar mass gatherings.

Hundreds of people showed up nonetheless. Before police moved in, many participants laid flowers at the park bandstand. Among them was Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, who was seen pausing for a moment in front of the sea of flowers.

Other people held signs reading “We will not be silenced” and “She was just walking home,” and the crowd chanted, “Sisters united will never be defeated.”

In the wake of Everard’s disappearance and killing, many women have taken to social media to share their own experiences of being threatened or attacked while walking outside.

A 33-year-old nurse who works in the Clapham area, Mel Clarke, said she felt “very conflicted” about attending Saturday's gathering because of pandemic restrictions, but in the end "just felt that I needed to be here.”

“I’m really pleased that there are a lot of men here. I hope that this is kind of an opportunity for men to learn how women feel, how vulnerable we are," Clarke said. “I hope that this is the start of justice being served for Sarah.”

The Metropolitan Police has expressed shock and horror that one of its own was a suspect in the case. The London police force said Couzens joined its ranks in 2018 and most recently served in the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command, an armed unit responsible for guarding embassies in the capital and Parliament.

During his court appearance earlier in the day, Couzens stood wearing a gray tracksuit as the charges were read to him. He was remanded into custody and has another appearance scheduled Tuesday at London’s Central Criminal Court.

Everard's body was found hidden in an area of woodland in Kent, more than 50 miles southeast of London, on Wednesday, a week after she went missing. A post-mortem examination is underway, police said Friday.

TV and radio presenter Sandi Toksvig said at the start of a vigil held online Saturday that a “cultural shift about how women are viewed and treated both in the public and private space” was needed.

“I am filled in equal measure with profound sorrow and rage, and I know there are many who share this rage, and I think it is entirely justifiable," Toksvig said. "But I also know that it will harm rather than help us if we don’t try and direct that anger to good purpose.”

LONDON (AP) — The world’s richest countries signed a landmark agreement Saturday committing them to confronting corporate tax avoidance and making sure that giant tech companies pay their fair share, Britain’s treasury chief said.

Rishi Sunak, chancellor of the exchequer, said finance ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations signed the pact on the second and final day of meetings in London.

“I’m delighted to announce that G-7 finance ministers today, after years of discussions, have reached a historic agreement to reform the global tax system to make it fit for the global digital age and crucially to make sure that it’s fair, so that the right companies pay the right tax in the right places,” Sunak said in a video message posted on Twitter.

The G-7 ministers agreed in principle to a global minimum tax rate of 15% for multinational companies in each country they operate in.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who attended the London meetings, said the agreement “provides tremendous momentum” towards reaching a global 15% rate that “would end the race-to-the-bottom in corporate taxation, and ensure fairness for the middle class and working people in the U.S. and around the world.”

The meeting of finance ministers came ahead of an annual summit of G-7 leaders scheduled for June 11-13 in Carbis Bay, Cornwall. The U.K. is hosting both sets of meetings because it holds the group’s rotating presidency.

The G-7 has also been facing pressure to provide vaccines for low-income countries facing new surges of COVID-19 infections and to finance projects to combat climate change.

International discussions on the tax issue gained momentum after U.S. President Joe Biden backed the idea of a global minimum 15% corporate profit tax rate. The proposal also found support among other major economies such as France and Germany.

Nations have been grappling with the question of how to deter companies from legally avoiding tax by resorting to tax havens — typically small countries that entice companies with low or zero taxes, even though the firms do little actual business there. They’ve also been trying to solve the related problem of taxing internet-based companies doing business in countries where they have no physical presence and thus pay little or no tax.

The endorsement from the G-7 could help build momentum for a deal in wider talks among more than 140 countries being held in Paris as well as a Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Venice in July.

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what if Stephen Hawking had unlimited time. Humankind has always been enchanted by the wonders of the universe, the stars and planets, distant moons and the great mysteries presented to us from beyond the ether. But few have been able to capture and bring the cosmos to the masses, like renowned author, scientists and all round genius, Professor Stephen Hawking. This is unveiled and today we're answering the extraordinary question. What if Stephen Hawking had unlimited time? Are you offend for facts? Are you constantly curious, then why not subscribe to unveil for more clips like this one and ring the bell for more fascinating content in his life. Hawking had been defying medical professionals for decades before his death in 2018, aged 76 when he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or A. L. S. Also known as motor neuron disease and Lou Gehrig's disease. At just 21 Doctors only gave him two years to live. Of course that was in 1963. And everybody knows that that diagnosis simply didn't stop him Looking at what he accomplished in his lifetime. His living on infinitely would have gifted the world with an incomprehensible amount of knowledge. In fact, when discussing with the Guardian, his baffling longevity in 2011, Hawking said, I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first. Perhaps surprisingly, Hawking was a pretty rebellious student at school and university. He didn't study much and considered himself a difficult student, though it was obvious to most of his tutors that they had a genius in their midst throughout the 1960s and 70s. He made a name for himself in science and academia, especially with his early work on black holes. It was in 1974 when he first theorized that black holes emit radiation. This discovery directly disagreed with Einstein's early theories that absolutely nothing can escape a black hole, not even light. While it's true that light can't escape a black hole. Hawking suggested that black holes emit radiation in the form of leaked energy and this energy would eventually lead to them closing up and disappearing. It was named Hawking radiation, and its existence remains contested in physics today. Perhaps if he'd had more time on Earth, he'd have eventually been able to help prove, or at least see proven Hawking radiation. His work on black holes goes deeper than that though, As Hawking also came up with theories about singularities, singularities are points of infinite density at the heart of a black hole. Of course we can't see into a black hole, but if we could, Hawking suggests what we would see is a long funnel eventually leading to this singularity where all the matter of the black hole absorbs is crushed. He even said himself that he hoped he'd be remembered most for his seminal work on black holes. So it would have certainly been something to see him continue to unravel the universe's biggest mystery. All of these papers were published in the seventies, but remarkably, Hawking didn't hit the mainstream until 1988 when he published a brief history of time. It wasn't his first book, but in a lot of ways it was his most important, establishing his idea that science should be for everyone and not just an elite group of academics. Hawking wanted a book on the inner workings of our universe which cater to everybody and wasn't full of convoluted jargon and ideas. You need a degree in theoretical physics to understand this is why a brief history of time became a worldwide hit, staying on the sunday times bestseller list for five years Following the success, Hawking continued to write about cosmology in an accessible way. And 30 years later, in 2018, his final popular book brief answers to the big questions was published posthumously. It brought the wonders of space to the masses again, inspiring the kind of widespread interest beyond our own planet that Hawking became known for in an alternate world where the Man Miraculously lived forever. He'd surely have continued to write more engaging, bestselling and inspiring books. We believe that life arose spontaneously on Earth, so in an infinite universe there must be under occurrences of life on the topic of alternate worlds. That was another theory. He significantly contributed to the multiverse. Hawking actually had two different multiverse ideas revising his own initial theories in a paper published in collaboration with thomas Herzog, only weeks before his death, Hawking had scrutinized the Big Bang theory for most of his life as well as the theory of cosmic inflation, which solves what's commonly called the horizon problem in physics, the idea that light doesn't travel fast enough to have reached all the points of the observable universe. His old multiverse theory spoke of unique pocket universes separated by an inflating expanse, but his and her talks new multiverse theory appeared much less liberal in terms of what these pockets could look like, limiting every possibility to Einstein's uniform laws of physics. A radically new theory formed so close to the time of his passing. With unlimited time Hawking could have developed it further and ultimately, someday given us definitive evidence of the multiverse. It wasn't just space that Hawking sought to conquer, though it was also time back in 1983, he and James Harden suggested that were time travel possible, we'd never be able to go as far back as to witness the actual dawning of the universe. The pair said that we could never see the beginning of time because at the beginning of everything, there was only space and no time at all. In fact, for Hawking, the entire concept of the beginning of the universe is meaningless. While going back to the very start of existence is impossible. Hawking did believe that time travel might not be entirely science fiction. He mused that traveling back in time could be possible, and famously once held a party for time travelers in which the invitations were sent out until after the party was over. Unfortunately nobody showed up, but that could have been because any genuine time traveler would have certainly blown their cover if they had attended a party specifically formed time travelers held by one of the most famous people on the planet or maybe people in the future are just plain rude regardless. Hawking believed in time travel to an extent because of M theory, which was a topic in one of his other books, The Grand Design M theory says that there might actually be 11 hidden dimensions in the universe as opposed to the four dimensions. We generally believe in. The idea is that by somehow utilizing these dimensions traveling back in time might be possible. There's no doubt that Hawking is best remembered for his contributions to science and theories on the universe, but he didn't spend all of his time looking at the stars. He was also a tireless campaigner on a number of issues. Given another opportunity. He'd have continued to raise awareness for people with all kinds of disabilities, not just LS aiming to make the world a more knowledgeable and inclusive place for disabled individuals. He was also a vocal commentator on climate change and the danger it poses, continually, listing global warming as one of the major threats against humanity. His environmental activism even let him to theorize that mankind would ultimately destroy itself by the year 2600 after it uses so much energy that the earth turns into a ball of fire. This belief wasn't all doom and gloom, as he did think that humans could be saved via interplanetary expansion, moving out into space and beyond and colonizing other worlds. Clearly, Hawking could have continued to provide insight and advice, as well as dire warnings about the environmental impact of climate change. Had he been given more time as a man with so much knowledge and as a respected voice all over the world, he likely would have even led the charge to change human behavior for the better Hawking's achievements and contributions to science and culture were widely recognized during his lifetime as well as now. After his death, his early discovery of hawking radiation led to him being elected into the Royal Society of London as one of their youngest ever fellows in 1974 Elizabeth the second awarded him a CBE in 1982. Before the release of a brief history of time, though, nearly a decade after its publication, he reportedly turned down a knighthood in protest over the british government's poor science funding elsewhere. He even received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama, Among many dozens more accolades were hawking still with us. He'd have surely gone on to be even more decorated continuing as one of the most honored individuals in world history and perhaps even collecting that knighthood. If the british government finally made stem education more of a priority. Ultimately, this great genius had no fear of dying and already lived for five decades longer than the best doctors thought he would do for which the world will always be grateful. I didn't do my scientific work in the hope of winning prices and medals. I did it because I wanted to understand the universe, his thoughts, theories and papers continue to provide a basis for centuries, more scientific progress. And that's what would happen if Stephen Hawking had unlimited time. What do you think? Is there anything we missed? Let us know in the comments, check out these other clips from unveiled and make sure you subscribe and ring the bell for our latest content.

London's Science Museum and the Cambridge University library said Wednesday they have acquired a large collection of items belonging to late physicist Stephen Hawking, from his personalized wheelchairs to landmark papers on theoretical physics and his scripts from his appearance on "The Simpsons."The entire contents of Hawking's office at Cambridge — including his communications equipment, memorabilia, bets he made on scientific debates and office furniture — will be preserved as part of the collection belonging to the Science Museum Group.Hawking occupied the office at the university's department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics from 2002 until shortly before his death in 2018. Highlights will go on display at the London museum early next year. Museum officials are also hoping to create a touring exhibition in the U.K. before setting up a permanent display in London.Meanwhile, his vast archive of scientific and personal papers, including a first draft of his bestselling "A Brief History of Time" and his correspondence with leading scientists, will remain at Cambridge University's library. The institutions' acceptance of Hawking's archive and office meant that his estate settled 4.2 million pounds ($5.9 million) in inheritance tax.This was done through a U.K. government plan which allows those who have such tax bills to pay by transferring important cultural, scientific or historic objects to the nation. Artifacts accepted under the plan are allocated to public collections and available for all.Hawking studied for his PhD at Cambridge and later became the university's Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, the same post that Isaac Newton held from 1669 to 1702.Cambridge's acquisition of the 10,000-page archive means that Hawking's papers will join those of Newton and Charles Darwin at the university library, where they will soon be free for the public to access."The archive allows us to step inside Stephen's mind and to travel with him round the cosmos to, as he said, 'better understand our place in the universe,'" said Jessica Gardner, the university's librarian. "This vast archive gives extraordinary insight into the evolution of Stephen's scientific life, from childhood to research student, from disability activist to ground-breaking, world-renowned scientist," she added. Diagnosed with motor neuron disease at 22 and given just a few years to live, Hawking survived for decades, dying in 2018 at 76. His work on the mysteries of space, time and black holes captured the imagination of millions, and his popular science books made him a celebrity beyond the preserves of academia. Hollywood celebrated his life in the 2014 biopic "The Theory of Everything."Hawking's children, Lucy, Tim and Robert, said they were pleased that their father's work will be preserved for the public for generations to come. "My father would be so pleased and I think maybe at the same time, just a tiny bit overwhelmed that he was going to form part of the ... history of science, that he was going to be alongside the great scientists, the people whose work he really admired," Lucy Hawking said.

LONDON, England —

London's Science Museum and the Cambridge University library said Wednesday they have acquired a large collection of items belonging to late physicist Stephen Hawking, from his personalized wheelchairs to landmark papers on theoretical physics and his scripts from his appearance on "The Simpsons."

The entire contents of Hawking's office at Cambridge — including his communications equipment, memorabilia, bets he made on scientific debates and office furniture — will be preserved as part of the collection belonging to the Science Museum Group.

Hawking occupied the office at the university's department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics from 2002 until shortly before his death in 2018.

Highlights will go on display at the London museum early next year. Museum officials are also hoping to create a touring exhibition in the U.K. before setting up a permanent display in London.

Meanwhile, his vast archive of scientific and personal papers, including a first draft of his bestselling "A Brief History of Time" and his correspondence with leading scientists, will remain at Cambridge University's library.

The institutions' acceptance of Hawking's archive and office meant that his estate settled 4.2 million pounds ($5.9 million) in inheritance tax.

This was done through a U.K. government plan which allows those who have such tax bills to pay by transferring important cultural, scientific or historic objects to the nation. Artifacts accepted under the plan are allocated to public collections and available for all.

Bruno Vincent / Getty Images

Hawking studied for his PhD at Cambridge and later became the university's Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, the same post that Isaac Newton held from 1669 to 1702.

Cambridge's acquisition of the 10,000-page archive means that Hawking's papers will join those of Newton and Charles Darwin at the university library, where they will soon be free for the public to access.

"The archive allows us to step inside Stephen's mind and to travel with him round the cosmos to, as he said, 'better understand our place in the universe,'" said Jessica Gardner, the university's librarian.

"This vast archive gives extraordinary insight into the evolution of Stephen's scientific life, from childhood to research student, from disability activist to ground-breaking, world-renowned scientist," she added.

Diagnosed with motor neuron disease at 22 and given just a few years to live, Hawking survived for decades, dying in 2018 at 76. His work on the mysteries of space, time and black holes captured the imagination of millions, and his popular science books made him a celebrity beyond the preserves of academia. Hollywood celebrated his life in the 2014 biopic "The Theory of Everything."

Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP Photo

Hawking's children, Lucy, Tim and Robert, said they were pleased that their father's work will be preserved for the public for generations to come.

"My father would be so pleased and I think maybe at the same time, just a tiny bit overwhelmed that he was going to form part of the ... history of science, that he was going to be alongside the great scientists, the people whose work he really admired," Lucy Hawking said.