England

LONDON (Reuters) - Keir Starmer, Brexit spokesman for Britain’s opposition Labour Party, has emerged as the early front runner in the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as leader, according to a poll of members.

The party is expected to elect a new leader in March after the veteran socialist Corbyn said he would step down following his party’s heavy election defeat at the hands of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservatives in December.

Starmer has not yet said whether he will run for the leadership but is expected to launch a campaign in the coming weeks. [nL8N28U33Z]

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose to begin the new year on Thursday buoyed by signs of improving trade relations between the United States and China which eased demand concerns and rising tensions in the Middle East.

Brent crude futures rose 25 cents to $66.25 a barrel by 0958 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 13 cents at $61.19 per barrel.

LONDON, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday night that the first item on his agenda "is to fulfil the will of the electorate" and take the country out of the European Union (EU) by the end of January.

In his first New Year's message at 10 Downing Street, Johnson said that the bongs of Big Ben at midnight was the starting gun being fired on what promises to be a fantastic year and a remarkable decade for Britain, urging people of Britain to join together to make the 2020s a decade of prosperity and opportunity.

LONDON (AP) — A 20-year-old man is being held in custody pending his next court hearing after being charged with damaging a Picasso painting at the Tate Modern gallery in London.

London police said Tuesday that Shakeel Ryan Massey of northwest London has been charged with criminal damage. He appeared at Camberwell Green Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Police said the attack on the artwork happened Saturday. Police did not specify the painting but British media said it was “Bust Of A Woman.”

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose on the last trading day of the decade on Tuesday and was on track for monthly and annual gains, supported by a thaw in the prolonged U.S.-China trade row and Middle East unrest.

Brent crude was up 11 cents at $66.78 a barrel by 1143 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 6 cents at $61.74 per barrel.

The volume of trade remained low as many market participants were away for year-end holidays.

LONDON (Reuters) - Teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg said on Monday that talking to U.S. President Donald Trump at a United Nations summit on global warming would have been a waste of time since he would not have paid any attention.

In an interview with BBC radio’s Today program, for which she was the guest editor on Monday, Thunberg also said she regarded personal attacks on her as funny and that she hoped to go back to having a normal life.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose to three-month highs on Monday, underpinned by optimism over an expected China-U.S. trade deal and upbeat industrial data, while traders kept a close watch on the Middle East following U.S. air strikes in Iraq and Syria.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 0.9% at $68.75 a barrel, up 59 cents. The international benchmark has risen around 27% in 2019.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 rose 22 cents or 0.2% to $61.94 a barrel by 0940 GMT. The U.S. benchmark is up about 36% so far this year.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Friday, hitting three-month highs, as upbeat economic data from China and the United States indicated an end to the trade war between Washington and Beijing has restored confidence in the global growth.

Brent crude was up 29 cents, or 0.4%, at $68.21 a barrel at 0903 GMT.

The West Texas Intermediate CLc1 was up 24 cents, or 0.4%, at $61.92 a barrel.

Volume of oil trade remained thin in the Christmas holidays and New Year breaks.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose further above $67 a barrel to its highest in over three months on Thursday, buoyed by a report showing lower U.S. crude inventories, by hopes of an end to the China-U.S. trade dispute and OPEC-led efforts to constrain supply.

The American Petroleum Institute, an oil industry group, said late on Tuesday that U.S. crude stocks fell by 7.9 million barrels last week, much more than the decline forecast by analysts.

LONDON/TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday in thin pre-Christmas trading after Russia said cooperation with OPEC on supply cuts would continue and amid signs Saudi Arabia and Kuwait could take as much as a year to bring a major field back to full capacity.

Brent crude LCOc1 was up 30 cents, or 0.45%, at $66.69 a barrel by 1321 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 was 23 cents higher at $60.75 a barrel.