United Kingdom

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil hit its highest level in a year on Friday, closing in on $60 a barrel on economic revival hopes and supply curbs by producer group OPEC and its allies.

New orders for U.S.-made goods rose more than expected in December, pointing to continued strength in manufacturing. The U.S. Congress is also moving ahead on President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 relief plan.

04 Feb 2021; MEMO: A Conservative Party MP said on Thursday that Britain regards a commercial partnership with the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as one of its top priorities post-Brexit. Dr Liam Fox made his comments in an interview with Asharq News.

LONDON, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Travelers returning to Britain from more than 30 "red list" countries will have to quarantine for 10 days in government-approved accommodation like hotels, starting Feb. 15, the British government announced on Thursday.

The measure is being introduced to prevent new variants of COVID-19 from entering Britain. Countries on the list include all of South America, southern Africa, Portugal and the United Arab Emirates. Non-residents and nationals from these countries have already been banned from entering Britain.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices extended gains on Thursday after the OPEC+ alliance of producers stuck to its reduced output policy and U.S. crude stocks fell, with optimism over a new U.S. pandemic relief bill adding further price support.

Brent crude futures gained 25 cents, or 0.43%, to $58.71 a barrel by 1025 GMT, having earlier hit their highest since Feb. 21 last year.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 31 cents, or 0.56%, to $56 a barrel after reaching its highest settlement level in a year on Wednesday.

LONDON (Reuters) - The world faces around 4,000 variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, prompting a race to improve vaccines, Britain said on Thursday, as researchers began to explore mixing doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca shots in a world first.

Thousands of variants have been documented as the virus mutates, including the so-called British, South African and Brazilian variants which appear to spread more swiftly than others.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has asked for an extension until 2023 of a grace period on checks that would be conducted on trade moving between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom to soften the Brexit impact on the province, the BBC reported.

Political editor Laura Kuenssberg said Cabinet Office Secretary Michael Gove had written to the European Commission’s vice president, Maros Sefcovic, to ask for urgent political solutions.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil hit an 11-month high on Wednesday, boosted by a draw in U.S. crude and gasoline stocks, which fuelled demand recovery hopes as OPEC+ has forecast that the market will be in deficit in 2021.

Brent crude futures were up 48 cents, or 0.8%, to $57.94 a barrel at 0839 GMT, their highest since late February 2020.

The contract’s “backwardation” structure, where oil for nearby delivery is more expensive than further forward, was near a one-year high at more than $2, indicating expectations of tighter supply.

Mumbai, Feb 2 (PTI) International pop star Rihanna on Tuesday became the first global name to voice her support to the ongoing farmers agitation while criticising the internet shutdown at the protest site.

The 32-year-old singer, who has over 100 million followers on Twitter, took to the microblogging site and shared a CNN news article headlined, "India cuts internet around New Delhi as protesting farmers clash with police."

"Why aren't we talking about this? #FarmersProtest," Rihanna wrote.

LONDON (AP) — Senior politicians from Britain, Northern Ireland and the European Union are meeting Wednesday in a bid to defuse post-Brexit trade tensions that have shaken Northern Ireland’s delicate political balance.

British Cabinet minister Michael Gove, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic and the leaders of Northern Ireland’s Catholic-Protestant power-sharing government will hold a video conference to discuss problems that have erupted barely a month after the U.K. made an economic split from the 27-nation EU.

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s health chief says a new study showing that a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca provides a high level of protection for 12 weeks supports the government’s strategy of delaying the second shot so more doses can be delivered to more people.