United Kingdom

LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain and the European Union will hold emergency talks on Thursday over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to undercut parts of the Brexit divorce treaty, with Brussels exploring possible legal action against London.

After Britain explicitly said it would act outside international law by breaching the divorce treaty, EU negotiators are trying to gauge how to deal with London.

Britain signed the treaty and formally left the EU in January, but remains a member in all but name until the end of this year under a status quo agreement.

LONDON, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Banning and removing Huawei equipment from Britain's 5G networks by 2027 risks severely delaying operators' 5G roll-out plans, adversely affecting its economy by 18.2 billion pounds (around 23.7 billion U.S. dollars), according to an independent report released Wednesday by Assembly, a London-based analyst firm.

In July, the British government drastically reversed its policy on Huawei by announcing that buying new Huawei 5G equipment will be banned after Dec. 31, 2020 and all Huawei equipment will be removed from 5G networks by the end of 2027.

LONDON, Sept 9 (NNN-Xinhua) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce a ban on social gatherings of more than six people in England to curb the spread of COVID-19, local media reported Wednesday.

New measures reducing the maximum number of social gatherings from 30 to six — both indoors and outdoors, including private homes, parks, pubs and restaurants — are set to come into force from Monday, Sept. 14, according to reports.

BIRMINGHAM, Sept 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — British police will charge Zephaniah McLeod, 27, with one count of murder and seven counts of attempted murder following a spate of stabbings in Birmingham City on Sunday, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

“This decision was made following careful consideration of the evidence presented to us by West Midlands Police as a result of their ongoing investigation,” Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor of CPS West Midlands Suzanne Llewellyn said in a statement.

McLeod will appear in court on Wednesday over the attacks in the city centre.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain announces legislation on Wednesday for life outside the EU after throwing its trade talks with the bloc into jeopardy by announcing in advance that the new plans would break international law and “clarify” a deal it signed in January.

The announcement of the plans, which the government said would break international law “in a very specific and limited way”, has contributed to concerns Britain could be cast out of the European Union’s single market with no agreement on trade.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil futures clawed back some of the losses they sustained in the previous session, but a rebound in COVID-19 cases in some countries undermined hopes for a steady recovery in global demand.

Brent crude LCOc1 was up 20 cents, or 0.5%, at $39.98 a barrel by 1119 GMT after dropping more than 5% on Tuesday to fall below $40 a barrel for the first time since June.

U.S. crude CLc1 was up 42 cents, or 1.1%, at $37.18 a barrel, having fallen nearly 8% in the previous session.

Both major oil benchmarks are trading close to three-month lows.

London, Sep 9 (PTI) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is planning tougher new restrictions on social gatherings of more than six people in England starting next Monday, following a significant rise in the coronavirus cases.

A law change to be introduced will ban larger groups of friends and family meeting anywhere socially indoors or outdoors, to be enforced through a 100 pounds fine if people fail to comply and doubling on each offence up to a maximum of 3,200 pounds.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil slid more than 3% towards $40 a barrel on Tuesday, its 5th session of decline, pressured by concerns that a recovery in demand could weaken as coronavirus infections flare up around the world.

Coronavirus cases rose in 22 of the 50 U.S. states, a Reuters analysis showed on the Labor Day holiday weekend. New infections are also increasing in India and Britain.

LONDON (AP) — The U.K.’s chief negotiator in post-Brexit trade talks called for “more realism” from the European Union before the start Tuesday of another round of discussions between the two sides.

With expectations of a breakthrough in the talks diminishing, there are concerns that they could collapse in the coming weeks. Though the U.K. left the bloc on Jan. 31, it is in a transition period that effectively sees it abide by EU rules until the end of this year. The two sides have been negotiating future trade ties over the past few months, but progress has been minimal.

LONDON (AP) — A British judge on Monday rejected a request by lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to delay his extradition hearing until next year to give his lawyers more time to respond to U.S. allegations that he conspired with hackers to obtain classified information.

The adjournment request came on the first day of a London court hearing where Assange is fighting American prosecutors’ attempt to send him to the U.S. to stand trial on spying charges.