United Kingdom

LONDON, June 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) – The virus alert level across Britain has been lowered from four to three, after a steady decrease in COVID-19 cases in the country, the Department of Health and Social Care said.

Britain’s Chief Medical Officers, reviewed the evidence and agreed that COVID-19 alert level should move from level four to level three, according to a statement released Friday by the department.

LONDON (Reuters) - British security officials have told UK telecom operators to ensure they have adequate stockpiles of Huawei equipment due to fears that new U.S. sanctions will disrupt the Chinese firm’s ability to maintain critical supplies, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Britain granted Huawei a limited role in its future 5G networks in January, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson has since come under renewed pressure from Washington and some lawmakers in his own party who say the company’s equipment is a security risk. Huawei has repeatedly denied the allegations.

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has apologized for the links some of its past governors had with slavery, as a global anti-racism movement sparked by the death of George Floyd forces many British institutions to confront uncomfortable truths about their pasts.

The central bank called the trade in human beings “an unacceptable part of English history,” and pledged not to display any images of former leaders who had any involvement.

LONDON/CARACAS (Reuters) - In the vaults beneath the Bank of England, where foreign nations stash parts of their vast gold reserves, lie 1.7 billion euros ($1.9 billion) of disputed gold bars. Two parties claim access to them.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says they belong to his administration’s central bank. His rival, opposition leader Juan Guaido, who the British government recognizes as Venezuela’s rightful leader, say the bars are his to control.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose to above $42 a barrel on Friday, adding to gains in the previous session, after OPEC producers and allies promised to meet supply cuts and signs of demand, hit by the coronavirus crisis, recovering.

Iraq and Kazakhstan, during a meeting of an OPEC+ panel on Thursday, pledged to comply better with oil cuts, sources said. This means curbs by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, could deepen in July.

LONDON, June 18 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron held talks Thursday at 10 Downing Street, the first meeting between heads of state in Britain since the coronavirus pandemic started.

The two spent around 45 minutes in private talks, after which they watched a flypast over London by the Royal Air Force (RAF) Red Arrows and its French counterpart team, La Patrouille de France.

The two did not face the media after their talks, and instead Downing Street issued a statement about the meeting.

18 June 2020; MEMO: The family of Egypt’s former President Mohamed Morsi founded a pro-democracy organisation in London in his honour, launching it yesterday, one year after he died in an Egyptian court.

18 June 2020; MEMO: Key figures at the centre of the anti-Semitism row which rocked the Labour Party under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn have suffered an embarrassing legal defeat.

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England is set to unveil another big stimulus for the U.K. economy on Thursday as it tries to limit the scale of the coronavirus recession.

The central bank is expected to join its counterparts around the world, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, in bolstering support measures following the initial radical responses to the economic threat of the pandemic.

(AP) --- A genetic analysis of COVID-19 patients suggests that blood type might influence whether someone develops severe disease.

Scientists who compared the genes of thousands of patients in Europe found that those who had Type A blood were more likely to have severe disease while those with Type O were less likely.