England

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices ticked up on Tuesday, with early European trading erasing earlier losses, as all eyes were on talks between OPEC and its allies who postponed a formal meeting to decide whether to increase output from next month.

Brent crude was up 31 cents at $48.19 a barrel by 0847 GMT. West Texas Intermediate was up 28 cents at $45.62.

Both contracts surged around 27% in November after COVID-19 vaccine developments raised hopes of an economic recovery that could revive fuel demand.

LONDON (Reuters) - Brexit trade talks are stuck on fishing, governance rules and dispute resolution because the European Union is asking too much of Britain, a senior member of the British government said on Tuesday.

Just 30 days before Britain leaves the EU’s orbit following a transition period since it formally quit the bloc, the sides are trying to agree a trade deal to avoid a turbulent rupture that could snarl almost $1 trillion in annual trade.

LONDON (Reuters) - Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Monday declined to rule out a new vote for Scottish independence next year, saying that she wanted to see a referendum held in the early part of the next Scottish parliament.

“I want to see it in the early part of the next term of the Scottish parliament rather than the later part,” she told Sky News, declining to rule out a possible vote in autumn 2021.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and the European Union are running out of time to clinch a Brexit trade deal but if good progress is made this week then the talks could be extended, Environment Secretary George Eustice said on Monday.

With just over four weeks left until the United Kingdom finally exits the EU’s orbit on Dec. 31, both sides are demanding concessions from the other on fishing, state aid and how to resolve any future disputes.

“We really are now running out of time, this is the crucial week, we need to get a breakthrough,” Eustice told Sky.

LONDON (AP) — Britain said Sunday it has secured 2 million more doses of a promising coronavirus vaccine as it gears up to launch within days the country’s most ambitious inoculation program in decades.

The U.K. has had Europe’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak, with more than 58,000 confirmed virus-related deaths. It now hopes to hit a more positive milestone by becoming one of the first countries in the world to start vaccinating its population against COVID-19.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday he was concerned about the situation in Iran and wider region after the killing of a top Iranian nuclear scientist.

“We are concerned about the situation in Iran and the wider region we do want to see de-escalation of tensions,” Raab told Sky News, after Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed in an ambush near Tehran on Friday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Brexit trade negotiations with the European Union are in a reasonable position, with some progress on competition issues but significant differences outstanding on fishing, British foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday.

“I do think we’re in a reasonable position, there’s a deal to be done,” Raab told Sky News.

Asked about a final deadline for talks, he said negotiations were into the “last week or so” but said the EU had previously moved the goalposts on a final deadline.

LONDON, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- More than 60 people were arrested as anti-lockdown protesters clashed with police in central London on Saturday, local media reported.

Clashes broke out between some demonstrators and police officers as they led dozens of people away in handcuffs, the Evening Standard newspaper said.

Hundreds of demonstrators marched through the city near Oxford Street chanting "freedom" on Saturday, with some carrying placards reading "Stop Controlling Us" and "No More Lockdowns", Sky News said.

LONDON (AP) — Teams from Britain and the European Union resumed face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal Saturday, with both sides sounding gloomy about striking an agreement in the little time that remains.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier returned to London to meet his U.K. counterpart David Frost. Talks have been held virtually for the past week as Barnier completed a spell of self-isolation after a member of his team tested positive for the coronavirus.

LONDON (Reuters) - Hospitals in England risk being overwhelmed if lawmakers do not support the government’s new plan for restrictions, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said on Saturday.

More than 20 million people across large swathes of England will be forced to live under the toughest category of COVID-19 restrictions when a national lockdown ends on Dec. 2. Lawmakers are due to vote on the restrictions the day before.

But a growing number of lawmakers in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative party have voiced opposition to the tiered restrictions plan.