England

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday he expected the next few months of the COVID-19 pandemic to be bumpy, but that things would look radically different in the spring.

“I’ve got to tell you, in all candour, it’s going to continue to be bumpy through to Christmas, it may even be bumpy beyond,” Johnson said during an interview on BBC television.

LONDON (Reuters) - British foreign minister Dominic Raab said the European Union no longer has the power to treat Britain poorly, and any deal on its future relationship with the bloc must be fair.

“Yes, we want a Free Trade deal with the EU, but any deal must be fair. The days of being held over a barrel by Brussels are long gone,” Raab said in a speech broadcast on Saturday as part of the Conservative Party’s annual conference.

LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the head of the EU’s executive, Ursula von der Leyen, agreed in a phone call on Saturday to step up Brexit talks to close “significant gaps” barring a new trade partnership.

The two sides have said this week’s round of talks aimed at getting a new, post-Brexit trade agreement from 2021 made some progress but not a breakthrough.

The EU says a deal must be sealed by the end of the month to leave enough time for ratification by the end of this year.

LONDON (Reuters) - When Boris Johnson caught COVID-19 in March, the overweight British prime minister tried to work through the illness “in denial” - but ended up wearing an oxygen mask in an intensive care unit and was ultimately out of action for almost a month.

He later said he had fought for his life as the state prepared for the unthinkable: the possible death in office of a prime minister.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has clear red lines that it will not cross in talks with the European Union, Michael Gove, the minister handling Brexit divorce issues for Britain, said on Thursday, adding that he believed with goodwill an agreement could be reached.

“Progress has been made in a huge number of areas, but ... there is still one or two sticking points on state aid, the level playing field and fisheries,” Gove told parliament.

LONDON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden battled over Trump’s record on the coronavirus pandemic, healthcare and the economy in a chaotic and bad-tempered first debate.

Here are some reactions from Europe:

“A chaotic and vicious show, shocking for the most powerful country in the world,” - Spanish newspaper El Pais.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s parliamentary Speaker reprimanded Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government on Wednesday for disregarding the House of Commons with its COVID-19 measures, calling on ministers to better include lawmakers in their decisions.

But Lindsay Hoyle decided against allowing lawmakers the chance to consider a so-called amendment to a vote on the extension of emergency laws to impose restrictions that would have made sure parliament played a greater role.

LONDON, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Another 7,143 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, the highest daily total ever since the start of the pandemic in Britain, according to official figures released Tuesday.

The newly confirmed infections brought the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 439,013, the official data showed.

The coronavirus-related deaths rose by 71 to 42,072, according to the latest data.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s economy is underproductive and its weaknesses have been exposed by the COVID crisis, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday as he announced new measures to try to improve skill levels in the workforce.

“Our economy has been shaken by COVID, and in the hand-to-mouth scrabblings of the pandemic, the shortcomings of our labour market and our education system have been painfully apparent,” Johnson said in a speech.

LONDON (Reuters) - British authorities hit Airbnb UK with an extra tax bill of 1.8 million pounds ($2.3 million) last year, the home rental startup’s accounts showed on Tuesday, following an investigation into the firm.

The UK arm of the San Francisco company, which also paid annual corporation tax of over 1 million pounds, said it had paid the extra obligations after a request from British tax authorities Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).