England

LONDON (AP) — The British economy has fallen into recession after official figures Wednesday showed it contracting by a record 20.4% in the second quarter as a result of lockdown measures put in place to counter the coronavirus pandemic.

The slump recorded by the Office for National Statistics follows a 2.2% quarter-on-quarter contraction in the first three months of the year. It was toward the end of that period — on March 23 — that the U.K. joined other countries in Europe in locking down its economy.

LONDON, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Washington's so-called "Clean Network" program will "bolster a worrying movement" toward the split of the global internet, said a recent BBC article.

"The U.S. government has for a long time criticized other countries for controlling access to the internet ... and now we see the Americans doing the same thing," the article quoted Alan Woodward, a computer security expert at the University of Surrey in Britain, as saying.

"It's shocking," said Woodward, adding, "this is the Balkanization of the internet happening in front of our eyes."

LONDON (Reuters) - A national security law is being used to silence opposition in Hong Kong where media freedom needs to be maintained, a junior British Foreign Office minister said on Monday, after the arrest of media tycoon Jimmy Lai.

“Deeply concerned by arrest of ⁦Jimmy Lai & 6 others in #HongKong,” Nigel Adams said on Twitter.

“Media freedom must be upheld. More evidence the National security law being used as pretext to silence opposition.”

DOVER, England (Reuters) - Britain’s Border Force brought migrants ashore in the port of Dover on Monday after picking them up from an inflatable boat as they crossed the Channel, the latest in a surge of crossings that is causing political tensions with France.

Taking advantage of a spell of hot weather and calm sea conditions, more than 500 migrants have made it to British shores since Thursday, many in overloaded rubber dinghies.

LONDON, August 9. /TASS/: The policy of "deterrence and dialogue" towards Russia chosen by NATO and Britain consists of 95% of deterrence and only 5% of dialogue, Russia’s Ambassador in the UK Andrei Kelin said in an interview with the Chinese TV channel CGTN on Saturday.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said reopening schools in September was a social, economic and moral imperative and insisted they would be able to operate safely despite the ongoing threat from the pandemic.

His comments follow a study earlier this month which warned that Britain risks a second wave of COVID-19 this winter twice as large as the initial outbreak if schools open without an improved test-and-trace system.

(Reuters) - UK ministers are considering blocking migrant boats in the English Channel before they can enter British waters in a desperate effort to stem rising numbers of crossings, The Times newspaper reported.

The approach being considered is modeled on tactics used by Australia against migrants and could involve the Royal Navy and Border Force intercepting vessels as they leave French waters, according to the newspaper.

LONDON, Aug 06 (APP): Pakistan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Mohammad Nafees Zakaria has said the ultimate objective of India was to alter the demography of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which it has been illegally occupying against the wishes of Kashmiri people, in contravention of Geneva Convention IV and UNSC resolutions.

He said this while speaking at a Virtual Parliamentary Seminar on Kashmir on August 5 to observe Youm-e-Istehsal to mark one year of military siege over 8 million Kashmiris by India.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil dipped below $45 a barrel on Friday on worries that a demand recovery would slow due to a resurgence of coronavirus cases, although a pledge from OPEC member Iraq to cut oil output further in August provided support.

The resurgence of infections remains a key issue for the market and demand outlook. Tallies show cases in the United States are rising in a number of states. India reported on Friday a record daily jump in infections.

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England held off providing more monetary stimulus on Thursday as Britain reopens after the pandemic lockdowns, but it warned it would take time for the economy to heal and unemployment would keep rising this year.

While the central bank forecast that the economy would shrink less than previously expected this year, it said gross domestic product probably won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until the end of 2021 as spending by consumers and businesses remains weak.