England

LONDON (Reuters) - The United Kingdom warned China on Tuesday not to cross the Rubicon over Hong Kong, saying the People’s Republic should step back and adhere to its international obligations over the former British colony.

“The ball is in the court of the government in China, it has a choice to make here,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told parliament.

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s 650 lawmakers are grappling with a question familiar to millions of their compatriots: When is it safe to go back to work?

Members of Parliament, who have largely been working from home while the coronavirus swept Britain, have been summoned back to the office on Tuesday — and many aren’t happy. They say the government’s decision to scrap a remote-voting system used during the pandemic will turn those who must stay home because of age, illness or family issues into second-class lawmakers.

LONDON, Jun 01 (APP): Calling upon an immediate United Nations (UN) intervention to halt the forced demographic change by the Indian government in occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK), Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid Coordinator Asean Ngo Advocacy Group for Kashmir, and President Malaysia Consultative Council of Islamic Organization urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for implementation of its resolutions on Kashmir to grant the right of self-determination to the Kashmiris.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices were steady on Monday helped by reports that OPEC and Russia were closer to a deal on extending oil cuts but held back by renewed tension between the United States and China.

Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 was up 3 cents, or 0.1%, at $37.87 a barrel at 1031 GMT. U.S. crude CLc1 had dipped 27 cents, or 0.8%, at $35.22 a barrel.

LONDON (AP) — Nations around the world have watched in horror at the civil unrest in the United States following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white police officer pressed his knee on his neck until he stopped breathing.

Racism-tinged events no longer startle even America’s closest allies, though many have watched coverage of the often-violent protests with growing unease. Burning cars and riot police in the U.S. featured on newspaper front pages around the globe Sunday — bumping news of the COVID-19 pandemic to second-tier status in some places.

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) said it was removing certain images after messages using extremely strong racist abuse appeared on some listings on its UK website when users searched for Apple’s (AAPL.O) AirPods and other similar products.

The message sparked outrage on Twitter, with the topic “AirPods” trending in the United Kingdom.

“We are removing the images in question and have taken action on the bad actor,” an Amazon spokeswoman told Reuters on Sunday. She did not elaborate more on the “bad actor”.

LONDON (Reuters) - British foreign minister Dominic Raab defended on Sunday the government’s “careful” loosening of the coronavirus lockdown, saying it was the “right step to be taking at this moment in time”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has come under fire from some scientists for easing a lockdown put in place 10 weeks ago, with some saying it was a premature and risky move in the absence of a fully functioning system to track new outbreaks.

LONDON (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping is so nervous about the position of the Communist Party that he is risking a new Cold War and imperilling Hong Kong’s position as Asia’s pre-eminent financial hub, the last British governor of the territory told Reuters.

Chris Patten said Xi’s ‘thuggish’ crackdown in Hong Kong risked triggering an outflow of capital and people from the city which funnels the bulk of foreign investment into mainland China.

LONDON (Reuters) - A third member of a scientific advisory body to the British government has warned that it is too soon to lift the COVID-19 lockdown because the test and trace system is not yet fully operational.

Professor Peter Horby, chairman of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), said Britain could not afford to lose control of the virus.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s government is planning to launch a big stimulus package before the summer with a focus on creating jobs and infrastructure projects to help drag the economy out of the coronavirus crisis, the Financial Times reported.

Finance minister Rishi Sunak declined on Friday to say whether he would bring forward his next budget statement, due in the autumn, to spell out how he will tackle Britain’s surging debt.