England

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s senior adviser on Monday denied a weekend newspaper report that he had prioritized herd immunity and the economy in the coronavirus crisis at the expense of pensioners dying.

The Sunday Times reported that Dominic Cummings at the end of February had outlined the government’s strategy as “herd immunity, protect the economy and if that means some pensioners die, too bad.”

When asked by Reuters if he had said the quote attributed to him and whether the report was accurate, Cummings said: “No. Of course not. No.”

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) could be “overwhelmed” by the coronavirus like the Italian health system in just two weeks, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Sunday in the face of rising numbers of deaths.

The death toll in Italy — the world’s worst-hit country — reached almost 5,000 on Saturday, while in Britain it hit 233.

In a statement released by his office, Johnson again urged Britons to stay at home to stop the spread of the virus.

LONDON, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Major supermarkets plan to create tens of thousands of extra jobs across Britain to help keep shops open and stocked during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

As of 9a.m. (0900GMT) on Saturday, 72,818 people have been tested in Britain, of which 67,800 were confirmed negative and 5,018 were confirmed positive. 233 patients in the country who tested positive for the virus have died.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has asked 65,000 former nurses and doctors to return to work and will deploy final-year medical students to fight the coronavirus health crisis, the health ministry said.

As the coronavirus outbreak sweeps across the world, governments, companies and investors are grappling with the biggest public health crisis since the 1918 influenza pandemic, panicked populations and imploding financial markets.

Final year medical students and student nurses are also being offered the chance to take temporary roles to boost the NHS frontline even further.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Friday as the world’s richest nations poured unprecedented aid into the global economy to stop a coronavirus-driven recession and U.S. President Donald Trump hinted he may intervene in the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up $2.12, or 7.4%, at $30.59 a barrel by 1012 GMT.

U.S. crude futures for April CLc1 rose $2.23 to $27.45. The front-month contract expires later on Friday. The more active U.S. crude contract for May CLc2 was up $2.29, or 8.8%, at $28.20.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose nearly 10% on Thursday after a three-day selloff drove them to their lowest levels in almost two decades as demand plummeted due to the coronavirus and supplies surged in a fight for market share between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Benchmark Brent, which has lost half its value in less than two weeks, was offered some respite as investors across financial markets assessed the impact of massive central bank stimulus.

LONDON, March 18 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister indicated Wednesday night that he is sticking to the timetable that will see Britain and European Union (EU) end the Brexit transition period at the end of this year.

Currently, Britain and the EU are involved in talks to reach a permanent trade deal to come into force when a transition period ends by Dec. 31 of 2020.

Asked by an MP on whether he "recognizes the inevitable" and will extend the post-Brexit transition period, Johnson said: "There is legislation in place and I have no intention of changing it."

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell for the third session on Wednesday with U.S. crude futures tumbling to an 18-year low as travel and social lockdowns sparked by the coronavirus epidemic knocked the outlook for demand.

U.S. crude Clc1 was down $2.51 cents, or over 9%, at $24.44 per barrel by 1219 GMT, having earlier fallen to $24.42, its lowest since mid-2002.

The last time oil was trading that low, China had only begun its rise as a major global economic power that propelled the world’s oil consumption to record highs in subsequent years.

LONDON (Reuters) - World share markets and oil prices struggled on Tuesday after coronavirus panic caused Wall Street’s worst one-day rout since the Black Monday crash of 1987.

In Europe, early 1.5.% to 3% gains in London, Frankfurt and Paris were quickly wiped out as airline and travel stocks.SXTP suffered a 6.5% drubbing.

The dollar recouped some lost ground against the safe-haven Japanese yen. Oil gave up attempted gains after Brent’s drop below $30 a barrel on Monday.

LONDON, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Houses of Parliament were closed to visitors and tourists on Monday because of the coronavirus outbreak.

A limited shutdown will continue until further notice and will affect thousands of sightseers and overseas visitors who want to see Britain's parliament in action.

Officials at the UNESCO World Heritage Site in London said steps taken will allow the Parliament to continue to fulfil its constitutional duties.

Overseas travel restrictions have also been introduced in order to preserve the operation of the Parliament.