England

LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II plans to acknowledge that both Britain and her family have endured a difficult year by saying during her Christmas message that it has been a “bumpy” time.

The pre-recorded message will be broadcast in Britain and the Commonwealth nations on Christmas Day. It was recorded before the queen’s husband, Prince Philip, was hospitalized in London as a precautionary measure.

Excerpts released by Buckingham Palace before the speech show the queen admits difficulties during the course of the year.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil was little changed on Monday, holding near a three-month high on optimism over a nearing U.S.-China trade deal even as Russia said an OPEC-led pact may consider easing output cuts next year.

Brent crude LCOc1 was down 2 cents, or 0.03%, at $66.12 per barrel by 1410 GMT in thin trading ahead of the Christmas holiday. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 was down 5 cents, or 0.08%, at $60.39 a barrel.

LONDON, Dec 20 (APP): Pakistan’s High Commissioner Mohammad Nafees Zakaria Friday drew the attention of international community towards the plight of Kashmiris as their silence in that regard was emboldening India to continue human right violations in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK).

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has approved Advent International’s $5 billion purchase of defense company Cobham (COB.L) after the U.S. private equity group made commitments to address national security concerns.

Business minister Andrea Leadsom had put the deal on hold to review the sale of air-to-air refueling equipment maker Cobham, which employs 10,000 people and also makes communications equipment for military vehicles.

20 December 2019; AFP: Britain's freshly-elected parliament prepared on Friday to move past years of partisan wrangling and initially approve Prime Minister Boris Johnson's divorce deal with the EU.

The all-but-certain outcome in the lower House of Commons will help Johnson on his way towards meeting his winning campaign promise to "get Brexit done" on January 31.

But it will also push London and Brussels closer to another cliff edge at the end of 2020 that might disrupt decades of unfettered trade.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices hovered near three-month peaks on Thursday, buoyed by falling U.S. crude inventories and thawing trade relations between the United States and China.

Brent crude futures edged up 10 cents to $66.27 a barrel by 0957 GMT, heading for a sixth straight day of gains if prices on Thursday end in positive territory.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 6 cents to $60.99 a barrel.

LONDON, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed MPs on Tuesday as the House of Commons resumed following last week's general election.

Lindsay Hoyle was elected as Commons Speaker.

Johnson, speaking to a packed chamber that re-elected Lindsay Hoyle as Speaker, said his Conservative government will "Get Brexit Done" and voiced his opposition to Scotland breaking away from the United Kingdom.

The Scottish National Party said its gains in the general election should pave the way for a new independence referendum.

LONDON (Reuters) - British cabinet office minister Michael Gove said on Tuesday that the government was committed to securing a trade deal with the European Union by the end of 2020.

Britain is due to leave the EU on Jan. 31 and Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to legislate to prevent any extension to the transition period beyond the end of next year.

“We are going to make sure that we get this deal done in time,” Gove told BBC TV. “We will get a deal, and the political declaration commits both sides to that.”

LONDON, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson started to re-assemble his front bench team Monday night as deadline of Brexit is approaching.

Conservative Nicky Morgan, who decided not to seek re-election in last week's general election, has been kept on by Johnson as a member of his cabinet as Culture Secretary, even though she no longer sits in the House of Commons.

It came after Queen Elizabeth II conferred a peerage on Morgan which entitles her to sit in the unelected House of Lords, and to serve in the government as a minister.

16 December 2019; AFP: Prime Minister Boris Johnson will unveil a new government Monday that wields a sweeping mandate to take Britain out of the European Union after years of acrimonious debate.

Johnson's simple promise to "get Brexit done" resonated in a snap election Thursday that became a re-run of Britain's 2016 EU membership referendum.