United Kingdom

LONDON, March 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Britain told Hong Kong on Friday that it had “no right” to order other countries not to accept a United Kingdom travel document for a popular youth working scheme after the city confirmed it had made the request to several other nations.

The row is the latest diplomatic spat centring on the British National (Overseas), or BNO, passport as China imposes a sweeping crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong.

The BNO passport is a legacy of Hong Kong’s handover to China by colonial Britain in 1997.

LONDON (Reuters) -Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond on Friday launched a new pro-independence political party to run in May elections for Scotland’s devolved parliament, seeking to help build a political majority for breaking away from the rest of Britain.

“I’m announcing the public launch of a new political force: the Alba Party,” Salmond said in a statement broadcast on Twitter.

“Alba will contest the upcoming Scottish elections as a list-only party under my leadership, seeking to build a super majority for independence in the Scottish Parliament.”

LONDON (Reuters) -Bank of England policymaker Michael Saunders said on Friday there might be more spare capacity - meaning potentially less inflation pressure - in Britain’s economy after its COVID crash than the central bank said last month.

Saunders said Britain’s economy might recover from last year’s 10% slump more quickly than the BoE’s central forecasts, made in early February, which foresee a 5% bounce-back in 2021 as the country races ahead with coronavirus vaccinations.

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday Britain was on the side of openness and did not want to see restrictions on the exchange of COVID-19 vaccines with the European Union.

The EU tightened its oversight of coronavirus vaccine exports on Wednesday, giving it greater scope to block shipments to countries with higher inoculation rates such as Britain, or which are not sharing doses they produce.

24 Mar 2021; MEMO: Britain's reliance on Moroccan fruit and vegetable has grown rapidly following its withdrawal from the EU at the end of last year, prompting it to establish alternative trading partners.

LONDON (Reuters) - Capitalism and greed gave Britain its success in vaccinating its population, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told lawmakers in a closed meeting, praising pharmaceutical companies for developing a shot in record time.

The comments, reported by The Sun newspaper, were made by Johnson during a Zoom meeting and could inflame a row with the European Union which is considering a ban on vaccine exports to Britain.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose more than 1% on Wednesday after a ship ran aground in the Suez Canal raising supply concerns, although fears of a slow recovery in demand due to European lockdowns limited gains.

Ships in the Suez Canal were being diverted to an older channel on Wednesday after a large container ship ran aground, blocking vessels passing through one of the world’s most important waterways.

LONDON (AP) — AstraZeneca’s repeated missteps in reporting vaccine data coupled with a blood clot scare could do lasting damage to the credibility of a shot that is the linchpin in the global strategy to stop the coronavirus pandemic, potentially even undermining vaccine confidence more broadly, experts say.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell more than 3% on Tuesday, hit by concerns that new pandemic curbs and slow vaccine rollouts in Europe will hold back a recovery in demand, while a stronger dollar also weighed.

Brent crude futures dropped by $2.20, or 3.4%, to $62.42 a barrel by 0948 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell by $2.10, or %3.4, to $59.46 a barrel.

The market structure was also pointing to weakness, with the front-month Brent spread flipping into a small contango for the first time since January.

LONDON (Reuters) - A Scottish parliamentary committee said on Tuesday First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had misled it over evidence she gave on her handling of sexual harassment complaints, the latest twist in a row that could sink her hopes for an independent Scotland.

Sturgeon has been under intense scrutiny over what she did and did not do when she learnt of complaints by several women against her predecessor Alex Salmond - once her close friend and ally in the independence cause, now an implacable enemy.