United Kingdom

London, Jan 23 (PTI) Early evidence suggests the variant of coronavirus that emerged in the UK towards the end of last year may be more deadly, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.

Based on preliminary data briefing by scientists at the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG), Johnson admitted that it would seem the new variant was deadlier but stressed that the two vaccines being administered in the UK -- Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca -- are effective against all variants.

19 Jan 2021; MEMO: The British government is "seriously concerned" about Israel's approval for the construction of 800 new settler housing units in the occupied West Bank.

19 Jan 2021; MEMO: Britain's Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer hired a former Israel spy to work in his social media team, The Electronic Intifada has revealed. Assaf Kaplan was hired as a "social media listener", and worked formerly for the infamous 8200 cyber unit of the Israeli intelligence services. In a profile of Kaplan on an ex-employer's website, he is described as a "Unit 8200 veteran".

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose above $56 a barrel on Wednesday, supported by expectations the new U.S. administration will deliver massive stimulus spending that would lift demand, OPEC curbs and forecasts of a drop in U.S. crude inventories.

U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen on Tuesday urged lawmakers to “act big” on pandemic relief spending. A fall in the dollar after the comments helped oil to rally, analysts said.

LONDON, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- The number of people who have died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test has surpassed the grim milestone of 90,000 in Britain after another 1,610 were confirmed, according to official figures released Tuesday.

The latest daily death toll, the highest since the pandemic began in the country, brought the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain to 91,470, the data showed.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed on Tuesday as optimism that government stimulus will eventually lift global economic growth and oil demand trumped concerns that renewed COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns globally are cooling fuel consumption.

Brent crude futures for March rose 46 cents to $55.21 a barrel by 0916 GMT after slipping 35 cents in the previous session.

“The perception that any retracement will be quick as confidence in economic and oil demand recovery is unlikely to fade away,” said PVM analysts in a note.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he is self-isolating until Sunday after receiving a warning from the health service’s COVID mobile phone app that he may have been in contact with someone who tested positive.

“Last night I was alerted by the @NHSCOVID19app to self isolate so I’ll be staying at home & not leaving at all until Sunday,” Hancock said on Twitter.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is worried about the safety of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny after he was detained on return to Moscow, British Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Monday.

Russian police detained Navalny on arrival in Moscow on Sunday after he flew home to Russia from Germany for the first time since he was poisoned last summer.

LONDON, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Another 38,598 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, the lowest daily increase since the start of the year, according to official figures released Sunday.

The daily figure, down from 41,346 reported on Saturday, brought the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 3,395,959, the data showed.

Another 671 have died within 28 days of a positive test. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 89,261.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain should not engage in free trade with countries that abuse human rights, but proposals that the country’s courts should decide whether genocide has been committed by trade partners is flawed, foreign minister Dominic Raab said.

Last week, Raab said Britain would introduce new rules for its companies to try to prevent goods linked to China’s Xinjiang region entering their supply chains.