United Kingdom

LONDON (Reuters) - Julian Assange resumed his battle in a London court on Monday to avoid extradition to the United States to face criminal charges over the activities of his WikiLeaks website, after months of delay due to the coronavirus lockdown.

The U.S. authorities accuse Australian-born Assange, 49, of conspiring to hack government computers and of violating an espionage law in connection with the release of confidential cables by WikiLeaks in 2010-2011.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Monday as Saudi Arabia made its deepest monthly price cuts to supply for Asia in five months and uncertainty over Chinese demand clouds the market’s recovery.

Brent crude LCOc1 was trading at $42.00 a barrel, down 66 cents or 1.5%, by 1208 GMT, after earlier sliding to $41.51, its lowest since July 30.

West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude CLc1 skidded 59 cents, or 1.5%, to $39.18 per barrel after hitting $38.55, its lowest since July 10.

07 Sep 2020; MEMO: Another member of the pro-Israel lobby in Britain has been reported to have faked an anti-Semitic attack in order to discredit a prominent pro-Palestinian group. According to Scotland’s Daily Record, this has prompted condemnation from legal watchdogs and a demand for compensation from the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC).

07 Sep 2020; MEMO: Co-founder and head of the 37th Guernica Chambers of International Justice in London, Toby Cadman, has called on Egyptian authorities to “fully and unconditionally cooperate in the investigation” into the death of Abdullah Morsi, son of the late President, Mohamed Morsi, and to bring those responsible for his death to justice.

LONDON, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Britain has set a deadline on Oct. 15 for the European Union (EU) to agree on a trade deal, otherwise the island country would go ahead with the Brexit without a deal, several major media reported on late Sunday.

Britain ended its EU membership on Jan. 31 this year but is still following EU rules during the transition period until Dec. 31 to enable a permanent future trade deal to be reached.

LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain will not blink first in Brexit trade negotiations with the European Union and is not scared of a no-deal exit at the end of the year, the country’s top Brexit negotiator warned the bloc on Sunday.

Britain left the EU on Jan. 31 but talks have so far made little headway on agreeing a new trade deal for when a status-quo transition arrangement ends in December.

LONDON (AP) — A man was killed and seven people injured in late-night stabbings in a busy nightlife area of the central England city of Birmingham, police said Sunday.

Police said they were searching for a lone suspect in what appeared to be random attacks.

Chief Superintendent Steve Graham of West Midlands Police said detectives were still investigating the motive but “there is absolutely no suggestion at all that this is terror-related.”

04 Sep 2020; MEMO: In the ongoing campaign by pro-Israel groups to police academic discussion on the Zionist state, a British university has become the centre of an anti-Semitism row following a decision not to take action against a lecturer on the grounds of “free speech”.

London, Sep 3 (AP/PTI) E-commerce giant Amazon is adding 7,000 more permanent jobs in the U.K. by the end of the year, in the latest sign that demand for online shopping and services is booming amid the pandemic.

The company said Thursday that the jobs will be created at Amazon warehouses, sorting centers and delivery stations across the United Kingdom as well as its corporate offices.

LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The chances of Britain leaving the European Union without a trade deal have risen sharply as negotiations have been threatened by London’s insistence that it have full autonomy over its state aid plans, negotiators and diplomats said.

The United Kingdom left the EU on Jan. 31, turning its back after 47 years on the post-World War Two project that sought to build the ruined nations of Europe into a global power.