United Kingdom

(Reuters) - UK ministers are considering blocking migrant boats in the English Channel before they can enter British waters in a desperate effort to stem rising numbers of crossings, The Times newspaper reported.

The approach being considered is modeled on tactics used by Australia against migrants and could involve the Royal Navy and Border Force intercepting vessels as they leave French waters, according to the newspaper.

LONDON, Aug 06 (APP): Pakistan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Mohammad Nafees Zakaria has said the ultimate objective of India was to alter the demography of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which it has been illegally occupying against the wishes of Kashmiri people, in contravention of Geneva Convention IV and UNSC resolutions.

He said this while speaking at a Virtual Parliamentary Seminar on Kashmir on August 5 to observe Youm-e-Istehsal to mark one year of military siege over 8 million Kashmiris by India.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil dipped below $45 a barrel on Friday on worries that a demand recovery would slow due to a resurgence of coronavirus cases, although a pledge from OPEC member Iraq to cut oil output further in August provided support.

The resurgence of infections remains a key issue for the market and demand outlook. Tallies show cases in the United States are rising in a number of states. India reported on Friday a record daily jump in infections.

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England held off providing more monetary stimulus on Thursday as Britain reopens after the pandemic lockdowns, but it warned it would take time for the economy to heal and unemployment would keep rising this year.

While the central bank forecast that the economy would shrink less than previously expected this year, it said gross domestic product probably won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until the end of 2021 as spending by consumers and businesses remains weak.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose to their highest since early March on Wednesday after data showed a big drop in U.S. crude inventories, although concerns that mounting coronavirus infections will lead to reduced fuel demand capped gains.

Brent crude was up $1.03, or 2.3%, at $45.46 a barrel by 0951 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate oil rose $1.03 cents, or 2.5%, to $42.73 a barrel.

LONDON (Reuters) - Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, won a court battle on Wednesday to keep the names of five of her friends private for the time being as part of her legal action against a British tabloid which she accuses of invading her privacy.

Meghan, wife of Queen Elizabeth’s grandson Prince Harry, is suing Associated Newspapers over articles in the Mail on Sunday that included parts of a handwritten letter she had sent to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, in August 2018.

LONDON (Reuters) - Steel consumption in the European Union slid by 12% year-on-year in the first quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened an already weak picture, industry group Eurofer said on Wednesday.

The coronavirus crisis is likely to show a bigger impact in the second quarter because lockdown measures only kicked off in the last month of the quarter, a statement said.

In June, the European Steel Association (Eurofer) estimated that steel demand had tumbled by around 50% since March as industries such as automakers shut factories.

LONDON, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- To blame China for this pandemic is to rewrite the history of COVID-19 and to marginalize the failings of Western nations, said Dr. Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of medical journal The Lancet.

"The present wave of anti-China sentiment has now evolved into an unpleasant, even racist, sinophobia, which threatens international peace and security," Dr. Horton said in an opinion article recently published by British newspaper The Guardian.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices eased on Tuesday amid concerns that a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections will see a global demand recovery stalling due to tighter lockdowns, just as major producers ramp up output.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 68 cents, or 1.7%, at $40.33 a barrel at 1020 GMT, while Brent crude futures were 72 cents, or 1.7%, lower at $43.43 a barrel.

The slide comes after WTI rose 1.8% and Brent climbed 1.5% on Monday on better-than-expected data on manufacturing activity in Asia, Europe and the United States.

LONDON (Reuters) - The location of TikTok owner ByteDance’s headquarters is a commercial decision for the company to make, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, responding to a report that the firm could move to London.

“It would be a commercial decision, and I’m not aware that one has been taken,” the spokesman said.