United Kingdom

LONDON, July 22. /TASS/: Russia is not interested in disintegration of any European country, including in Scotland’s possible secession from the United Kingdom, Russian Ambassador to UK Anrei Kelin said in an interview with Sky News.

Commenting on the report, published by the British Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee on Tuesday, Kelin said the document mentions Russia’s alleged attempt to meddle with the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, but "don’t provide any facts."

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Wednesday as industry data showed a bigger than expected inventory build in the United States, where a surge in coronavirus cases could further dent fuel demand in the world’s biggest oil consumer.

Brent crude fell 60 cents, or 1.4%, to $43.72 a barrel by 0912 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 70 cents, or 1.7%, to $41.22.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) industry group reported U.S. crude inventories rose last week by 7.5 million barrels, against expectations for a draw of 2.1 million barrels. [API/S]

LONDON (Reuters) - Anglo-Australian miner BHP has dismissed as pointless and wasteful a 5 billion pound ($6.3 billion) English lawsuit by 200,000 Brazilian people and groups over the 2015 collapse of a dam that led to Brazil’s worst environmental disaster.

Kicking off an eight-day hearing in Manchester, northern England, BHP on Wednesday called for the record group action to be struck out or suspended, alleging it duplicated Brazilian proceedings and victims were already receiving redress.

LONDON, July 21 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday raised the case of the death of a British teenager killed in an accident with a car driven by the wife of a U.S. diplomat during a meeting with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

"The Prime Minister reiterated the need for justice to be done for Harry Dunn and his family. He said there was a strong feeling among the people of the UK that justice must be delivered," said Johnson's official spokesperson.

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will discuss ways to tackle the growing might of China when he meets Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday, just a week after London ordered a purge of Huawei gear from the 5G network.

President Donald Trump lauded Johnson’s ban on Huawei, though he also claimed he had forced London’s hand due to concern over China, which he considers to be the United States’ main geopolitical rival of the 21st century.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will continue to engage constructively with the European Union in talks on a future relationship, but London is not willing to give up its rights as an independent state, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday.

The two sides will resume talks on Tuesday after Britain’s chief negotiator David Frost hosts his EU counterpart Michel Barnier for dinner later on Monday, but there has been little movement on the “significant differences” that divide them.

LONDON, July 21 (Xinhua) -- China voiced on Monday strong condemnation and firm opposition after the United Kingdom (UK) decided to suspend the extradition treaty with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) immediately and indefinitely and extend the arms embargo to the HKSAR.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London said that recently the kingdom has repeatedly made wrong remarks on the national security law for the HKSAR to interfere in China's internal affairs.

LONDON (AP) — A long-awaited report published Tuesday on Russian influence in British politics criticized the British government for its slow response to Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum, with its authors saying it was “astonishing” that no one sought to protect that democratic process.

The report’s authors accused the British government of “actively avoiding” looking into evidence of the Russian threat in the EU referendum. “Serious questions needed to be asked,” the authors said.

LONDON (AP) — Scientists at Oxford University say their experimental coronavirus vaccine has been shown in an early trial to prompt a protective immune response in hundreds of people who got the shot.

British researchers first began testing the vaccine in April in about 1,000 people, half of whom got the experimental vaccine. Such early trials are designed to evaluate safety and see what kind of immune response was provoked, but can’t tell if the vaccine truly protects.

LONDON (AP) — Britain suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and blocked arms sales to the former British territory after China imposed a tough new national security law.

Amid growing tensions with Beijing, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told the House of Commons that he had concerns about the new law in Hong Kong and alleged human rights abuses in China, particularly the treatment of the Uighur minority. He described the measures announced Monday as “reasonable and proportionate.″