United Kingdom

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. government warned Wednesday of a “significant” recession after official figures showed the economy shrank 2% in the first quarter of the year even though it included just one week of the coronavirus lockdown.

LONDON (Reuters) - Global commercial fishing activity for 2020 fell by around 1 million hours as of end-April, a 6.5% decline over the two previous years, the result of plummeting demand caused by coronavirus lockdowns, according to Global Fishing Watch.

Fishing fleets spent 14.4 million hours on the water for the year so far to April 28, a decline from an average of 15.4 million hours for the same year-to-date periods of 2018 and 2019, according to the nonprofit organization that tracks fishing operation worldwide.

LONDON, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) on Monday issued a Red Notice for the arrest of a U.S. diplomat's wife named Anne Sacoolas, who was charged over a car crash killing a young man in Britain last year.

Harry Dunn was killed when his motorbike and a car collided outside a U.S. military base in Northamptonshire on Aug. 27 last year. The driver of the car, Sacoolas, returned to the United States, claiming diplomatic immunity and was subsequently charged by Britain's Crown Prosecution Service with causing death by dangerous driving.

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday outlined a “conditional plan” for reopening British society in the coming months, including the possible return to school for some young children at the start of June, as well as some easing of the coronavirus lockdown in England.

In a televised address to the nation, Johnson said this is “not the time, simply, to end the lockdown this week,” but that it was appropriate to make some changes, including encouraging people with jobs that cannot be done from home to return to work.

LONDON (Reuters) - The British government said non-essential retailers would not go back to work until June at the earliest while other sectors will not go back to work until July at the earliest, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Monday.

“There’s the other changes for things like non essential retail and people going back to school, particularly primary school, which won’t start until the earliest on the first of June, subject to conditions,” Raab said.

LONDON, May 10 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed his government's approach to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in the next phase in his address to the nation Sunday evening.

The prime minister said that the government has a plan to ease lockdown, but "it is a conditional plan," and since "our priority is to protect the public and save lives, we cannot move forward unless we satisfy the five tests."

This is "not the time simply to end the lockdown this week," instead " we are taking the first careful steps to modify our measures," said Johnson.

LONDON, May 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Another 626 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 31,241, Environment Secretary, George Eustice, said yrsterday (Friday).

The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community.

Earlier in the day, the National Health Service (NHS) England, said, a six-week-old baby has become one of the latest to die, after testing positive for the COVID-19.

LONDON, May 9 (NNN-XINHUA) – New car registration in Britain plunged by 97.3 percent in Apr, hitting record low in decades, as the nation was in lock-down for the entire month to tackle COVID-19.

With showrooms closed and car buyers housebound, just 4,321 new cars were registered in the month, merely above the 4,044 units sold in Feb 1946, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

United Nations, May 8 (AP) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday the coronavirus pandemic keeps unleashing a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering.

The UN chief said anti-foreigner sentiment has surged online and in the streets, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have spread, and COVID-19-related anti-Muslim attacks have occurred.

LONDON, May 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Bank of England has warned that the coronavirus pandemic will push the UK economy towards its deepest recession on record.

It said the economy was on course to shrink 14% this year, based on the lockdown being relaxed in June.

Scenarios drawn up by the Bank to illustrate the economic impact said Covid-19 was “dramatically reducing jobs and incomes in the UK”.

Policymakers voted unanimously to keep interest rates at a record low of 0.1%.