United Kingdom

LONDON, May 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Another 621 COVID-19 patients died in Britain, bringing the total virus-related death toll in the country to 28,131, Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick, said Saturday.

Chairing Saturday’s Downing Street briefing, Jenrick said, 182,260 people have tested positive for the virus in Britain.

Meanwhile, 105,937 tests were carried out on Friday, Jenrick said. British Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, said that, the country has met the goal of 100,000 tests per day.

LONDON (Reuters) - Two thirds of companies in Britain have applied for the government’s emergency scheme to pay workers who are laid off temporarily during the coronavirus crisis, according to a survey published by the country’s statistics office on Thursday.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was the most popular of the government’s measures to help companies through the shutdown of much of the economy, with 66% of companies saying they had applied, while 56% had sought deferrals of value-added tax.

LONDON, April 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday became a father again when his partner Carrie Symonds gave birth to a healthy baby boy, just weeks after he himself was hospitalised with coronavirus.

The news came as a surprise, as Symonds, 32, was not thought to be due for several weeks, but both she and the baby were said to be doing “very well”.

LONDON, April 29 (Xinhua) -- A total of 26,097 patients have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in Britain as of Tuesday afternoon, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Wednesday.

It is the first time the government figures have included deaths in care homes and the community, in addition to those in hospitals.

The latest death toll marked an increase of 3,811 compared with the figure available Tuesday.

29 April 2020; MEMO: The British government has suffered a major defeat in its attempt to curb the pro-Palestine Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign in a long running legal battle with the UK’s largest organisation campaigning for Palestinian human rights.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is not yet at the point of wanting to change its strict guidelines on social distancing to curb the spread of COVID-19, with the government focusing on reviewing the measures by May 7, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said on Tuesday.

“It is important that they remain in place for now. We need to pass five tests before we can think about moving on to the next phase in the coronavirus response. We are not there yet,” the spokesman told reporters.

LONDON (Reuters) - Banks should rein in bonuses to boost their capacity to help businesses and households hit by the coronavirus crisis, the European Union’s executive said on Tuesday.

The European Commission set out a package of temporary “quick fixes” offering capital relief that would support extra lending potentially worth up to 450 billion euros ($490 billion)to companies struggling as a deep recession looms.

LONDON (Reuters) - British retailers suffered their biggest fall in sales since the 2008 financial crisis in the first half of April as the coronavirus kept shoppers at home and forced store closures, the Confederation of British Industry said on Tuesday.

Together with official figures for March and an earlier survey from the British Retail Consortium, Tuesday’s numbers showed the sector was on track for a historic decline, as an earlier boost from the stockpiling of food fades.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Monday on concerns about scarce storage capacity and global economic doldrums from the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. oil futures led losses, falling by more than $2 a barrel on fears that storage at Cushing, Oklahoma, could reach full capacity soon.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 June futures fell $2.86, or 16.88%, to $14.08 a barrel by 1100 GMT.

Brent crude LCOc1 was down 83 cents, or 3.9%, at $20.61 a barrel. The June Brent contract expires on Thursday.

LONDON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- In the six weeks up to April 19, officers across London had made 4,093 arrests for domestic abuse offences -- nearly 100 a day on average -- and domestic abuse calls have risen by around a third in the last six weeks, the Metropolitan Police (the Met) has revealed.

Charges and cautions have increased by 24 percent since March 9, when people with COVID-19 symptoms were asked to self-isolate, compared to last year, said Commander Sue Williams, the Met's lead for safeguarding.