United Kingdom

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has asked 65,000 former nurses and doctors to return to work and will deploy final-year medical students to fight the coronavirus health crisis, the health ministry said.

As the coronavirus outbreak sweeps across the world, governments, companies and investors are grappling with the biggest public health crisis since the 1918 influenza pandemic, panicked populations and imploding financial markets.

Final year medical students and student nurses are also being offered the chance to take temporary roles to boost the NHS frontline even further.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Friday as the world’s richest nations poured unprecedented aid into the global economy to stop a coronavirus-driven recession and U.S. President Donald Trump hinted he may intervene in the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up $2.12, or 7.4%, at $30.59 a barrel by 1012 GMT.

U.S. crude futures for April CLc1 rose $2.23 to $27.45. The front-month contract expires later on Friday. The more active U.S. crude contract for May CLc2 was up $2.29, or 8.8%, at $28.20.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose nearly 10% on Thursday after a three-day selloff drove them to their lowest levels in almost two decades as demand plummeted due to the coronavirus and supplies surged in a fight for market share between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Benchmark Brent, which has lost half its value in less than two weeks, was offered some respite as investors across financial markets assessed the impact of massive central bank stimulus.

LONDON, March 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — British Prime Minister indicated that he is sticking to the timetable that will see Britain and European Union (EU) end the Brexit transition period at the end of this year.

Currently, Britain and the EU are involved in talks to reach a permanent trade deal to come into force when a transition period ends by Dec 31 of 2020.

Asked by an MP on whether he “recognizes the inevitable” and will extend the post-Brexit transition period, Johnson said: “There is legislation in place and I have no intention of changing it.”

LONDON, March 18 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister indicated Wednesday night that he is sticking to the timetable that will see Britain and European Union (EU) end the Brexit transition period at the end of this year.

Currently, Britain and the EU are involved in talks to reach a permanent trade deal to come into force when a transition period ends by Dec. 31 of 2020.

Asked by an MP on whether he "recognizes the inevitable" and will extend the post-Brexit transition period, Johnson said: "There is legislation in place and I have no intention of changing it."

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell for the third session on Wednesday with U.S. crude futures tumbling to an 18-year low as travel and social lockdowns sparked by the coronavirus epidemic knocked the outlook for demand.

U.S. crude Clc1 was down $2.51 cents, or over 9%, at $24.44 per barrel by 1219 GMT, having earlier fallen to $24.42, its lowest since mid-2002.

The last time oil was trading that low, China had only begun its rise as a major global economic power that propelled the world’s oil consumption to record highs in subsequent years.

LONDON (Reuters) - World share markets and oil prices struggled on Tuesday after coronavirus panic caused Wall Street’s worst one-day rout since the Black Monday crash of 1987.

In Europe, early 1.5.% to 3% gains in London, Frankfurt and Paris were quickly wiped out as airline and travel stocks.SXTP suffered a 6.5% drubbing.

The dollar recouped some lost ground against the safe-haven Japanese yen. Oil gave up attempted gains after Brent’s drop below $30 a barrel on Monday.

LONDON, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Houses of Parliament were closed to visitors and tourists on Monday because of the coronavirus outbreak.

A limited shutdown will continue until further notice and will affect thousands of sightseers and overseas visitors who want to see Britain's parliament in action.

Officials at the UNESCO World Heritage Site in London said steps taken will allow the Parliament to continue to fulfil its constitutional duties.

Overseas travel restrictions have also been introduced in order to preserve the operation of the Parliament.

LONDON (Reuters) - British police said on Monday they had charged another man as part of their investigation into the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants found dead in the back of a truck near London last year.

Valentin Calota, 37, will appear at Basildon Magistrates’ Court near London on Monday charged with facilitating illegal immigration between May 2018 and Oct 2019.

The victims, who included two 15-year-old boys, were discovered in October in the truck container on an industrial estate in Grays in Essex, about 20 miles (32 km) east of London.

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. crude fell below $30 on Monday as emergency rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve and its global counterparts failed to tame markets and China’s factory output plunged at the sharpest pace in 30 years amid the spread of coronavirus.

Brent crude was down $2.89, or 8.5%, to $30.96 a barrel by 1012 GMT. The front-month price had risen $1 earlier in the session.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $29.94, down $1.79 or 5.6%.