United Kingdom

19 Dec 2019; MEMO: Prince Charles is scheduled to visit the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel for the first time in January, Clarence House announced in a statement yesterday.

On behalf of the British government, the Prince of Wales will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, where the heir to the throne will “undertake engagements”.

His five-day trip will begin in Amman, the capital of Jordan, at the end of January and end in Jerusalem.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices hovered near three-month peaks on Thursday, buoyed by falling U.S. crude inventories and thawing trade relations between the United States and China.

Brent crude futures edged up 10 cents to $66.27 a barrel by 0957 GMT, heading for a sixth straight day of gains if prices on Thursday end in positive territory.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 6 cents to $60.99 a barrel.

LONDON, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed MPs on Tuesday as the House of Commons resumed following last week's general election.

Lindsay Hoyle was elected as Commons Speaker.

Johnson, speaking to a packed chamber that re-elected Lindsay Hoyle as Speaker, said his Conservative government will "Get Brexit Done" and voiced his opposition to Scotland breaking away from the United Kingdom.

The Scottish National Party said its gains in the general election should pave the way for a new independence referendum.

LONDON, Dec 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government intends to present a bill to parliament on Friday to enable Britain to leave the European Union next month, his spokesman said.

“We plan to start the process before Christmas and will do so in the proper constitutional way in discussion with the speaker (of the House of Commons),” Johnson’s spokesman told reporters.

The announcement came as Johnson begins a new week with a fresh mandate to fulfil his promise to push through his election promise to “Get Brexit Done” on Jan 31.

LONDON (Reuters) - British cabinet office minister Michael Gove said on Tuesday that the government was committed to securing a trade deal with the European Union by the end of 2020.

Britain is due to leave the EU on Jan. 31 and Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to legislate to prevent any extension to the transition period beyond the end of next year.

“We are going to make sure that we get this deal done in time,” Gove told BBC TV. “We will get a deal, and the political declaration commits both sides to that.”

LONDON, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson started to re-assemble his front bench team Monday night as deadline of Brexit is approaching.

Conservative Nicky Morgan, who decided not to seek re-election in last week's general election, has been kept on by Johnson as a member of his cabinet as Culture Secretary, even though she no longer sits in the House of Commons.

It came after Queen Elizabeth II conferred a peerage on Morgan which entitles her to sit in the unelected House of Lords, and to serve in the government as a minister.

Guwahati, Oct 15 (PTI) People of the Assamese community in London was joined by other Indians to protest against the amended Citizenship Act outside the Indian High Commission.

Demanding revocation of the law, they held a protest gathering against the Act that threatens the linguistic and cultural identity of the Assamese people in Assam, Karuna Sagar Das, a prominent face in the diaspora in London, told PTI.

16 December 2019; AFP: Prime Minister Boris Johnson will unveil a new government Monday that wields a sweeping mandate to take Britain out of the European Union after years of acrimonious debate.

Johnson's simple promise to "get Brexit done" resonated in a snap election Thursday that became a re-run of Britain's 2016 EU membership referendum.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices on Monday held near three-month highs, supported by last week’s announcement that an initial trade deal had been reached between the United States and China.

Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 rose 17 cents or 0.3% to $65.39 a barrel by 0940 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was up 10 cents or 0.2% to $60.17 a barrel.

(Reuters) - The top priority of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government is to leave the European Union on Jan. 31 and secure a new trade deal with the EU by the end of next year, cabinet office minister Michael Gove said on Sunday.

After the Conservatives were re-elected last week with a majority of 80 seats, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will pursue twin priorities in government - to fulfill his promise to “get Brexit done” and plough money into Britain’s health service.