England

UK: Oil steady as U.S. stimulus hopes countered by demand concerns

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices were steady on Tuesday, with demand worries due to a rise in coronavirus cases worldwide undermining support coming from hopes for additional U.S. economic stimulus measures.

Brent crude was up 7 cents, or 0.2%, at $43.48 a barrel at 1052 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) U.S. crude fell 19 cents, or 0.5%, to $41.41 a barrel.

UK: British Airways faces strike threat over job cuts: BBC

LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways faces strike action over its plans to cut jobs, pay and conditions, the BBC reported on Tuesday, piling more pressure on the airline which has been hard hit by the coronavirus crisis and faced more disruption this week from new UK quarantine rules on Spain.

Trade union Unite, which represents BA cabin crew, said that the airline is planning to fire and rehire thousands of its workers and that it planned to defend its members by immediately moving towards industrial action, the BBC reported.

Oil slips on U.S.-China tensions, rising virus cases

SINGAPORE/LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices edged lower on Monday as rising coronavirus cases and tensions between the United States and China pushed investors towards safe-haven assets.

Brent crude LCOc1 dipped 20 cents, or 0.5%, to $43.14 a barrel by 1000 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 dropped to $41.15 a barrel, down 14 cents, or 0.4%.

UK keeps eye on France, Germany after slapping coronavirus quarantine on Spain

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is closely watching rises in coronavirus cases in other European destinations such as France and Germany after slapping a 14-day quarantine on travellers from Spain at the height of the summer vacation season.

The imposition of a British quarantine on Spain is one of the starkest indications to date that Europe could face a second wave of economic turmoil as governments scramble to head off a rise in cases from the Mediterranean to the North Sea.

UK Newspaper Denounces Arrest Of Journalists In U.S.

LONDON, July 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) – British newspaper, The Independent, denounced the attack or arrest of journalists in the United States, while covering the recent demonstrations.

According to a report by the British newspaper on its website, a mounting crackdown on reporters by authorities has been seen in recent weeks, as the Trump administration deployed federal agents to several cities, where demonstrators are calling for racial justice.

Government 'shambolic' on making Spanish quarantine decision, says UK's Labour

LONDON (Reuters) - The way the government made a decision to impose a quarantine on those people travelling from Spain to Britain was “shambolic”, the health policy chief for Britain’s main opposition Labour Party said on Sunday.

“I can understand why the government have made this decision ... but of course the way in which this decision has been made in the last 24 hours is frankly shambolic,” Jonathan Ashworth told Sky News, saying the government had given those Britons holidaying in Spain no time to plan for a quarantine by bringing in the new rule with little notice.

U.S. aggressive attitude to China threatens world peace: scholars

LONDON, July 25 (Xinhua) -- International scholars said Saturday that aggressive statements and actions by the U.S. government towards China poses a threat to world peace and a potential new cold war on China is against the interests of humanity.

The comments came during a virtual meeting on the international campaign against a new Cold War on China, which gathered experts from a number of countries including the United States, China, Britain, India, Russia and Canada.

UK puts Spain back on unsafe country list for COVID-19

LONDON (AP) — Britain is advising people not to travel to Spain and has removed the country from the list of safe places to visit following a surge of COVID-19 cases.

The Department for Transport issued a statement late Saturday warning that as of midnight, anyone returning from vacation in Spain would have to self-isolate.

UK PM Johnson: We'll be past coronavirus by mid-2021

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday he thought the country would be through the coronavirus crisis by mid-2021 but feared there may be a second spike that could overwhelm the health service.

“Whether it came from... a bat, a pangolin or however it emerged, it was a very, very nasty thing for the human race. And I think by the middle of next year we will be well on the way past it,” he told reporters.

“This country is going to bounce back stronger than ever before,” Johnson said. “We’ve still got the threat of a second spike.”

UK parliament approves new Financial Conduct Authority head

LONDON (Reuters) - The British parliament’s Treasury Committee said on Friday it had approved the appointment of Nikhil Rathi, a senior executive at the London Stock Exchange, to head the Financial Conduct Authority regulator from October.

Rathi, a former finance ministry official, told legislators on Wednesday that he wanted to focus on keeping high regulatory standards rather than prioritising competitiveness now Britain was no longer bound by European Union rules.

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