United Kingdom

LONDON (AP) — For nine months, Gordon Bonner has been in the “hinterlands of despair and desolation” after losing his wife of 63 years to the coronavirus pandemic that has now taken the lives of more than 100,000 people in the United Kingdom.

Only recently did Bonner think he might be able to move on — after sensing the spirit of his wife, Muriel, near him on what would have been her 84th birthday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up on Monday as supply jitters and U.S. stimulus plans offset fresh concerns about the hit to global fuel demand from renewed lockdowns to curb spikes in COVID-19 infections.

Brent crude futures for March rose 34 cents, or 0.6%, to $55.75 a barrel by 1008 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for March was up 37 cents, or 0.7%, at $52.64.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has detected 77 cases of the South African variant of COVID-19, the health minister said on Sunday, also urging people to strictly follow lockdown rules as the best precaution against Britain’s own potentially more deadly variant.

Matt Hancock said all 77 cases were connected to travel from South Africa and were under close observation, as were nine identified cases of a Brazilian variant.

LONDON (Reuters) - Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday of fearing democracy when it comes to letting the Scottish people express their will on independence from the United Kingdom.

Scotland voted against independence by 55% to 45% in a 2014 referendum. But a majority of Scots also backed staying in the European Union in the subsequent 2016 Brexit vote, stoking demands by Scottish nationalists for a new independence vote after the UK as a whole voted to leave.

LONDON, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for tougher rules on wearing face coverings outside after revealing that more than 12,000 Londoners have died with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Evening Standard newspaper reported.

The mayor said there was a need for face coverings where people were "cheek by jowl" in outdoor locations, and revealed concerns at the number of Londoners in public places because the current lockdown rules were not tight enough.

LONDON (AP) — The Egyptians who took to the streets on Jan. 25, 2011, knew what they were doing. They knew they risked arrest and worse. But as their numbers swelled in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square, they tasted success.

Police forces backed off, and within days, former President Hosni Mubarak agreed to demands to step down.

London, Jan 23 (PTI) Early evidence suggests the variant of coronavirus that emerged in the UK towards the end of last year may be more deadly, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.

Based on preliminary data briefing by scientists at the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG), Johnson admitted that it would seem the new variant was deadlier but stressed that the two vaccines being administered in the UK -- Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca -- are effective against all variants.

19 Jan 2021; MEMO: The British government is "seriously concerned" about Israel's approval for the construction of 800 new settler housing units in the occupied West Bank.

19 Jan 2021; MEMO: Britain's Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer hired a former Israel spy to work in his social media team, The Electronic Intifada has revealed. Assaf Kaplan was hired as a "social media listener", and worked formerly for the infamous 8200 cyber unit of the Israeli intelligence services. In a profile of Kaplan on an ex-employer's website, he is described as a "Unit 8200 veteran".

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose above $56 a barrel on Wednesday, supported by expectations the new U.S. administration will deliver massive stimulus spending that would lift demand, OPEC curbs and forecasts of a drop in U.S. crude inventories.

U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen on Tuesday urged lawmakers to “act big” on pandemic relief spending. A fall in the dollar after the comments helped oil to rally, analysts said.