United Kingdom

LONDON, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- The number of people who have died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test has surpassed the grim milestone of 90,000 in Britain after another 1,610 were confirmed, according to official figures released Tuesday.

The latest daily death toll, the highest since the pandemic began in the country, brought the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain to 91,470, the data showed.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed on Tuesday as optimism that government stimulus will eventually lift global economic growth and oil demand trumped concerns that renewed COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns globally are cooling fuel consumption.

Brent crude futures for March rose 46 cents to $55.21 a barrel by 0916 GMT after slipping 35 cents in the previous session.

“The perception that any retracement will be quick as confidence in economic and oil demand recovery is unlikely to fade away,” said PVM analysts in a note.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he is self-isolating until Sunday after receiving a warning from the health service’s COVID mobile phone app that he may have been in contact with someone who tested positive.

“Last night I was alerted by the @NHSCOVID19app to self isolate so I’ll be staying at home & not leaving at all until Sunday,” Hancock said on Twitter.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is worried about the safety of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny after he was detained on return to Moscow, British Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Monday.

Russian police detained Navalny on arrival in Moscow on Sunday after he flew home to Russia from Germany for the first time since he was poisoned last summer.

LONDON, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Another 38,598 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, the lowest daily increase since the start of the year, according to official figures released Sunday.

The daily figure, down from 41,346 reported on Saturday, brought the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 3,395,959, the data showed.

Another 671 have died within 28 days of a positive test. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 89,261.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain should not engage in free trade with countries that abuse human rights, but proposals that the country’s courts should decide whether genocide has been committed by trade partners is flawed, foreign minister Dominic Raab said.

Last week, Raab said Britain would introduce new rules for its companies to try to prevent goods linked to China’s Xinjiang region entering their supply chains.

LONDON, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Britain will host the first in-person Group of Seven (G7) summit in almost two years in June this year, according to a statement released late Saturday by the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will use Britain's G7 Presidency "to help the world build back better from coronavirus and create a greener, more prosperous future," said the statement.

LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Rishi Sunak has proposed giving a one-off 500 pound ($679) grant to recipients of the country’s main unemployment and wage support benefit instead of extending a temporary increase on the welfare payments, The Times reported on Saturday.

British welfare benefits for working-age adults are low compared with elsewhere in Europe, and the government temporarily increased them by 20 pounds per week last year at the start of the coronavirus pandemic as job openings dried up.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Friday as concerns about Chinese cities in lockdown due to coronavirus outbreaks tempered a rally driven by strong import data from the world’s biggest crude importer and U.S. plans for a large stimulus package.

Brent was down 93 cents, or 1.7%, at $55.49 by 0950 GMT, after gaining 0.6% on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 71 cents, or 1.3%, at $52.86 a barrel, having risen more than 1% the previous session.

LONDON (Reuters) - The British government said on Friday it had no plans to lower standards on workers’ rights, rejecting a Financial Times report that a shake-up of EU labour regulations as part of a post-Brexit overhaul was in the works.