United Kingdom

London, Nov 27 (AP-PTI) The British government on Friday said it has formally asked the country's medicines regulator to assess whether a coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University should be authorised for use.

The step comes amid questions about preliminary results from trials of the jab, after the company and the university acknowledged that the most encouraging part of their findings stemmed from a dosing error.

LONDON, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday warned of a potential third strict lockdown in the new year if Britain eased off restrictions.

"If we ease off now, we risk losing control over this virus all over again, casting aside our hard-won gains and forcing us back into a new year national lockdown with all the damage that would mean," Johnson said during a press conference.

LONDON (AP) — Britain plans to create a new watchdog to police big tech companies including Google and Facebook to counter their market dominance and prevent them from exploiting consumers and small businesses.

The U.K. government said Friday that it’s setting up a “Digital Markets Unit” next year to enforce a new code of conduct governing the behavior of tech giants that dominate the online advertising market.

The Digital Markets Unit, scheduled to launch in April, will oversee a new regulatory regime for tech companies that’s aimed at spurring more competition.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and the European Union can clinch a Brexit trade deal and the shape of one is clear, but London will not sign up to an accord at any cost, Britain’s finance minister said on Thursday.

With just five weeks left until the United Kingdom finally exits the EU’s orbit, both sides are trying to reach a trade deal that would avoid a tumultuous finale to the five-year Brexit crisis.

“With a constructive attitude and goodwill on all sides we can get there,” finance minister Rishi Sunak told Sky. “It’s clear what the shape of the deal looks like.”

LONDON, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- The British economy is forecast to shrink by 11.3 percent this year, the worst recession in more than 300 years in the country as a result of the coronavirus crisis, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said Wednesday.

The chancellor told British lawmakers that the Office of Budget of Responsibility (OBR) did not expect the economy to return to its pre-coronavirus levels until the end of 2022.

LONDON (AP) — AstraZeneca and Oxford University on Wednesday acknowledged a manufacturing error that is raising questions about preliminary results of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine.

A statement describing the error came days after the company and the university described the shots as “highly effective” and made no mention of why some study participants didn’t receive as much vaccine in the first of two shots as expected.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose for a fourth straight session on Wednesday as the market shrugged off an industry report showing U.S. crude stockpiles rose more than expected, extending a rally driven by hopes that a COVID-19 vaccine will boost fuel demand.

Brent crude was up ‮30‬ cents, or ‮0.6‬%, at $48.‮16‬ a barrel by ‮1211‬ GMT, having risen almost 4% in the previous session.

West Texas Intermediate crude gained 24 cents, or 0.5%, to $45.15, after rising more than 4% on Tuesday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will borrow almost 400 billion pounds in the current financial year to pay for the massive coronavirus hit to its economy, finance minister Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday, taking the budget deficit to its highest since World War Two.

The world’s sixth-biggest economy is set to shrink by 11.3% in 2020, its biggest contraction since the early 1700s, before growing by 5.5% in 2021, Sunak said as he announced a one-year spending plan.

LONDON (AP) — With major COVID-19 vaccines showing high levels of protection, British officials are cautiously — and they stress cautiously — optimistic that life may start returning to normal by early April.

Even before regulators have approved a single vaccine, the U.K. and countries across Europe are moving quickly to organize the distribution and delivery systems needed to inoculate millions of citizens.

25 Nov 2020; MEMO: Two human rights groups called on Britain to stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE in light of their ongoing involvement in the war in Yemen.