United Kingdom

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell‮‮‮ ‬‬‬on Monday on worries that widening coronavirus lockdowns in Europe would weaken fuel demand while concerns remain over potential turbulence resulting from this week’s U.S. presidential election.

Brent crude was down 80 cents, or 2.1%, at $37.14 a barrel by 1140 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell 93 cents, or 2.6%, to $34.86. Both contracts fell more than $2 earlier in the session.

Countries across Europe have reimposed lockdown measures to try to slow COVID-19 infection rates that have accelerated over the past month.

LONDON (Reuters) - Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said on Monday that he felt Donald Trump would win the U.S. presidential election as his support base was so enthusiastic and he had gathered momentum in the final days of the campaign.

“He’s not just the president of the USA, he is a human dynamo,” Farage, whom Trump calls a friend, told Talk Radio from Pennsylvania. “I have never seen a support base as enthusiastic as they are for this man. These crowds chant ‘we love you’.”

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Prince William tested positive for the coronavirus in April, around the same time as his father Prince Charles, BBC reported.

The report cited unidentified palace sources and The Sun newspaper, which said William kept his telephone and video engagements without revealing his diagnosis because he didn’t want to worry anyone.

Kensington Palace declined to comment Sunday but did not deny the report.

The newspaper said William was treated by palace doctors and followed government guidelines by isolating at the family home Anmer Hall.

LONDON (AP) — A new national lockdown in England may have to last longer than the planned four weeks if coronavirus infection rates don’t fall quickly enough, a senior government minister said Sunday.

The lockdown announced Saturday by Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to run from Thursday until Dec. 2. Johnson says it’s needed to stop hospitals from becoming overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients within weeks.

Cabinet minister Michael Gove said it was the government’s “fervent hope” that the lockdown would end on time, but that could not be guaranteed.

London, Oct 31 (PTI) Legendary Scottish star Sean Connery, who became a global sensation as the first James Bond and featured in a string of cult hits in his five-decade-long career, has died. He was 90.

According to BBC, the actor passed away overnight in his sleep while in the Bahamas. He had been unwell for quite some time.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is considering imposing a new month-long national lockdown in England next week after scientists said the coronavirus was spreading faster than their worst predictions, a government official said.

The pandemic is spreading in most parts of Britain, where the official death toll of 46,299 is the highest in Europe.

LONDON (Reuters) - Global oil prices moved in and out of negative territory on Friday but remained on course for a second monthly fall as rising COVID-19 cases in Europe and the United States heighten concerns over fuel consumption.

Brent crude was down 3 cents at $37.62 a barrel by 1140 GMT after touching a five-month low in the previous session. The December Brent contract expires on Friday and the January contract was trading broadly flat.

30 Oct 2020; MEMO: The British government summoned the Iranian ambassador on Thursday following news that imprisoned British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is to be recalled to court in Iran, the Foreign Office said, Reuters reports.

The British authorities conveyed their grave concern to the diplomat, Hamid Baeidinejad, and called for Iran to end what they described as Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s arbitrary detention.

LONDON (Reuters) - The British government’s “Eat out to help out” discount scheme to boost spending at restaurants, cafes and pubs over the summer helped spread the coronavirus and contributed to a second wave of infections, according to a new study.

For the month of August, the government offered diners up a 50% discount of up to 10 pounds ($13.03) per head on meals between Mondays and Wednesdays to kick-start the economy and encourage people to spend money again after the pandemic lockdown.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Labour opposition suspended its former leader Jeremy Corbyn on Thursday after he downplayed a report that detailed serious failings in the party’s handling of persistent anti-Semitism complaints during his 2015-2019 leadership.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said it had found evidence of political interference in the processing of anti-Semitism complaints, failure to provide adequate training to people handling the complaints, and harassment.