United Kingdom

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has clear red lines that it will not cross in talks with the European Union, Michael Gove, the minister handling Brexit divorce issues for Britain, said on Thursday, adding that he believed with goodwill an agreement could be reached.

“Progress has been made in a huge number of areas, but ... there is still one or two sticking points on state aid, the level playing field and fisheries,” Gove told parliament.

LONDON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden battled over Trump’s record on the coronavirus pandemic, healthcare and the economy in a chaotic and bad-tempered first debate.

Here are some reactions from Europe:

“A chaotic and vicious show, shocking for the most powerful country in the world,” - Spanish newspaper El Pais.

30 Sep 2020; MEMO: Forty Conservative party councillors have been reported to an Islamophobia inquiry by anti-racism campaigners, Hope not Hate, as part of a drive for evidence in the party-wide discrimination investigation launched late last year.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s parliamentary Speaker reprimanded Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government on Wednesday for disregarding the House of Commons with its COVID-19 measures, calling on ministers to better include lawmakers in their decisions.

But Lindsay Hoyle decided against allowing lawmakers the chance to consider a so-called amendment to a vote on the extension of emergency laws to impose restrictions that would have made sure parliament played a greater role.

LONDON, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Another 7,143 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, the highest daily total ever since the start of the pandemic in Britain, according to official figures released Tuesday.

The newly confirmed infections brought the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 439,013, the official data showed.

The coronavirus-related deaths rose by 71 to 42,072, according to the latest data.

29 Sep 2020; MEMO: The British government is probing a hack carried out on computer systems belonging to the British Foreign Ministry, which resulted in hundreds of files exposing its propaganda operations in Syria being stolen.

In the massive security breach reported by the UK-based news outlet Middle East Eye, hackers sought out files focusing specifically on the government’s operations within Syria which were conducted through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s economy is underproductive and its weaknesses have been exposed by the COVID crisis, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday as he announced new measures to try to improve skill levels in the workforce.

“Our economy has been shaken by COVID, and in the hand-to-mouth scrabblings of the pandemic, the shortcomings of our labour market and our education system have been painfully apparent,” Johnson said in a speech.

LONDON (Reuters) - British authorities hit Airbnb UK with an extra tax bill of 1.8 million pounds ($2.3 million) last year, the home rental startup’s accounts showed on Tuesday, following an investigation into the firm.

The UK arm of the San Francisco company, which also paid annual corporation tax of over 1 million pounds, said it had paid the extra obligations after a request from British tax authorities Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

LONDON, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The leader of Britain's main opposition party, Labour's Keir Starmer, has for the first time moved ahead of Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a major opinion poll Sunday.

The Opinium poll for the Observer newspaper has given Starmer a four-point lead over Johnson.

In a double blow for the Johnson, the Labour party has also gained a three-point lead over the Conservatives who currently have an 80-seat majority in the House of Commons.

LONDON, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Police has shut down an anti-coronavirus restrictions protest in central London on Saturday because crowds have not complied with social distancing rules.

At least three protesters and one police officer were reportedly injured and treated by medical staff after they clashed at the anti-lockdown protest in Trafalgar Square.

Thousands had gathered in the "we do not consent" rally to protest against government rules, with very few wearing masks.