United Kingdom

LONDON, April 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Oil prices extended losses on Monday as investors eyed the release of supplies from strategic reserves from consuming nations, while a truce in Yemen could ease supply disruption concerns in the Middle East.

Brent crude futures fell 79 cents, or 0.8per cent, to $103.60 a barrel by 0037 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $98.45 a barrel, down 82 cents, or 0.8per cent. Both contracts slipped $1 when markets opened on Monday.

LONDON (AP) — The war in Ukraine is the conflict where spies came in from the cold and took center stage.

Since Russia invaded its neighbor in late February, intelligence agencies in the U.S. and Britain have been remarkably willing to go public with their secret intelligence assessments of what is happening on the battlefield — and inside the Kremlin.

LONDON (AP) — The prevalence of COVID-19 in the U.K. has reached record levels, with about 1 in 13 people estimated to be infected with the virus in the past week, according to the latest figures from Britain’s official statistics agency.

Some 4.9 million people were estimated to have the coronavirus in the week ending March 26, up from 4.3 million recorded in the previous week, the Office for National Statistics said Friday. The latest surge is driven by the more transmissible omicron variant BA.2, which is the dominant variant across the U.K.

LONDON, April 1 (Reuters) - Ukraine, hoping to tap fresh sources of money to fund its defence efforts, is looking at ways to extend a domestic bond issuance programme to international capital markets, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday.

Kyiv launched a programme selling hryvnia-denominated bonds to raise money for its fight against Russia - dubbed "war bonds" - in late February. The government said it aimed to raise around $1.36 billion through its domestic programme.

LONDON, March 31. /TASS/: Sanctions imposed by Western countries against Russia could lead to fragmentation of the global financial system and dilute the US dollar’s dominance in it, Gita Gopinath, the IMF’s first deputy managing director has warned.

The official considers that radical restrictive measures imposed by Western countries after the launch of Russia's special operation in Ukraine may contribute to the emergence of small currency blocs based on trade between certain groups of states.

LONDON, March 31. /TASS/: The British government has put the Russian TV channel RT (the TV-Novosti autonomous non-profit organization), the Rossiya Segodnya media holding, and 12 Russian citizens, including Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, Chief of the National Defense Command and Control Center, and journalist Sergey Brilev, on a sanctions list.

The updated blacklist was published on the British government's website on Thursday morning.

LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday it had greatly expanded the number of European Union officials, lawmakers, public figures and journalists barred from Russia for allegedly being responsible for sanctions and stoking anti-Russian feelings.

"The restrictions apply to the top leadership of the European Union, including a number of European commissioners and heads of EU military structures, as well as the vast majority of members of the European Parliament who promote anti-Russian policies," Russia's foreign ministry said.

LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a decree ordering 134,500 new conscripts into the army as part of Russia's annual spring draft, but the defence ministry said the call-up had nothing to do with the war in Ukraine.

The order came five weeks into Russia's invasion, which has run into fierce Ukrainian resistance. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that none of those called up would be sent to any "hot spots".

LONDON/ZURICH/NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) - Yevgeny Chichvarkin, a telecoms tycoon who fled Russia in 2008 and became a high-profile London restaurateur, has long been a vocal supporter of Ukraine.

Together with wife Tatiana Fokina, the multimillionaire says he has sent four truckloads of medical and protective equipment to Poland to help Ukrainians since the Russian invasion on Feb. 24.

Chichvarkin, a burly man with a waxed moustache, said he drove the first load himself.

LONDON, March 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US crude futures fell on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous day as Ukraine and Russia headed for peace talks and on fears of a drop in fuel demand in China after the financial hub of Shanghai shut down to curb a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Brent crude futures were trading down $1.07, or 1.0per cent, at $111.41 a barrel at 0107 GMT, having dipped as low as $109.97.