England

LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The chances of Britain leaving the European Union without a trade deal have risen sharply as negotiations have been threatened by London’s insistence that it have full autonomy over its state aid plans, negotiators and diplomats said.

The United Kingdom left the EU on Jan. 31, turning its back after 47 years on the post-World War Two project that sought to build the ruined nations of Europe into a global power.

LONDON (AP) — A prominent British human rights lawyer is convening an independent tribunal in London to investigate whether the Chinese government’s alleged rights abuses against Uighur Muslims in the far western Xinjiang region constitute genocide or crimes against humanity.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Thursday former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott would bring huge expertise to a role as a trade adviser, despite socially conservative views about women and gay people that opponents say make him unfit for the job.

Abbott, who led Australia from 2013-2015, has so far refused to deny or confirm that he will become a trade adviser for Britain. But some British lawmakers have taken issue with comments attributed to Abbott that they cast as “misogynist”.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices extended losses on Thursday, falling to their lowest point since early August, as worries about weaker U.S. gasoline demand and a sluggish economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic dented sentiment.

Brent crude LCOc1 fell 79 cents, or 1.8%, to $43.64 a barrel by 0845 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures were down 67 cents, or 1.6%, at $40.84 a barrel.

Both benchmarks fell more than 2% on Wednesday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will hold a new round of talks with the United States on a trade deal next week, trade department minister Greg Hands said on Thursday, adding that the government talks to both sides of the U.S. political divide before this year’s election.

Britain has prioritised striking a trade deal with the United States as it seeks to carve out new business relationships around the world following its exit from the European Union, and with it all EU-negotiated trade deals.

LONDON (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O) brought a little cheer to Britain’s troubled labour market on Thursday, saying it will create a further 7,000 permanent jobs in 2020, taking total new hires this year to 10,000.

Last month the number of people in work in Britain suffered the biggest drop since 2009 and the coronavirus is expected to take a much heavier toll on unemployment when the government winds down its huge job-protection scheme.

LONDON, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Negotiators from Britain and the European Union (EU) had "a useful review" of the Brexit agenda, but "major difficulties" still exist on the way to make a progress in resolving outstanding issues, the spokesman for the British prime minister said here Wednesday.

LONDON(Reuters) - Detailed analysis is needed before the European Union can decide on long-term access for the London Stock Exchange (LSE.L) to clear euro denominated derivatives for customers in the bloc, a European Central Bank official said on Wednesday.

The LSE dominates euro derivatives clearing and EU policymakers have called for the activity to be relocated to the bloc given that Britain will no longer have to comply with EU rules after Dec. 31 when a post-Brexit transition period ends.

LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Rishi Sunak is considering a sweeping set of tax increases to help fix the huge hole in the public finances left by the coronavirus pandemic, two newspapers said.

Tax hikes suggested by Treasury officials could raise an extra 20-30 billion pounds a year, the Telegraph and the Sunday Times reported, and some of them could be announced in an autumn budget statement by Sunak.

LONDON (Reuters) - British universities should scrap plans to reopen next month to prevent travelling students from fuelling the country’s coronavirus pandemic, a union said, calling for courses to be taught online.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government has come under fire over its moves to restart education, especially after a row over exam results for school students and a failed attempt to bring all pupils back to their classes earlier this year.