
The outgoing US administration is in talks with the UK to try to seal a mini-deal to reduce trade tariffs, Trump's trade chief has told the BBC. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he was hopeful for a deal that could see punitive tariffs on Scottish whisky lowered.

The UK signed on Tuesday 15 December a trade deal with Mexico, locking in tariff-free trade and other benefits for British businesses and consumers. The UK-Mexico Trade Continuity Agreement will particularly benefit the automotive, pharmaceutical, textiles, agriculture, food and drink industries and other manufacturing industries, the sectors where the UK has the highest amount of trade with Mexico.

British scientists are trying to establish whether the rapid spread in southern England of a new variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 is linked to key mutations they have detected in the strain, they said on Tuesday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will travel to India in January 2021 to strengthen a key strategic relationship which supports jobs and investment across the UK. This will be the Prime Minister’s first major bilateral visit since taking office, and the first since departure from the EU, and underlines his commitment to step up the UK’s engagement with the Indo-Pacific region.

The World Health Organization is aware of a new variant of Covid-19 that has emerged in Britain, but there is no evidence the strain behaves differently to existing types of the virus, it said on Monday.

London and Brussels agreed to “go the extra mile” in coming days to try to reach an elusive trade agreement despite missing their latest deadline to avert a turbulent ‘no deal’ exit for Britain from the European Union’s orbit at the end of the month.

The British Ministry of Defense said four Royal Navy patrol ships will be ready on Jan 1 to help protect Britain’s fishing waters in the event of a post Brexit no deal.

British espionage writer John le Carré has died aged 89, following a short illness, his literary agent has said. The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy author died from pneumonia on Saturday night.

Work has begun on a huge hall for the Royal Navy’s next-generation Type 31 frigates – to build two ships side-by-side. Standing at 147 meters long, the hall at Rosyth includes 30-metre high ‘megadoors’ and will be able to accommodate two of the 138.7-metre vessels being assembled at the same time side by side.

The UK and Brazil made agreements on financial services, taxation, sustainable growth and Green Finance, helping to boost jobs and investments for UK companies. The fourth Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) between the UK and Brazil on 10 December 2020 saw the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and the Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes, meeting to build further economic ties between the two countries. They were joined by central bank Governors and heads of financial sector regulators.