Britain – News Agency nabakhabar

Britain’s war-looted Ethiopian artefacts return home

News Agency nabakhabar — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 12:30:05 +0000

Ethiopia has received the return of cultural treasures that were looted during the Meqdala War of 1868. The artefacts, including the Holy Tabot tablet of ‘Medhane’Alem,’ a lock of Prince Alemayehu’s hair — the son of Emperor Tewodros II — were returned to the Ethiopian Embassy in London on Friday.

Other items included three silver cups with bronze plating and a shield, which were returned in a ceremony attended by Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Teferi Meles Desta.

Attendees included representatives from the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and UK historical heritage scholars, among others.

“During the ceremony, Ambassador Teferi underlined the importance and implications of the returned artefacts and Holly Tabot to the Orthodox Church,” the embassy said in a statement.

Cultural, historical significance

The Meqdala War, a pivotal conflict in Ethiopian history, took place between 1867 and 1868 when British forces ransacked the Ethiopian fortress of Meqdala.

The looting of cultural treasures has remained a contentious issue between Ethiopia and institutions holding them in foreign lands.

Teferi said the artefacts held abroad for more than a century, hold immense cultural and historical significance for Ethiopia, reflecting its rich heritage and identity.

The return of the Holy Tabot tablet of ‘Medhane’Alem,’ a religious artefact central to Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, is particularly poignant.

The sacred object is revered by millions of Ethiopians and is a symbol of their faith.

Countless artefacts displaced

The return of the artefacts shed light on the broader issue of African cultural heritage scattered across museums and institutions all over the world.

Countless African artefacts remain displaced, raising questions about the need for further repatriation efforts.

Across the globe, museums house a wealth of African cultural treasures that were acquired through various means, often controversially.

From the Benin Bronzes to the Rosetta Stone, the artefacts serve as reminders of Africa’s rich history and heritage. Efforts are ongoing to return many of the items to their countries of origin.

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Snow grips Britain, causing travel disruption and sparking energy concerns

News Agency nabakhabar — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 20:30:54 +0000

Snow has blanketed London and large parts of the United Kingdom on Monday, shutting schools, grounding flights and causing widespread disruption across a country struggling through a winter energy crisis.

Britain recorded the coldest day of the year during the early hours of Monday morning, with temperatures as low as minus 15.7 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) in northern Scotland, according to the Met Office, the UK’s national weather service.

The cold snap left many parts of the country, including London, covered in snow from Sunday evening. The Met Office issued severe weather warnings for some parts of the country.

Motorists were urged to avoid driving in several locations, with some forced to abandon their cars. Many schools were closed. Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, which all serve the capital, warned of delays and flight cancellations.

Despite the disruption, the arrival of snow two weeks before Christmas brought a festive atmosphere to Britain’s parks and streets.

Snowfall is relatively rare in southern England compared to northern Britain and mainland Europe, and Britons frequently gripe about the ill-preparedness of the country’s infrastructure when cold weather hits.

Inflation and an energy crisis have added to the concerns this year, as household bills have soared and people worry about whether they can afford to heat their homes.

People sledging in the snow at Greenwich Park in London on Monday.

National Grid, which manages much of the UK’s energy supply infrastructure, has instructed two coal-fueled power stations to start warming up, in case the cold weather threatens the country’s power network, Britain’s PA Media news agency reported.

The company said it was a “contingency” plan, which aimed to “give the public confidence in Monday’s energy supply,” according to PA.

Customers of some energy suppliers are also being asked to reduce their consumption for two hours on Monday evening, in a pre-planned test being run by National Grid.

Some parts of the country advised motorists to avoid making journeys unless 
they are essential.

Sunday’s snow dump came after several days of cold and icy weather which had already caused tragedy in Solihull, central England.

West Midlands Police said three boys, aged 8, 10 and 11, have died in hospital after falling into a lake on Sunday afternoon. A fourth boy, aged six, remains in critical condition.

“Searches of the lake are continuing as we seek to establish exactly what happened and if anyone else fell into the water,” police said in a statement on Monday.

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Japan, Britain, Italy to develop next-generation fighter jet by 2035

News Agency nabakhabar — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 20:11:26 +0000

Japan, Britain and Italy said Friday they will jointly develop a next-generation fighter jet by 2035 in Tokyo’s first such defense cooperation with nations other than the United States, a key security ally, as the global geopolitical situation is becoming more unstable.

The countries’ leaders said in a joint statement that they will “build on our long-standing defense relationship” through the fighter development program, which will “accelerate our advanced military capability and technological advantage,” as well as further strengthen their supply chains and defense industrial base.

Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Britain’s BAE Systems plc, and Italy’s Leonardo S.p.A. will be the companies mainly responsible for the development, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry.

An artist's rendition of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by 
Britain, Italy and Japan. (Courtesy of Japan's Defense Ministry)(Kyodo)

At a press conference in Tokyo, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said, “I hope our cooperation this time will become the foundation of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and European regions.”

Before reaching the agreement, the three nations “held discussions under the policy that Japan will lead the development,” Hamada added.

Japan plans to deploy 100 new fighters in 2035 to succeed its aging F-2 fighter of the Air Self-Defense Force, which will begin retiring the same year, according to the officials.

For Britain and Italy, members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the new fighter will replace their combined 240 Eurofighter jets, they said.

“We share the ambition for this aircraft to be the centerpiece of a wider combat air system that will function across multiple domains,” the joint statement said.

Tokyo has been promoting its security ties with NATO states, such as France and Germany. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attended the NATO summit in June, where he stressed the need for Japan-NATO cooperation to cope with potential threats from authoritarian nations such as Russia and China.

Japan is also considering exporting the new warplane to other countries in the future, according to the officials.

To facilitate weapon exports, the Japanese government is expected to seek a revision of its strict guidelines regarding exporting defense equipment when it updates its national security policy next week.

The stringent rules have long been maintained under Japan’s pacifist Constitution.

Other companies joining the project include Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and engineering firm IHI Corp. from Japan, Rolls-Royce plc from Britain and the aviation company Ge Avio S.R.L. from Italy, the ministry said.

The Japanese Defense Ministry and the U.S. Defense Department also issued a joint statement Friday, in which Washington expressed its support for Tokyo’s fighter development project with the European partners.

“We have begun important collaboration through a series of discussions on autonomous system capabilities, which could complement Japan’s next fighter program among other platforms,” they said.

The two nations vowed to start concrete cooperation to this end next year with Japanese officials saying it will entail the research and development of drones capable of supporting the new jet’s operations.

Japan had initially sought collaboration with U.S. defense firms to develop new fighters but decided to look for other partners due to strict U.S. rules on information confidentiality.

Hamada said Washington had no plans to develop a fighter jet in the same time frame and that was one of the factors behind reaching an agreement with Britain and Italy.

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U.S., Britain Order Some Diplomats to Leave Ukraine Over Russian Invasion Fears

News Agency nabakhabar — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 13:00:57 +0000

The U.S. and U.K. have ordered some diplomats and their family members stationed in Kyiv to leave Ukraine amid fears of an imminent Russian invasion.

The United States said Sunday it has ordered the families of its diplomats to depart the country along with some government staff. It also advised other Americans currently in Ukraine to start drawing up exit plans.

“U.S. citizens in Ukraine should consider departing now using commercial or other privately available transportation options,” said a travel advisory on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.

Britain followed suit Monday morning, ordering some of its diplomats to also leave the country.

“Some Embassy staff and dependants are being withdrawn from Kyiv in response to the growing threat from Russia,” the U.K. Foreign Office said in a statement on its website. “The British Embassy remains open and will continue to carry out essential work.”

Military action would “severely impact” consular services, “including assistance to U.S. citizens in departing Ukraine,” the U.S. travel advisory added. A State Department official told reporters that Washington “will not be in a position to evacuate U.S. citizens” in the case of an invasion, “so U.S. citizens currently present in Ukraine should plan accordingly.”

“Do not travel to Ukraine due to the increased threats of Russian military action and COVID-19,” the U.S. said.

Other countries are also mulling possible evacuations.

Frits Kemperman, a spokesperson at the Dutch Foreign Ministry told The Moscow Times they would decide “by the end of the day” whether to withdraw non-essential staff and family members from Kyiv. Bloomberg also reported Monday that German officials are considering a partial evacuation of their embassy.

The European Union said Monday it does not plan to evacuate its diplomats’ families from Ukraine amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to ease tensions.

Russian lawmakers were quick to allege that the U.S. evacuation order signaled that Western governments were preparing a “military provocation” in Ukraine.

Russia has amassed some 100,000 troops close to the border with Ukraine and in annexed Crimea, and its announcement of surprise military exercises with neighboring Belarus has fueled tensions further.

Diplomatic efforts to ease those tensions have so far failed to lead to a breakthrough. The U.S. and EU member states have ramped up military support in and around Ukraine and threatened to impose sanctions on Russia in the event of an invasion.

The State Department told reporters that the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv remains open and Charge d’Affaires Kristina Kvien is staying in Ukraine for now.

State Department officials have estimated that between 10,000 and 15,000 Americans were on Ukrainian soil as of December.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry called the U.S authorization for diplomatic family members’ departure “premature.”

The State Department also issued a “do not travel” advisory for Russia, citing tensions along the border with Ukraine, the “potential harassment” of Americans and its limited ability to provide assistance the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

“Given the ongoing volatility of the situation, U.S. citizens are strongly advised against traveling by land from Russia to Ukraine through this region,” it warned.

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Boris Johnson’s Brexit choices are making Britain’s fuel and food shortages worse

News Agency nabakhabar — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 20:05:49 +0000

Rising energy bills, higher prices, and a critical shortage of workers leading to food and fuel supply constraints are threatening to stall Britain’s recovery from the pandemic

The crises afflicting the UK economy have sparked talk in newspapers and among politicians of a looming “winter of discontent,” a reference to the wave of strike action in 1978-79 that brought the British economy to its knees. There’s even talk of stagflation, the nightmare combination of stagnant growth and high inflation.

Although shortages, supply chain delays and rising food and energy costs are affecting several major economies, including the United States, China and Germany, Britain is suffering more than most because of Brexit.

Specifically, the form of Brexit pursued by the UK government — which introduced stringent immigration policies and took Britain out the EU market for goods and energy, making it much harder for British companies to hire European workers and much more costly for them to do business with the country’s single biggest trading partner.

It didn’t have to be this way — there were other options for a future EU-UK relationship. Worker shortages, for example, were not an inevitable outcome of Brexit, nor was going it alone on energy. But in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ideological rush to “get Brexit done” amid fraught negotiations with the European Union, agreements in several crucial areas, including energy, were sidelined.

The UK government’s post-Brexit immigration system, meanwhile, was designed to reduce the numbers of unskilled workers coming to Britain and end what the government described as the country’s “reliance on cheap, low-skilled labor,” despite a domestic unemployment rate in the region of just 5%.

“Ultimately, the government made a political decision to make low-skilled immigration more difficult,” said Joe Marshall, a senior researcher at the Institute for Government, an independent think tank. “Labor shortages may have been less severe if the UK had retained free movement of people post-Brexit,” he added.

Britain had a record 1 million job vacancies between June and August, according to the Office for National Statistics. Restaurants, pubs and supermarkets, including Nando’s, had to temporarily close some locations last month due to staff shortages or because certain ingredients weren’t delivered as a result of fewer truck drivers.

The adult social care sector also faces a “workforce crisis” and will need to recruit overseas workers to fill tens of thousands of vacancies, according to Care England, which represents independent providers.

Supply chain constraints exacerbated by Brexit means that UK consumers are facing surging food and energy bills at the same time that pandemic support measures are being unwound, including government support for wages and a £20 ($27) weekly uplift to social security payments.

Chronic labor shortages

This week the UK government was forced to partly backtrack on its stringent post-Brexit immigration policy after thousands of gas stations ran dry over the weekend and food retailers warned that the country had just 10 days to “save Christmas.”

In an interview with broadcasters on Tuesday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps acknowledged that Brexit “no doubt will have been a factor” in contributing to the fuel supply crisis.

To ease the pressure, the government will issue temporary visas to 10,500 foreign truck drivers and poultry industry workers. But industry groups say the measure won’t make much difference, in part because it’s unclear whether EU workers want to come back to a country that’s become more hostile to their presence.

British Chambers of Commerce President Ruby McGregor-Smith said that even if short-term visas attract the maximum numbers allowed, “it will not be enough to address the scale of the problem that has now developed in our supply chains.” She likened it to “throwing a thimble of water on a bonfire.”

The UK military is now on standby for deliveries amid warnings from the British Medical Association that healthcare workers, including ambulance drivers, won’t be able to do their jobs as pumps run dry, although the Petrol Retailers Association said on Tuesday that there are “early signs that the crisis at pumps is ending.”

Vehicles are seen outside a petrol station in London on September 27.

The shortage of drivers has been exacerbated by Brexit, which resulted in tens of thousands of EU nationals leaving trucking jobs and other occupations in the United Kingdom. Johnson’s decision to end of free movement of workers following Brexit has also made it more difficult for Europeans who had returned home during the pandemic to come back.

While many have a right to remain in Britain, they have been made to feel “pretty unwelcome” because of Brexit, said L. Alan Winters, founding director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory at the University of Sussex.

“Covid was just the straw that broke the camel’s back, in the sense that things have just become less pleasant here [for EU workers],” he added.

The exodus of workers is a major problem for many sectors, which over four decades of EU membership had come to rely on a steady inflow of labor.

“The supply of EU labor was turned off with no clear roadmap as to how this transition would be managed without disruption to services and supply chains,” said McGregor-Smith. “A managed transition, with a plan, agreed between government and business, should have been in place from the outset.”

A recent Grant Thornton report commissioned by the food and drink industry estimated that there are in excess of 500,000 vacancies across the sector.

Farms and food processors have been forced to cut back production or simply let crops go to waste because they don’t have enough workers. That’s leading to reduced ranges of products at supermarkets and in some cases empty shelves.

“The labor crisis is a Brexit issue, and one that has been widely reported across the food and drink sector,” Richard Griffiths, chief executive of the British Poultry Council, said in a statement last month.

According to Nick Allen, the CEO of the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA), a lot of farmers simply haven’t reared turkeys in the lead up to Christmas because the labor supply was so uncertain.

“There will be a shortage [of turkeys],” Allen told CNN Business, adding that other Christmas favorites such as gammon and pigs-in-blankets (sausages wrapped in bacon), will likely also be in short supply.

Data from Adimo, a shopping technology platform that tracks consumer interest in 300 brands, shows that the percentage of products out of stock in UK supermarkets is reaching levels experienced in March 2020, when shoppers were panic buying as coronavirus cases climbed.

The company predicts that by early December, UK shoppers will experience worse grocery shortages than at the peak of the pandemic last year.

Alcohol, dairy, meats and frozen foods are going to be the most affected, according to Adimo CEO Richard Kelly. “A lack of choice and rising supply chain costs will all affect the price customers have to pay for their weekly or Christmas shop,” Kelly added.

Increasing wages on farms and in food processing plants to attract more British workers will also eventually filter through to higher prices, said Allen. “We all want a high-wage economy … but somebody has to pay for it.”

Energy crisis

Rising food prices come as Britain grapples with a spike in natural gas and electricity costs, driven in part by chilly spring temperatures earlier this year, rising demand from China and lower supplies from Russia.

Soaring energy prices are a problem in Europe too. But the situation is particularly acute in the United Kingdom because the supply crunch has been exacerbated by a lack of large natural gas storage facilities, delayed maintenance work and fire that shut down a power cable from France.

Earlier this month, skyrocketing gas prices prompted a major US fertilizer manufacturer to suspend production in Britain, turning off most of the country’s supply of carbon dioxide to the food and drink industry in the process. The gas is used to stun animals for slaughter, as well as in packaging to extend the shelf life of fresh, chilled and baked goods, and in the production of carbonated drinks.

None of these problems can be blamed on Brexit, but the minimalist EU trade deal Johnson signed last December has left the United Kingdom to navigate the current crisis alone because it did not include any agreement on energy. That meant Britain left the EU internal energy market on December 31, 2020.

“There isn’t that closeness of cooperation [between the United Kingdom and European Union] on security of [energy] supply,” said Lilah Howson-Smith, a senior associate at Global Counsel, a policy advisory firm. This has left the UK government with fewer levers at its disposal to manage current challenges, she added.

These include access to storage facilities and solidarity among EU member states, which contributes to the security of supply, according to a 2016 report commissioned by National Grid, a utility company, which found that leaving the internal energy market could cause UK energy bills to soar by up to £500 million ($677.8 million) a year.

“Though uncertain, the impact of Brexit on the UK energy system is very likely to be negative,” the report said.

Economists are already warning that sustained upward pressure on prices driven by worker shortages, snarled supply chains and rising energy costs will weigh on UK growth and increase inflation, which is already at its highest level in more than two decades.
Britain’s economy remains 2.1% smaller than before the pandemic and economists at Berenberg recently pushed back their forecast for a full recovery to the second quarter of 2022.

By comparison, S&P Global Ratings expects Europe to return to its pre-crisis level of GDP before the end of this year, one quarter earlier than previously forecast, suggesting that the diverging fortunes of the UK and EU economies, already apparent in growth and investment patterns since the Brexit referendum in 2016, looks set to continue.

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Iran warns U.S., Britain against any adventure in regard to Israeli ship

News Agency nabakhabar — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 11:55:57 +0000

An Iranian official has warned against threats against Iran in view of allegations against the Islamic Republic concerning an accident for an Israeli tanker in the Sea of Oman, saying Iran will give a firm response to any move against its national interests.

On Sunday, the United States and Britain blamed Iran for the accident without presenting any evidence.

“Even though the Islamic Republic of Iran considers threats of Western officials and those of the Zionist regime as propaganda, any move against the interests and national security of Iran will face a tough and firm response, and Washington and London will be directly responsible for its consequences,” the official told Nour News on Monday.

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Britain, along with U.S., withdraws troops from Afghanistan

News Agency nabakhabar — Sun, 11 Jul 2021 20:18:04 +0000

Fearing civil war, Britain has withdrawn most of its troops from Afghanistan following a nearly 20-year deployment, according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Britain lost 457 soldiers killed in Afghanistan, after sending troops as part of a multi-country force following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

British forces played a major role in combat operations until 2014.

“All British troops assigned to NATO’s mission in Afghanistan are now returning home,” Johnson said in a statement to parliament.

“For obvious reasons, I will not disclose the timetable of our departure, though I can tell the house that most of our personnel have already left.”

Since the United States announced a date for the final troops to leave Afghanistan, violence has raged throughout Afghanistan.

The Pentagon has said that 90 percent of its troops have left Afghanistan and Bagram airbase, the staging ground for U.S. military operations no longer houses American troops.

Johnson also said Britain would continue to provide development assistance.

“I hope no one will leap to the false conclusion that the withdrawal of our forces somehow means the end of Britain’s commitment to Afghanistan. We are not about to turn away, nor are we under any illusions about the perils of today’s situation and what might lie ahead,” Johnson told parliament.

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Britain is sending a huge naval force through some of the most tense waters in Asia

News Agency nabakhabar — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 17:38:55 +0000

The largest naval flotilla assembled by Britain in recent years will set sail in May on a months’ long voyage through the Pacific, the country’s Defense Ministry said Monday.

“When our Carrier Strike Group (CSG) sets sail next month, it will be flying the flag for Global Britain — projecting our influence, signaling our power, engaging with our friends and reaffirming our commitment to addressing the security challenges of today and tomorrow,” UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Monday.

“The UK is not stepping back but sailing forth to play an active role in shaping the international system of the 21st century,” Wallace said.

The strike group will be led by the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, marking its maiden deployment. The ship, one of the UK’s two aircraft carriers, is the largest warship the UK has ever sent to sea.

Joining the carrier will be two destroyers, two anti-submarine frigates, a submarine and two auxiliary supply ships, a ministry statement said.

A US Marine Corps F-35 fighter jet is deployed about the aircraft carrier HMS 
Queen Elizabeth during exercises in September.

A United States Navy guided-missile destroyer will sail with the group as well as a frigate from the Netherlands that will be tasked with air defense, the ministry said.

Airpower within the group will be centered on RAF F-35B stealth fighters and US Marine Corps F-35Bs, all of which will fly from the deck of the 65,000-ton aircraft carrier.

When a version of this carrier strike group sailed together during military exercises off Scotland last fall, the Defense Ministry said it carried “the largest concentration of fighter jets to operate at sea from a Royal Navy carrier since HMS Hermes in 1983.”

It also said it was “the largest air group of fifth-generation fighters at sea anywhere in the world.” Fifth-generation fighters are the most advanced warplanes in the air.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies says the UK carrier strike group “will be the most capable flotilla deployed by a single European navy in recent years.”

“While it will not replicate a US Navy carrier strike group, it will probably be closer to it than anything else that is currently deployable” by any other naval force, the IISS said.

Britain in March released a sweeping review of its military and foreign policy, in which it recognized a tilt toward the Indo-Pacific in the coming decade.

In Monday’s carrier strike group announcement, the Defense Ministry said the deployment is aimed toward a deeper UK security role in the region, with exercises planned alongside India, Japan and South Korea as well as US forces in the region.

Britain's aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth arrives in New York on 
October 19, 2018.

It will also highlight one of Britain’s oldest security relationships, the Five Powers Defense Agreement among Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Exercise Bersama Lima will mark the 50th anniversary of the defense pact, the Defense Ministry said.

As part of the journey to the Pacific, the strike group will visit 40 countries, the UK Defense Ministry said. The voyage, which will see the strike group go through the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean on the way to the Pacific, will cover almost 30,000 miles (48,280 kilometers), the ministry said.

Britain has not released the exact route of the strike group in the Indo-Pacific, but a planned visit to Singapore will put in on the doorstep of the South China Sea and going through the waterway would be the most obvious and direct route to its stops in Japan and South Korea.

China claims almost all of the 1.3 million-square-mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory, and it has denounced the presence of foreign warships there as the root of tensions in the region.

When asked in March about the British deployment as well as French military activity in the South China Sea, China’s Defense Ministry said Beijing “firmly opposes any country interfering in regional affairs under the pretext of ‘freedom of navigation and damaging the common interests of regional countries.”

The UK carrier group is also expected to pass to the east of Taiwan, the self-governed island that China also claims as part of its territory and around which Beijing has been increasing its naval and air deployments in recent months.

In its defense review, the British government called out challenges posed by China.

“China’s increasing power and international assertiveness are likely to be the most significant geopolitical factor of the 2020s,” the review said, describing Beijing as “the biggest state-based threat to the UK’s economic security.”

The review said Britain planned to increase its military presence around the world.

Monday’s announcement of the scope of the carrier strike group reinforced that.

“The most significant deployment of its kind for a quarter of a century, it is a visible demonstration of the Royal Navy’s resurgence after decades of contraction,” Commodore Steve Moorhouse, commander of the strike group, said in a statement.

“As our nation redefines its place in the world post-Brexit, it is the natural embodiment of the government’s ‘Global Britain’ agenda. And against a backdrop of growing instability and competition, it reflects the United Kingdom’s continued commitment to global security,” Moorhouse said.

Japan welcomed the UK’s announcement, saying the carrier strike group’s visit will elevate the longstanding relationship between Tokyo and London to a “new level.”

It also said the deployment demonstrates “the UK commitment and Japan-UK collaboration to uphold and reinforce a ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ in the realm of security and defense,” according to a statement from Japan’s Defense Ministry.

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A new life in Britain during the emerging of the new Covid strain

News Agency nabakhabar — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 11:33:10 +0000

Anxious, angry, and alone. That’s how many people in Britain feel just two days before Christmas.

On Saturday, the U.K. government said that it had no choice but to ban around 18 million people from visiting other households on Christmas Day, scuppering festive plans for people up and down the country.

Since then, dozens of countries worldwide have closed their doors to Brits to prevent the new variant from spreading among their populations.

Jon from the London suburb of Surbiton, who did not want to share his full name, told CNBC that it feels like it did back in March when the coronavirus first hit Europe, only without the sunshine and long days. “I think there was more hope back then,” he said.

Jon said he’s “very concerned” about the new variant of the coronavirus. “If it keeps changing, will these vaccinations work?” he said. “Will it keep changing?”

Experts believe Covid vaccines are likely to protect against the new strain, but the WHO and others are running studies to confirm whether it impacts vaccine efficacy.

Jon said he’s personally “had enough,” but it’s the younger generation he feels sorry for, including the likes of his daughter, who is 24.

“Perhaps they should be giving the vaccine to those that can get the economy back on its feet before giving it to the elderly isolated in homes,” he said.

One bright spot for the country is that vaccines are already being rolled out, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying this week that over 500,000 people had already received the first dose of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine.

International routes cut off.

More than 40 countries worldwide have restricted travel from the U.K. since Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s press conference on Saturday.

In Europe, which includes Ireland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and outside of the continent, it includes Canada, Argentina, and Israel.

France also closed its borders to the U.K., blocking freight transport accompanied by drivers. The move saw over 1,000 trucks backed up across Kent, although on Wednesday, borders are due to reopen to passengers from England.

A drive sits in the cab of his lorry while parked on the M20 in Kent after the 
Port of Dover was closed after the French government’s announcement it will not 
accept any passengers arriving from the U.K.Steve Parsons | P.A. Images 
| Getty Images

“As much as we all want an end to the horrendous year we’ve endured, I can’t help think that in 2021 the U.K. will simply move from one crisis into another with Brexit.”

Travel plans ruined

George Blackwell, a 28-year-old British ex-pat living in Dubai, told CNBC he flew to London on Dec. 18 to be with his family for Christmas Day. He was due to stay until Dec. 28, but he flew back to the United Arab Emirates on Dec. 21, just three days after landing.

“The departure board at the airport on the way back was a long list of cancellations and Dubai seemingly the only open destination,” said Blackwell, who is a manager at a home appliance company. “The decision to return was a difficult family decision, but I felt I needed to return to my country of residence in fear of another global lockdown.”

During his brief stint in the U.K., Blackwell said it felt like a complete lack of understanding about the significance of the new strain of the virus.

“It was like a Hunger Games movie,” Blackwell said. “The total lack of understanding from the public as to how serious the virus is made for an unnerving atmosphere which had me on edge the entire time I was there.”

The moment it was announced that London would be put into Tier 4 – the strictest lockdown tier in England – thousands of people tried to escape the city.

Trains out of St. Pancras train station in central London were packed full of people trying to flee a city with one of the highest coronavirus rates, potentially spreading the virus to other parts of the country.

Lynne Harvey, 71, told CNBC she’s “not too concerned about the mutated virus,” adding that she understands “its transmission is faster but not more virulent.”

“We need to continue masking, spacing, and washing hands. I have always worn disposable gloves when shopping as I’m classed as extremely vulnerable,” she added.

Harvey said she would also like to see law enforcement get stricter with those that break the rules. “I think many people are far too complacent compared to March and not socially distancing … I think this country is far too soft on people flaunting the recommendations, bring in the Army.”

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Britain to end government support for fossil fuel sector exports

News Agency nabakhabar — Sat, 12 Dec 2020 17:40:34 +0000

Britain said Friday that it is ending state support for fossil fuel industry exports, and shifting government assistance to low-carbon and renewable energy projects abroad.

The announcement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson comes a day before he co-hosts a virtual summit with more than 70 world leaders to mark the fifth anniversary of the Paris climate accord. Britain already declared earlier this month that it plans to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68% by 2030.

By taking ambitious and decisive action today, we will create the jobs of the future, drive the recovery from coronavirus and protect our beautiful planet for generations to come, Johnson said in a statement.

The UK government said it will end export finance, aid funding and trade promotion for new crude oil, natural gas or thermal coal projects, with very limited exceptions.

The policy means an end to government support in the form of overseas development aid, export finance or trade promotion for the extraction, production, transportation and refining of crude oil or thermal coal outside Britain.

The same will apply to natural gas, except for some gas-fired power plants and other projects that would be in line with the phase-out of fossil fuels by mid-century laid out in the Paris accord.

Fossil fuels have enjoyed a large share of UK export credits for decades supporting 21 billion pounds ($27.8 billion) of oil and gas exports in the last four years alone.

The UK government has finally seen sense, that we need to match our action on climate change at home with an equivalent effort overseas,” said Alison Doig of the London-based Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit. Investing (…) in an international green energy transition will create new markets overseas and secure future trade and jobs for the UK; a win-win.”

Mohamed Adow, head of the Nairobi-based group Power Shift Africa, also welcomed the move.

We need to make sure there’s no devil in the detail when the full policy is released, but on the surface it looks to be a hugely encouraging move and sets the tone for this weekend’s Climate Ambition Summit, he said. Now other countries need to follow suit.

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