Head of trade body warns of French blockades if deal over fishing rights is not agreed
The UK’s fishing industry has accused the EU of using a “nuclear option” to secure a Brexit deal, warning that it is prepared for blockades by the French if trade talks collapse.
Fishing leaders have also revealed they do not support an extension to the transition period despite being hit badly by the coronavirus pandemic, with the closure of restaurants and hotels affecting sales.
Continue reading...Budget carrier is imposing 20% pay cuts for flight crew and 10% for cabin staff
French flight crew have accused Ryanair of blackmailing them into taking pay cuts or losing their jobs.
The Irish airline, which has warned it may cut up to 3,000 jobs in Europe, told staff in France it was imposing 20% salary cuts for flight crew and 10% for attendants. Those who are already on legal minimum wages will have their hours reduced.
Continue reading...Today, Historic England reveals 200 new images which have been added to their archive to form the Picturing Lockdown Collection. This follows a call-out asking the public to photograph their lockdown from 29 April to 5 May. The appeal was the first time the public have been asked to submit photographs for the archive since the Second World War.
Continue reading...Data reveals police recorded seven incidents of motorists in UK driving over 130mph
Two-thirds of Britain’s police forces caught people driving in excess of 100mph during the first three weeks of the coronavirus lockdown, new data has shown.
The extreme speeds were not confined to motorways, as drivers also took the drop in traffic as an invitation to break the law on urban roads, thus endangering lives, police said.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Opponents claim exemptions to rules could mean great economic pain for little public health benefit
Tens of thousands of new arrivals to the UK will be able to go food shopping, change accommodation and use public transport from airports during a 14-day quarantine imposed to prevent a second wave of coronavirus, under draft plans to be laid before parliament.
The Guardian understands that about a fifth of people are expected to receive a spot-check to ensure that they are staying at the address or addresses they have provided to the authorities, but enforcement of the quarantine will be limited.
Continue reading...Spatial analysis by Esri UK has found that most pavements around the country are less than 3 metres wide, making it difficult for pedestrians to remain 2 metres apart and follow government guidelines for social distancing. Using measurements from Ordnance Survey, Esri UK has created a map of all pavement widths, discovering that only 30% of Great Britain’s pavements are at least 3 metres wide, 36% are between 2 and 3 metres and 34% are less than 2 metres wide
Continue reading...Paper concludes EU does not have to offer privileges given to others in previous deals
The EU has no legal duty to grant the UK privileges offered to other countries in trade deals, an internal European parliament paper has concluded ahead of a crucial round of Brexit talks this week.
The document, drawn up by officials for the parliament’s UK coordination group, is a short analysis of arguments made by the UK’s chief negotiator, David Frost, in a letter to his counterpart, Michel Barnier. Frost accused the EU of treating the UK as an “unworthy” negotiating partner by denying the UK “the kind of well-precedented arrangements commonplace in modern FTAs [free trade agreements]”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: thirty hospitals looking to sign up hundreds of patients to take part in studies
Five new drugs are to be trialled in 30 hospitals across the country in the race to find a treatment for Covid-19, it has emerged.
Just days after global trials of hydroxychloroquine, the drug promoted by Donald Trump as a cure, were halted, British scientists are looking to sign up hundreds of patients for trials of medicines they hope will prevent people becoming ill enough to need intensive care or ventilators.
Continue reading...Chinese city marks recovery milestone; English health officials voice concern over loosened lockdown; Brazil pass 500,000 cases
The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the Covid-19 pandemic began, reported no new asymptomatic cases for the first time on Sunday, according to Chinese health officials.
Mainland China reported 16 new cases overall on Sunday, the highest daily number in three weeks. All were reported as imported cases – 11 in Sichuan province, three in Inner Mongolia, and two in Guangdong.
Continue reading...Lords committee warns uncertainty over trading rules may add to economic damage of crisis
Northern Ireland faces a “potent threat” to its prosperity and stability if reduced business confidence due to uncertainty over post-Brexit trading rules compounds the economic damage from coronavirus, a Lords committee has warned.
A fourth round of talks between the UK and EU over a permanent deal begins this week, with little apparent progress made, and the looming deadline of 1 July for the UK to seek an extension to the transition period beyond this year.
Continue reading...Cross-party initiative reflects concern response to China’s imposition of security laws cannot be left to Donald Trump
Britain must take the lead in co-ordinating the international response to China’s efforts to impose draconian security laws in Hong Kong, seven former Conservative and Labour UK foreign secretaries have come together to declare.
Related: Hong Kong officials lash out at Trump plan to strip city of special status
Continue reading...Bulgarian creator of large-scale public artworks worked in collaboration with wife Jeanne-Claude
The artist Christo, known for wrapping buildings including Berlin’s Reichstag, and also swathing areas of coast and entire islands in fabric, has died aged 84. The news was confirmed on his official Facebook page, which said that he died of natural causes at his home in New York.
Born Christo Vladimirov Javacheff in Bulgaria, Christo studied in Sofia and then defected to the west in 1957, stowing away on a train from Prague to Vienna. Two years later he met Frenchwoman Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon, who would become his artistic partner and wife until her death in 2009.
Continue reading...Royal College of Nursing also fears lifting of more restrictions on ‘happy Monday’ is too early
Senior public health officials have made a last-minute plea for ministers to scrap Monday’s easing of the coronavirus lockdown in England, warning the country is unprepared to deal with any surge in infection and that public resolve to take steps to limit transmisson has been eroded.
The Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) said new rules, including allowing groups of up to six people to meet outdoors and in private gardens, were “not supported by the science” and that pictures of crowded beaches and beauty spots over the weekend showed “the public is not keeping to social distancing as it was”.
Continue reading...Goverment guidance requiring 2.2 million people in at-risk groups to stay indoors is to be relaxed in England from Monday, the communities minister has announced. Robert Jenrick confirmed that people currently shielding will be able to spend time with their households or, if they live alone, with one person from another household. The full guidance will be posted on the gov.uk website. 'Now that we’ve passed the peak, the risk to those shielding is lower,' Jenrick said.
Continue reading...Tobias Weller raises £60,000 for charity by walking up and down Sheffield road for 70 days
There were cheers from physically distanced crowds as nine-year-old Tobias Weller, a boy with autism and cerebral palsy, completed his remarkable challenge to walk a marathon to raise money for charity.
Nicknamed Captain Tobias, he has been walking up and down the Sheffield road where he lives for 70 days. He initially hoped to raise £500. A flood of support led to him raising the target to £30,000. On Sunday evening the total stood at more than £60,000.
Continue reading...Writer Jack Thorne among those to pay their respects to Angelis, who has died aged 68
Tributes have been paid after the death of Michael Angelis, an actor who will be remembered as the morose rabbit-obsessed Lucien from The Liver Birds, the desperate Chrissie in Boys from the Blackstuff, and the narrator of Thomas the Tank Engine.
Angelis died suddenly while at home with his wife on Saturday, his agent said. He was 68.
Continue reading...Jack Barth’s claim he did not receive credit he deserved shines light on movie industry machinations
As a premise, it is surprisingly simple: a young musician who is the only person in the world to know the Beatles’ back catalogue forges a successful career by covering their songs. But the more complex question of who should get credit for the Hollywood movie it became has put the opaque machinations of the film industry in the spotlight.
The idea ultimately became Yesterday, the Richard Curtis film directed by Danny Boyle and starring Himesh Patel, which made more than £125m at the box office worldwide. But Jack Barth, a writer whose work has appeared on The Simpsons, claimed last week he had not received the full credit he said he deserved for writing the original screenplay that provided the basis for the film.
Continue reading...Investigation into hacked bank files reveals £100m business empire owned by family of former Azerbaijan minister Eldar Mahmudov
A string of luxury properties, including a £17m home near Harrods, were acquired by the children of Azerbaijan’s former security chief, an investigation has revealed.
Eldar Mahmudov was dismissed as national security minister by a presidential order in 2015. No official explanation was given for his removal.
Continue reading...Brazil becomes fourth worst country for deaths; pressure builds on South African president over his handling of outbreak
Bosnia’s state court has ordered the release of a regional prime minister and two other men suspected of corruption in connection with the import of defective ventilators for coronavirus patients.
The court of Bosnia-Herzegovina said their detention was unnecessary, and turned down the prosecution’s requests to detain the three men for 30 days.
Senior public health officials have made a last-minute plea for ministers to scrap Monday’s easing of the coronavirus lockdown in England, warning the country is unprepared to deal with any surge in infection and that public resolve to take steps to limit transmission has been eroded.
The Association of Directors of Public Health said new rules, including allowing groups of up to six people to meet outdoors and in private gardens, were “not supported by the science” and that pictures of crowded beaches and beauty spots over the weekend showed “the public is not keeping to social distancing as it was”.
Related: Health officials make last-minute plea to stop lockdown easing in England
Continue reading...Police called to ‘disorder’ near Serpentine lake where three men suffered stab wounds
Four men have been arrested over suspected stabbings in a central London park on Saturday evening.
The Metropolitan police made the arrests after three men suffered stab wounds in Hyde Park near Knightsbridge. The victims are in a stable condition, the force said.
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