United Kingdom

    The European Union will introduce full border checks with the UK on January 1, despite Britain introducing customs controls on EU goods more slowly and whether or not the two sides agree a trade deal. Michel Barnier warned a House of Lords Committee that Brussels will not delay things, despite the Government’s U-Turn on EU goods imports. The UK announced a gradual three phased implementation of border checks in June after previously insisting that checks would be inevitable. Full border checks will now only apply on EU goods entering the UK from July 2021. The EU’s chief negotiator told peers that the EU was, in contrast to the UK, ready for Britain to leave the Customs Union and Single Market at the end of the transition period on January 1. The European Commissi...

    The UK government could announce a stamp duty holiday for home buyers in a bid to boost economic recovery from the coronavirus, according to reports. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is said to be weighing up raising the threshold for the tax to between £300,000 and £500,000, leaving the average property exempt from the tax. Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) is levied on property buyers as a percentage of the purchase price. Home buyers pay between 2% and 12% of the value of the property above £125,000 in England and Northern Ireland. Thresholds are already higher for first-time buyers. The tax has been devolved to the Scottish and Welsh governments, which have renamed it and varied the rates. The reports did not make clear how the changes being floated could affect Scotland and Wa...

    Pub-goers were unable to observe social distancing measures as drinking establishments opened across the UK on Saturday, the chairman of the Police Federation has said. John Apter, who was on shift in Southampton on Super Saturday, said he had dealt with “naked men, happy drunks, angry drunks, fights and more angry drunks”. Apter tweeted saying it was “crystal clear” from the hospitality industry’s early attempts to employ social distancing measures that “drunk people can’t/won’t socially distance”. “Finished my late shift with the @HantsPolice Southampton City late shift,” he tweeted on Sunday morning. “A busy shift, we dealt with anti social behaviour, naked men, possession of class ‘A’ drugs, happy drunks, angry drunks, fights, more angry drunks and was called ...

    Brits have flocked to pubs in England for the first time in three months after they reopened from 6am. Thirsty punters have seen off long-awaited pints at reopened Wetherspoons branches, while queues lined the streets outside barber shops this morning. Bars, restaurants, cafes and salons are all welcoming back customers, in what Boris Johnson has hailed "the biggest step yet on the road to recovery", dubbed "Super Saturday". But Matt Hancock warned revellers they "could end up behind bars" if trouble flares, with police chiefs and hospital bosses bracing for a New Year's Eve-style operation.

''Under the prudent and visionary leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh isdelivering public health services and humanitarian emergency aide to our people's door step, utilizing ‘GovTech’ and ‘DevTech’ under her ‘Digital Bangladesh’ vision'', said Bangladesh High Commissioner Saida Muna Tasneem at the virtual Commonwealth Leaders meeting on the COVID-19 crisis earlier this week. Presidents, Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers of 30 Commonwealth member countries including Nigeria, Kenya, Belize, Bahamas, Uganda, Tanzania, Guyana, and the Gambia attended the meeting. High Commissioner Tasneem was speaking at the virtual Commonwealth Leaders meeting as a representative of Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She briefed the Commonwealth leaders about Prime Minister Sheikh...

    Staff and residents in care homes in England will be regularly tested for coronavirus from next week, the government has said. Care home workers will be tested weekly, while residents will receive a test every 28 days, according to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). It has also promised intensive testing in any care home facing a coronavirus outbreak or an increased risk of a flare-up. The programme will be rolled out from Monday to all care homes for people aged over 65, and those with dementia, which have registered to receive re-testing over the next four weeks. It will then be expanded to the entire care home sector from August. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government's response to the pandemic "has always been led by the latest scient...

    Individual air bridges will be effectively abandoned by the Government, as it emerged that as many as 75 countries will be on the first quarantine exemption list for British holidaymakers. The list, to be published on Thursday or Friday, will lift the Foreign Office ban on non-essential travel to nearly all EU destinations, the British territories including Bermuda and Gibraltar, and Turkey, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. All 75 have been judged sufficiently low risk destinations for holidaymakers based on the prevalence of Covid-19, that their infection rate is in decline and that their data on the state of the disease can be trusted. It means that from Monday travellers to the 75 countries will no longer have to quarantine for 14 days on their return to the...

    A police and crime commissioner has criticised the Government’s decision to reopen bars on a Saturday , warning of a “likely threat of serious disorder” as coronavirus lockdown measures are relaxed. The intervention from David Jamieson, the elected commissioner for the West Midlands Police area, came as Boris Johnson was accused of being "blind to the risks of easing lockdown". Sir Keir Starmer claimed the Prime Minister had "brushed away serious concerns" and decided to relax measures without the "world-beating" test, track and trace system that he had previously promised . Meanwhile, Sadiq Khan has warned that London needs more powers to ensure a Leicester-style local lockdown can be enforced if necessary, amid warnings of a "second wave" of coronavirus hitting t...

    Scotland has recorded no new deaths from coronavirus for the fourth day running, Nicola Sturgeon has said. During a Scottish Government briefing, Ms Sturgeon announced the total number of people who have died after contracting the virus remains at 2,482. She added five more people tested positive for the virus since Sunday, taking the total to 18,241. A total of 740 patients were in Scottish hospitals with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, down 38 in 24 hours. Of these, 10 were intensive care, which is a fall of three. The Scottish First Minister also spoke on the issue of air bridges between the UK and countries in Europe. She said the UK Government did not consult the Scottish Government ahead of the changes. Scotland's Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf had a conf...

    British Airways (IAG.L) has sacked 350 pilots and placed 300 others in a “pool” for re-hire “when needed.” The Sun on Sunday reported the deal, which BA came to with pilot union Balpa, is still waiting to be finalised but is a “relief” for the airline, after fears of strikes. “Constructive talks are ongoing with Balpa to save as many jobs as possible,” British Airways told Yahoo Finance UK. This comes shortly after BA announced plans to cut 12,000 jobs and implement pay cuts for 36,000, after experiencing its steepest ever downturn in 2020 as a result of COVID-19. Planes were grounded in March by lockdown measures in an attempt to curb the pandemic. Balpa succeeded in preventing BA from implementing a “last in, first out” policy that would mean workers hired most...