Babak Belurs

Kamis, 24 Juni 2021

COVID-19: Balearics and Malta could be added to travel list - but Merkel says UK arrivals in EU should quarantine - Sky News

The government is due to deliver its latest travel advice on Thursday after Matt Hancock gave fresh hope to the prospect of summer holidays this year.

Ministers will reveal which, if any, countries are to move to the quarantine-free green list and those which travelling to continues to be banned or restricted.

However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said travellers from the UK should be quarantined wherever they arrive in the EU due to growing fears over the spread of the Delta variant.

"In our country, if you come from Great Britain, you have to go into quarantine - and that's not the case in every European country, and that's what I would like to see," she told the Bundestag lower house of parliament.

Live COVID updates as travel list updated

Popular holiday hotspots including Malta and the Balearic Islands could be added to the UK's "green list" on Thursday as part of the government's traffic light system for overseas travel, sources suggest.

The health secretary has suggested foreign trips abroad to all amber list countries could be on the cards for those who have received two vaccination doses in the near future, with the government hoping a trial looking at replacing quarantine with daily testing will prove effective.

This would mean people who have had two jabs could travel to countries like France, Spain, Portugal, Greece and the United States and not have to self-isolate when they get back.

According to The Times, children travelling with their parents who have both had two vaccine doses may also be exempt from quarantine measures under the proposals being considered.

But government sources said there will be no imminent concrete changes to travel guidance on this.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said the government wants to "support those who want to travel to do so", but added that it was "difficult".

He told Sky News Breakfast: "Nobody likes the draconian restrictions we have had to put in place over this last year as we have wrestled with the pandemic.

"We are being cautious because the biggest threat still to our progress against this pandemic and the great progress we have made on vaccination is that there will be another variant somewhere that maybe hadn't been properly detected in another country and that variant is more resistant to vaccination.

"That's the great challenge that we have got, that's why were proceeding with caution."

Earlier this week, Mr Hancock said dropping self-isolation rules for people who have been fully vaccinated was "absolutely something" the government is working on, but did not say when such a move could be introduced.

"This hasn't been clinically advised yet, we're working on it," Matt Hancock said about the move, which would see the current 10-day isolation replaced by daily COVID-19 testing.

"When I'm in a position to be able to say something then we will do," he continued.

"But it's absolutely something we're working on and it's something I want to see."

He also acknowledged that lifting international travel rules is "more difficult" than the remaining domestic coronavirus restrictions.

Reacting to the health secretary's comments, Labour's Nick Thomas-Symonds told Sky News he could see how having two jabs "could be part of a reopening of international travel" but called for a "proper strategy".

"We want to see international travel opened up when it is safe to do so," the shadow home secretary said

Meanwhile Boris Johnson this week admitted that 2021 will be a "difficult" one for international travel "whatever happens" with COVID.

In the last update, firm holiday favourite Portugal was moved to the amber list forcing travellers to flee the country en masse to get home before the ten-day quarantine rule deadline.

No new countries were added to the green list but seven were moved to red with travel there banned.

This means travellers arriving from Egypt, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Bahrain, Sudan and Trinidad and Tobago now have to pay to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days at a cost of more than £1,500 per person.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the decision to move Portugal to the amber list was based on rising case numbers and concern about the Delta variant which originated in India.

The government says it continues to look at options to open up international travel safely, with the travel industry having dramatically reduced its operations during the pandemic.

The latest update to the government's international travel traffic light system comes a day after cabin crew, pilots, travel agents and airport staff joined "a day of action" in Westminster, Holyrood and Stormont.

All were calling on the government to provide more financial support to the sector and to increase the number of countries on the UK's green list which allows travellers to visit without having to quarantine on their return.

And some firms are considering taking legal action against the government over the restrictions.

Mark Tanzer, chief executive of travel trade organisation Abta, said: "We're looking at whether or not that is an avenue that we can pursue.

"The hurdle for suing the government is high but we think at least the government needs to say, did it measure the impact on the travel sector of its own policies, and if it did, did it then decide that the sector nonetheless wasn't worthy of support."

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2021-06-24 06:33:45Z
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Rabu, 23 Juni 2021

BBC journalist reports from British warship as Russia “fires warning shots” - BBC News - BBC News

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2021-06-23 21:28:49Z
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COVID-19: UK's vaccine rollout has saved 14,000 lives, and prevented 44,500 hospital admissions in England, says minister - Sky News

The UK's vaccination rollout has saved more than 14,000 lives, and prevented 44,500 hospital admissions in England alone, including 2,500 in the past two weeks, according to vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi.

Speaking at a Downing Street news briefing, he hailed the figures as "real progress" but warned "we know there is much more to do" as Delta variant cases continue to rise.

Praising the "Dunkirk spirit" shown by the millions who have accepted the offer of a vaccine, Mr Zahawi promised to intensify efforts to encourage more people to come forward for jabs - including in London where take up has been "slightly behind" other areas of the country.

Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world

A summit will be held in the capital on Friday by NHS chiefs, clinicians and the mayor.

Giving an example, he said there had been more than two million people aged over 50 in England who had been given a first dose but not a second. However, in the past two weeks, that figure had been brought down to 900,000.

Mr Zahawi said the programme "has saved thousands of lives" by getting doses into arms before restrictions are eased on 19 July.

"The one thing you know, we know, is that vaccines are making the real difference. The vaccines are our way out of this pandemic," he said.

"The latest data show that the vaccination programme has already saved over 14,000 lives, and I can share with you that now it has prevented over 44,500 hospitalisations in England alone - that is 2,500 hospitalisations prevented in the past two weeks."

Mr Zahawi said "this country is getting a little bit safer every day", adding: "Whatever your age, whatever your background, the vaccine will protect you."

He said: "The enthusiasm is making a huge difference. We have already given first doses to almost half of all 25 to 29 year-olds in England and only a week after the programme opened to all adults on Friday, one third of people aged between 18 and 25 have had their first dose.

"To all of the young people who have stepped up, I want to say a huge thank you - you've protected yourself, you've protected your families and you've protected your communities, because the one thing you know, that we know, is that vaccines are making the real difference."

The vaccines minister also noted that in the two days since the jab booking system was opened to everyone over 18 there were "six appointments being booked every second".

He added that the government's "mission" is now to get as many people protected by the vaccine as possible.

His comments came as data suggests that across all age and ethnic groups, coronavirus vaccine uptake has slowed down significantly over the past two months.

However, week on week, there are positive rises for all ethnic groups, information from OpenSafely which is compiled by NHS data shows.

This indicates more people are gradually coming forward to get the jab, which is the case for both the over-80s and those aged 50 to 54.

The data shows there is a 21 percentage point difference in take-up of the vaccine between black and white people aged over 80.

This gap increases to over 25 percentage points in the 50 to 54 age range.

The same information source suggests the difference in take up between black individuals and South Asian individuals aged over 80 is 9.4 percentage points, but that this drops by one in the 50 to 54 age range.

A higher proportion of younger people of South Asian background are therefore taking up the offer of the jab in comparison to their older counterparts, the data shows.

Addressing vaccine hesitancy at the Downing Street press conference, Mr Zahawi said a "concerted, community led effort" has "truly paid off" and led to "real positive results".

"So if you look at the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), vaccine hesitancy has halved in the past few months among Black and Black British people since February," the vaccines minister said.

"And it has halved among Asian and Asian British people too in the same period. This is real progress, but we know there is more, much more, to do."

Information is unavailable for those age ranges under 50, but figures released earlier this month from ORB International and the Vaccine Confidence Project suggested levels are vaccine hesitancy were falling among younger age groups.

Among men under 45, confidence in the COVID-19 jab had risen by 17% - increasing to 27% of women under 45.

Greater numbers of adults in this age range now said they would get vaccinated, too - with 63% saying they would definitely get the jab, and a further 21% likely to accept.

The latest figures show that six in 10 adults in the UK are estimated to have received both doses of a COVID vaccine.

A total of 31,740,115 second doses have now been delivered since the vaccine rollout began in December last year.

Figures show that an estimated 82.5% of all UK adults have now received a first dose.

The UK has reported 16,135 new COVID-19 cases and another 19 coronavirus-related deaths in the latest 24-hour period, according to government data.

This is the highest number of daily infections since 6 February when 18,262 were announced.

Looking ahead to Friday's London Vaccine Summit announced by Mr Zahawi during the conference, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "Together, we will focus on making sure every possible avenue is taken to accelerate the rollout and ensure that all Londoners take up both doses of the vaccine as soon as possible."

According to the Welsh government, all adults in Wales have now been offered their first jab.

The Scottish government has said all adults will be booked in for their initial dose by 27 June and the UK government has said it hopes to offer all over-18s an initial jab by 19 July.

Meanwhile, more than 20,000 lives could have been saved in England if the first lockdown had been introduced a week earlier, according to a report from Imperial College London.

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2021-06-23 16:52:30Z
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Scottish Government announces 5 deaths and 2,969 covid cases in last 24 hours - Daily Record

The Scottish Government has reported that 5 people have died from coronavirus and that 2,969 new cases had been identified overnight.

It brings the death toll since last March – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – to 7,701.

There are currently 170 people in hospital confirmed to have the virus with 18 being treated in intensive care.

The total number of positive cases since the pandemic hit stands at 260,711.

To date 3,681,620 people have received their first vaccination with 2,617,450 having a second jab.

The news comes as weekly coronavirus deaths in Scotland have hit their highest number in almost two months, shock new data revealed.

Figures from the National Records of Scotland (NRS) show 13 deaths were recorded in the week of June 14-20.

This is up six on the previous week and is the first time the total has hit double figures since the seven days from April 26, when there were 19 deaths.

A man receives the vaccines in Glasgow (Image: Getty Images)

The coronavirus death toll since the start of the pandemic now stands at 10,150, where Covid was mentioned on the death certificate since June 2020.

Of the deaths in the most recent week, three were people aged under 65, two were 65-74, and eight were over 75.

Four of the deaths occurred in Glasgow, two in Perth and Kinross and one each in Dundee, Falkirk, Highland, Midlothian, South Ayrshire, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian.

Ten of the deaths took place in hospitals, one was in a care home and two were at home or in a non-institutional setting.

By comparison, the number of deaths from all causes registered in Scotland in the same week was 1,046 - 46, or 5%, more than the five-year average.

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There were nine more deaths from circulatory causes, three more deaths from cancer and 56 more fatalities from other causes compared to the five-year average.

Deaths from respiratory diseases (-25) and dementia/Alzheimer's (-7) were below average.

The Covid statistics are published weekly and cover all deaths registered in Scotland where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate.

Russia claims it fired at Royal Navy destroyer off Crimea - Financial Times

Russia summoned the British ambassador and accused the UK of staging a “crude British provocation” on Wednesday after a Royal Navy warship sailed through Black Sea waters off the coast of Crimea.

The Russian defence ministry claimed it fired warning shots to chase away HMS Defender after it ignored several warnings and made a 3km incursion near Cape Fiolent on the southern tip of the contested peninsula, which Russia claims.

But the UK’s Ministry of Defence denied that any shots were fired directly at the vessel, saying the Russians had given prior warning that they were “undertaking a gunnery exercise” in the area.

Russian state media published videos of planes buzzing HMS Defender but did not show any videos of the supposed warning shots.

Ben Wallace, UK defence secretary, said HMS Defender was on a “routine transit” from Odessa to Georgia across the Black Sea. But the incident appears to have been part of a UK attempt to show support for Ukraine, which lost Crimea when Russia annexed it in 2014.

Though most countries do not recognise Moscow’s control of Crimea, Russia’s Black Sea fleet has repeatedly denounced similar visits by warships from members of Nato, which Ukraine recently made an unsuccessful push to join.

“As is normal for this route, [the destroyer] entered an internationally recognised traffic separation corridor. She exited that corridor safely at 0945 BST. As is routine, Russian vessels shadowed her passage and she was made aware of training exercises in her wider vicinity,” Wallace said.

Wallace later compared the incident to Moscow’s claims in May that its navy and air force had chased another UK destroyer, HMS Dragon, out of waters near Crimea last autumn — a statement he described as “factually untrue”.

“These are the things that come and go with Russia . . . disinformation is something we have seen regularly, we’re not surprised by it, we plan for it, and we take all steps to make sure we are not escalatory or indeed provocative,” the defence secretary told MPs. “However, we will not shy away from upholding international law and our rights on the sea.”

The Russian defence ministry said that, after HMS Defender did not respond to repeated warnings from Russian forces that they would open fire, a coastguard ship fired warning shots at it.

Minutes later, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet scrambled a Su-24M attack aircraft that dropped four high-explosive fragmentation bombs in the ship’s path before it exited the waters, according to the ministry.

Tom Sharpe, a retired Royal Navy commander, said the UK was not breaking any laws by conducting a freedom of navigation exercise in the area.

“Can warships transit through other countries’ waters without permission? Absolutely — international law permits it,” he said, adding that the UK would be “learning lessons” from this interaction ahead of the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier’s planned passage through the South China Sea later this year.

Mark Galeotti, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said Moscow “was trying to show it’s not going to be pushed around” by “provocative” actions such as HMS Defender’s voyage.

“The Brits are often in this role as a proxy — they [the Russians] don’t want to be too aggressive against the Americans [ . . . ] so there is a sense you do it against the Brits because it’s not quite as dangerous,” he said.

The disputed claims come at a time of heightened tensions between Russia and the Nato alliance.

Earlier on Wednesday, president Vladimir Putin told a defence conference in Moscow that Russia “could not fail to be concerned by Nato’s ceaseless ramping up of its military potential near Russia’s borders as well as the alliance’s refusal to constructively consider our suggestions to de-escalate tensions and reduce the risks of unpredictable incidents.”

HMS Defender, which forms part of the UK’s carrier strike group deployment, visited Odessa this week in a show of support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity. British and Ukrainian officials met on board the destroyer on Tuesday to agree a defence deal in which the UK will help boost Kyiv’s naval capabilities.

The co-operation will include training of Ukrainian navy personnel, the creation of new naval bases, and the purchase of two Sandown class minehunters.

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2021-06-23 13:00:41Z
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Dalian Atkinson: PC guilty of former footballer's manslaughter - BBC News

A police officer has been found guilty of the manslaughter of ex-footballer Dalian Atkinson.

The former Aston Villa striker died after a stand-off with West Mercia police officers outside his father's home in Telford, Shropshire in 2016.

PC Benjamin Monk, 43, was cleared at Birmingham Crown Court of an alternative charge of murder.

Mr Atkinson's family said justice had been done and hoped he would be remembered for his life, not his death.

Monk's trial had heard he tasered Mr Atkinson for 33 seconds and kicked him twice in the head.

He denied any wrongdoing and said he believed there was a danger to life for him and his colleague.

Mr Atkinson began his career at Ipswich Town before moving to Sheffield Wednesday, Real Sociedad and Aston Villa.

Following a six-week-trial, jurors took 18 hours and 48 minutes to reach unanimous verdicts on Monk, who has 14 years' service.

In a statement, Mr Atkinson's family said he was "much missed" by his family and friends and the footballing communities of the clubs he played for.

"The past five years have been an ordeal for Dalian's family," they said.

"We are hugely relieved that the whole country now knows the truth about how Dalian died.

Kenroy Atkinson, the brother of former footballer Dalian Atkinson, arrives at Birmingham Crown Court

"While it has been hard for us not to be able to talk about the details of Dalian's death, it has been even harder to sit through this trial and to hear PC Monk try to justify the force he used."

They said his footballing talent "led him to achieve great things in his life".

"Our sincere hope is that now that the truth about his death is known, and justice has been done, we can start to remember him not for the manner in which he died, but for the way in which he lived," the statement added.

Jurors are still deliberating on an assault charge relating to Monk's colleague and former girlfriend, PC Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith, 31.

The trial heard how the two officers were called to Mr Atkinson's father's house in Meadow Close in the early hours of 15 August, where the the sportsman had been acting erratically.

Monk told the court he ran in fear after Mr Atkinson, who appeared to be having a mental health crisis, made death threats and smashed a glass door pane.

The trial heard Monk had discharged his Taser three times at Mr Atkinson, twice unsuccessfully, but on the third time he overrode the system, holding down the trigger for 33 seconds - more than six times the standard deployment.

The officer claimed to have no recollection of placing his foot on Mr Atkinson's head as colleagues arrived at the scene.

However he conceded he must have kicked the ex-footballer twice in the forehead, because bootlace prints proved he had.

Monk maintained his actions were lawful self-defence, made necessary when the former Premier League star tried to get up.

Mr Atkinson, who had a number of underlying health conditions, went into cardiac arrest after being taken from the scene in an ambulance, and was pronounced dead in hospital at 02:45 BST - about an hour after he was tasered.

According to the charity Inquest, no police officer has been found guilty of murder or manslaughter over a death in custody or following police contact in England and Wales since the 1980s.

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk

Babak Belurs

Kamis, 24 Juni 2021

COVID-19: Balearics and Malta could be added to travel list - but Merkel says UK arrivals in EU should quarantine - Sky News

Rabu, 23 Juni 2021

BBC journalist reports from British warship as Russia “fires warning shots” - BBC News - BBC News

COVID-19: UK's vaccine rollout has saved 14,000 lives, and prevented 44,500 hospital admissions in England, says minister - Sky News

Scottish Government announces 5 deaths and 2,969 covid cases in last 24 hours - Daily Record

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