Steve McGookinEurope shuts door to UK amid fears over new virus strain
Britain faces a growing travel ban to a number of countries after the government warned about a new variant of Covid-19 which health secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC was “out of control.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to chair a Cobra committee meeting on Monday morning “to discuss the situation regarding international travel, in particular the steady flow of freight into and out of the UK.”
Along with Ireland – which suspended flights and passenger ferries from the UK for an initial period of 48 hours – Austria, Belgium, Italy, Germany, France, and the Netherlands all announced travel bans on Sunday, with more countries expected to follow.
On Saturday, Scotland announced a ban on internal travel from the rest of the UK.
As concern grew about the increased transmissibility of the new strain, the prime minister upended the Christmas plans of millions of people when he announced that he was reversing previous guidance about how people could mix over Christmas.
In Northern Ireland, there was initially no change to the previous rules –ministers instead urged “vigilance” – but the Executive reconvened virtually late on Sunday night and agreed to restrict Christmas gatherings to one day. The meeting also discussed travel between Great Britain and Northern Ireland in light of the developing situation, but according to the BBC, nothing was agreed.
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Brexit – Deal or no deal?
As pressure grew for Britain to call for an extension to the Brexit transition period in light of the developing situation over the new virus strain, the deadline passed for reaching a trade deal between the UK and the EU. Nevertheless, negotiators appear ready to continue talks on Monday, even though the European Parliament had previously said it would not vote on a deal unless it was agreed by midnight on Sunday.
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US may – finally – pass Covid relief bill
As President Trump’s relentless campaign to reverse the result of last month’s election continued, congress appeared to have reached a last-minute deal to agree a Coronavirus relief package for families and businesses, with the likelihood of a stopgap funding measure to prevent the technical shutdown of the government at midnight on Sunday so the package can pass.
Meanwhile, the fallout continues from a massive hacking operation targeting several US government agencies, and which had apparently operated undetected for several months.
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Towards a sustainable city
With incoming US president Joe Biden committed to the US rejoining the Paris accord on climate change, preparations continue leading up to the UK-hosted UN COP26 conference next year in Glasgow. This week saw the launch of Belfast’s first city climate plan.
See Also:
Build Back Differently – How Northern Ireland Can Tackle Climate Change
‘Everything is Getting Much Worse, Much Faster, Everywhere’
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Be advised…
The impending centenary year hasn’t yet dawned but already there’s been a first skirmish in the war of words.
When the Northern Ireland Office chose a portrait of poet Seamus Heaney as part of the visual launch this week for its marketing campaign – titled “Our Story in the Making” – it wasn’t clear if the family of the Nobel Laureate, who died in 2013, had been consulted.
Cue firestorm.
Writing in the Irish Times, Freya McClements spoke with Heaney’s friend and fellow poet Michael Longley, who said: “Seamus is so loved and revered, everyone wants a bit of him, including unionists. I think he would probably have been embarrassed by his totemic status.”
According to Longley, “As his poems show, he retained tender feelings towards the Protestant neighbours of his childhood, but deplored the repressive, gerrymandered state that imploded in 1969. Generally speaking, doesn’t poetry – like all the arts – break down borders?”
See Also:
This is the first in our revamped weekly digest of top news stories from home and abroad. We’d like to wish you all good wishes for the holidays and with hope for a better year to come.
“If we winter this one out, we can summer anywhere.”
Also published on Medium.
