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Thousands gather in London to protest against lockdown

As a second wave of infections gathers pace, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government has stepped up local restrictions in parts of England where cases are surging…Reports Asian Lite News

Anti-lockdown demonstrators gathered in central London on Saturday, hours after the British capital moved to the second highest COVID-19 alert level.

As a second wave of infections gathers pace, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government has stepped up local restrictions in parts of England where cases are surging – hoping to shield the economy by allowing the least-affected regions to remain open, Reuters reported.

As of midnight, London was moved up to the “tier 2” or “high-risk” level. This bans people from meeting anybody outside their household or “support bubble” – including friends or relatives who help to care for children – in any indoor setting.

The rules also forbid more than six people to meet outdoors, though the police chose not to enforce them as several thousand anti-lockdown campaigners marched down Oxford Street, one of the world’s busiest shopping streets in normal times.

The protesters view COVID-19 restrictions as unnecessary and a breach of their human rights. Some oppose mask-wearing and vaccinations.

Some carried placards saying: “MY BODY MY CHOICE, NO TO MANDATORY MASKS”.

“There’s plenty of things that can kill you, you know, it could happen any day,” said protester Aragorn Kyley, 17. “It’s about living, not just surviving. We want to be able to enjoy our lives, not just be stuck at home.”

As of Saturday, 57 percent of the United Kingdom’s population was living under tighter COVID-19 restrictions.

However, scientists from the SAGE group that advises the government, and the main opposition Labour Party, want ministers to go further and impose a short nationwide lockdown or so-called “circuit breaker” for the spread of the disease.

Also read:UK Prepares For a No-Deal Brexit

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Covid-19 reinfections ‘to be expected’: UK scientists

It was unclear how soon people who had recovered from Covid-19 could become vulnerable to reinfection, but emerging reports showed the timeframe was “relatively short”…Reports Asian Lite News

UK scientists have warned that Covid-19 reinfections were “to be expected” amid a recent surge in the number of fresh cases, according to a media report.

The conclusion by researchers on the Covid-19 Genomics UK Consortium is based on what is known about people’s immunity to other coronaviruses that cause the common cold, Xinhua news agency quoted the report by the Guardian newspaper as saying on Saturday.

It was unclear how soon people who had recovered from Covid-19 could become vulnerable to reinfection, but emerging reports showed the timeframe was “relatively short”, said the report.

Currently, there are seven types of coronavirus that infect humans.

Among them, Sars, Mers and Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, are considered the deadliest.

The four others cause common colds and can reinfect people six months after they have recovered, according to the report.

London, Sept. 15, 2020 (Xinhua) — People sit on the lawn at Potters Fields Park in front of Tower Bridge in London, Britain, on Sept. 14, 2020. In order to curb the rise in coronavirus cases, tough new limits on social gatherings came into force in Britain on Monday, meaning that in most regions, it is now illegal for groups of more than six to meet up. The “rule of six” kicked off at midnight across England, Wales and Scotland in the latest push to curb the recent surge in coronavirus infections. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua/IANS)

Nearly two dozen cases of suspected or confirmed Covid-19 reinfections emerged across the globe, but the real number is thought to be far higher, since most were not recorded, it added.

With 16,171 new Covid-19 cases, the UK’s overall infection tally has increased to 705,428, while the death toll stands at 43,579.

The country’s coronavirus reproduction number, also known as the R number, has edged up slightly, according to latest government figures.

The government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) said the R number is now between 1.3 and 1.5, up from last week which was between 1.2 and 1.5.

If the R number is above one, it means the number of cases will increase exponentially.

Also read:UK Prepares For a No-Deal Brexit

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Lord Rami Ranger launches Zozter

Lord Rami Ranger CBE, Chairman of the British Sikh Association with Mr Amritpal Sachdeva (Lucky), Founder of the Zozter
Lord Rami Ranger CBE, Chairman of the British Sikh Association with Mr Amritpal Sachdeva (Lucky), Founder of the Zozter

Chairman of the British Sikh Association Lord Rami Ranger CBE, has launched “Zozter-the world’s first Business Card Sharing App”.  The concept has been developed by a long-standing employee of Lord Ranger’s company, Sun Mark Ltd, Mr Amritpal Sachdeva, fondly known as Lucky. Lucky had started his working life at Sun Mark Ltd and progressed up the ranks to become the Distribution Manager, having worked at Sun Mark for over 18 years.

Lord Ranger CBE, at the launch event, said to local media, “I am very proud to see how Lucky has developed his business acumen and customer service skills whilst at Sun Mark and I am very impressed with his Zozter App. The pioneering Zozter App developed by Lucky provides solutions in today’s digital world. It is reducing the need to use paper and to carry business cards to help the environment. It is challenging to manage so many business cards which one gets daily when going about the businesses. It is child’s play to store the information, all the information one needs to run an effective business. The app helps you network with like-minded professionals and also helps you find suitable employment and business opportunities.”

Lucky said, “ I owe all my success to Lord Ranger who has been my guiding light and mentor and who has made me what I am today.  I am proud to have created the start-up Zozter; it is the world’s first online social card sharing application based on the idea of enhancing the sharing of business cards and services to a global community, it is the next level in marketing and business networking ”.

Zozter’s unique features allow it to be used on all platforms. It is a digital business card holder for your old business cards. The mission is to create a global community to help facilitate business networking and to help both employers and employees connect in a seamless way.

Webiste: www.zozter.com

  • Lord Rami Ranger CBE, Chairman of the British Sikh Association with Mr Amritpal Sachdeva (Lucky), Founder of the Zozter
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UK Prepares For a No-Deal Brexit

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday that as the European Union (EU) Summit in Brussels refused to offer London a Canada-style deal, Britain will prepare to embrace a no-trade deal scenario.

Johnson’s remarks came following the EU Summit discussions on Brexit on Thursday. EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said he will continue intensive talks in the coming weeks and the EU hopes to reach a deal with Britain, but not at any price, Xinhua news agency reported.

Johnson said Britain wanted nothing more complicated than a Canada-style relationship. But to judge by the latest EU summit in Brussels, that won’t work for the EU because they want the continued ability to control Britain’s legislative freedom and fisheries.

“And given that they have refused to negotiate seriously for much of the last few months, and given that this summit appears explicitly to rule out a Canada-style deal, I have concluded that we should get ready for January 1 (2021) with arrangements that are more like Australia’s based on simple principles of global free trade,” the Prime Minister said.

The Australia-style arrangement is an euphemism for failure to reach a free trade agreement with the EU, which means the Britain-EU trade will fall back on World Trade Organization (WTO) rules in 2021.

He called on British businesses, hauliers and travelers to get ready since there are only 10 weeks until the end of the transition period due on December 31, 2020.

Boris Johnson (L) meets with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in London (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua/IANS)

Johnson said Britain is willing to discuss the practicalities with the EU where a lot of progress has already been made, on such issues as social security, aviation, nuclear cooperation and so on.

“But for whatever reason it is clear from the summit that after (more than) 45 years of membership they are not willing — unless there is some fundamental change of approach — to offer this country the same terms as Canada,” he said.

Johnson said Britain will prepare to embrace the Australia-style arrangement with complete confidence, adding that Britain will prosper mightily as an independent free trading nation, controlling its own borders, fisheries, and setting its own laws.

Prior to the EU Summit, Johnson held a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron. Both leaders had said an agreement needs to be struck in October to ensure there is enough time for ratification.

Meanwhile, Johnson and Macron also discussed the coronavirus crisis in their bilateral discussions as a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections was reported in their countries.

The discussion took place at a time when Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines to check the spread of the virus in the world.

Britain and the EU started their lengthy and bumpy post-Brexit talks in March after Britain ended its EU membership on Jan. 31, trying to secure a future trade deal before the Brexit transition period expires at the end of the year.

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UK disappointed with EU summit outcomes

“Disappointed by the euco conclusions on UK/EU negotiations. Surprised EU is no longer committed to working ‘intensively’ to reach a future partnership,” Frost tweeted…Reports Asian Lite News

British chief negotiator David Frost said that he was “disappointed” and “surprised” that the conclusions at a summit of the European Union (EU) said that the regional bloc is no longer committed to working “intensively” to reach a future partnership with Britain.

“Disappointed by the euco conclusions on UK/EU negotiations. Surprised EU is no longer committed to working ‘intensively’ to reach a future partnership,” Frost tweeted on Thursday, pointing out that intensive talks had been agreed with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on October 3, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Also surprised by suggestion that to get an agreement all future moves must come from UK. It’s an unusual approach to conducting a negotiation,” Frost said.

He said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out UK reactions and approach on Friday in the light of his September 7 statement.

Johnson said last month that a future trade deal needs to be agreed by mid-October to enable it to be approved ahead of January 1, 2021.

After EU Summit discussions on Brexit on Thursday, EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said he will continue intensive talks in the coming weeks and the EU hopes to reach a deal with the UK, but not at any price, urging Britain to agree to a level playing field for access to EU market.

Also read:Brexit: UK PM expresses “desirability” for EU trade deal

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UK adds Italy to quarantine list

The latest announcement came after Italy recorded another 8,804 coronavirus cases, its biggest daily increase in infections since the start of the outbreak…Reports Asian Lite News

Italy has been added to Britain’s quarantine list, which means travellers returning from the country will have to self-isolate for 14 days, a senior British official said.

British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps also announced that people arriving in Britain from the Vatican and San Marino will have to isolate, adding that the measure will come into force at 4 a.m. BST (0300 GMT) on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Greek island of Crete has been removed from the quarantine list so people arriving from the island will no longer have to isolate, said Shapps.

The latest announcement came after Italy recorded another 8,804 coronavirus cases, its biggest daily increase in infections since the start of the outbreak.

Another 18,980 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 673,622, according to official figures released Thursday.

The coronavirus-related deaths in Britain rose by 138 to 43,293, the data showed.

The latest figures were released as the British capital, along with some other areas, is placed in a higher level of the government’s alert system.

Under the Tier Two of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s three-level COVID-19 alert system, millions of Londoners will face tougher measures from Saturday with different households banned from meeting in indoors, including in pubs and restaurants.

  • 22/09/2020. London, United Kingdom. Boris Johnson address to the Nation during Covid-19. The Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the White Room of No10 Downing Street, addressing the Nation on Covid-19. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

“Now, I know that these measures are not easy but I also know that they are vital,” British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said in a statement to the House of Commons (lower house of parliament).

“Responding to this unprecedented pandemic requires difficult choices, some of the most difficult choices any Government has to make in peacetime,” Hancock told MPs.

London mayor Sadiq Khan said currently there was “simply no other option” to fight the fast spread of coronavirus.

“Nobody wants to see more restrictions but this is deemed to be necessary in order to protect Londoners,” he told London’s City Hall.

The London mayor said he will continue to urge the government for more financial support.

“We’ve got a difficult winter ahead,” he added.

  • LONDON, July 24, 2019 (Xinhua) — Britain\’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock arrives at 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, on July 24, 2019. Britain\’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson named the first of his new front bench ministers on Wednesday night. (Photo by Alberto Pezzali/Xinhua/IANS)

The new three-level COVID-19 alert system came into force across England on Wednesday, with the level being decided according to local infection rates.

The alert system comprises three levels: “Medium”, “High” and “Very High”. The Liverpool City Region will be placed in the “very high” level since Wednesday,

Along with London, areas including Essex, Elmbridge, Barrow-in-Furness, York, North East Derbyshire, Chesterfield and Erewash, will also go into “High” alert restrictions this weekend.

To bring life back to normal, countries, such as Britain, China, Russia and the United States are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.

Also read:MI5 Suspects China, Russia Threat On UK Security

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Asian Lite Weekend, October 16, 2020 – MI5 Suspects China, Russia Threat On UK Security

MI5 Suspects China, Russia Threat On UK Security; G20 extends debt suspension for poor nations; Young, Healthy People May Have to Wait Longer For Vaccine; Pak to Face Tougher FATF Scrutiny; US Appoints New Officer to Oversee Tibetan Issues – all in Asian Lite Weekend – please click here to read.

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MI5 Suspects China, Russia Threat On UK Security

MI5 Director General Ken McCallum. (Photo Credit: mi5.gov.uk)

The new chief of the MI5 Ken McCallum directly specified “the differing national security challenges presented by Russian, Chinese, Iranian and other actors” were “growing in severity and in complexity – while terrorist threats persist at scale”…reports Hitesh Tikoo

MI5 Director General Ken McCallum. (Photo Credit: mi5.gov.uk)

The new chief of the MI5, the UK’s domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, has said that spy threats posed by Russia and China against the country were “growing in severity and complexity”, while the terror threats from the Islamic State (IS) and the far right “persists at scale”.

In his first speech since he was announced as the new MI5 Director General at the end of March, Ken McCallum focused on risks from hostile states, including undermining “the integrity of UK research” on a Covid-19 vaccine.

McCallum said the UK faced threats “up to and including assassinations, as the (Russian opposition figure) Alexei Navalny poisoning reminds us; threats to our economy, our academic research, our infrastructure and, much discussed, threats to our democracy”.

He directly specified “the differing national security challenges presented by Russian, Chinese, Iranian and other actors” were “growing in severity and in complexity – while terrorist threats persist at scale”.

The intelligence agency, whose work has been dominated by counter-terrorism in the past two decades, said in its last update that it had thwarted 27 terrorist plots in the past four years, including eight from the far right.

McCallum said the threat posed by the far right was “sadly rising” and that the agency was concerned about young people being attracted to far-right thinking “which does tend to suggest this threat will be with us for some years to come”.

But the MI5 boss said that, unlike with Islamist terrorism, the far right remained fragmented.

“We’re not yet seeing a coherent global movement, we don’t see the same kind of thing we’ve previously seen with Al Qaeda or IS,” he added, although the agency remained alive to the possibility the far right could become “more structured and coherent”.

However, some in Westminster have argued that the agency needs to refocus on countering Russia and China.

Over the summer, parliament’s watchdog intelligence and security committee accused the spy agencies of “taking their eye off the ball” when it came to Russian activities in the UK.

In July, Security Minister James Brokenshire had said that the UK was “more than 95 per cent” sure that Russian state-sponsored hackers targeted the UK, US and Canadian organisations involved in developing a Covid-19 vaccine.

Referring to that, McCallum said MI5 was watching out for “attempts to steal unique intellectual property” or in some way “interfere with what is happening”.

The changing threat includes claims that China tried to spy on the European Union (EU) by targeting a former MI6 officer, Fraser Cameron, who allegedly sold classified information to Chinese undercover operatives.

Cameron had denied the allegations.

China, McCallum added, was beginning to engage in an “interference in politics”.

However, McCallum said the UK needed to proceed carefully on China because of the economic impact of total disengagement.

He said the UK needed “a broad conversation across government and, crucially, beyond, to reach wise judgments around how the UK interacts with China on both opportunities and risks”.

McCallum said the Black Lives Matter protests, which swept across the UK after the death of the African-American man George Floyd in the US, had had an effect within MI5 and vowed to modernise the agency.

He pledged the domestic intelligence service would increase the number of minority ethnic people employed as analysts, agent runners and in other sensitive posts.

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Brexit: UK PM expresses “desirability” for EU trade deal

LONDON, Jan. 8, 2020 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (L) meets with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in London, Britain, Jan. 8, 2020. The European Union is ready to develop a new partnership unprecedented in scope with Britain, but it can never be the same as before after Brexit, visiting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said here Wednesday. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua/IANS)

Johnson “noted the desirability of a deal, but expressed his disappointment that more progress had not been made over the past two weeks”…Reports Asian Lite News

  • LONDON, Jan. 8, 2020 (Xinhua) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (L) meets with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in London, Britain, Jan. 8, 2020. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua/IANS)

Ahead of a European Union (EU) summit, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed the “desirability” of a new trade deal with the bloc, but also his disappointment that more progress had not been made.

Johnson’s comments came during a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel on Wednesday evening, Downing Street said in a statement.

The leaders discussed the latest state of play of the negotiations on Britain’s future relationship with the EU, reports Xinhua news agency.

Johnson “noted the desirability of a deal, but expressed his disappointment that more progress had not been made over the past two weeks”, the statement said.

  • 22/09/2020. London, United Kingdom. Boris Johnson address to the Nation during Covid-19. The Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the White Room of No10 Downing Street, addressing the Nation on Covid-19. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

“The Prime Minister said that he looked forward to hearing the outcome of the European Council and would reflect before setting out the UK’s next steps in the light of his statement of 7 September,” it said.

Johnson said last month that a future trade deal needs to be agreed by mid-October to enable it to be approved ahead of January 1, 2021.

While Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, said the deal needs to be ready by the end of October.

  • 新华社照片，布鲁塞尔，2019年10月17日 （国际）欧盟宣布与英国政府就英国“脱欧”达成一致 10月17日，欧洲联盟与英国谈判的首席代表米歇尔·巴尼耶在比利时布鲁塞尔欧盟委员会总部召开新闻发布会。 当天，欧盟委员会主席容克宣布，欧盟与英国就英国“脱欧”达成一致。 新华社记者郑焕松摄 BELGIUM-BRUSSELS-EU-BREXIT-DEAL The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, attends a press conference at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 17, 2019. The European Union and Britain have reached a new Brexit deal, Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, said on Thursday on his twitter. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

Both sides started the lengthy post-Brexit talks in March after the UK ended its EU membership on Januart 31, trying to secure a future trade deal before the Brexit transition period expires at the end of the year.

If there is no deal in place, the UK will trade with the EU on terms of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2021.

Also read:EU Settlement Scheme Gets More Than 4 Million Applications

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Amish Tripathi addresses VOICE 10 yr celebs

Enlightening and Engaging Interview with Amish Tripathi, Director of Nehru Centre and the award-winning author of 8 books including the Shiva Trilogy, conducted by Ani Kaprekar

On 19th September, Manchester based VOICE (Vedic Organisation for Indian Culture and Education) organised an online interview with Amish Tripathi, the newly appointed director of Nehru Centre and a well-known author of several books including the Shiva Trilogy. This interview was watched live by people across many countries – UK, Europe, USA, Canada and of course India. The subject of the interview was ‘Mythology or Ancient History’ and was meant to mark the start of 10th anniversary of VOICE promoting Indian culture in the UK.

The honorary secretary, Dr Poonam Kakkar welcomed Amish Tripathi and thanked him for bringing the long-forgotten stories back to the forefront of Indian culture. The whole event was anchored by Ani Kaprekar who introduced Amish Tripathi as India’s literally pop star and India’s Tolkein, and opened the conversation with a direct question, “What is Amish Tripathi’s mission as an author? Demystifying myths, unravelling Legends or re-visiting Indian History?” Amish Tripathi explained that there was no tradition of history in ancient India as the focus was always on discovery of the Truth not on writing of history.

He reminded the audience that the Hindu civilization is the longest surviving civilization because our ancestors did not surrender. He opined that we lost more of our history in the last 70 years where we seem to have forgotten our own philosophy. When questioned about his own journey he revealed that writing of the ‘Immortals of Melluah’ brought him back to faith. He gave credit to Lord Shiva who pulled him back to faith.

In response to the question “When did Sita change from Janaki to a Warrior Princess?” raised by Dr Archna Gund, who is a medical doctor but an ardent promoter of Indian culture, the author revealed that his own research showed that ancient India was very liberal and equal society where women were not treated as weaker sex. He explained that there was no ‘lakshman rekha’ in the original Ramayan written by Valmiki it was included in later versions. In fact, there was no distinction made between male Gods and female Goddesses – they were equal.

A question was taken from the audience where it was asked why we use the term Lord to address Hindu Gods like Lord Shiva or Lord Ganesha. Amish Tripathi replied that it is the limitation of English language. Lord is often taken to mean Prabhu or Bhagwan. Professor Prinja raised a question about the gap between science and spirituality which is being created by the Indian education system where there is a distance created between science and Sanskrit, the language of our scriptures. As a result, many people do not realise that whatever has been discovered by the modern science does not contradict the teachings of the Upanishads. Amish Tripathi agreed that there remains a gap.

In the West, science emerged as a rebellion against church and religion but in the Vedic tradition science and spirituality merge. This is because the Vedic thought assumes presence of consciousness and explains relationship between matter and consciousness. There are still several questions about creation which remain unanswered by the modern science as there is no theory for everything, but it is possible in the Vedic tradition to seek that answer. We must use our own roots to discover the truth.

Abhilasha Kakkar, a trained psychologist, asked about being an Indian whilst living in the UK. Amish Tripathi’s view was that Indians are comfortable with multiple identities because they are liberal and flexible. They do not impose a straitjacket of culture. He encouraged young Indians not to be anti-UK but be a full-fledged responsible citizen of the UK. He was asked by a young viewer, Soham Bhansali if there is going to be a book on Mahabharata. Amish Tripathi said that he left many hints that there could be a series of books on Mahabharata.

On closer questioning, he revealed that writing these books have had major positive impact on his character. He has become much calmer person. His aim remains to write about ‘itihasa’ which literally translated means ‘as it happened’. We look forward to many more books from him. The event ended by the chairman of VOICE, Dr Hardik Bhansali thanking him and agreeing that voice will work with the Nehru centre to conduct activities in order to promote Indian culture to the wider audience in the UK. The event included a lucky dip for 3 listeners who won a copy of Amish Tripathis’s latest book ‘Suhaldev’.