Canada became the latest nation to take action against the spread of the mutant strain of coronavirus after several countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Saudi Arabia, announced restrictions on passenger planes to and from from the UK….reports Asian Lite News
Canada is set to halt the entry of passenger flights from the UK for 72 hours amid fears over a highly infectious new mutant strain of the novel coronavirus which has been discovered in Britain, authorities announced.
“Given the high number of cases of a variant Covid-19 virus observed in some areas in the UK, the decision has been made to suspend entry into Canada of all commercial and private passenger flights from the UK for 72 hours,” Xinhua news agency quoted a statement from Canadian health authorities as saying on Saunday.
The temporary ban came into immediate effect on Sunday.
Canada became the latest nation to take action against the spread of the mutant strain of coronavirus after several countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Saudi Arabia, announced restrictions on passenger planes to and from from the UK.
On December 19, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had announced that the newly identified strain of the virus may be up to 70 per cent more transmissible.
According to British Health Secretary Matt Hancock, the new variant was “out of control”.
By the week ending December 9, the new variant accounted for 62 per cent in London, 59 per cent in eastern England, and 43 per cent in the South East.
Cold War 2.0 has begun, and India seems on track to be part of the partnership of democracies opposing the march to primacy of the Sino-Russian alliance in the Indo-Pacific …. Writes Prof. Madhav Nalapat
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is the guest of honour at the next Republic Day parade to be held on Rajpath. He has talked more than once of a “concert of democracies” to tackle the challenge posed internally by extremism and externally by the emergence of another communist superpower, the People’s Republic of China.
It ought to be a given that any such grouping would include India, but in a less than logical world, this is not the case. The Atlantic Council, regarded as among the primary thought dispensers of the Atlantic community, includes not India but the European Union as a component of its version of the G10. That the EU is a coherent and unified group of states federated into a union with bonds sufficiently strong to be designated as a country is evident to the Atlantic Council, and to Brexit enthusiasts in the UK, who managed to prise Britain away from the EU on the grounds that membership in the grouping was a grievous infringement to sovereignty. They should know.
The British have been expert in extinguishing the sovereignty of more territories than any other country on the planet, in the process cobbling together an empire that straddled the world. It was only after the close of the war unleashed by Hitler and Tojo during 1936-45 (a period which includes the takeover of the Rhineland by the German military and the invasion of Manchuria and later historical China by Japan) that the US stepped forward to claim the mantle of global leadership, only to be contested in that by the USSR from the mid-1950s to around the 1980s, when the latter began a process of meltdown culminating in its fragmentation and collapse in 1992, the year P.V. Narasimha Rao began to seek (and eventually fail as a consequence of the myopia of the Clinton administration) an alliance with Washington to represent the vanished entente with Moscow.
Indian-origin businessman Lord Rami Ranger with Prime Minister Boris Johnson
Under Xi Jinping, the third foundational leader of the Chinese Communist Party after Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, the PRC has not hidden its intention to once again emerge as the Middle Kingdom, this time in Mao-Deng-Xi rather than in imperial hues. The apparent scientific and other successes of the PRC have led to a spurt of support for strong leadership in countries across the world, whether in India or Brazil or Russia, and in an intensification of the control of the state over the lives of citizens, an expansion of governmental power facilitated by the extraordinary curbs on activity placed as a consequence of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Much more than in previous years, the pandemic-caused expansion of the authority of the state in major democracies has made them resemble the governance structure of the PRC, rather than (as had been expected by numerous policymakers) the latter moving closer to the former over time.
India has a neighbour whose population of religious minorities has dropped from 38% in 1946 to less than 2% at present. School textbooks are filled with derogatory comments about selected religious practices, and the country has been majoritarian from the time it was separated from the rest of India and brought into the world by the British in 1947.
The thinking in Whitehall was that Pakistan would be a reliable ally of the Atlantic alliance during Cold War 1.0, while India under Jawaharlal Nehru and his ideology of a fusion of Stalinist administration, Gandhian forbearance to foes and a society designed by Beatrice and Sidney Webb would most probably be lost as an ally. Nehru stood by his principles, in the 1950s, refusing to join with Eisenhower in seeking a halt to the takeover of Tibet by the PLA and backing Mao for the permanent UNSC seat even during the 1962 conflict and despite it being informally offered instead to India by the US and later, the USSR.
Mahatma Gandhi would have been proud of such an act of sacrifice by the individual he chose over candidates such as Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar and Vallabhbhai Patel as the Prime Minister of India on the grounds that when gone, Jawaharlal would “speak my language”. So deep was the compassion of the Mahatma that he advised the Viceroy of India to “allow Hitler to occupy British homes”, as such a gesture would transform the unmatched depths of the dictator’s depravity into a kindness not known to have been demonstrated by Adolf Hitler except perhaps to his Alsatian canine Blondi, which he finally killed (whether in a gentle manner or not we are not told) through poisoning.
Given such extraordinary and saintly views about a mortal foe of Britain and its allies of Nehru’s principal supporter, it was no surprise that the British were less than certain that India under such a Prime Minister would stand by the US and the UK during Cold War 1.0. Now Cold War 2.0 has begun, and India seems on track to be part of the partnership of democracies opposing the march to primacy of the Sino-Russian alliance in the Indo-Pacific (quaintly named the Asia-Pacific by Nehruvians in the Biden entourage). Prime Minister Johnson is right in placing India as a central player in such an alliance, in contrast to those in his country and elsewhere who get confused between India with Pakistan and speak of the former as being the country where minorities are disappearing and where religious supremacy reigns.
This about a country where there are 240 million religious minorities, among whom are some of the most influential (not to mention wealthiest) citizens in the land.
The Prime Ministers of the India and the UK, Narendra Modi and Boris Johnson, have much to discuss besides the symbolism of the two leaders being present together at India’s most consequential annual event. The democracies are running out of time in the face of the problems that await them, and both Modi and Johnson will be judged by their success in overcoming them.
The planned relaxation of coronavirus rules for Christmas has been scrapped for a large part of southeast England, and cut to one day for rest of the region…. Reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a new Tier Four of coronavirus restrictions for London and other parts of England to combat an alarming surge in new coronavirus cases linked to a new virulent strain.
The planned relaxation of coronavirus rules for Christmas has been scrapped for a large part of southeast England, and cut to one day for rest of the region, Xinhua news agency quoted Johnson said at a virtual press conference at Downing Street on Saturday evening.
From Sunday morning, London, the South East and East of England will move into Tier Four restrictions, which will be broadly similar to national restrictions introduced in England in November, he said.
Under the new tougher measures, residents in those areas must stay at home, with limited exemptions.
People are also urged to work from home when they can, and should not enter or leave tier four areas.
Meanwhile, non-essential retails and indoors gyms must close, the Prime Minister said.
The restrictions will last for two weeks and will be reviewed on December 30, Johnson said.
He said the previous plan to allow up to three households to meet during five days around Christmas will have to be scrapped.
“We cannot continue with Christmas as planned,” Johnson said.
People should not to travel into a Tier Four area, though support bubbles remain unaffected as do the exemptions for separated parents and their children.
Bharti Global and the UK government-led satellite communications company OneWeb announced the launch of 36 satellites from a Soyuz launch vehicle, which began from the Vostochny Cosmodrome (Russia).
A statement by OneWeb said that the development brings the total in-orbit constellation to 110 satellites, part of OneWeb’s 648 LEO satellite fleet that will deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity.
It said that the launch puts OneWeb on track to offer global services to customers from late 2021, starting with the United Kingdom, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, Iceland, the Artic Seas, and Canada, with global service in 2022.
OneWeb has secured global priority spectrum rights and now successfully completed four launches and aims to offer high-speed internet from OneWeb satellites in India by mid-2022.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, said: “Today’s launch is one of many steps we have taken to operationalise one of the world’s first LEO constellation which clearly demonstrates we are on our way to achieving our mission.
He noted that overall, there is an overwhelming demand for broadband and the pandemic has taxed infrastructure everywhere and many people worldwide are left with little to no options to access the internet.
“OneWeb’s system will help meet existing and future demand by delivering broadband connectivity to the communities, towns, regions left unconnected or under-connected,” he said.
Less than a month since its acquisition by Bharti Global and the UK Government, OneWeb is quickly returning to full operations — hiring at a fast pace, restarting launches, continuing to build its ground station network, and pushing forward on user terminal development, said the OneWeb statement.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson chairs the weekly Cabinet Meeting in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Picture by Pippa Fowles / No 10 Downing Street.
The planned relaxation of coronavirus rules for Christmas is scrapped for a large part of southeast England and cuts to one day for rest of the region, Johnson said at a virtual press conference from Downing Street…reports Asian Lite News
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday announced new stricter coronavirus restrictions for London and parts of England to combat an alarming surge in infections linked to a new virulent strain.
The planned relaxation of coronavirus rules for Christmas is scrapped for a large part of southeast England and cuts to one day for rest of the region, Johnson said at a virtual press conference from Downing Street.
From Sunday morning, London, the South East and East of England will move into Tier Four restrictions, which will be broadly similar to national restrictions introduced in England in November, the Prime Minister said.
Under the measures, residents in those areas must stay at home, with limited exemptions. People are also urged to work from home when they can, and should not enter or leave Tier Four areas, the Xinhua news agency reported.
From Sunday 20 December, some areas in England will enter Tier 4: Stay At Home.
Meanwhile, non-essential retails and indoors gyms must close, Johnson said, adding that the restrictions will last for two weeks and be reviewed on December 30.
The Prime Minister said the latest infections in many parts of southeast England are “being driven by the new variant of the virus.”
“New variant may be up to 70 per cent more transmissible,” he said.
The latest development came after Johnson called a meeting of British ministers at lunchtime on Saturday to discuss the crisis.
The virus is spreading at “an alarming rate” in London and southeast England, the BBC reported, quoting British government sources.
Prime minister Boris Johnson meets with Ursula von Der Leyen at the European Commission in Brussels to continue with Brexit talks. Picture by Andrew Parsons No 10 Downing Street
Prime minister Boris Johnson meets with Ursula von Der Leyen at the European Commission in Brussels to continue with Brexit talks. Picture by Andrew Parsons No 10 Downing Street
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the UK and the European Union (EU) will continue the post-Brexit trade talks, but there remains “a gap that needs to be bridged”.
“Obviously, the UK’s position is always that we want to keep talking if there’s any chance of a deal,” Xinhua news agency quoted Johnson as saying on Sky News on Friday.
“But we’ve also got to recognize that the UK’s got to be able to control its own laws. It’s what people voted for, and we’ve also got to be able to control our waters and fishing rights,” he said.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that “things are looking difficult” and a no-deal Brexit “may be difficult at first”.
But he reiterated that Britain would “prosper mightily” even under such a scenario.
“I think we’ve just got to get through this period and look to all the opportunities that will open up to this country in 2021,” he said.
On Thursday, Johnson underlined the ongoing post-Brexit trade negotiations were now “in a serious situation”, according to a Downing Street spokesperson.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson with his UK’s chief negotiator David Frost with Ursula von Der Leyen and Michel Barnier after their dinner at the European Commission in Brussels to continue with Brexit talks. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street
“Time was very short and it now looked very likely that agreement would not be reached unless the EU position changed substantially,” said the spokesperson in a statement issued after a phone call between Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday evening.
The British and EU leaders have previously said significant differences still remain between the two sides on three critical issues: level playing field, governance and fisheries.
Latest reports suggested that fishing rights remains the last major sticking point between the two sides.
The trade negotiations are at a crucial stage as time is running out for both sides to secure a deal before the Brexit transition period expires on December 31.
Failure to reach a free trade agreement means bilateral trade will fall back on World Trade Organization rules in 2021.
UAE and UK discussed the critical role of strong UK-UAE bilateral ties in accelerating progress on emissions reductions and sustainable industrial development, areas which both closely align with the UAE Vision 2021 and UAE Centennial 2071.
UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, met with COP26 President and UK Special Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Alok Sharma.
The two officials discussed the critical role of strong UK-UAE bilateral ties in accelerating progress on emissions reductions and sustainable industrial development, areas which both closely align with the UAE Vision 2021 and UAE Centennial 2071.
Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber
In his conversation with Sharma, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said, “For more than 49 years, the UAE has prioritized responsible stewardship of natural resources, and my new appointment as Special Envoy for Climate Change is a testament of the UAE’s continued commitment to further progress on this front both domestically and globally.”
“On the issue of climate change, collective action is essential, and I am both impressed and motivated by the UK’s ambitious emissions targets. I look forward to working closely with Secretary Sharma to identify new potential areas of UK-UAE climate cooperation and aligning our national ambitions as we approach the upcoming COP26 in Glasgow.”
Dr. Sultan, in his capacity as Chairman of the UAE’s National COVID-19 Crisis Recovery, Management & Governance Committee, also shared learnings from the UAE’s successful management of the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted the UAE’s keen interest in leveraging its renewable and carbon capture and storage technology to support its post-COVID economic recovery.
Alok Sharma
Secretary Sharma shared words of praise for the UAE’s investments in renewable energy both domestically and abroad, and expressed appreciation for Dr. Sultan’s proposal to form a joint working group aimed at advancing opportunities for UK and UAE joint coordination on climate action, the post-COVID economic recovery, and sustainable industrial development.
Scientific advances
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said scientific advances can be used to battle climate change, a challenge which he described as being “far worse, far more destructive than coronavirus”.
Johnson made the remarks while speaking at the virtual Climate Ambition Summit co-convened by the United Nations, Britain, and France, in partnership with Chile and Italy.
The Prime Minister hailed a new era of “scientific optimism” as the year comes to the end.
“We are coming to the end of an extraordinary year with, I think, a sudden surge of scientific optimism, because of after barely 12 months of the pandemic we are seeing the vaccine going into the arms of the elderly and the vulnerable.”
“Together we can use scientific advances to protect our entire planet — our biosphere — against a challenge far worse, far more destructive even than the coronavirus,” he said.
“And by the promethean power of our invention, we can begin to defend the Earth against the disaster of global warming.”
“At the same time, we can create thousands of jobs, millions of jobs as we collectively recover from the pandemic,” he added.
Earlier this month, Johnson announced that Britain will be committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68 percent by the end of the decade compared to 1990 levels.
The virtual Climate Ambition Summit, held exactly five years since the adoption of the landmark Paris Agreement, aims to make new commitments to tackling climate change and delivering on the Paris Agreement ahead of the next UN Climate Conference, COP26, which will be hosted by Britain in November next year in Glasgow.
The summit brought together UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and more than 70 world leaders from such countries as Britain, France, Germany, China and Canada, as well as businesses and civil society.
Ahead of the COP26 in Glasgow, China will host the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) in Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan in southwest China, in May, 2021.
Modi To Attend G7 Summit In London; Sadiq Seeks Emergency Funding to Tackle Homelessness; How Biden Will Navigate the H1B Visas?; Taliban delegation in Pakistan amid peace talks – All In Asian Lite Daily Digital – please click here to read
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab stressed the priority that the UK government’s attaches to elevating relations with India, based on “shared values and interests and the potential to address common global challenges together”…reports Asian Lite Newsdesk
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday accepted the invitation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to be part of the G7 meeting chaired by the UK in 2021, seeking to build a wider alliance against China’s growing power.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab handed over a letter from Johnson, inviting the Prime Minister to the G7 meeting.
Modi thanked Raab and accepted the invitation, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) confirmed in a statement on Wednesday.
The development comes after Johnson’s office earlier announced that it had extended the offer to Indian, South Korean and Australian leaders to take part in the G7 meeting, “delivering the Prime Minister’s ambition to work with a group of like-minded democracies to advance shared interests and tackle common challenges”.
Recalling his recent telephone conversation with British PM, Modi stressed the importance of the India-UK partnership in the post-Covid world.
He called for an ambitious and outcome-oriented 360-degree roadmap covering trade and investment, defence and security, migration and mobility, education, energy, climate change and health, in order to tap the full potential of the bilateral relationship.
Modi also conveyed his keenness to receive Johnson in New Delhi next month, on the occasion of India’s 72nd Republic Day celebrations. During his visit, Johnson will be just the second British leader since Indian independence to attend India’s Republic Day parade in New Delhi as a guest of honour, after John Major in 1993.
Despite conveying greetings of Johnson to Modi, the British Foreign Secretary thanked him for participating in the recently held Climate Ambition Summit co-hosted by the UK.
Raab also stressed the priority that the UK government’s attaches to elevating relations with India, based on “shared values and interests and the potential to address common global challenges together”.
Britain’s relationship with China has slid to its most confrontational levels in a generation, chiefly because of the national security law Beijing has imposed in Hong Kong and London’s decision to ban 5G network services by Huawei Technologies, which it contends is closely linked to the Chinese government.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Increasing concerns over China’s assertive moves in the Indo-Pacific have also resulted in greater diplomatic efforts in the region by the US, Britain and the European Union – with India, Australia and the 10-nation Asean group at the forefront of their focus.
India on Tuesday said that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s presence at the Republic Day celebrations next month will be “symbolic of a new era”.
This will be Johnson’s first major foreign visit since he took charge last year. In a statement, he said that he is “absolutely delighted to be visiting India next year at the start of an exciting year for Global Britain, and look forward to delivering the quantum leap in our bilateral relationship that Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and I have pledged to achieve.”
India’s foreign minister S. Jaishankar said the British Prime Minister’s presence at the Republic Day celebrations “would be in a way symbolic of a new era, and a new phase of India-UK ties.”
It is after a gap of 27 years that a UK Prime Minister will be the chief guest at India’s 70th Republic Day next month. John Major was the last British Prime Minister to attend the Republic Day parade in New Delhi in 1993.
The invitation from Modi is tactical and timely as the transition period for Brexit ends on December 31 and it’s almost certain that the UK will go for a ‘hard Brexit’ – a clean break from Europe which will entail Britain giving up membership of the EU’s single market, allowing it to to trade freely with EU members without restrictions.
The hard Brexit is likely to disrupt UK’s economy, which even after four years of the Brexit vote, is for most practical purposes still functioning as part of the EU. To reduce the adverse effects of the economic disruption, the UK has been looking for trading opportunities elsewhere.
Prime Minister Johnson has offered a free trade agreement with India, given its huge market. Johnson’s visit to New Delhi next month will be significant for trade negotiations between the two countries.
Boris Due In India to Boost Post-Brexit Biz Ties; London Seeks Better Ties With Delhi; Electoral College Puts Biden On Pedal; ‘Critical 3-week effort’ fails in Japan as cases surge – All in Asian Lite Daily Digital – please click here to read.
