Another stamp is of Philip at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, while the last is a portrait taken by photographer Terry O’Neill…reports Asian Lite News.
The UK’s Royal Mail on Thursday announced that it has issued four new stamps in the memory of Prince Philip, who died at the age of 99 last month.
The commemorative stamps feature black and white images taken at various stages of the Duke of Ediburgh’s life, reports dpa news agency.
One image reflects the Prince’s time in service, taken by the photographer Baron, while the second is of the him attending the passing out parade of his son, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, at Dartmouth Naval College in Devon.
Another stamp is of Philip at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, while the last is a portrait taken by photographer Terry O’Neill.
The four stamps cost 5.76 pounds and are a mix of Second Class, First Class, 1.70 pound and 2.55 pound stamps.
The memorabilia is listed for pre-order on the Royal Mail website but will only go on sale from June 24.
“Throughout adulthood, the duke of Edinburgh dedicated himself to the service of this country, the Commonwealth and to the many causes he was involved with,” Simon Thompson, Chief Executive of the Royal Mail, said.
“For more than seven decades he was at the centre of our national life. His passing is a key moment in our history which we mark with this set of commemorative stamps,” Thompson added.
The Prince, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, and was the longest-serving consort in British history.
Speaking at the National Cyber Security Centre’s CYBERUK conference, Raab outlined the UK’s vision of being a leading responsible cyber power, working with partners to shape cyberspace according to our values…reports Asian Lite News.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has announced £22 million of new investment to build cyber security resilience in developing countries and globally, particularly in Africa and the Indo-Pacific.
As part of this the UK, jointly with INTERPOL, is setting up a new cyber operations hub in Africa working across Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda to support joint operations against cybercrime.
Speaking at the National Cyber Security Centre’s CYBERUK conference, Raab outlined the UK’s vision of being a leading responsible cyber power, working with partners to shape cyberspace according to our values.
“We are working with like-minded partners, to make sure that the international order that governs cyber is fit for purpose,” the foreign secretary, in his speech, said. “Our aim should be to create a cyberspace that is free, open, peaceful and secure, and which benefits all countries and all people.”
“We want to see international law respected in cyberspace, just as we would anywhere else. And we need to show how the rules apply to these changes in technology, the changes in threats, and the systemic attempts to render the internet a lawless space,” he added.
The £22 million investment in cyber capacity building will target countries in Africa, the Commonwealth and Indo-Pacific, transforming their resilience by helping build national emergency response teams and promoting future leadership by funding new Chevening scholarships.
The new Interpol desk will work across Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda, creating a regional strategy to support joint operations against cybercrime, and strengthen African states’ capability to combat the crime and those behind it. With some of the fastest growing economies in the world, Africa has become a target for opportune cybercriminals.
By creating a central coordination desk within INTERPOL that law enforcement across Africa can use, the UK hopes to improve collaboration across borders to advance intelligence sharing, and ultimately stop the perpetrators of cybercrime in Africa.
NHS England said Pregnant women will be directed to centres offering Pfizer and Moderna vaccines…reports Asian Lite News.
The National Health Service has invited 38 and 39-year-olds in England to book an appointment for a Covid-19 vaccine.
According to BBC, around a million text messages are being sent to the age groups in England. Booking will open from 07:00 on Thursday on the NHS website.
NHS England said Pregnant women will be directed to centres offering Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
Nearly three-quarters of people in their 40s have had one dose, while a third of all adults have had two doses.
In line with guidance from the UK’s vaccines committee last week, NHS England said people 39 and under without an underlying health condition would be offered the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, as an alternative to AstraZeneca, it was reported.
The decision came after a review found younger people had a slightly higher risk of an extremely rare blood clot after receiving a first dose of the AZ vaccine.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said adults aged 18-39 could be offered an alternative “if available, and if it does not cause delays in having the vaccine”.
Boris (Flickr)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson had confirmed that the coronavirus lockdown in England will be further lifted from May 17.
Pubs, bars and restaurants in England will be permitted to open indoors from May 17.
In addition, indoor entertainment will also resume, including cinemas, museums and children’s play areas.
Theatres, concert halls, conference centers and sports stadiums can all reopen, with larger events in these settings being able to resume with capacity limits.
All remaining accommodation including hotels, hostels and B&Bs can also reopen, according to Johnson.
Meanwhile, people in England will be allowed to meet outdoors in groups of up to 30 people, and meet indoors in groups of up to six or as two households.
“London has been incredibly generous to me and I promise to continue giving my 100% to serve it,” he added…reports Asian Lite News.
Sadiq Khan, who was re-elected as Mayor of London last week, has reappointed India-born Rajesh Agrawal as the Deputy Mayor for Business in the England capital.
“I’m hugely grateful for the opportunity to serve Londoners for the second term as their Deputy Mayor for business,” Agrawal wrote on twitter.
I’m hugely grateful for the opportunity to serve Londoners for the second term as their Deputy Mayor for business.
London has been incredibly generous to me and I promise to continue giving my 100% to serve it. pic.twitter.com/rpkEySfgSY
“London has been incredibly generous to me and I promise to continue giving my 100% to serve it,” he added.
Born and raised in Indore, India, Rajesh moved to London in 2001 with £200 in his pocket. As an entrepreneur he founded two global businesses from scratch – RationalFX in 2005, and Xendpay in 2014, both companies utilising technology to reduce the cost of international money transfer for businesses and individuals.
He was first appointed in this role in 2016 and has since driven business & economic brief from London’s City Hall through the unprecedented crisis caused by Brexit & COVID-19.
The Mayor on Tuesday also announced key senior appointments who will work with him to “drive forward London’s recovery from the pandemic and create a fairer, more equal and more prosperous city.”
Sadiq has made ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’ a top priority for his second term in office and has vowed to do everything he can to put young Londoners at the heart of the capital’s recovery.
The Queen Elizabeth II said the government’s priority is to “deliver a recovery from the pandemic” which will “level up opportunities across all parts of the United Kingdom, supporting jobs, businesses and economic growth”, reports Asian Lite newsdesk
Queen Elizabeth II has announced a series of bills as the UK government pledged to “level up” the country while recovering from the pandemic crisis.
She was speaking at the House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament, to set out the government’s legislative agenda for new parliamentary session.
The Queen said that the government’s priority is to “deliver a recovery from the pandemic” which will “level up opportunities across all parts of the United Kingdom, supporting jobs, businesses and economic growth,” Xinhua news agency reported.
Boris Johnson(IANS)
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the government “won’t settle for going back to the way things were”, the BBC reported.
He promised to end the “criminal waste of talent” in parts of the UK by spreading opportunity more evenly.
“We intend to unite and level up across the whole of our United Kingdom because we one nation Conservatives understand this crucial point – that you will find flair and imagination and enthusiasm and genius distributed evenly across this country while opportunity is not,” BBC quoted Johnson as saying at the House of Lords.
He said there is a need to change that because “it is not just a moral and social disgrace, it is an economic mistake. It is a criminal waste of talent.”
“And though we cannot for one moment minimise the damage that Covid has done – the loss of learning, the NHS backlogs, the courts delays, the massive fiscal consequences – we must use this opportunity to achieve a national recovery so that jabs, jabs jabs becomes jobs, jobs, jobs,” he said.
Meanwhile, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer slammed the prime minister and said the government programme lacked urgency and ambition.
He said the UK needed a Queen’s Speech that rose to scale of the moment. He claimed, the speech was “packed with short-term gimmicks and distant promises”.
Sir Keir seized on the absence of new legislation to fix the funding of adult social care – something he said the prime minister had promised on the steps of Downing Street two years ago.
Many of the measures in the Queen’s Speech are aimed at the Conservatives’ new electoral strongholds in the Midlands and north of England, according to the report.
According to BBC, among the planned new laws are a Skills and Post-16 Education Bill for England, with loans for adults wanting to retrain and more powers to deal with failing colleges; a bill aimed at deterring asylum seekers from crossing the English Channel; a bill to ease planning controls and increase housebuilding in England; plans to improve bus and train service connectivity in England; new laws to scrap the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, meaning it will be easier for Mr Johnson to call an early general election before 2024.
Meanwhile, the prime minister also committed to setting up a “full, proper” public inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic, which could begin in the coming year, in response to a question from Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey.
Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer speaks after Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Budget speech. (UK Parliament_Jessica Taylor)
The party suffered a series of setbacks in England, including losing overall control of councils including Durham, Sheffield and Plymouth…reports Asian Lite News.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has sacked his shadow chancellor in an expected reshuffle of the frontbench team after party’s poor performance in the local elections last week.
Anneliese Dodds will now become the Labour Party’s chair – replacing deputy leader Angela Rayner, whom Sir Keir fired from the role on Saturday, the BBC reported.
Rayner will instead replace Rachel Reeves in shadowing Michael Gove at the Cabinet Office, as Ms Reeves is promoted to the shadow chancellor role, it was reported.
The Labour leader chaired a meeting of the shadow cabinet on Monday.
The local elections held on Thursday, including council and mayoral elections in England, were Labour’s first major test since its crushing defeat at the 2019 general election. It was also a test for Sir Keir Starmer since he took the party leadership last year.
The party suffered a series of setbacks in England, including losing overall control of councils including Durham, Sheffield and Plymouth. The Conservatives also picked up control of several councils, including Nottinghamshire and Basildon, as well as winning Harlow from Labour.
Earlier, Keir Starmer said he was “bitterly disappointed” with the result, and “taking full responsibility.” He said, “I will take full responsibility for fixing things.”
The result is a boost for Prime Minister Boris Johnson despite a rocky few months for the premier, with the country’s successful vaccine campaign appearing to be a key factor.
The win will make no difference to Johnson’s influence in the British parliament, however, as his party already holds a majority.
On Friday, the prime minister had travelled to Hartlepool to celebrate his party’s win, hailing the backing of “the fantastic people of the north-east” and saying it gave his government a renewed mandate, the Guardian reported.
The by-election was held on Thursday, the same day as local and mayoral elections across England, and votes for the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments.
The party lost control of several councils and suffered defeat to the Tories in the Hartlepool by-election…reports Asian Lite News.
A day after Labour Party has suffered huge defeat in the local elections, party deputy leader Angela Rayner has been sacked from her roles as party chair and campaign coordinator.
According to BBC report, leader Sir Keir Starmer is expected to reshuffle his frontbench team in the next few days.
The party lost control of several councils and suffered defeat to the Tories in the Hartlepool by-election.
The local elections held on Thursday, including council and mayoral elections in England, were Labour’s first major test since its crushing defeat at the 2019 general election. It was also a test for Sir Keir Starmer since he took the party leadership last year.
The party suffered a series of setbacks in England, including losing overall control of councils including Durham, Sheffield and Plymouth. The Conservatives also picked up control of several councils, including Nottinghamshire and Basildon, as well as winning Harlow from Labour.
Rayner will remain deputy leader of the party as it is a position directly elected by the party members. She is also expected to be offered another shadow cabinet role, the BBC reported.
Earlier, Keir Starmer said he was “bitterly disappointed” with the result, and “taking full responsibility.” He said, “I will take full responsibility for fixing things.”
The result is a boost for Prime Minister Boris Johnson despite a rocky few months for the premier, with the country’s successful vaccine campaign appearing to be a key factor.
The win will make no difference to Johnson’s influence in the British parliament, however, as his party already holds a majority.
On Friday, the prime minister had travelled to Hartlepool to celebrate his party’s win, hailing the backing of “the fantastic people of the north-east” and saying it gave his government a renewed mandate, the Guardian reported.
The by-election was held on Thursday, the same day as local and mayoral elections across England, and votes for the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments.
In the morning, Delhi customs said in a statement that the medical aid onboard the aircraft was cleared within 25 minutes of its landing…reports Asian Lite News.
The world’s largest cargo plane, Antonov AN 124-100, has landed at the Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport on Sunday morning, carrying three oxygen generators and 1,000 ventilators from the United Kingdom.
In the morning, Delhi customs said in a statement that the medical aid onboard the aircraft was cleared within 25 minutes of its landing.
Experts said the aircraft had flown into the country even in the past to deliver Delhi Metro wagons, specialist construction equipment and military cargo, the Hindustan Times reported.
The 24-wheeler Russian-made aircraft departed from Belfast airport late on Saturday night and landed at the Delhi airport at 8.30 am on Sunday, the report added.
“The UK sends life-saving support for India in the world’s largest cargo plane. Three oxygen generation units arrived in India today. Each capable of producing 500 litres of oxygen per minute. It will help save lives and support India’s healthcare system,” British high commission in New Delhi tweeted.
Each of the three oxygen generation units – the size of 40ft freight containers – produces 500 litres of oxygen per minute, enough for 50 people to use at a time, it said.
“Taking forward our comprehensive strategic partnership, consignment of 3 oxygen generators and 1,000 ventilators arrives from the UK… Deeply value the contribution from our close friend,” the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
🇮🇳🇬🇧 Taking forward our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Consignment of 3 O2 generators & 1,000 ventilators arrives from UK. Each generator has capacity to produce 500 litres of O2/min, enough to treat 50 people at a time. Deeply value the contribution from our close friend🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/FmOCJYUUKz
The Antonov AN 124-100 – the world’s largest air cargo carrier – is 70 metres long and nearly 75 meters wide. The plane, which weighs around 1.8 lakh kilograms, usually has six crew members and two loadmasters.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had said that “The UK is sending surplus oxygen generators from Northern Ireland to India. This life-saving equipment will support the country’s hospitals as they care for vulnerable Covid patients.”
India is currently dealing with a second COVID-19 wave that has swept through the nation, straining the country’s health infrastructure and overburdening frontline medical workers.
Prince Michael reportedly told the undercover reporters in a virtual meeting that for 10,000 pounds ($14,000) a day he could make “confidential” representations to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s entourage…reports Asian Lite News
An investigation by Sunday Times and Channel 4 revealed that Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, was offering investors access to the Kremlin in exchange for personal gain.
The reporters of the media posed as investors of a fake South Korean gold company seeking contacts in the Kremlin to further its business in Russia.
Prince Michael reportedly told the undercover reporters in a virtual meeting that for 10,000 pounds ($14,000) a day he could make “confidential” representations to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s entourage.
Channel 4’s Dispatches programme and the weekly newspaper set up a fake South Korean gold company — House of Haedong.
The royal’s business partner, Simon Reading, also reportedly told the fake investors that Michael could be hired for 10,000 pounds a day to make “confidential” representations on behalf of the fictitious gold firm to Putin.
“If he (Prince Michael) is representing the House of Haedong, he could mention that to Putin and Putin would find the right person who is interested in South Korea or interested in gold. It just opens the door, you know, which is so helpful,” Reading reportedly said.
Meanwhile, responding to the reports, Prince Michael’s office said he “has no special relationship with President Putin” and that the two men last met in 2003. The royal “earns his own living through a consultancy company that he has run for over 40 years”, it was reported.
Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party, said the election results proved that a second independence vote for Scotland was the will of the country, reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday invited the leaders of the U.K.’s devolved nations for crisis talks on the union after Scotland’s pro-independence party won its fourth straight parliamentary election.
Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party, said the election results proved that a second independence vote for Scotland was “the will of the country” and that any London politician who stood in the way would be “picking a fight with the democratic wishes of the Scottish people.”
The United Kingdom is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with devolved governments in the latter three.
Johnson congratulated Sturgeon on her re-election, but said to the leaders of the devolved governments that the U.K. was “best served when we work together.” The letter invited the leaders to a summit to “discuss our shared challenges and how we can work together in the coming months and years to overcome them.”
Final results of Thursday’s local elections showed that the SNP won 64 of the 129 seats in the Edinburgh-based Scottish Parliament. Although it fell one seat short of securing an overall majority, the parliament still had a pro-independence majority with the help of eight members of the Scottish Greens.
Sturgeon said her immediate priority would be steering Scotland through the coronavirus pandemic. But she said an independence referendum was “now a matter of fundamental democratic principle.”
Johnson has the ultimate authority whether or not to permit another referendum on Scotland gaining independence. He wrote in Saturday’s Daily Telegraph that another referendum on Scotland would be “irresponsible and reckless” as Britain emerges from the pandemic. He has consistently argued that the issue was settled in a 2014 referendum where 55% of Scottish voters favored remaining part of the U.K.
Proponents of another vote say the situation has changed fundamentally because of the U.K’s Brexit divorce from the European Union, with Scotland taken out of the EU against its will. In the 2016 Brexit referendum, 52% of U.K. voters backed leaving the EU but 62% of Scots voted to remain.
When asked about the prospect of Johnson agreeing to a second Scottish referendum, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said Sunday “it’s not an issue for the moment” and that the national priority is on recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
“If we get sucked into a conversation about referenda and constitutions then we are diverting attention from the issues that are most important to the people in Scotland and across the United Kingdom,” Gove told Sky News.
“Instead of concentrating on the things that divide, let’s concentrate on the things that unite,” he added.
The Scotland results have been the main focus of Thursday’s array of local elections across Britain. In Wales, the opposition Labour Party did better than expected, extending its 22 years at the helm of the Welsh government despite falling one seat short of a majority.
Labour’s support also held up in some big cities. In London, Mayor Sadiq Khan handily won a second term. Other winning Labour mayoral candidates included Steve Rotherham in the Liverpool City Region, Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester and Dan Norris in the West of England region, which includes Bristol.
