FROST STANDS FIRM OVER NORTHERN IRELAND

The Express reports that Lord Frost was last night standing firm to protect Northern Ireland’s place within the UK. He had travelled to Brussels for diplomatic talks with European Commission counterpart Maros Sefcovic in a bid to end the row over border checks and defuse tensions in the region. Over dinner at the EU’s Berlaymont HQ, the pair discussed plans to implement the post-Brexit border deal to minimise the risk of future flare-ups of violent disruptions. Sources on both sides said they were keen to find a way to cool tensions in Northern Ireland after rioting broke out over the long Easter weekend. The Northern Ireland Protocol has been blamed as one of the factors behind the recent violence amid concerns from Unionists it undermines their place in the UK.

TWENTY SEVEN NORTHERN IRELAND BREXIT ISSUES  CONFIRMED 

The Independent reports that the UK and EU officials have isolated 27 different issues in relation to Northern Ireland’s contested post-Brexit trade arrangements, Ireland’s foreign minister has confirmed. Simon Coveney said some of the problems related to protocol implementation are more difficult than others and require political solutions. Brexit minister Lord Frost and Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis met with Mr Coveney “as part of regular bilateral engagement:, Downing Street confirmed. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab will also meet with Mr Coveney later on Thursday afternoon, officials said.The meeting is part of an ongoing process with the EU to resolve outstanding differences on the Northern Ireland protocol,” said No 10.

NO LOGIC IN MILITARY CUTS NOW SAY LABOUR

From the Telegraph: Labour will use an opposition day motion to question the Tories over its 2019 election manifesto pledge, in which Boris Johnson said he would not be cutting the armed services in any form. However the recent Command Paper revealed that as part of its pivot towards cyber, the Ministry of Defence would axe more than 100 aircraft, reduce the size of the army from 82,000 to 72,500 and cut a number of tanks. Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, John Healey said: The Government says the threats to the UK are increasing yet they plan fewer troops, fewer ships, fewer planes over the next few years. Ministers must square this circle and back off yet more cuts to the strength of our Armed Forces. Ministers confirm that Russia’s modernised land and sea forces are the number one threat to Britain and our allies. They must ensure we are ready to meet the growing threats now and in the years ahead.

CHARITY SHOPS SEE BOOMING DONATIONS AND SALES

The Independent reports that amid the fanfare of the country’s hairdressers, pubs and Primarks reopening this week, little attention has been paid to the fact that charity shops are also throwing wide their doors for the first time since January. Figures show that these humble high street staples are experiencing their own major boom every bit as significant as the country’s bars and barbers. Record sales are being made – Barnardo’s turnover on Monday was 172 per cent higher than the equivalent day two years ago – while so many items are being donated that the Charity Retail Association has taken the unusual step of asking people to phone stores before turning up with goods.

BIDEN ANNOUNCES  ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA

The Telegraph reports that yesterday the US announced economic sanctions against Russia and the expulsion of 10 diplomats in retaliation for what Washington says is the Kremlin’s US election interference, a massive cyber attack and other hostile activity.President Joe Biden’s executive order  sends a signal that the U.S will impose costs in a strategic and economically impactful manner on Russia if it continues or escalates its destabilising international action, the White House said. Last month U. S officials alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised influence operations to help Donald Trump in his unsuccessful bid for reelection as president although there is no evidence Russia or anyone else changed votes or manipulated the outcome.

RAAB ACCUSES RUSSIA OF CYBER ATTACKS ON THE WEST

The Times reports that Britain has accused Russia’s foreign intelligence service of conducting a series of cyberattacks on the West and attempting to influence democratic elections. The announcement came after President Biden issued unprecedented sanctions against Russia, including restricting its ability to issue sovereign debt, in response to the cyberattacks, election meddling and putting bounties on the heads of US soldiers in Afghanistan. The Foreign Office said GCHQ and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) agreed it was “highly likely” that Russia’s foreign spy agency, the SVR, was responsible for so-called SolarWinds hack and meddling in elections.

ROLL UP THOSE SLEEVES FOR COVID JAB THREE AND AN ANNUAL TOP UP

The Daily Mail reports that the Pfizer Inc’s CEO says he believes people will ‘likely’ need a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. During a panel discussion hosted by CNBC in conjunction with CVS Health that aired on Thursday, Albert Bourla said a potential booster shot would be administered six to 12 months of being fully vaccinated.  Bourla added that he thinks it is possible that people will need to be immunized against coronavirus annually. Recently, updates from clinical trials showed that the Pfizer vaccine was more than 90 effective at preventing COVID-19 six months after the second dose. However, more data is needed to determine if protection lasts beyond six months.

UNBRITISH COVID PASSPORTS OK WITH US SAY LONDONERS

From the Evening Standard: two-thirds of Londoners would carry Covid passports if it meant they could go to the theatre, concerts and big sporting events again, a poll for the Evening Standard reveals today. Some 67 per cent say they would personally take them up, boosting hopes that Covid certificates are the key to filling the West End, nightclubs and Wembley Stadium this summer.  In a survey of 1,100 people in the capital for the Standard, pollsters Opinium found only 21 per cent would refuse to carry them, meaning support of more than three to one. It was reported today that the Equality and Human Rights Commission has told the Cabinet Office that certificates could amount to unlawful indirect discrimination and risk creating a two-tier society.

FOUR DAY WORKING WEEK PROMISED FOR SCOTLAND

The SUN reports that Nicola Sturgeon today vowed £10million to support companies to trial a four-day week for their staff if she wins the Scottish election. The First Minister, launching the SNP’s manifesto ahead of the Scottish elections, said she wanted to help people to get a better work life balance after Covid. She added, ‘We want to do more to support people to achieve a better balance and help businesses employ as many people as possible. As part of that, we will establish a £10 million fund to support willing companies to explore and pilot the benefits of a four-day working week.’  However, No10 confirmed that there were no similar plans on the cards for England. Labour’s radical leftie 2019 manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn vowed to reduce the average full time weekly hours to 32 across the economy – promising it wouldn’t affect pay.

IT’S GOING TO BE A HOT SUMMER THANKS TO THE  THE LA NINA EFFECT

The SUN reports that it could be the hottest summer in a decade as a 32C blast is set to hit the country within weeks, say forecasters. La Nina, a climate pattern, will play a large part in the spike in warm weather. Jim Dale, meteorologist for British Weather Services, said:  There will definitely be some spikes of heat as we go into summer when I expect to see temperatures in the high 20Cs or even the low 30Cs. “This is largely because of a balancing effect which, after the colder period of weather over the past couple of months, dominated by a northerly airflow, should revert and come from a more southerly direction.  This will bring more in the way of hotter weather as we go through the end of spring and into summer. This summer could be up there with the warmer ones from the past ten years, it is more likely to turn out one of the warmer ones to be cooler.”

EXTINCTION REBELLION WILL BE BACK

The Express reports that Extinction Rebellion has announced plans for an uprising in London that could see thousands of protestors descend on the capital – just days after the country finally exits lockdown.The protest will take place from June 26-27 – the first weekend after all coronavirus lockdown restrictions are lifted in England. Extinction Rebellion will join a “cross movement national demonstration” on June 26 which will be hosted by People’s Assembly Against Austerity and set to be attended by NGOs, unions, grassroots movements and more. This will see several groups come together “to turn their back on a return to business as usual after Covid-19 and demand a new normal”.The group added: “There is visceral anger over the multitude of government failures during the pandemic, with one of the highest Covid death rates in the world. This government has failed us and this will be our first opportunity to take to the streets in opposition.”

AND FINALLY

From the Guardian: People should use the garlic-breath distance to decipher whether they are close enough to another person for coronavirus transmission to occur, an expert has said. Dr Julian Tang, a consultant virologist at Leicester Royal Infirmary and the author of a new study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), stressed that governments and health leaders should “focus their efforts on airborne transmission. When you’re talking to a friend or sharing the same air as you’re listening to your friend talking, we call it the garlic-breath distance. So if you can smell your friend’s lunch you’re inhaling some of that air as well as any virus that’s inhaled with it you are too close.”

 

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