Fisheries 

Express 
BREXIT tensions between the UK and European Union have exploded once again after a French trawler was alleged to have caught protected bluefin tuna in Jersey waters.
Bob Tompkins, a Société Jersiaise marine biology section member, accused the French of “pushing the boundaries” and claimed the crew of the vessel in question should be stripped of their licences if there had been a breach. The escalating post-Brexit fishing tensions came to a head once more last week when a French vessel was accused of catching about 1.2 tonnes of bluefin tuna off the west coast. The popular species can be caught in French seas, but there is however a ban in place on targeting or catching the fish in Jersey waters.
Jersey’s government is investigating reports of the species being caught in the Island’s waters.
The Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2021 states anyone found to have killed protected species in the island could face two years in prison and a fine.
Speaking about the latest alleged incident, Mr Tomkins told the Jersey Evening Post: “Someone has to have the guts to stand up to this and get to the bottom of it and find out if anyone is responsible.
“If this has been done in Jersey waters with a Jersey licence, then it should be revoked. 

Afghanistan 

Mail
The UK last night told its Afghan allies who are still trying to get out of Afghanistan to head for the border rather than attempt to get into Kabul airport where US and British forces are winding down their operations.  
As evacuation efforts entered their final hours, Defence Secretary  Ben Wallace appeared to signal in a briefing to MPs that there are few places left on British planes. 
There are also warnings of an increased terror risk from jihadists ISIS-K, with US officials last night saying there was a ‘very real risk’ of an attack by the terror group who are the Taliban’s rivals. 
The US today issued a new alert, warning those wishing to evacuate not to come to the airport amid security concerns. Officials also urged those currently at three of the airport’s gates to leave ‘immediately’. 
Questioned yesterday about what Afghans who have been offered student places or fellowships in the UK should do, Mr Wallace said: ‘If they think they can make it to a third country, that may be a better option.’
Pressed by a Tory backbencher, Mr Wallace added: ‘I recommend that they try and make it to the border … because it is higher profile going to the airport – that is where the Taliban will be focusing their efforts at the moment.’
There was no suggestion however, that Afghans who have been told by western officials to travel to the airport for evacuation should alter that plan. 

Telegraph
Britons were on Wednesday night told to leave Kabul airport because of the “ongoing and high threat” of a terror attack.
It came as stranded Afghan interpreters were told to consider escaping the country over land borders rather than seeking air lifts as UK troops prepare to withdraw before the end of the week.
On Wednesday night Ben Wallace told MPs on a briefing call that interpreters and other vulnerable Afghans seeking evacuation should “explore another route” to safety if they have not been called forward to the airfield in the capital yet.
Admitting that it was “not comfortable to say it”, he signalled there would be “a certain point” when the UK has to “make a decision” to end mercy flights. “I wouldn’t go forward [to Kabul airport] if you haven’t been called,” he said.
His intervention came as the deadline loomed for the drawdown of Western troops in five days’ time on Aug 31. British forces are expected to exit before the final US personnel leave. 

Similar stories may be read in Guardian, Independent, Sun, Times, Evening Standard, ITV News, BBC News 

Times
Britain has warned the Taliban that it may withhold aid as part of its new strategy of using humanitarian assistance to achieve foreign policy aims.
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, told the regime that efforts to “hermetically seal”  Afghanistan off from the world would fail.
He said Britain would continue to send humanitarian assistance only if the Taliban allowed non-government organisations access to administer aid, and warned that efforts to shut the country could start a “refugee crisis”.
The threat to limit funding is part of a “carrot and stick” approach to ensure co-operation with the evacuation.  

Illegal immigrants 

Express
MIGRATION WATCH UK chairman Alp Mehmet has slammed the French for failing to police Channel crossing migrants as the number of daily arrivals continues to rise.
The chairman of Migration Watch UK claimed the UK Government needs to ensure the French take back many migrants that are illegally entering British waters. Alp Mehmet, who himself emigrated to the UK from Cyprus in 1956, said: “We’ve got to persuade the French that they’ve got to take them back.”
He added: “While we hesitate and seem incapable – reluctant if not incapable – of sending people back because the French won’t have them, then I am afraid the numbers will keep coming and keep going up.”
Instead, the 72-year-old suggested: “What we’ve got to show is that those coming over here seeking asylum, trying to come across illegally and doing it, will not be granted asylum and that they will be returned either to where they came or their country of origin.”
The ex-diplomat also told Express.co.uk that while the French are seemingly open to engage in juxtaposed controls they do adopt some ridiculous positions on policing the Channel.
On the fact the French do not stop dinghies until they have hit water, Mehmet said: “Frankly that is nonsense.” 

EU 

Express
ANGELA Merkel has been handed an embarrassing blow after a German court said European Union rules apply to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
The project is not exempt from EU rules that require the owners of pipelines to be different from the suppliers of gas that flows in them to ensure fair competition, the court ruled. The Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court dismissed a bid by Russian-owned Gazprom to overturn the German Network Agency’s decision to impose the Brussels measures. It means the Nord Stream 2 project, which pumps natural gas from Russia to Germany, could be fined by eurocrats if it fails to copy with the EU regulations.
However, the ruling does not have any impact on the construction of the project, which is expected to be completed this month.
Technically, the EU rules don’t prevent turning on the gas taps, but Gazprom would have to restructure Nord Stream 2 to bring it into compliance.
Refinitv gas analyst Xun Peng said: “Russia’s Gazprom will be forced to auction pipeline capacity, which could delay deliveries further.”
EU rules require firms that produce, transport and distribute gas within the bloc to be separate – known as “unbundled”. 

The City 

Express
THE EU believed it could destroy the City of London after Brexit, but its plan ended up being a catastrophic failure, a financial columnist has claimed.
Last month, the Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, said the City of London should not expect the EU to open the doors to UK financial services exports after Brexit. He told a news conference: “On equivalence, I think it’s fair to say that nothing really has moved forwards.” After months of fraught negotiations, new rules for trade were finally agreed at the end of December.
However in a document spanning over 1,200 pages, there was very little mention of financial services: a sector that accounts for seven percent of the UK’s economy and 10 percent of its tax receipts.
Without this recognition, London firms will be blocked from gaining access to the market.
The EU‘s intransigence is not a major surprise as ever since the UK decided to leave the bloc, major European capitals such as Paris or Frankfurt have tried to take the City’s place as Europe’s financial centre.
According to financial columnist Matthew Lynn, though, it has become clear the EU has miserably failed in its intent. 

Covid 

Express
OFFICIAL figures now show that the virus is claiming 100 lives a day on average across the UK. While the vaccine has successfully curbed the likelihood of severe outcomes following infection, scientists and academics continue to explore different avenues in the prevention of mortality.
Scientists are expecting case rates to jump with the reopening of schools and universities in coming weeks. Although data has suggested antibody levels fall in the weeks and months following the second jab, it remains unclear what impact that has on the ability of vaccines to protect against severe disease and death. New research may shed light on the matter; researchers have observed how a crucial enzyme that behaves similarly to snake venom wreaks havoc on the body’s organs, hiking the probability of death. What’s more, these findings could hold great significance in the development of new therapies to treat COVID-19.
Researchers believe the secretion of the sPLA2-IIA enzyme in COVID-19 patients could be the most important predictor of death in patients.
sPLA2-IIA, which has similarities to an active enzyme in rattlesnake venom, is found in low concentrations in healthy individuals and has long been known to play a critical role in defence against bacterial infections. 

Similar stories may be read in Mail, iNews 

Mail
Parents must make their children take Covid tests twice a week this coming term to stop another wave ripping through schools, say ministers.
A new Government campaign stresses that all secondary schools must keep up regular testing or risk another winter of chaos.
Pupils in Year 7 and over will have two lateral flow tests at school, three to five days apart, and afterwards should test at home twice weekly. 
But the system will rely largely on trust, with no feasible way for schools to check on each pupil every week.
Ministers are today launching a major advertising drive aimed at parents and teenagers, urging them to do their duty.
Fronting the campaign are Dr Ranj Singh, star of ITV’s This Morning, and Olympian swimmer Matt Richards. 

A similar story may be read in Guardian 

Vaccine 

Telegraph
The NHS has drawn up plans to start vaccinating 12-year-olds from the first week schools go back, The Telegraph can reveal.
Health officials have said children would not need parental consent under the schools’ jabs programme.
NHS trusts were told on Wednesday to prepare for the possible rollout of a 12 to 15-year-old healthy child vaccination programme beginning on Sept 6. Emails seen by this newspaper, sent by NHS England’s regional offices, say trusts must have plans ready by 4pm on Friday.
The timetable – with the first jabs administered in less than two weeks’ time – has been drawn up despite the fact the Government’s advisers have so far not recommended such a rollout.
The Department of Health on Wednesday night insisted a decision to roll out jabs has not been taken. Until now, the Government’s vaccine advisers have said there is insufficient data to support such a rollout. 

Similar stories may be read in ITV News, Breitbart 

Working from home 

Telegraph
Older workers are increasingly considering a delay to their retirement plans as the boom in working from home during the pandemic gives them unexpected extra flexibility.
Retirement rates typically surge when workers hit their late fifties and early sixties, with illness and caring duties taking their toll before the state pension kicks in.
However, working from home enables more people to stay employed, according to the Office for National Statistics, taking less time off sick and benefiting from more flexible hours and a lack of commuting.
It could transform parts of the economy if working from home persists after Covid, and boost growth at a time when employers are desperately short of workers. 
The ONS estimates that if the employment rate of those aged 50 to 64 matched that of 35 to 49-year olds, it would add 5pc, or £88bn, to annual GDP.
Helen Morrissey, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said such a move would also benefit households’ finances.
“Anything that enables people to stay in work for longer and benefit from increased income and pension contributions is welcome. Leaving the workforce early can have an enormous effect on someone’s financial resilience in retirement as well as their physical and mental wellbeing,” she said. 

A similar story may be read in Times 

Extinction Rebellion 

Mail
More than 100 police officers stood idly by as Extinction Rebellion (XR) protestors brought chaos to one of London’s premier shopping districts.
XR activists blockaded the busy intersection between Oxford Street and Regent Street, spending the entire afternoon playing drums, eating and listening to speeches as surrounding roads were closed, leaving traffic gridlocked.
Despite the police presence, officers refused to intervene in serious numbers as they stood watching the protest or sat nearby in waiting police vans.
Around 500 protestors arrived soon after 2pm and started erecting a giant table and chairs in the heart of Oxford Circus. 
Officers briefly moved in to prevent it from being fully erected but then formed a cordon around it as the protest continued.
A number of protestors chained themselves to the half-finished giant table and chairs, which would have measured 2.5 metres high if it had been completed. 

Similar stories may be read in Telegraph, Independent 

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