UK
US set to appeal UK refusal to extradite WikiLeaks' Assange
The U.S. government is scheduled to ask Britain’s High Court on Wednesday to overturn a judge’s decision that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should not be sent to the United States to face espionage charges.
In January, a lower court judge refused an American request to extradite Assange on spying charges over WikiLeaks’ publication of secret military documents a decade ago.
District Judge Vanessa Baraitser denied extradition on health grounds, saying Assange was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. But she rejected defense arguments that Assange faces a politically motivated American prosecution that would override free-speech protections, and she said the U.S. judicial system would give him a fair trial.
READ: UK judge to rule on US extradition for WikiLeaks' Assange
Lawyers for U.S. authorities have been granted permission to appeal. At an earlier hearing they questioned the psychiatric evidence in the case and argued that Assange does not meet the threshold of being “so ill” that he cannot resist harming himself.
Assange, who is being held at London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison, is expected to attend the two-day hearing by video link. The two justices hearing the appeal — who include England’s most senior judge, Lord Chief Justice Ian Burnett — are not expected to give their ruling for several weeks.
Even that will likely not end the epic legal saga, since the losing side can seek to appeal to the U.K. Supreme Court.
U.S. prosecutors have indicted Assange on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks’ publication of thousands of leaked military and diplomatic documents. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.
The prosecutors say Assange unlawfully helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published. Lawyers for Assange argue that he was acting as a journalist and is entitled to First Amendment freedom of speech protections for publishing documents that exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Assange, 50, has been in prison since he was arrested in April 2019 for skipping bail during a separate legal battle. Before that he spent seven years holed up inside Ecuador’s London embassy, where he fled in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault.
READ: UK judge rejects bid to delay Assange extradition hearing
Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November 2019 because so much time had elapsed, but Assange remains in prison. The judge who blocked extradition in January ordered that he must stay in custody during any U.S. appeal, ruling that the Australian citizen “has an incentive to abscond” if he is freed.
WikiLeaks supporters say testimony from witnesses during the extradition hearing that Assange was spied on while in the embassy by a Spanish security firm at the behest of the CIA — and that there was even talk of abducting or killing him — undermines U.S. claims he will be treated fairly.
Journalism organizations and human rights groups have urged President Joe Biden to drop the prosecution launched under his predecessor, Donald Trump.
Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard said the charges were politically motivated and should be dropped.
“It is a damning indictment that nearly 20 years on, virtually no one responsible for alleged U.S. war crimes committed in the course of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars has been held accountable, let alone prosecuted, and yet a publisher who exposed such crimes is potentially facing a lifetime in jail,” she said.
Authorities call fatal stabbing of UK lawmaker terrorist act
A long-serving member of Parliament was stabbed to death Friday during a meeting with constituents at a church in England, in what police said was a terrorist incident. A 25-year-old man was arrested in connection with the attack, which united Britain’s fractious politicians in shock and sorrow.
Counterterrorism officers were leading the investigation into the slaying of Conservative lawmaker David Amess. In a statement early Saturday, the Metropolitan Police described the attack as terrorism and said the early investigation “has revealed a potential motivation linked to Islamist extremism.”
Amess, 69, was attacked around midday Friday at a Methodist church in Leigh-on-Sea, a town about 40 miles (62 kilometers) east of London. Paramedics tried without success to save him. Police arrested the suspect and recovered a knife.
Also read: UK lawmaker stabbed in eastern England has died
They did not identify the suspect, who was held on suspicion of murder. Police said they believed the suspect acted alone, and were not seeking anyone else in connection with the killing, though investigations continue.
The slaying came five years after another MP, Jo Cox, was murdered by a far-right extremist in her small-town constituency, and it renewed concern about the risks politicians run as they go about their work representing voters. British politicians generally are not given police protection when they meet with their constituents.
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Tributes poured in for Amess from across the political spectrum, as well as from the community he had served for decades. Residents paid tribute to him at a vigil at a church in Leigh-on-Sea.
“He carried that great East London spirit of having no fear and being able to talk to people and the level they’re at,” the Rev. Jeffrey Woolnaugh said at the vigil, attended by about 80 people. “Not all politicians, I would say, are good at that.”
Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he and his Cabinet were “deeply shocked and heart-stricken.”
“David was a man who believed passionately in this country and in its future, and we’ve lost today a fine public servant and a much-loved friend and colleague,” Johnson said.
The prime minister would not say whether the attack meant politicians needed tighter security, saying, “We must really leave the police to get on with their investigation.”
Amess had been a member of Parliament for Southend West, which includes Leigh-on-Sea, since 1997, and had been a lawmaker since 1983, making him one of the longest-serving politicians in the House of Commons.
A social conservative on the right of his party, he was a well-liked figure with a reputation for working hard for his constituents and campaigning ceaselessly to have Southend declared a city.
Amess, who leaves a wife and five children, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015 for his service, becoming Sir David.
Flags at Parliament were lowered to half-staff amid a profusion of questions about lawmakers’ security.
“This is an incident that will send shockwaves across the parliamentary community and the whole country,” House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said. “In the coming days we will need to discuss and examine MPs’ security and any measures to be taken, but for now, our thoughts and prayers are with David’s family, friends and colleagues.”
Violence against British politicians is rare, but concerns have grown about the increasingly bitter polarization of the country’s politics.
In 2016, a week before the country’s divisive Brexit referendum, Cox, a Labour Party lawmaker, was fatally stabbed and shot in northern England. Also, several people have been jailed in recent years for threatening lawmakers.
British lawmakers are protected by armed police when they are inside Parliament, and security there was tightened after an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group fatally stabbed a police officer at the gates in 2017.
But politicians have no such protection in their constituencies. Amess published the times and locations of his open meetings with constituents on his website.
Two other British lawmakers have been attacked over the past two decades during their “surgeries,” regular meetings where constituents can present concerns and complaints.
Labour legislator Stephen Timms was stabbed in the stomach in 2010 by a student radicalized by online sermons from an al-Qaida-linked preacher.
In 2000, Liberal Democrat Nigel Jones and his aide Andrew Pennington were attacked by a man wielding a sword during such a meeting. Pennington was killed and Jones wounded in the attack in Cheltenham, England.
Former Prime Minister Theresa May, a Conservative, tweeted that Amess’ killing was a “tragic day for our democracy,” and former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was “shocked and horrified.”
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of the Scottish National Party said on Twitter: “In a democracy, politicians must be accessible and open to scrutiny, but no one deserves to have their life taken while working for and representing their constituents.”
Kim Leadbeater, Jo Cox’s sister and now a member of Parliament herself, said it was “horrific” that Amess’ family was experiencing what hers had gone through.
“They will think about this every single day for the rest of their lives,” she said.
“I find myself now working as a politician and trying to do good things for people, and it’s really important you get good people in public life, but this is the risk we are all taking, and so many MPs will be scared by this.”
India lifts travel curbs on those arriving from UK
DAYS AFTER the UK government lifted restrictions on Indian travellers who are fully vaccinated with Covishield or another UK-approved vaccine, India has withdrawn a travel advisory that added Covid-19 related additional checks and restrictions on those arriving from Britain, including a mandatory 10-day quarantine, reports the Indian Express.
“Based on the evolving scenario, it has been decided that the revised guidelines… stand withdrawn and the earlier guidelines on international arrival dated February 17, 2021, shall be applicable to all travellers arriving in India from the United Kingdom,” Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said in a communication sent to all the states.
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The memorandum has been sent to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of External Affairs too.
According to the February 17 guidelines, all passengers arriving from the UK must have a negative RT-PCR report — the test must be done not earlier than 72 hours of the scheduled travel.
On October 1, India had imposed a new rule that British nationals arriving in India, irrespective of their vaccination status, will have to undergo 10 days of mandatory quarantine from October 4 as part of the reciprocal action initiated by the government following the vaccine certification row between the two countries.
India decided to impose reciprocal curbs as the contentious issue relating to the UK not recognising Indian vaccine certificates could not be resolved despite holding a series of technical-level talks.
Read: India's Everest Organics starts making ingredient for Merck's COVID-19 pill
The UK recognised Covishield vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India but retained the 10-day quarantine period for fully vaccinated travellers from India. Later, British officials said the UK has issues with India’s vaccine certification process and not with the Covishield vaccine. India made changes in the Covid-19 vaccination certificates by including the date of birth, but Britain took time to go through its internal processes before lifting the restrictions.
Last week, the UK finally decided to scrap the quarantine travel rules for 47 destinations, including India.
Report concludes UK waited too long for virus lockdown
The British government waited too long to impose a lockdown in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, missing a chance to contain the disease and leading to thousands of unnecessary deaths, a parliamentary report concluded Tuesday.
The deadly delay resulted from ministers’ failure to question the recommendations of scientific advisers, resulting in a dangerous level of “groupthink” that caused them to dismiss the more aggressive strategies adopted in East and Southeast Asia, according to the joint report from the House of Commons’ science and health committees. It was only when Britain's National Health Service risked being overwhelmed by rapidly rising infections that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative government finally ordered a lockdown.
“There was a desire to avoid a lockdown because of the immense harm it would entail to the economy, normal health services and society,’’ the report said. “In the absence of other strategies such as rigorous case isolation, a meaningful test-and-trace operation, and robust border controls, a full lockdown was inevitable and should have come sooner.’’
Read:Moderna has no plans to share its COVID-19 vaccine recipe
The U.K. parliamentary report comes amid frustration with the timetable for a formal public inquiry into the government’s response to COVID-19, which Johnson says will start next spring.
Lawmakers said their inquiry was designed to uncover why Britain performed “significantly worse” than many other countries during the early days of the pandemic so that the U.K. could improve its response to the ongoing threat from COVID-19 and prepare for future threats.
The 150-page report is based on testimony from 50 witnesses, including former Health Secretary Matt Hancock and former government insider Dominic Cummings. It was unanimously approved by 22 lawmakers from the three largest parties in Parliament: the governing Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party and the Scottish National Party.
The committees praised the government’s early focus on vaccines as the ultimate way out of the pandemic and its decision to invest in vaccine development. These decisions led to Britain’s successful inoculation program, which has seen almost 80% of people 12 and over now fully vaccinated.
“Millions of lives will ultimately be saved as a result of the global vaccine effort in which the U.K. has played a leading part,” the committees said.
But they also criticized the government’s test-and-trace program, saying its slow, uncertain and often chaotic performance hampered Britain’s response to the pandemic.
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The government’s strategy during the first three months of the crisis reflected official scientific advice that widespread infection was inevitable given that testing capacity was limited; that there was no immediate prospect for a vaccine; and the belief that the public wouldn’t accept a lengthy lockdown, the report said. As a result, the government sought merely to manage the spread of the virus, instead of trying to stop it altogether.
The report described this as a “serious early error” that the U.K. shared with many countries in Europe and North America.
“Accountability in a democracy depends on elected decision-makers not just taking advice, but examining, questioning and challenging it before making their own decisions,” the committees said. “Although it was a rapidly changing situation, given the large number of deaths predicted, it was surprising the initially fatalistic assumptions about the impossibility of suppressing the virus were not challenged until it became clear the NHS would be overwhelmed.”
Trish Greenhalgh, a professor of primary care health services at the University of Oxford, said the report “hints at a less-than-healthy’’ relationship between government and scientific bodies. With COVID-19 still killing hundreds of people every week in Britain, advisory committees continue to debate exactly what evidence is “sufficiently definitive” to be considered certain, she said.
Read:‘Mission 100 Days’ launched to curb Covid during festivals in India
“Uncertainty is a defining feature of crises...,’’ Greenhalgh said. “Dare we replace ‘following the science’ with ‘deliberating on what best to do when the problem is urgent but certainty eludes us’? This report suggests that unless we wish to continue to repeat the mistakes of the recent past, we must.”
Even senior officials like Cummings and Hancock told the committees they were reluctant to push back against scientific consensus.
Hancock said as early as Jan. 28, 2020, he found it difficult to push for widespread testing of people who didn’t show symptoms of COVID-19 because scientific advisers said it wouldn’t be useful.
“I was in a situation of not having hard evidence that a global scientific consensus of decades was wrong but having an instinct that it was,” he testified. “I bitterly regret that I did not overrule that scientific advice.”
Charlotte Johnson Wahl, mother of Boris Johnson, dies at 79
Painter Charlotte Johnson Wahl, the mother of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has died aged 79.
Wahl died “suddenly and peacefully” at a London hospital on Monday, according to a death notice in The Times of London.
Boris Johnson once described his mother as the “supreme authority” in his large, close-knit family. She was a successful painter of portraits and landscapes.
Read: Hasina mourns death of Boris Johnson’s mother
Wahl and first husband Stanley Johnson divorced in 1979. She later married American academic Nicholas Wahl, who died in 1996.
She is survived by four children — the prime minister, journalist Rachel Johnson, former politician Jo Johnson and environmentalist Leo Johnson — and 13 grandchildren.
UK OKs vaccines for 12 year olds, aims to avoid lockdowns
Britain’s chief medical officers said Monday that children aged 12 to 15 should be vaccinated against coronavirus, despite a ruling by the government’s vaccine advisors that the step would have only marginal health benefits.
England Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and his counterparts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said Monday that the age group should be given a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. They have yet to decide on whether to give the students a second dose.
The government has said it’s highly likely to follow the recommendation. Expanded vaccinations are expected to be part of a “tool kit” to control COVID-19 infections this fall and winter that Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to announce Tuesday at a news conference.
Johnson’s Conservative government is hoping that widespread vaccinations, rather than restrictions, will keep COVID-19 infections in check.
Other countries — including the United States, Canada, France and Italy — already offer coronavirus vaccines to children 12 and up, but Britain has held off. It is currently inoculating people 16 and up, and almost 90% of those eligible have had at least one vaccine dose.
Earlier this month, Britain’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization said vaccines should be given to 12- to 15-year-olds with underlying health conditions. But it did not back a rollout to healthy children, who are at low risk of serious illness from the virus, saying the direct health benefits were marginal.
However, it said there might be wider societal factors to consider, such as on education or children acting as sources of transmission to more vulnerable groups.
READ: UK commits £3.1 mn aid to minimise impact of disasters in Bangladesh, other countries
The chief medical officers said it was “likely vaccination will help reduce transmission of COVID-19 in schools” and they were recommending the vaccines on public health grounds.
In his road map speech, Johnson is likely to announce that the government will relinquish some of the emergency powers Parliament gave it after the pandemic began last year, including the authority to shut down businesses and schools, restrict gatherings and detain infectious people.
The announcement of a new virus road map comes a year after Johnson resisted scientific advice to put the country into lockdown — only to perform a U-turn within weeks as coronavirus cases soared.
Virus cases now are 10 times the rate of a year ago, but vaccines are protecting many Britons from serious illness. Still, the U.K. is recording more than 100 coronavirus deaths a day, and about 8,000 people are hospitalized with COVID-19. That is less than a quarter of the wintertime peak, but the number is climbing.
Johnson is expected to say that mask-wearing, work-from-home advice and social distancing rules that were lifted in July could return if cases climb further.
But his Conservative government is resisting tougher measures, unexpectedly shelving a plan to introduce vaccine passports for nightclubs and other crowded venues.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Sunday that the vaccine passes, which have been introduced in many European countries and were due to start in England at the end of September, were a “huge intrusion into people’s lives.” He said the government would keep the plan “in reserve” but would not proceed with it right now.
Johnson’s spokesman, Max Blain, said nightclubs hadn’t been linked to “significant cases or hospitalizations” since they reopened in July after more than a year of closure.
“We are not seeing the exponential increases that some had expected,” he said.
Some experts have argued for vaccine passports as a way to encourage young people to get vaccinated, though others say compelling vaccination, rather than encouraging it, could increase hesitancy. The measure was opposed as a burdensome imposition by many in the entertainment industry, and met political resistance on civil liberties grounds from some Conservative lawmakers and the opposition Liberal Democrats.
READ: Indo-Pacific: UK sees Bangladesh as "critical stability provider"
The government’s decision applies in England. Scotland, which sets its own health policy, plans to introduce vaccine passports for crowded venues next month.
It's unfair, discriminatory: FM on UK's Covid red-listing
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has reiterated Bangladesh’s call to remove it from the red-listed countries with travel restrictions terming UK's decision unfair and discriminatory.
"It's unfair and it's discrimination (to Bangladesh)," he said while talking to a select group of journalists at his office on Monday.
Referring to the sufferings of more than 7000 British-Bangladeshis currently stranded in Bangladesh, Dr Momen said the UK government is doing disservice to its own citizens.
He said the UK government argued that the vaccination rate is low in Bangladesh but Bangladesh says the UK is allowing people from other countries having lower vaccination rate.
READ: Policy towards Afghan depends on its attitude: FM
Responding to a question, Dr Momen said Bangladesh has lined up for 24 crore vaccine doses, and over 2.22 crore people have already been vaccinated.
Asked about Rohingya issue as the UNGA is approaching, Dr Momen said many countries are much interested to see restoration of democracy in Myanmar and Bangladesh also wants it.
But, he said, Bangladesh wants the repatriation of Rohingyas too without any delay. "Our priority is repatriation."
READ: FM reiterates call for removing Bangladesh from UK's Covid red list
Dhaka, London discuss importance of free polls, vibrant civil society
Bangladesh and the United Kingdom have agreed on the importance of "free and fair elections" and vibrant civil society to promote accountable governance and institutions ensuring freedom of expression and religion.
The UK raised concerns reflected in the FCDO Annual Human Rights Report, including the “impact” of the Digital Security Act, political space, and extrajudicial killings, said the British High Commission in Dhaka on Friday.
The two countries held their fourth annual Strategic Dialogue on Thursday at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London and discussed the issues.
The dialogue was led by FCDO Permanent Under-Secretary Sir Philip Barton and Foreign Secretary (Senior Secretary) Masud Bin Momen.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, FCDO Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth, welcomed Ambassador Momen to the UK.
Lord Ahmad said they spoke about the strong links between the UK and Bangladesh.
"We’re both committed to tackling climate change and looking for future opportunities to strengthen trade between our countries," he said.
The UK commended Bangladesh for hosting the Rohingyas who, in August 2017, fled atrocities by the Myanmar military.
The UK and Bangladesh reiterated their commitment to the goal of enabling the Rohingya to return home in a safe, voluntary and dignified way as soon as the situation allows.
The UK stressed the need to focus on the Rohingyas’ wellbeing, and noted that access to education and livelihoods would help prepare the Rohingya for eventual return to Myanmar and to live dignified lives while in Bangladesh.
Both countries committed to working with the international community, including Asean and the UN, to resolve the crisis.
The two countries expressed their deepest condolences to those who had lost loved ones during the pandemic.
The UK congratulated Bangladesh on its nationwide vaccination campaign including through COVAX vaccines.
Read: Indo-Pacific: UK sees Bangladesh as "critical stability provider"
UK Foreign Secretary reaffirms support for Bangladesh’s climate actions
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has reiterated his country’s support towards the actions Bangladesh has taken on climate change in the run up to COP26 and beyond.
He especially mentioned the country’s transition away from coal to clean and renewable energy and pressed for Bangladesh to commit to a 2050 net zero target.
Raab held a virtual meeting with Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Monday when he stressed the importance of a coordinated international response on Afghanistan with the aim of safeguarding regional stability.
'Study UK Virtual Fair 2021' begins Sept 11
The British Council will host the third regional "Study UK Virtual Fair" on September 11 from 2-6pm.
The fair will showcase wide-ranging study and career opportunities in the UK to participants from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Also, it will provide an opportunity for students to interact with faculty leaders and providers from across the UK.
While international travel may be on pause or limited, the fair offers the student an opportunity to start planning and seek advice from the experts, the British Council said Monday.
READ: How to study abroad? Visit virtual fair to know
Students will also get the opportunity to post questions in the virtual fair, visit chat rooms, download catalogues, and exchange business cards.
Representatives from 28 UK higher education institutions, including nine Russell Group universities; British Council IELTS and UK Visas and Immigration will participate in this virtual fair and interact with the attendees to guide them on courses, admission process, scholarships and more.
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