UK
More UK Easter flights disrupted amid COVID staff absences
British travelers faced more disruptions during the Easter holiday break as two major airlines, British Airways and easyJet, canceled about 100 flights Wednesday.
British Airways canceled two flights because of coronavirus-related staff absences, on top of more than 70 flights that it had canceled in advance as part of adjustments to its schedule. Budget carrier easyJet scrubbed at least 30 flights to or from London's Gatwick airport.
The aviation industry is suffering from staff shortages because of both a surge in coronavirus-related staff sickness in the U.K. and a shortage of workers because of pandemic-related job cuts.
British Airways and easyJet have canceled hundreds of flights since the weekend, which marked the start of a two-week Easter school holiday break.
EasyJet said it will operate most of its 1,545 flights planned for Wednesday, with a “small proportion" canceled in advance to give customers enough time to book new ones.
The airline says the number of crew illnesses are at more than double normal levels because of high COVID-19 infection rates across Europe.
British Airways said many of its cancellations include flights that were cut when it decided last month to reduce its schedule until the end of May to boost reliability amid rising COVID-19 cases.
READ: After 2 years, India resumes int'l flights
Infections across the U.K. have soared again with the rapid spread of the more transmissible omicron BA.2 variant, reaching record levels last week when official figures showed that some 1 in 13 people had the virus.
The Easter school holidays are the first time many families in Britain have booked trips abroad after two years of pandemic restrictions. All remaining virus measures, including mandatory self-isolation for those infected and testing requirements for international travel, were scrapped in February and March.
Rushanara hails economic progress, wants enhanced partnership with UK
UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy Rushanara Ali, MP on Tuesday said Bangladesh has achieved tremendous success in the socio-economic sector.
She noted that public and private sector- coordination is much needed for the continuation of this progress.
Ali also said that private sector development and trade expansion are the real growth drivers for Bangladesh’s economy.
“Urging enhancing bilateral partnership between UK and Bangladesh, she also said that removing bottlenecks will open up more investment opportunities here, we have to ensure poverty alleviation in line with the economic growth,” the UK PM’s trade envoy said.
She made the call while speaking at a bilateral meeting with the business leaders of Bangladesh at the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI), held at DCCI’s Gulshan Centre on Tuesday.
The meeting was chaired by the President of DCCI Rizwan Rahman where Miran Ali, Vice President, BGMEA, Sonia Bashir Kabir, Founder and Managing Director of SBK Tech Venture, Group Chairman and Managing Director of United Group Moinuddin Hasan Rashid and Managing Director of Apex Group Syed Nasim Manzur also took part in the discussion.
In the meeting Rizwan Rahman said that the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and UK was USD $ 4.11 billion in 2021. The UK's net FDI stock in Bangladesh was about $ 2.53 billion and the UK is the 3rd largest export destination for Bangladesh and in future it will grow further.
Rizwan Rahman invited British investments in the ship building, RMG, agro-processing, leather and footwear, light engineering and skills development sector of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh will enjoy duty free, quota free facility in the UK up to 2029 but DCCI president requested to allow Bangladesh to continue this facility even after 2029.
READ: Strong, modern UK-Bangladesh financial partnership can be mutually beneficial: Rushanara
Rizwan also said that the Rules of Origin requirement facility can be eased and extended. Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) needs to be reduced and rationalized, he added.
British High Commissioner in Dhaka Robert Chatterton Dickson said that Bangladesh’s private sector is very strong and they are leading the economy from the front.
“UK is strong in the service sector like education, healthcare and financial sector, industrial designing and skills development Bangladesh and UK can work jointly,” he added.
He said that the Mirsarai Economic Zone in Chattogram is a good place for attracting foreign investment and there are huge opportunities for UK’s investors as well.
Managing Director of Apex Group Syed Nasim Manzur said that Bangladesh needs to improve itself in the industrial product designing to attract quality buyers.
He also invited UK investments in the pharmaceutical, RMG, healthcare and education sector of Bangladesh.
Founder and Managing Director of SBK Tech Venture Sonia Bashir Kabir said that the UK can invest in Bangladesh in forming a digital banking ecosystem.
Vice President of BGMEA Miran Ali said Bangladesh’s RMG sector is now very competent in terms of compliance as well as world class quality production.
Well thought product designing capacity and synthetic cotton production have a good opportunity where UK and Bangladesh can jointly work, he added.
Group Chairman and Managing Director of United Group Moinuddin Hasan Rashid said that we are still lagging behind in creating skilled nurses. The UK can help us in this sector, he said. Moreover, if UK universities come here to operate it will have a good demand for our students.
Rushnara Ali began her weeklong official visit to Dhaka on Sunday. She met with Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman on Monday.
She also briefed reporters at the UK embassy in Dhaka on the occasion of celebrating 50 years of bilateral relationship.
UK reports fighting near Kyiv, cities shelled
Britain's Defense Ministry says fighting northwest of Kyiv has continued with the bulk of Russian ground forces now around 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the center of the city.
Also read: Ukraine says shelling damaged cancer hospital
A daily intelligence update says elements of the large Russian military column north of Kyiv have dispersed. It says this is likely to support a Russian attempt to encircle the Ukrainian capital. According to the brief, it could also be an attempt by Russia to reduce its vulnerability to Ukrainian counterattacks, which have taken a significant toll on Russian forces.
Also read: Russia-Ukraine war: Key things to know about the conflict
The update says that beyond Kyiv, the cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Mariupol remain encircled and continue to suffer heavy Russian shelling.
UK sanctions Russians, including Abramovich
Britain has imposed a travel ban and asset freezes on seven more wealthy Russians, including Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Premier League soccer club Chelsea.
The government said Thursday that Abramovich’s assets are frozen, he is banned from visiting the U.K. and he is barred from transactions with U.K. individuals and businesses.
Also read: New Zealand passes Russia sanctions bill
Abramovich said last week he was trying to sell Chelsea as the threat of sanctions loomed.
Also added to the U.K. sanctions list are industrialist Oleg Deripaska and Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin.
The sanctions are being imposed in response to Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
Also read: Singapore announces sanctions against Russia
UK seizes private jet suspected of Russia link
Britain has impounded a private jet it suspects of being linked to a Russian oligarch, and tightened aviation sanctions against Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said Wednesday the Luxembourg-registered plane had been seized at Farnborough Airport in southern England while U.K. authorities tried to unravel its ownership.
Read:New Zealand passes Russia sanctions bill
U.K. officials believe the Bombardier Global 6500 jet is connected to billionaire oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler. It arrived in the U.K. from New Jersey last week and had been due to fly to Dubai on Tuesday.
Britain has banned Russian-owned or operated planes from its airspace, but Shapps said the government was still working to close some “loopholes.”
The government announced late Tuesday it was toughening sanctions to include “the power to detain any aircraft owned by persons connected with Russia.” Britain also banned the export of aviation- or space-related items and technology to Russia.
UK donates 1mn more Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Bangladesh
The United Kingdom has donated 1 million more doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to Bangladesh to fight off Covid-19.
The vaccine consignment arrived in Bangladesh on February 23, said the British High Commission in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Read: US donates another 10mn doses of Pfizer’s vaccine
While welcoming the vaccines donation from the UK, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson said, “We welcome the arrival of 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the UK to Bangladesh. This bilateral donation adds to the 4 million doses that the UK donated through COVAX last year.”
He said this support from the UK takes them one step ahead to defeat the pandemic and further strengthens their commitment to stand with the people of Bangladesh to recover faster and build a healthier and prosperous future.
The latest bilateral donation from the UK will reinforce Bangladesh’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic and the country’s economic recovery, the High Commission said.
Prior to this, the UK donated over 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Bangladesh in December 2021 through COVAX facilities.
Complementing the vaccine donations, the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), through its delivery partners, created an enabling environment for the Government of Bangladesh to accelerate and expand the vaccination program as well as reduce the transmission of the infection especially among the low-income people.
Read: Dhaka calls for sharing technology, know-how of Covid-19 vaccine production
This includes support for on-line vaccine registration for the disadvantaged, raising awareness, additional healthcare provider and technician support, training of health workers including vaccinators, and transporting vaccines to the districts as well as to the schools across the country.
Since the pandemic started, the UK government has reprioritised more than £55.9 million to fund Bangladesh’s National Preparedness and Response Plan to tackle COVID-19 including support for the Rohingya refugees and the host communities.
Mayor of London urged to declare 21st February as the “London Multilingual Day"
Bangladesh High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK) Saida Muna Tasneem has called upon the Mayor of London to declare the 21st February as the “London Multilingual Day.”
“I call upon the Mayor of London for announcing the 21st February as London’s Multilingual Day to promote multilingualism, greater intercultural harmony and understanding amongst over 300 multi-ethnic communities that enriched the cultural landscape of Greater London,” said the High Commissioner.
She made the call during a recent event, organised by the Bangladesh High Commission, London in partnership with UK National Commission for UNESCO to commemorate the Language Martyrs’ Day and the ‘International Mother Language Day' under the theme, “Using technology for multilingual learning: Challenges and Opportunities”.
Read:Rear Admiral Azad new Bangladesh envoy to Maldives
The envoy said that given Bengali is the third most spoken language in Greater London, the High Commission would facilitate Bengali language learning to the new generation of British-Bangladeshis.
Paying rich tribute to 1952 language martyrs and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the high commissioner recalled that according to BBC Bangabandhu was the first Bengali to take Bangla at the United Nations General Assembly; and his missionary daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is now carrying forward the legacy by internationalising the Bangla Language Martyr’s Day as International Mother Language Day as well as advocating for recognising Bangla as an official language of the UN.
The envoy also called upon the British Council to support conservation of more than 7000 mother languages at the International Mother Language Institute in Dhaka, established by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Patricia Scotland, UK Ambassador to UNESCO Laura Davies, Turkish Ambassador to the UK Ümit Yalçın, Ambassador of the Republic of North Macedonia Aleksandra Miovska,
Ambassador of Cuba to the UK Bárbara Montalvo Álvarez, Ambassador of Georgia to the UK Sophie Katsarava, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to the UK Saroja Sirisena, Ambassador of Indonesia to the UK, Dr. Desra Percaya, Maya Sivagnanam, Deputy Director of the British Foreign and Development Office, Amish Tripathi, Director of the Nehru Centre in London, Michael Connolly, Director of the British Council, Lyricist of Amar Ekushey theme song and eminent columnist Abdul Gaffar Choudhury, Bangladesh Liberation War Action Committee UK veteran Sultan Mahmud Sharif and the co-partner of the High Commission's commemorative event, the Chief Executive of the UK National Commission for UNESCO James Bridge spoke at the event.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland QC paid rich tributes to the language martyrs and Bangabandhu and said,“The 21st February is a great day for the international community to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity, which also reminds me of my Dominican roots and mother tongue, the Creole language.”
UK lifts all testing requirements for vaccinated travelers
Vaccinated travelers can enter Britain without taking any coronavirus tests starting Friday, after the government scrapped one of the final restrictions imposed over the past two years in response to COVID-19.
British residents and visitors who have had at least two doses of an approved coronavirus vaccine now only need to fill out a passenger locator form before traveling to the U.K. Unvaccinated people still have to take tests both before and after arriving but no longer need to self-isolate until they get a negative result.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the U.K. “now has one of the most free-flowing borders in the world — sending a clear message that we are open for business.”
Airlines and other travel firms hailed the change as a lifeline after two years of severely constricted travel. Andrew Flintham, managing director of travel group Tui UK, said there was “a huge pent-up demand for international travel,” and people were rushing to book getaways for the February school break and April’s Easter holiday.
Gatwick, London’s second-busiest airport, said that it plans next month to reopen the second of its two terminals, shuttered since June 2020.
British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle urged other countries to follow Britain’s “pragmatic approach.”
But some scientists worry the government is moving too fast. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government lifted most domestic rules last month. Face masks are no longer mandatory in most indoor spaces in England, vaccine passports for gaining entry to nightclubs and large-scale events were scrapped, as was the official advice to work from home. Other parts of the U.K. — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — have also lifted most restrictions.
Read: UK defense secretary in Moscow amid Ukraine tensions
Johnson announced this week that he hopes to lift the final restriction — mandatory self-isolation for people who test positive — by the end of February as part of a plan to live long-term with COVID-19. Officials have said the government plans to switch from legal restrictions to advisory measures and treat the coronavirus more like the flu as it becomes endemic in the country.
Scientists expressed surprise at Johnson’s announcement. Tim Spector, an epidemiologist at Kings College London, said it was “more a political type of statement rather than a scientific one.”
“There is some rationale to this and other countries are doing things similar, but it’s clearly a race for the government to say that ‘Britain is first, Britain is the first to come out of this, Britain has conquered omicron, our booster program is world beating etc, etc,’” he told Times Radio.
The re-opening came as statistics showed the U.K. economy grew by a bigger-than-expected 7.5% in 2021, despite an omicron-driven slowdown at the end of the year. The re-imposition of some restrictions in response to the highly transmissible variant brought a 0.2% contraction in December.
The Office for National Statistics said the growth follows a 9.4% contraction in 2020 as the pandemic shut down big chunks of the economy. The U.K. economy is now back to the size it was in February 2020, just before the new coronavirus swept the U.K.
Britain has Europe’s highest coronavirus toll after Russia, with more than 159,000 officially recorded deaths. The country has seen a drop in both new infections and COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals since the peak of the omicron spike in early January.
Officials have credited the government’s booster jab program with preventing the surge in omicron cases from causing serious stress to U.K. hospitals. In Britain, 84.6% of people 12 and up have had two doses of a vaccine and almost two-thirds have had a third, booster shot.
UK defense secretary in Moscow amid Ukraine tensions
Britain’s defense secretary visited Moscow Friday for talks on easing tensions amid massive Russian war games near Ukraine.
Ben Wallace’s trip comes a day after British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss held talks in Moscow, urging Russia to pull back over 100,000 troops amassed near Ukraine and warning that attacking its neighbor would “have massive consequences and carry severe costs.”
Russia says it has no plans to invade Ukraine but wants the West to keep Ukraine and other former Soviet countries out of NATO. It also wants NATO to refrain from deploying weapons there and roll back alliance forces from Eastern Europe — demands flatly rejected by the West.
In an interview Thursday with NBC News, U.S. President Joe Biden repeated his warning that any Americans still in Ukraine should leave as soon as possible.
“It’s not like we’re dealing with a terrorist organization. We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. It’s a very different situation and things could go crazy quickly,” he said.
Asked whether there were any scenarios that would prompt him to send U.S. troops to Ukraine to rescue Americans, the president said: “There’s not. That’s a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another.”
Amid the soaring tensions, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Thursday that the Ukraine crisis has grown into “the most dangerous moment” for Europe in decades.
Russia’s troop concentration includes forces deployed on the territory of its ally Belarus for massive joint drills involving firing live ammunition. That entered a decisive phase Thursday and will run through Feb. 20. The Ukrainian capital is located about 75 kilometers (47 miles) south of the Belarus border.
Continuing its military buildup near Ukraine, Russia has moved six amphibious assault vessels into the Black Sea, augmenting its capability to land marines on the coast.
Read: US: Civilian toll in Syria raid may be higher than thought
Moscow has announced sweeping drills in the Black and Azov seas in the coming days and closed large areas for commercial shipping, drawing a strong protest from Ukraine on Thursday.
NATO has stepped up military deployments to bolster its eastern flank, with the U.S. sending troops to Poland and Romania.
The U.S. Navy said Thursday it has deployed four destroyers from the United States to European waters. The Navy did not directly tie this deployment to the Ukraine crisis but said the ships provide “additional flexibility” to the U.S. Sixth Fleet commander, whose area of responsibility includes the Mediterranean, and will operate in support of NATO allies.
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly leader was driven from office by a popular uprising. Moscow responded by annexing Crimea and then backing a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has killed over 14,000 people.
A 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany helped halt large-scale battles, but regular skirmishes have continued and efforts to reach a political settlement have stalled. The Kremlin has accused Kyiv of sabotaging the agreement, and Ukrainian officials argued in recent weeks that implementing it would hurt their country.
Foreign policy advisers from Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine held nearly nine hours of talks in Berlin on Thursday to try to revive the stalled agreement but made no progress.
Russian representative Dmitry Kozak said Ukraine firmly refused to commit to a dialogue with the rebels on a political settlement, blocking any further movement. Ukrainian envoy Andriy Yermak sounded a more positive note, noting that the parties agreed to continue their discussions and hailed the four-way talks as an “effective and efficient platform.“
Bangladesh an inspiration for world: Speakers
Speakers at a virtual event of celebration on Friday night highly appreciated Bangladesh’s remarkable journey with its rapidly growing economy and described how Bangladesh becomes an inspiration for other countries around the world.
Terming Bangladesh a “huge development success story”, they highlighted the efforts that transformed people’s lives and recalled the role of Bangladesh on climate issues being at the forefront of innovation apart from Bangladesh’s greater contribution to global peace and stability.
The speakers depicted a brighter future of Bangladesh-UK relations and appreciated Bangladesh’s generosity in hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas despite its own socioeconomic challenges.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, MP, Minister for South Asia, the United Nations and the Commonwealth at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Lord Ahmad, Chair of the APPG on Bangladesh and UK’s Trade Envoy for Bangladesh Rushanara Ali MP and Development Director at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in Bangladesh Judith Herbertson, among others, spoke at the commemorative event titled “Bangladesh-UK at 50: A Friendship in Prosperity.”
Bangladesh High Commission in London hosted the event to mark the 50 years of establishment of Bangladesh-United Kingdom diplomatic relations with High Commissioner Saida Muna Tasneem in the chair.
Speaking at the function, State Minister Shahriar Alam, on behalf of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, reiterated their abiding commitment to embolden the shared values with the UK, strengthen the fundamental pillars of the historic relations and carry forward the robust political, economic, security and climate partnerships into the next 50 years.
Fifty years ago, the UK's recognition of the new State of Bangladesh was geo-politically significant – a move that encouraged other Western countries to follow suit at the height of the Cold War, he said.