• UK faces Brexit limbo after talks deadline missed

    UK faces Brexit limbo after talks deadline missed

    Dec 24, 2020 20:20

    Negotiators of a Brexit trade deal inched towards a compromise on fishing rights on Sunday (20 Dec) but missed a major deadline, raising the prospect of weeks without arrangements from 1 January even in the event of agreement.

  • Calls for national lockdown in England to curb spread of new Covid strain

    Calls for national lockdown in England to curb spread of new Covid strain

    Dec 23, 2020 10:08

    Boris Johnson is facing intense pressure to impose another national lockdown within days, as more than 40 countries banned arrivals from the UK in an effort to keep out a new fast-spreading variant of coronavirus.

  • Tory grandees’ fury over Johnson’s ‘nationalist’ no-deal Brexit

    Tory grandees’ fury over Johnson’s ‘nationalist’ no-deal Brexit

    Dec 16, 2020 14:20

    Boris Johnson faced a rising tide of anger from senior Tories and business leaders recently as he appeared ready to embrace a no-deal Brexit and prepared Royal Navy gunboats to defend UK fishing waters.

  • Johnson and EU vow to go 'extra mile' to thrash out Brexit deal

    Johnson and EU vow to go 'extra mile' to thrash out Brexit deal

    Dec 15, 2020 21:56

    Britain and the EU enter the final stretch of the Brexit negotiations with renewed hope of a deal being struck within days after Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen agreed to “go the extra mile” and ordered the resumption of talks in Brussels.

  • The potential impact of Brexit without a trade deal

    The potential impact of Brexit without a trade deal

    Dec 10, 2020 21:09

    The EU is Britain’s biggest trading partner, accounting for 47% of its trade in 2019. It had a trade deficit of 79 billion pounds ($106 billion) with the EU, a surplus of 18 billion in services outweighed by a deficit of 97 billion pounds in goods. Even with a Brexit trade deal, Britain’s reasonable worst-case scenario is that 7,000 trucks bound for the continent could stack up in the southern English county of Kent.

  • The virus won’t stop evolving when the vaccine arrives

    The virus won’t stop evolving when the vaccine arrives

    Dec 04, 2020 09:33

    The coronavirus is not a shape shifter like the flu virus, but it could become vaccine resistant over time. That prompts researchers to urge vigilance.

  • Making headlines: COVID-19 and gender inequality

    Making headlines: COVID-19 and gender inequality

    Dec 03, 2020 15:11

    We have repeatedly heard about how COVID-19 disproportionately affects women. While men are more likely to die from the virus, in many other respects, women are bearing the brunt of the pandemic’s impact.

  • As climate crisis rages, the world's public banks gathered at first-ever summit and chose to not rule out continued fossil fuels funding

    As climate crisis rages, the world's public banks gathered at first-ever summit and chose to not rule out continued fossil fuels funding

    Nov 16, 2020 09:26

    Climate and social justice campaigners on Thursday, November 12th labeled a global summit bringing together over 450 public development banks a missed opportunity of historic proportions after the gathering concluded with no commitment to stop funding fossil fuel projects.

  • EU puts tariffs on US but hopes for change with new American gov’t.

    EU puts tariffs on US but hopes for change with new American gov’t.

    Nov 14, 2020 09:24

    The World Trade Organization had ruled that Boeing was given an unfair edge over Airbus by tax breaks from Washington State, where Boeing once had headquarters. But after the WTO decision, the state repealed the tax breaks, making the EU’s complaint obsolete in the view of US officials.

  • EU’s ‘New Pact on Migration and Asylum’ missing a true foundation

    EU’s ‘New Pact on Migration and Asylum’ missing a true foundation

    Nov 11, 2020 14:37

    On September 23, the European Commission launched the “New Pact on Migration and Asylum,” proposing to overhaul the European Union’s long ailing policies in this area. European Union Vice President Margaritis Schinas likened the pact to a building with three floors, comprised of: An external dimension (“centered around strengthened partnerships with countries of origin and transit”), “robust management” of external borders, and “firm but fair internal rules.”