Whatsapp and Telegram suspend user data review requests from Hong Kong authorities July 6, 2020 Encrypted messaging services Telegram and Facebook’s Whatsapp said today they had “paused” accepting requests from Hong Kong authorities to review user data. China’s parliament last week passed the national security law in Hong Kong, pushing the city state towards a more authoritarian approach to monitoring its citizens and internet censorship. Previously Hong Kong enjoyed relatively [...]
Greece to resume direct flights from UK next week July 6, 2020 Greece will resume direct flights from the UK on 15 July, after it last week extended a ban on travel from Britain over concerns the infection rate could spike. Greece is exempt from the Foreign Office’s advice against all but non-essential international travel, but the country last week signalled it was not ready to resume [...]
Act now to save free trade July 6, 2020 Free trade is a cornerstone of the global economy. It has lifted billions out of poverty and enabled the highest living standards than at any point in human history. It is therefore worrying — although not surprising given the impact of coronavirus on economic activity — that we have seen a stark drop in global [...]
Russia remains dangerous, but don’t confuse it for a superpower July 6, 2020 It is one of those news stories where the incident perfectly fits the larger political risk profile. During the past week, the New York Times reported that a Russian military intelligence unit paid bounties to Taliban-linked militants in 2019 to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan. One imagines the reasoning for this was to decisively derail [...]
Former Tory PM advisers call for government to spend big on coronavirus recovery July 6, 2020 A group of former economic advisers to a string of Tory prime ministers and chancellors have called for a swathe of jobs programmes and fiscal spending to aid the UK’s economic recovery. The group called for £30bn investment into high growth firms, a new retraining fund, a doubling of further education funding and tax reform. [...]
Rishi Sunak to announce £111m for traineeship programme July 5, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak will announce next week that the government will provide £111m in funding to triple the number of 16-24 year old trainees in England. Sunak will use his summer economic statement on Wednesday to announce the extension of the programme, which will see participants receive maths, English and CV writing training in addition [...]
Government to announce £1.57bn support for UK arts and culture industries July 5, 2020 The UK’s arts, heritage and culture industries will benefit from a £1.57bn support package to protect them against the coronavirus downturn. Boris Johnson will announce the new package tomorrow, which will provide funding for thousands of galleries, museums, venues, theatres, historic palaces and independent cinemas. The package will include a £1.15bn pot of support for [...]
Government launches major review into long-term health impacts of coronavirus July 5, 2020 The UK government has launched a major review of the long-term mental and physical health implications of coronavirus. A study of more than 10,000 patients, led by the Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, will assess the impact of coronavirus on patients and how recovery is shaped by individual characteristics such as gender and ethnicity, the Department [...]
Johnson prepares to scrap Huawei from UK 5G network July 5, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to draw up plans this month to start phasing out Huawei from the UK’s 5G infrastructure in a major U-turn following pressure from security agencies. A security review from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a branch of GCHQ, is understood to have revised assurances that risks posed by [...]
Robert Jenrick faces fresh questions over new planning row July 5, 2020 Under fire housing secretary Robert Jenrick has been plunged into a potential new controversy over a planning approval called up by the government just after he was appointed to cabinet. Quinn Estates had an application for a 675-home housing development in Kent taken over by the government last August from Swale Borough Council, after the [...]