UK vaccine passport app could become ‘honeypot’ for hackers, says former top government cyber adviser March 31, 2021 A potential UK vaccine passport is in danger of becoming a “honeypot” for hackers, rogue states and cyber criminal organisations, according to one of the government’s former top cyber security advisers. Peter Yapp, ex-deputy director of GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), told City A.M. that a vaccine passport app could be an easy target [...]
UK tells G7 that it’s time to ‘get tough with China’ on trade March 31, 2021 The UK’s global partners need to “get tough with China” on its unfair trading practices, according to international trade secretary Liz Truss. Truss has called for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to be reformed and for China to stop designating as a developing country within the body, which means it benefits from looser rules on [...]
Malta to welcome vaccinated Brits from June March 31, 2021 Malta has become the latest country to announce that it will welcome the return of British holidaymakers this summer. The Mediterranean island, which usually attracts around 500,000 tourists from the UK each year, said British travellers who have had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine will be allowed to enter from 1 June. Passengers will [...]
Kent Covid variant ‘no more deadly’ than original coronavirus strain March 31, 2021 The Kent Covid variant, which is now the UK’s dominant version of coronavirus, is no more deadly than the original strain, research by Public Health England (PHE) has found. A PHE study matched 2,800 cases of the B117 variant first identified in Kent against the original Covid strain and found there was no significant difference in [...]
BBC journalist flees China amid Beijing’s criticism of ‘fabricated’ reporting March 31, 2021 BBC News has said this morning that one of its journalists based in China has relocated to Taiwan, as he revealed information China ‘did not want the world to know’. The move comes amid growing criticism from Beijing about the broadcaster’s reports on alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang, which led to BBC World News [...]
France and Germany swoop to buy Russia’s Sputnik vaccine March 31, 2021 France and Germany held discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin last night to supply doses of the country’s Sputnik Covid vaccine as suspicions over the Astrazeneca jab continue to proliferate across the continent. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a video call with the Russian premier to discuss “co-operation” over vaccine [...]
UK and EU financial services pact sets up two meetings a year between regulators March 30, 2021 The new post-Brexit financial services agreement will ensure regulators from the UK and EU meet twice a year, but will stop well short of implementing any new access arrangements. Officials from the Treasury have been speaking with Brussels about a financial services Memorandum of Understanding over the past three months, after there were no provisions [...]
Calls grow louder for government to create green fund for UK’s steel industry March 30, 2021 The government is under growing pressure to bring forward a £250m green fund for the UK’s steel industry to help rescue the ailing industry. The Clean Steel Fund was originally announced in 2019 by the government in a bid to reduce carbon emissions in the sector through new business invesment. However, the fund is not [...]
Uber Boat chosen by TfL to run Hammersmith Bridge ferry service March 30, 2021 Uber Boat has been chosen by Transport for London (TfL) to run a Thames ferry service alongside the closed Hammersmith Bridge. The boat service, operated by Thames Clippers, will take up to 800 cyclists and pedestrians across the river at a time between 6am and 10pm daily. Uber’s ferry service is expected to be up [...]
China tightens grip on Hong Kong as it limits parliament to ‘patriots’ March 30, 2021 China has passed new laws slashing the number of directly-elected politicians to Hong Kong’s parliament, further tightening Beijing’s control over the financial hub. The changes will almost halve the number of representatives who are directly elected and increase the number of Beijing-approved officials. The overhaul is intended to ensure that only “patriots” can rule the [...]