Top story: ‘Standing up for freedom and autonomy’
Hello, Warren Murray pleased to be with you for this fifth and final Briefing of the week.
In response to China’s security crackdown in Hong Kong, Britain has launched its visa scheme inviting many residents of the former colony move to and eventually settle in the UK. Applications open on Sunday and the government predicts more than 300,000 people may take up the offer over the next five years, bringing in between £2.4 and £2.9bn to the UK by 2025.
Boris Johnson announced that Hong Kong citizens who hold British National (Overseas) status and their dependants would be able to live, study and work in Britain for five years and eventually apply for citizenship. Britain accuses China of breaching the terms of the 1997 handover by introducing security laws that the UK and other countries say are being used to silence dissent. “In doing so we have honoured our profound ties of history and friendship with the people of Hong Kong, and we have stood up for freedom and autonomy – values both the UK and Hong Kong hold dear,” said the prime minister. China says the path to citizenship interferes with its internal affairs.
From around midday on Sunday, those eligible can apply online and book an appointment to register their fingerprints at a visa application centre. Later, some will be able to make the application using a smartphone app. Government estimates show that in all, 2.9 million people and a further 2.3 million dependents would potentially qualify.
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Welsh schools may reopen earlier – Some primary pupils in Wales could return to classrooms after the February half-term as long as the Covid infection rate continues to fall, the Welsh government has revealed. The lockdown in Wales will stay in place at least until 19 February to safeguard the NHS but a “phased and flexible” return to school is being planned for the week beginning 22 February. The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, is expected to confirm today that the nationwide “alert level 4” lockdown restrictions will remain in place. However, if rates of Covid-19 continue to fall, the “youngest learners” in primary school are set to begin returning to school after half-term. Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday that he hoped pupils would return to schools in England on 8 March but it is believed this is also likely to be a staggered approach.
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Another shot at it – The Novavax vaccine being developed for Covid-19 has been shown to be nearly 90% effective, and to also work against the UK and South African variants. The UK has bought 60m doses and it will be manufactured on Teesside. If given emergency authorisation it could help solve potential problems with supply of the two vaccines currently in use, from AstraZeneca and Pfizer. The Novavax shot gives some protection – though less, at 60% – against the South African variant. Novavax plans to design a vaccine specifically to work against the variant in South Africa, which scientists think may be capable of evading vaccines currently being administered.
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‘Significant loss of business’ since Brexit – The leaders of Britain’s five largest business groups have warned they face “substantial difficulties” at UK ports since Brexit, with the prospect of a “significant loss of business” if the situation is allowed to continue. As businesses say they are struggling with new customs processes, a report has found the majority of lorries travelling out of the UK via Calais and Dunkirk are empty, while heavy goods vehicle traffic in both directions across the Channel is down 30%. Gove said after a meeting with business leaders – who, it is understood, believed the talks were private – that “some businesses are facing challenges with specific aspects of our new trading relationship with the EU … I want to let them know that we will pull out all the stops to help them adjust.” The CBI, British Chambers of Commerce, Make UK, Federation of Small Businesses and Institute of Directors warn in a letter that ministers need to act quickly to ease the situation.
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Cry foul as the game stops – A US congressional hearing is in the offing after amateur traders were banned from buying any more of the GameStop company’s stocks on their preferred trading app, Robinhood. If you haven’t yet got your head around the story: ordinary people banded together online to buy up GameStop stocks, steeply driving up the price, in order to thwart short-sellers who had bet millions that the price would fall because the electronics store chain is struggling. Much of the buy-up took place on Robinhood, but on Thursday it called a halt to purchases of GameStop – sparking an outcry over double standards on Wall Street, because hedge funds were allowed to continue to trade.
Sherrod Brown, the Democrat who chairs the Senate banking committee, said: “People on Wall Street only care about the rules when they’re the ones getting hurt.” Rashida Tlaib, one of the “Squad” of progressive Democratic congresswomen, said Robinhood was “stealing millions of dollars from their users to protect people who’ve used the stock market as a casino for decades”. In an extraordinary moment, Ted Cruz, a Republican, sided on Twitter with bitter opponent Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who said Robinhood’s behaviour was “unacceptable”. But in the wake of the Capitol attacks, Cruz was quickly rebuffed. “You almost had me murdered three weeks ago so you can sit this one out,” Ocasio-Cortez told Cruz. Robinhood has said it will allow limited purchases to resume today.
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Antisemitism inquiry clears charity – The UK’s largest Muslim charity has been exonerated of institutional antisemitism after its government funding was suspended over posts online by two trustees and a senior staff member. Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) was a “highly effective charity” performing “crucial humanitarian work”, said Dominic Grieve, the former Conservative attorney general who led the independent review. “The charity has made a lot of effort to ensure there isn’t antisemitism, and I saw no evidence of it among staff whatsoever”. A director was forced to resign for tweeting antisemitic material under an alias; and after it was found two trustees had previously posted antisemitic comments, a new board was appointed. A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: “We are closely assessing the findings from the independent commission and will make decisions in regard to our relationship with this charity in due course.”
Today in Focus podcast: WhatsApp deplatformed
A routine update to WhatsApp’s privacy policy resulted in a public relations fiasco earlier this month, when viral posts questioning the changes prompted users to try out alternative apps. Kate O’Flaherty breaks down what’s next for the messaging service.
Lunchtime read: ‘I hope the anger doesn’t kill me’
She may be 80 and cut off by Covid, but Nancy Sinatra is still ready to walk all over Donald Trump. As her greatest songs are reissued, she reflects on the sexual politics of the 60s, her friendship with Elvis and her hopes for peace in the US.
Sport
Liverpool’s five-game winless streak in the Premier League ended after Sadio Mané provided the spark in a 3-1 win over Tottenham. José Mourinho said that Harry Kane could be out for “a few weeks” after the striker gave England a scare by injuring both of his ankles at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Thomas Tuchel has dismissed concerns about Chelsea’s history of sacking managers and said he has worked on improving his stubborn streak after falling out with hierarchies at his former clubs. England opener Rory Burns is in India and armed with a fresh perspective thanks to his baby daughter and a new interest in psychology. Sergio García is tied for third after round one of the Dubai Desert Classic, two shots behind Richard Sterne, and said: “I want to be part of a lot of things this year.” Australian Open players have started to leave hotel quarantine after two weeks of isolation, while those still confined to their rooms express frustration on social media. And Yannick Bestaven won the Vendée Globe solo round the world sailing race after he was handed a time bonus of more than 10 hours for his role in rescuing a fellow competitor.
Business
Asia-Pacific stock markets have been mixed after Wall Street rebounded from its biggest loss in nearly three months, while Japan reported that December factory output weakened. Shanghai and Hong Kong advanced while Tokyo and Seoul declined. Sydney was unchanged, New Zealand and Singapore advanced while Jakarta declined. The FTSE is trending lower ahead of the open while the pound is worth $1.370 and €1.209 at time of writing.
The papers
“EU could block millions of Covid vaccine doses from entering UK” – our Guardian front page today, which also covers Alexei Navalny’s furious demands to be freed from his “blatantly illegal” detention in Russia. The Mail celebrates “ANOTHER shot in the arm for Britain”, that being the news about the Novavax shot being effective. “Fair deal for the forgotten victims of Covid” – the Express launches a self-described “crusade” to help “Britain’s students overwhelmed by mental health and financial misery” due to the pandemic. “Britain backs jabs for our teachers” – the Mirror touts its own Covid campaign.
“PM insists Oxford jab does work on over-65s” – the Times knocks down the German assessment. “Union vacc” – the Sun is one of those jubilant about Britain’s growing inoculation arsenal. The FT says “Jab shortfalls push EU’s vaccines drive to crisis point”, reporting that Paris and Lisbon have had to pause their vaccination programmes. Naturally it also has the GameStop story: “Online brokers slam the brakes on extraordinary Reddit-fuelled stock rally”. The i has “Hancock’s promise to 15 million Brits: you will get second jab in time”.
News from Scotland in the Telegraph: “Sturgeon accused of siding with EU on jabs”. The first minister has promised to publish vaccine supply data, a move the central government says could worsen Britain’s vaccine row with the EU. The Metro sums it up as “Nicola needles Boris on jabs”, being as the paper is on first-name terms with both of them.
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