Afrogalaxy

3 minutes
Prime Minister Boris Johnson effectively closed down the United Kingdom on Friday, ordering pubs, restaurants, theatres, cinemas and gyms to shut their doors in a bid to slow down the accelerating spread of the coronavirus.
Johnson said he understood just how wrenching it was to take away the ancient rights of the British people to go to the pub but that it was absolutely essential to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“I do accept that what we’re doing is extraordinary: we’re taking away the ancient, inalienable right of free-born people of the United Kingdom to go to the pub, and I can understand how people feel about that,” Johnson said. “It’s a huge wrench.”
“It’s a huge wrench to do that, everybody understands that,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking to think of the businesses that will face difficulties as a result of the measures this country has had to take.”
The United Kingdom so far has 3,983 confirmed cases of coronavirus, after 66,976 people were tested, though the government’s scientists say it is raging across London, partly as some people are not obeying government advice to isolate.
At total of 177 people with the virus have died so far across the country.
Johnson said pubs, restaurants, theatres, nightclubs, cinemas and gyms and leisure centres were being asked to close on Friday night and to stay shut indefinitely.
“We are telling cafes, bars and restaurants to close tonight as soon as they reasonably can and not to open tomorrow,” Johnson told reporters in Downing Street. “Though to be clear, they can continue to provide takeout services.
“Some people may of course be tempted to go out tonight, and I say to those people, ‘please don’t,’” Johnson said.
The government also announced that a military veterans’ parade in London to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe (VE Day) in May would be cancelled.
New plans to mark the occasion would be unveiled shortly.
Johnson’s finance minister Rishi Sunak also launched a gigantic stimulus package to stabilise Britain’s virus-hit economy on Friday, including the government paying the wages of workers up and down the country.

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LONDON: Qatari officials put pressure on Barclays officials to mask the former prime minister of the Gulf state’s planned holding in the bank, a London court heard on Monday.

A high-profile legal case in London centers on allegations that four former executives from Barclays conspired to commit fraud by false representations when Barclays raised more than £11 billion ($14 billion) from investors in 2008.

Prosecutors allege the bankers hid from public documents around £322 million in secret fees paid to the Qatari investors as they fought to meet their tough demands.

As part of the ongoing case, prosecutors for the UK’s Serious Fraud Office on Monday presented internal emails and phone calls to the jury, The Guardian reported.

The documents detailed discussions on how Barclays might disclose Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani’s planned stake in the bank via Challenger, his British Virgin Islands (BVI)-based investment vehicle.

In a phone call played to the jury Richard Boath, the bank’s former European financial institutions boss, recalled how Sheikh Hamad told the bank’s executives that “he’d like his family to have some shares in Barclays.”

In one email, Boath said he was told that Sheikh Hamad “wants to have a very low profile” and “would prefer that HE’s BVI-based investment vehicle be our fifth investor and sign its own subscription agreement,” The Guardian reported.

In the email exchange with the Qataris’ head of legal, Ahmad Al-Sayad, Boath noted that “we would be required to disclose the identity of this vehicle,” the court heard. Al-Sayad responded that Barclays “should find a way to finesse this in order to keep HE under the radar.”
The four ex-Barclays employees have all denied the charges against them in the trail, which is expected to last up to six months.

Prosecutors have not accused Qatar or officials from that country of wrongdoing.
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LONDON: Richard Boath, an ex-Barclays boss on trial on fraud allegations, said the bank would be "basically dead" without a Qatari cash injection in 2008, a prosecutor said on Thursday.
The Serious Fraud Office prosecutor told the trial of Barclays' ex-chief executive John Varley and three former senior executives that Qatar had played hardball as the British bank struggled to shore up its balance sheet during the financial crisis.

"Without £1 billion, at the very least, from Q (Qatar) we are basically dead," Boath told his Barclays line manager on May 28, 2008, in a communication read out in Southwark Crown Court by prosecutor Edward Brown on the second day of the case.
Former CEO Varley, Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Boath deny conspiring to commit fraud by false representations when Barclays raised more than £11 billion ($14 billion) from investors in 2008, allowing it to avert a British state bailout.
Prosecutors allege the bankers hid from public documents around £322 million in secret fees paid to the Qatari investors as they fought to meet their tough demands.
Jenkins, former chairman for the Middle East of the BarCap business, was the "gatekeeper for Qatar", Brown said, adding that when the Gulf state said it might invest at least £1 billion in May 2008, there was initial delight at Barclays.
"Made my day. Know we have to get it over the line, but it's a great starting point for the conversation," Varley told Bob Diamond, the American executive who later replaced him as CEO, around May 13, 2008 in communications read out in court.
But this was short-lived after Qatar asked first for a fee of 3.75 percent in return for investing - substantially above the 1.5 percent Barclays was offering other investors - before settling on 3.25 percent, the prosecution alleged.
Trying to structure this deal proved a headache, Brown added, because all investors had to be offered the same terms.
The case hinges in part on whether so-called advisory services agreements were for genuine services to be provided by Qatar or a means for Barclays to pay extra fees it demanded.
Transcripts of telephone and email conversations between Barclays executives at the time show the bankers debating the bank's vulnerable condition and the need to get the Qatari investment at all costs, the prosecution alleged.
"They've got us by the balls because the price is so low," Boath told a senior colleague, referring to Qatar's tough stance and the bank's low share price.
Some of the executives also joked about the possibility of going to jail if the Qatari deal did not play by the rules.
"None of us wants to go to jail here," Kalaris said to Boath in a recording of a telephone conversation played to the court. "The food sucks and the sex is worse," Kalaris added.

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LONDON: Britain has ruled out an online sales tax proposed to help high street vendors in the country as it would fall foul of the European Union rules, The Times has reported.

Mel Stride, a minister in Britain's finance ministry, has written to Nicky Morgan, chairwoman of the Treasury select committee, to say there was a "high risk" that any such tax would breach the bloc's state aid rules, the newspaper said.

Britain, which is due to leave the European Union on Mar 29, has accepted "dynamic alignment" with the bloc on state-aid rules as per the draft withdrawal agreement, the report added.

Last August, finance minister Philip Hammond had indicated that he was considering a tax on online retail players.

"This is about international tax arrangements, because most of the online businesses are international businesses," Hammond said in August. "If we can't get international agreement to do this we may have to look at temporary tax measures to rebalance the playing field."

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She's unlikely to feature on many lists of the all-time top British cultural icons.

But Peppa Pig - the UK-made children's cartoon character - is right up there with the best of them, at least in China.

With the series racking up 18 billion online views since its launch here seven years ago, the story of Peppa and her unfeasibly English middle class family is, arguably, doing more for Brand Britain than the Beatles, Manchester United and any of the culinary delights - for which the UK is rightly so renowned - put together.

Pork scratching anyone?

It is then no surprise that, when a Peppa-shaped opportunity came knocking, the British powers that be seized the moment.

After watching an episode in which the precocious piglet and her friends visit the Queen in Buckingham Palace - and encourage her to join them jumping in muddy puddles - two Chinese twins posted a video message online, addressed to none other than Her Royal Majesty.

They too, like Peppa, wanted to visit her in her palace, they said.

And it worked.

Well, sort of.

The British ambassador to China, Dame Barbara Woodward, posted her own video message in reply.

"Hello Mi Ni and Mi Ai," she said. "I'm the British ambassador, so I'm the Queen's representative in China.

"I'd like you to come and visit me in my house in Beijing," she went on, "and we can perhaps have tea and scones in a British style."

The post has been viewed more than nine million times in China - a multiple of 10 times more views than anything else Dame Barbara has posted in her entire four years as ambassador.

And so it was that two slightly bewildered five-year-olds found their way to her residence and munched on scones and chocolate cake, and sat colouring in pictures of Peppa Pig, in front of the assembled media.

"Do you think that the Queen really has muddy puddles in her garden?" I asked them.

They nodded. It is a big garden after all.

The whole experience may not have been quite the same as the real deal, but they have also been promised a trip to the UK where they will, at least, get to see Buckingham Palace.

And the British embassy has launched a competition along with Youku - the online channel with the Chinese rights to Peppa Pig - the young winners of which will also join the twins for the trip.

The whole Peppa phenomenon, it must be said, has a bit of a dark side in China.

A couple of years ago, pictures began to appear online of people sporting Peppa Pig tattoos.

She appeared to have become the chosen symbol for a counter-culture known as "shehuiren" - literally "society people".

Early last year, one popular Chinese streaming site, Douyin, began removing Peppa videos en masse.

The nationalist, Communist Party-controlled tabloid Global Times described Shehuiren as people who are "poorly educated with no stable job" and "unruly slackers roaming around and the antithesis of the young generation the party tries to cultivate".
Soft power

But Peppa has survived this brush with subversion.

A new Peppa Pig movie - made especially for the Chinese market - is due to be launched this coming Chinese New Year.

It is a collaboration between China's Alibaba Pictures and Canada's Entertainment One; although still made in the UK, Peppa Pig is now owned by the Canadian company.

The viral trailer for the film - which artfully grafts the story of Peppa onto seasonal themes of Chinese family and belonging - has received more than 300 million hits to date.
Skip Youtube post by Alibaba Group

With the need for stronger ties with major economies in a post-Brexit world, I asked the UK ambassador whether she thought that a certain pink pig was proving rather more adept at it than British politicians.

"I wouldn't put it quite as zero sum as that, to be honest," Dame Barbara laughs in reply.

There are three components to good UK-China ties, she tells me - a strong government-to-government relationship, a strong business-to-business relationship and a strong people-to-people relationship.

"Peppa Pig is as much a part of the latter as the Royal Family, Wimbledon, the Premier League and all the other things we think of when we think of soft power."

With cute twins, a great British-made product, and massive Chinese media exposure, she must be wishing all UK-China diplomacy could end so happily.

And pigs, as they say, might fly.
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The skyscraper was found to breach the London Plan because it was not free for visitors and would "harm" protected views of the Tower of London.

If built, the tourist attraction would be the tallest in the City and feature internal slides and transparent pods.

The City of London is due to decide on planning permission for the project.

In a 15-page document, Greater London Authority planners found the tower failed to follow the London Plan for several reasons.

Part of the London Plan calls for free access to public areas in tall buildings but most visitors to the flower-like tower would be charged an entrance fee.

The building was found to "harm" views of the Tower of London, while also creating a "confined" and "potentially unsafe pedestrian environment" around the bottom of the tower.

Planners also questioned the "highly distinctive design" saying it would "appear incongruous" in the location, while also calling its height "unjustified".

Norman Foster, whose company Foster + Partners designed the project, previously said the Tulip would be a "cultural and social landmark."

The London Plan is used as guidance for developments and the use of land within the capital.
Under planning regulations, Mr Khan had to provide a statement to the local authority about the proposal because of its height and position within the city.

Once City of London planners make a decision about the application, the proposal will again be referred to the mayor who has the power to grant or refuse final permission.

A City Hall spokesperson said the mayor "recognises that there are a range of views regarding this application" and "will consider the scheme on its merits in due course".
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The Duke of Edinburgh has been involved in a car crash while driving near the Queen's Sandringham estate, Buckingham Palace has said.

Prince Philip, 97, was not injured in the accident, which happened as he drove a Land Rover out of a driveway onto the A149 shortly before 15:00 GMT.

The other car involved was a Kia. Two women in it needed hospital treatment - they have since been discharged.

Eyewitnesses said the duke's Land Rover overturned during the collision.

They said they helped the duke out of the vehicle. He was conscious but very, very shocked and shaken, they added.

Norfolk police said it was force policy to breath test drivers involved in collisions and both had provided negative readings.

The duke is back at Sandringham and has seen a doctor as a precaution.

A woman who drove past the crash scene - near Babingley, a small village north of Kings Lynn in Norfolk - at around 15:40 said she saw an ambulance and "a heavy police presence".

"I was just going down the A149 … and saw a lot of blue flashing lights ahead," she said. "I saw a black, 4x4 type car on its side and me and my son were like 'oh my word, that doesn't look good'.

"Luckily it was just sort of on the side of the road, the road wasn't closed in any way.

"Obviously it looked quite smashed in. I'm quite amazed he [the duke] is okay actually."

Norfolk police confirmed officers were called to the scene shortly before 3pm after a Land Rover and a Kia were involved in a collision.

It had previously been reported the duke had been driving a Range Rover.

The driver of the Kia suffered cuts, while the passenger sustained an arm injury, police said. Both were treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn.

A statement said the road remained open and both vehicles were recovered a short time later.

Nick Cobb, a long-time Babingley resident, was driving past with his 16-year-old daughter Emily at about 15:10 GMT when they spotted an overturned car about 100 yards from their house.

"The [Land Rover] was on its side on a private road.

"The other car was well into the hedge on the opposite side of the road.

"There was lots of debris in the road, lots of glass and lots of other cars, some police cars, some from the Sandringham Estate and about six ordinary looking cars that looked as though they had stopped to help.

"We only found out that it was the duke's car when we saw it on the news. The road was not blocked by the crash and was open when we came past."

The BBC's Nic Rigby, at the scene, says all that's left are pieces of broken glass and the remnants of a wing mirror.

It has been a chilly day, he adds, and there were small flurries of snow in parts of Norfolk, but nothing that troubled the county's roads.

The Queen and Prince Philip have been staying at the estate in Norfolk since Christmas.

The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, tweeted a prayer in support to the duke, and later another one for the two other people involved in the accident.
Analysis: 'Surprise that the duke still drives'

By BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond

There will be several sharp intakes of breath over this accident.

The first will be over the good news - that the Duke escaped unscathed. A photo of what is believed to be the accident shows what looks like a Land Rover resting on its driver side, having turned or flipped as a result of the collision. That must have been some impact.

The duke was, a witness told the BBC, "very very shocked". But the Palace says the duke was not injured and did not need medical treatment.

The duke is five months short of his 98th birthday. By anyone's standards, getting away from an accident like that unhurt is pretty impressive.

There will be some surprise that the duke still drives himself on public roads. But he has always been fiercely independent, and would have resisted any suggestion that he be denied the right to drive himself.

And there will now be an investigation into the circumstances of the accident. It might be that the duke is about to be persuaded to give up the wheel.

Royal biographer Hugo Vickers told BBC News: "Any kind of car accident at the age of 97 is likely to produce shock.

"Some years ago he gave up flying planes long before he needed to because he was scared that if something happened there would be a lot of criticism.

"You know, why was he, at the age of 55, still flying a plane when he should have retired at 48 or something like that.

"So he does listen to these things - he's very, very sensible.

"If anyone's involved in a car accident, it's quite a frightening thing. If he thought that he'd lost concentration or something or he hadn't seen somebody he would realise he's not up to it anymore."

The president of the AA, Edmund King said high profile car crashes involving elderly drivers often spark calls for bans or restrictions on older drivers.

But he added: "If driving restrictions based on age and safety were introduced we would be more likely to restrict young drivers rather than older drivers.

"Young, predominantly male, drivers are much more likely to crash within six months of passing their test than older drivers within six months of hanging up their keys.

"Older drivers often self restrict their driving by not driving at night and only driving on familiar roads."

The duke famously drove the Obamas when the then-US president and first lady visited Windsor in 2016.

A discussion on whether to put average speed cameras on the stretch of the A149 where the duke's crash happened had already been planned by Norfolk County Council on Friday - prior to the crash.

Prince Philip retired from public life in August 2017 having spent decades supporting the Queen and attending events for his own charities and organisations.

Buckingham Palace calculated he had completed 22,219 solo engagements since 1952.

Since retiring from official solo duties, he has appeared in public alongside the Queen and other members of the royal family at events and church services.

He did not attend the Royal Family's Christmas Day service at Sandringham last month.
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The Duke of Edinburgh has been involved in a car crash while driving near the Queen's Sandringham estate, Buckingham Palace has said.

Prince Philip, 97, was not injured in the accident, which happened as he drove a Land Rover out of a driveway onto the A149 shortly before 15:00 GMT.

The other car involved was a Kia. Two women in it needed hospital treatment - they have since been discharged.

Eyewitnesses said the duke's Land Rover overturned during the collision.

They said they helped the duke out of the vehicle. He was conscious but very, very shocked and shaken, they added.

Norfolk police said it was force policy to breath test drivers involved in collisions and both had provided negative readings.

The duke is back at Sandringham and has seen a doctor as a precaution.

A woman who drove past the crash scene - near Babingley, a small village north of Kings Lynn in Norfolk - at around 15:40 said she saw an ambulance and "a heavy police presence".

"I was just going down the A149 … and saw a lot of blue flashing lights ahead," she said. "I saw a black, 4x4 type car on its side and me and my son were like 'oh my word, that doesn't look good'.

"Luckily it was just sort of on the side of the road, the road wasn't closed in any way.

"Obviously it looked quite smashed in. I'm quite amazed he [the duke] is okay actually."

Norfolk police confirmed officers were called to the scene shortly before 3pm after a Land Rover and a Kia were involved in a collision.

It had previously been reported the duke had been driving a Range Rover.

The driver of the Kia suffered cuts, while the passenger sustained an arm injury, police said. Both were treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn.

A statement said the road remained open and both vehicles were recovered a short time later.

Nick Cobb, a long-time Babingley resident, was driving past with his 16-year-old daughter Emily at about 15:10 GMT when they spotted an overturned car about 100 yards from their house.

"The [Land Rover] was on its side on a private road.

"The other car was well into the hedge on the opposite side of the road.

"There was lots of debris in the road, lots of glass and lots of other cars, some police cars, some from the Sandringham Estate and about six ordinary looking cars that looked as though they had stopped to help.

"We only found out that it was the duke's car when we saw it on the news. The road was not blocked by the crash and was open when we came past."

The BBC's Nic Rigby, at the scene, says all that's left are pieces of broken glass and the remnants of a wing mirror.

It has been a chilly day, he adds, and there were small flurries of snow in parts of Norfolk, but nothing that troubled the county's roads.

The Queen and Prince Philip have been staying at the estate in Norfolk since Christmas.

The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, tweeted a prayer in support to the duke, and later another one for the two other people involved in the accident.
Analysis: 'Surprise that the duke still drives'

By BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond

There will be several sharp intakes of breath over this accident.

The first will be over the good news - that the Duke escaped unscathed. A photo of what is believed to be the accident shows what looks like a Land Rover resting on its driver side, having turned or flipped as a result of the collision. That must have been some impact.

The duke was, a witness told the BBC, "very very shocked". But the Palace says the duke was not injured and did not need medical treatment.

The duke is five months short of his 98th birthday. By anyone's standards, getting away from an accident like that unhurt is pretty impressive.

There will be some surprise that the duke still drives himself on public roads. But he has always been fiercely independent, and would have resisted any suggestion that he be denied the right to drive himself.

And there will now be an investigation into the circumstances of the accident. It might be that the duke is about to be persuaded to give up the wheel.

Royal biographer Hugo Vickers told BBC News: "Any kind of car accident at the age of 97 is likely to produce shock.

"Some years ago he gave up flying planes long before he needed to because he was scared that if something happened there would be a lot of criticism.

"You know, why was he, at the age of 55, still flying a plane when he should have retired at 48 or something like that.

"So he does listen to these things - he's very, very sensible.

"If anyone's involved in a car accident, it's quite a frightening thing. If he thought that he'd lost concentration or something or he hadn't seen somebody he would realise he's not up to it anymore."

The president of the AA, Edmund King said high profile car crashes involving elderly drivers often spark calls for bans or restrictions on older drivers.

But he added: "If driving restrictions based on age and safety were introduced we would be more likely to restrict young drivers rather than older drivers.

"Young, predominantly male, drivers are much more likely to crash within six months of passing their test than older drivers within six months of hanging up their keys.

"Older drivers often self restrict their driving by not driving at night and only driving on familiar roads."

The duke famously drove the Obamas when the then-US president and first lady visited Windsor in 2016.

A discussion on whether to put average speed cameras on the stretch of the A149 where the duke's crash happened had already been planned by Norfolk County Council on Friday - prior to the crash.

Prince Philip retired from public life in August 2017 having spent decades supporting the Queen and attending events for his own charities and organisations.

Buckingham Palace calculated he had completed 22,219 solo engagements since 1952.

Since retiring from official solo duties, he has appeared in public alongside the Queen and other members of the royal family at events and church services.

He did not attend the Royal Family's Christmas Day service at Sandringham last month.
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Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal has been rejected by 230 votes - the largest defeat for a sitting government in history.

MPs voted by 432 votes to 202 to reject the deal, which sets out the terms of Britain's exit from the EU on 29 March.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has now tabled a vote of no confidence in the government, which could trigger a general election.

The confidence vote is expected to be held at about 1900 GMT on Wednesday.

The defeat is a huge blow for Mrs May, who has spent more than two years hammering out a deal with the EU.

The plan was aimed at bringing about an orderly departure from the EU on 29 March, and setting up a 21-month transition period to negotiate a free trade deal.

The vote was originally due to take place in December, but Mrs May delayed it to try and win the support of more MPs.

The UK is still on course to leave on 29 March but the defeat throws the manner of that departure - and the timing of it - into further doubt.

MPs who want either a further referendum, a softer version of the Brexit proposed by Mrs May, to stop Brexit altogether or to leave without a deal, will ramp up their efforts to get what they want, as a weakened PM offered to listen to their arguments.
Laura Kuenssberg: May's nightmare

History was made tonight with the scale of this defeat - a higher figure than the wildest of numbers that were gossiped about before the vote.

But the prime minister's dilemma is a more serious version of the same it's always been.

She has no majority of her own in Parliament to make her middle way through stick. And her many critics don't agree on the direction she should take - a more dramatic break with the EU, or a tighter, softer version.

Those two fundamental and clashing positions have always threatened to pull her and the government apart.

The Brexit debate has cut across traditional party lines.

Some 118 Conservative MPs - from both the Leave and Remain wings of her party - voted with the opposition parties against Mrs May's deal.

And three Labour MPs supported the prime minister's deal: Ian Austin (Dudley North), Kevin Barron (Rother Valley) and John Mann (Bassetlaw).

The most controversial sticking point was the issue of the Northern Irish backstop - the fallback plan to avoid any return to physical border checks between the country and Ireland.

Mrs May had hoped new assurances from EU leaders this week, saying the backstop would be temporary and, if triggered, would last for "the shortest possible period", would help her garner more support.

But in the debate leading up to the vote, members from all sides of the House said the move did not go far enough.
In normal times, such a crushing defeat

on a key piece of government legislation would be expected to be followed by a prime ministerial resignation.

But Mrs May signalled her intention to carry on in a statement immediately after the vote.

"The House has spoken and this government will listen," she told MPs

She offered cross-party talks to determine a way forward on Brexit, if she succeeded in winning the confidence vote.

Former foreign secretary and leading Brexiteer Boris Johnson said it was a "bigger defeat than people have been expecting" - and it meant Mrs May's deal was now "dead".

But he said it gave the prime minister a "massive mandate to go back to Brussels" to negotiate a better deal, without the controversial Northern Ireland backstop.

And he said he would back Mrs May in Wednesday's confidence vote.

Labour MP Chuka Umunna said that if his leader did not secure a general election, Mr Corbyn should do what the "overwhelming majority" of Labour members want and get behind a further EU referendum.

Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable, who also wants a second referendum, said Mrs May's defeat was "the beginning of the end of Brexit" - but conceded that campaigners would not get one without Mr Corbyn's backing.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Mrs May had suffered "a defeat of historic proportions" and called again for the Article 50 "clock to be stopped" in order for another referendum to take place.

"We have reached the point now where it would be unconscionable to kick the can any further down the road," she said.

However, government minister Rory Stewart said there was no majority in the Commons for any Brexit plan, including another referendum.
How a confidence motion works

By the BBC's head of political research Peter Barnes

Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011, UK general elections are only supposed to happen every five years. The next one is due in 2022.

But a vote of no confidence lets MPs decide on whether they want the government to continue. The motion must be worded: "That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government."

If a majority of MPs vote for the motion then it starts a 14-day countdown.

If during that time the current government, or any other alternative government cannot win a new vote of confidence, then an early general election would be called.

That election cannot happen for at least 25 working days.

MPs are set to debate Labour's no confidence motion for about six hours following Prime Minister's Questions at 1200.

Mr Corbyn said it would allow the House of Commons to "give its verdict on the sheer incompetence of this government".

But DUP leader Arlene Foster said her party, which keeps Mrs May in power, would be supporting her in Wednesday's confidence vote.

She told the BBC MPs had "acted in the best interests of the entire United Kingdom" by voting down the deal.

But she added: "We will give the government the space to set out a plan to secure a better deal."

In her statement to MPs, Mrs May said she planned to return to the Commons next Monday with an alternative plan - if she survives the confidence vote.

She said she would explore any ideas from cross-party talks with the EU, but she remained committed to delivering on the result of the 2016 referendum.

But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the risk of a disorderly Brexit had increased as a result of the deal being voted down.

He said the agreement was "the only way to ensure an orderly withdrawal" and that he and President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, had "demonstrated goodwill" with additional clarifications this week to put MPs minds at rest.

"I urge the United Kingdom to clarify its intentions as soon as possible," he said. "Time is almost up."

Mr Tusk said he regretted the outcome of the vote and later tweeted to ask "who will finally have the courage to say what the only positive solution is?"

A statement from the Irish government also said it regretted the decision and that it "continues to believe that ratification of this agreement is the best way to ensure an orderly withdrawal of the UK".

It also said it will "continue to intensify preparations" for a no deal Brexit
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A dog owner, Sasha Smajic, 37, spent over £4000 ( N1,872,480) on giving her late dog, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Captain, a lavish funeral.

Smajic said, Captain, who was eleven years old deserved the same respect as any family member. Captain died on Christmas Day after suffering a cardiac arrest on the operating table, reports Metro UK.

Smajic said she didn’t eat for a week after his death. In total, she spent £4,249 on the funeral, including £225 on a dove release and another £620 on getting his name written in flowers.

The dog owner said, “I don’t think I’ll ever celebrate another Christmas. I don’t think I would ever have the strength to do that. A piece of me has gone.”

Captain’s body was taken from the vets in a horse-drawn carriage to a park where he used to go for walks. His coffin was then transferred to a hearse for the 40-minute drive to Willow Haven Cemetery in Bedmond, Hertfordshire.


Cemetery owner Maureen Beach read a poem at Captain’s graveside with 11 doves – one for each year of his life – being released at 2pm during the service after he was lowered into the ground.

Afterwards, Sasha went to the pub where she put a plate of chicken and chips on the table “as that is what he would have had”.

Sasha said, “Captain deserved a special send off. For some people he was a dog, to me he was my baby – he was everything to me and always will be.”
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Bizarre fruit-inspired building set within a woodland full of wildlife


About this place

Both strange and beautiful, the Pineapple has always amazed and inspired visitors. It was built in 1761 by the Earl of Dunmore as a summerhouse where he could appreciate the views from his estate. At this time, pineapples were among Scotland’s most exotic foods.

A wide variety of unusual fruits and vegetables once grew in the extensive glasshouses and pineapple pits in the Pineapple’s walled garden. The grounds are now an oasis for wildlife and you can enjoy a peaceful walk around the former curling pond and surrounding woodland.
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Two people arrested in England on suspicion of the criminal use of drones are no longer considered suspects, Sussex Police said.

The 47-year-old man and 54-year-old woman from West Sussex were arrested Friday night after drones were seen flying close to the runway at Gatwick Airport.

Flights affecting about 140,000 passengers were grounded for 36 hours while the incident was investigated.

Sussex Police said the man and woman who were arrested have been released from custody and were not charged with any crimes, the BBC reported Sunday.

"Both people have fully cooperated with our [inquiries] and I am satisfied that they are no longer suspects in the drone incidents at Gatwick," Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Tingley said in a statement to Gizmodo. "Our inquiry continues at a pace to locate those responsible for the drone incursions, and we continue to actively follow lines of investigation."

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British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Friday that two Reuters journalists jailed in Myanmar on charges of breaking the country’s Official Secrets Act were innocent and that Britain had serious concerns about due process in the case.
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were found guilty in September after a trial at a Yangon district court in a case that has raised questions about Myanmar’s progress toward democracy and triggered an outcry from diplomats and human rights advocates.
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi said in September that the jailing of the reporters had nothing to do with freedom of expression. She said they were not jailed because they were journalists.
In a sign of the level of concern among world powers about the case, Britain’s foreign policy chief took the unusual step of recording a short video to show his support for the jailed Reuters journalists.
“We want the world to remember these two journalists, not just because we believe they are innocent, but also because this is a year when we have seen a big increase in the number of journalists who have been locked up and indeed far worse — murdered,” Hunt said.
There were 251 journalists jailed for doing their jobs as of Dec. 1, the Committee to Protect Journalists said in an annual study earlier this month.
At least 53 journalists were killed around the world between January 1 and December 14, 2018, according to the CPJ, a US-based nonprofit that promotes press freedom.
Britain’s Hunt said that at a time when people were looking forward to spending time with their families, it was time to reflect on the fate of the two Reuters journalists.
They “are both in prison this Christmas because they wanted to report of the Rakhine crisis where there has been some alleged genocide against the Rohingya people in Burma,” Hunt said.
The Reuters reporters, who pleaded not guilty, said they were handed papers by police shortly before they were detained, and a police witness testified that they had been set up.
They had been investigating the killing of 10 Rohingya men and boys as part of a military response to insurgent attacks.
“We are very worried about due process in this case — it is something that I have raised with Aung San Suu Kyi,” said Hunt. He did not elaborate further on the British concerns about the case.
Lawyers for the two Reuters reporters have lodged an appeal against their conviction and sentence.
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LONDON: British forces stormed an Italian cargo ship on Friday and regained control after stowaways threatened crew members as it sailed close to the coast of southeast England.
Police said no one was injured in the operation.
The Sun newspaper said the rescue was led by members of the navy’s elite Special Boat Service.
Four stowaways had threatened crew on the ship, the Grande Tema, a spokesman for the boat’s operator, Grimaldi Lines, said.
Four men were detained under Britain’s immigration laws and the vessel was being taken safely to the port of Tilbury, police said in a statement.
Sky News said the stowaways were believed to have boarded the ship in Nigeria and had demanded to be taken to the English coast, threatening the crew with iron bars.
Earlier, police said they did not think the incident in the Thames Estuary was piracy or terrorism-related.
Police first attended the incident at 0900 GMT on Friday and the operation was concluded about 14 hours later.
The BBC said the crew had locked themselves in the vessel’s bridge for safety.
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LONDON: British forces stormed an Italian cargo ship on Friday and regained control after stowaways threatened crew members as it sailed close to the coast of southeast England.
Police said no one was injured in the operation.
The Sun newspaper said the rescue was led by members of the navy’s elite Special Boat Service.
Four stowaways had threatened crew on the ship, the Grande Tema, a spokesman for the boat’s operator, Grimaldi Lines, said.
Four men were detained under Britain’s immigration laws and the vessel was being taken safely to the port of Tilbury, police said in a statement.
Sky News said the stowaways were believed to have boarded the ship in Nigeria and had demanded to be taken to the English coast, threatening the crew with iron bars.
Earlier, police said they did not think the incident in the Thames Estuary was piracy or terrorism-related.
Police first attended the incident at 0900 GMT on Friday and the operation was concluded about 14 hours later.
The BBC said the crew had locked themselves in the vessel’s bridge for safety.
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New UK and England Bank Poll Hints at XRP and Crypto Assets being Optimal to Receive Payments

According to a new poll made by the Bank of England on Twitter, 69% of the respondents said that their favourite way to receive money as a gift at Christmas is using digital currencies.

The poll received more than 7,400 votes as of December 20. The other options were cash (22%), bank transfer (7%) and gif voucher (2%).

There are several virtual currencies that can be used for transferring funds. However, each of them has different functionalities and features.

There are some assets such as XRP or Stellar Lumens (XLM) that offer very cheap and fast transfers. Other cryptos such as Bitcoin (BTC) or Litecoin (LTC) have slower transfers but work with a different consensus algorithm than XLM and XRP.

The XRP community has been asking several exchanges to add support to XRP as a base currency. This would help different exchanges to increase their trading volume but also users to have a fast and economical way of sending and receiving funds between exchanges.

Ripple is also working with many different companies around the world in order to improve cross-border payments. Using Ripple’s solutions, banks and financial institutions could reduce costs and also transaction times.

The Bank of England has been investigating and researching information about digital currencies. Earlier this year, the financial institution has released a paper titled ‘Central bank digital currencies – design principles and balance sheet implications.’ The paper discusses how different models of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) could be applied.

On the matter, the bank wrote:

“Central banks are increasingly studying the monetary policy and financial system implications of issuing central bank digital currencies (CBDC). Even though the Bank of England does not currently plan to issue CBDC, it recently published an extensive research agenda on the topic.”

There are several central banks that are thinking about issuing or working with CBDC. For example, the central bank of Sweden is analysing the possibility to issue a CBDC to make it easier for older people and unbanked individuals to have access to financial services.

Sweden is one of the countries that is moving towards a cashless society.

The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, informed earlier this year that cryptocurrencies do not pose risks to global financial stability at this time. This is something similar to what Christine Lagarde, the Head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said. She mentioned that CBDCs would allow governments to reduce the role of cash in the economy and help them reduce costs.

There are several individuals all over the world that prefer to use virtual currencies rather than other systems for transacting funds. They are fast, secure and do not depend on a centralized authority such as a bank or financial firm.

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BRUSSELS: British education minister Damian Hinds said on Sunday (Dec 16) the government was not planning for a second referendum, denying reports that ministers were looking at such a vote to break the deadlock over Brexit.

Asked if the government was preparing for a vote, Hinds told Sky News: "No, a second referendum would be divisive. We've had the people's vote, we've had the referendum and now we've got to get on with implementing it."

He described Prime Minister Theresa May's deal to the leave the European Union as a "balanced" agreement that lawmakers should support.
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The UK could pursue alternative options if Theresa May's Brexit plan is rejected by MPs, Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd has acknowledged.

She is the first cabinet minister to publicly float the possibility of "plausible" alternatives.

Mrs Rudd told BBC Radio 4's Today programme she still supported the PM's plan - but "anything could happen" if it did not get through on Tuesday.

She said it could be "chaotic" if Mrs May's deal is rejected.

Mrs Rudd said a so-called "Norway plus" option or another referendum would both be possibilities in such a situation.

A Norway plus arrangement would see the UK remaining in the European Economic Area (EEA) and joining a customs union with the EU.

However the UK would have to accept free movement of people - breaching a previous "red line" laid down by the PM.

Ms Rudd described it as a "plausible", but not a "desirable" option for a Plan B. She also said she was not certain it could be done.

Norway is not a member of the EU but it is part of the EEA. While a cross-party group of MPs back a similar status for the UK - the government would need to apply to join Norway and three other countries in the European Free Trade Association.

Ms Rudd said the deal Mrs May reached with the EU last month was the "best option".

"What we need is a compromise deal - that's what the prime minister has proposed," she said.

Asked why she had previously refused to speculate on possible alternatives to Mrs May's agreement, Ms Rudd said: "We are getting closer to the vote.

"People are saying why they are not going to vote for it and I'm just pointing out if you don't vote for it, these are the other things that could happen. Are you sure you want them more?"

Far and wide this week - ministers have travelled the UK selling the idea of Theresa May's Brexit plan.

The message has been a simple one - there is no alternative.

Until this morning - when the Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd opened the door to a Plan B... and what might happen if MPs vote down the deal.

To be clear, Mrs Rudd says she still backs - and will vote for - the PM's plan. But she has now become the first voice from within the cabinet to entertain a notion of what happens next if the vote is lost.

What is more, politicians know how their words are weighed. The work and pensions secretary will have been aware that people would interpret raising the prospect of a Norway Plus relationship with the EU as her signalling her support.

Some will find it easy to believe that her declaration that such an arrangement would be "plausible" is none other than an early shot in the looming battle of the Plan Bs.

For there to be a plan B though, plan A must first be voted down.

And despite Mrs Rudd's protestations of faith that the deal's not dead, it's looking highly likely it will be killed off on Tuesday.

Ms Rudd told Today a lot of people had a "perfect vision" of what they think Brexit should look like, "and that perfect is not available".

"I would urge my colleagues to think about, first of all, why people voted to leave the European Union, what their interpretation is of that; and, secondly, what the alternatives are," she said.

She added: "If it doesn't get through, anything could happen... and none of them are as good as the current arrangement."

Ms Rudd said she hoped an amendment to Tuesday's vote, tabled by former Northern Ireland minister Sir Hugo Swire in an attempt to win over Eurosceptic MPs, "will give some of my colleagues reassurance".

Many MPs have expressed concerns about the so-called backstop arrangement, aimed at preventing a "hard border" between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland if no trade deal is ready before the end of the post-Brexit transition period, in December 2020.

The amendment would enable Parliament to approve a decision to trigger the backstop and put a one-year time limit on it.

On Saturday, Colchester MP Will Quince became the latest Conservative to resign from the government over the backstop question.

Mr Quince stepped down as a ministerial aide to Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, telling the Sunday Telegraph he could not support a backstop without an end date.

For what could happen after the vote, read here.
What is the Norway model?

Norway is not a member of the EU but is in the European Economic Area, meaning it is part of the single market
In return, it contributes to the EU budget, and has to follow most EU rules and laws, including the freedom of movement of goods, services, capital and people
Norway is not part of the customs union, so, to avoid a hard Irish border, a new customs union (or equivalent arrangement) with the EU - a "Norway plus" solution - would be necessary

You can read a more detailed explanation of the Norway model here.
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