BORIS JOHNSON 'PLANS TO OPT OUT OF HUMAN RIGHTS LAWS' AMID BREXIT ROW

 The Independent 13 September 2020 - by Peter Stubley

© Provided by The Independent

Boris Johnson is planning to opt out of parts of the Human Rights Act, according to reports.

The prime minister is said be considering ways to prevent the legislation being used to stop deportations of asylum seekers and prosecutions of British soldiers.

A review of human rights laws has been carried out across Whitehall and its findings will be announced “in the coming weeks”, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The move comes after Mr Johnson sparked fury in Europe with the Internal Market Bill to override part of the Brexit deal he signed in October.

Ministers have admitted that it would break international law but the prime minister claims it is necessary to prevent the EU  “carving up our country”.

However he is facing mounting criticism from across the political spectrum, including rebel Tory MPs and former prime ministers John Major and Tony Blair.

Brussels wants the UK to commit to the European Convention on Human Rights as part of the terms of a Brexit trade agreement.

However UK negotiators have refused, claiming that the issue is a matter of “sovereignty”.

The possibility of opting out of the Human Rights Act once Britain had left the EU was raised when Theresa May was prime minister. She said during her leadership campaign in 2016 that the ECHR had made it harder to deport terror suspects and criminals.

Mr Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings is also a critic, saying in 2018 that a referendum on the ECHR would be “high on the agenda” .

The Tory election manifesto last year pledged to "update" the act after Brexit and in February it was reported that ministers were also looking at potentially suspending the ECHR. 

Then in May Michael Gove admitted that the UK was refusing to sign up to human rights safeguards as part of a trade deal so that the government has the option of changing the Human Rights Act.

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RAF FIGHTER JETS INTERCEPT RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT OFF SCOTTISH COAST

 The Independent 13 September 2020 - by Peter Stubley

© Provided by The Independent

RAF fighter jets have intercepted two Russian aircraft off the coast of Scotland.

The Eurofighter Typhoons were scrambled into action after the Tupolev Tu-142 planes “entered the UK's controlled zone of international airspace”, the Ministry of Defence said.

An MoD spokesman said that monitoring the zone ensures the safe passage for all other aircraft, including civilian transatlantic airliners that are under UK civilian air traffic control.

The Russian planes were identified as Bear F maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft.

It comes after the RAF confirmed on Friday that its Typhoons had joined large-scale military exercises over the North Sea with the US Air Force and the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

On that occasion the Typhoons played the role of the “enemy” as part of “Exercise Point Blank”, which takes place every three months.

Group Captain Chris Layden, the Station Commander of RAF Lossiemouth, said: "Our Typhoons have played a different role in this iteration of Exercise Point Blank.

"They acted as the Aggressors against the fifth-generation F-35s from the RAF, US Marine Corps, and Royal Netherlands Air Force, simulating the tactics and threats of our adversaries whilst challenging their colleagues in a series of complex air-to-air battles that tested the skills of the pilots involved, and pushed these world-class aircraft to their limits.”

RAF Typhoons are also used to intercept commercial aircraft if a security threat is reported. In July they escorted a Ryanair flight to London Stanstead after a note warning explosives were on board was found in the toilets during the journey from Krakow to Dublin.

Last month the fighter jets were scrambled from RAF Coninsgby to intercept a passenger flight from Vienna to Stansted on Sunday night following reports that suspicious items had been found in the toilets.

The Quick Reaction Alert Typhoons are currently based at former RAF Leuchars. This is now the British Army's Leuchars Station, the home of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.

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BRITAIN NOT ACTING IN BREACH OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

 Cyprus Mail 13 September 2020 - by Alper Ali Riza

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson

According to the EU-UK withdrawal agreement and the Vienna Convention on treaties pacta sunt servanda: treaties are binding on the parties and must be performed in good faith. No country is obliged to consent to a treaty but if she does, she is bound by its terms.

The corollary to that is that if a country believes it is not in her national interest she must not become a party in bad faith intending to change it before the ink is dry; so the idea that there are treaties to which states are obliged to become parties is nonsense on stilts.

The Northern Ireland protocol is part of the withdrawal agreement and one section of it deals with state aid, which is unlawful in the EU and made unlawful as between Northern Ireland and the EU. UK state aid to Northern Ireland was therefore made unlawful under EU law with one irrelevant exception. Furthermore, the EU Commission was given power to keep UK state aid to Northern Ireland under constant review to make sure it complies with EU law.

What the UK government has done in the proposed law that most experts believe is in breach of international law is to reserve for itself and the UK courts the interpretation and application of EU law concerning state aid. And it gave power to the relevant government minister to gainsay EU law on state aid, presumably to forestall the Court of Justice or the EU expanding the law limiting state aid beyond what the British were prepared to accept were its limits when they signed the protocol.

However, both the proposed UK law and the regulations made under it will be subject to affirmative resolution by parliament. They will first have to pass muster by the UK parliament’s scrutiny committee set up to oversee the implementation of the EU-UK withdrawal agreement before being sent for approval by both Houses of Parliament.

So those who jumped to the conclusion that Britain cannot be trusted because she has broken international law protest too much too early.

It is true that the Boris Johnson government is probably the worst administration since the time of the rotten boroughs when the Duke of Wellington was prime minister. Like Wellington, Johnson defeated a Napoleonic vision of Europe, but like Wellington he is also one of the worst prime ministers the UK has ever known. His handling of the coronavirus has shown him up to be grossly incompetent – only good at mouthing inanities in a silly accent completely out of place in a pandemic crisis.

Britain, however, is not the British government. She is her system of government and Britain’s governance as a system is a lot more conducive to compliance with international law than the EU’s.

Britain passed the point of no return when she left the EU at the end of January 2020. There is no going back. A few loose ends remain during the transition period, but this is a mopping up operation after the final battle was fought and won by Brexit Britain. As the broadcaster David Dimbleby put it on the night of the referendum result: we are out!

The other day a Tory grandee likened Britain’s departure from the EU to a colony gaining independence from a colonial power, which he said dead pan without a sense of irony. The point he was making was that independence agreements contained in international treaties should be given a wide margin of appreciation in light of their object and purpose, which is to disengage from colonial rule completely.

Although it was a bit rich coming from a Tory politician to portray Britain as a colony of Europe, the analogy was as amusing as it was true. The EU is a legal construct: it is its legal order – the acquis communautaire. So when Britain withdrew from the EU the presumption is that the reach of the acquis would diminish to zero. So to the extent that some EU laws had to be retained to accommodate the Irish, the issue of the enterprise was that it would be for the British government and the British courts to decide the interpretation of EU law and its limits.

I do not myself believe that an inchoate provision in a bill giving a UK minister power to make regulations that interpret an article in the Northern Ireland protocol as the UK government understands its purport to be is capable of being a breach of international law.

The purpose of the Northern Ireland Protocol was to preserve the whole of the island of Ireland border free after Britain left the EU, whilst at the same time preserving the unity of the UK. A seamless border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, together with the fact every person born on the island of Ireland including Northern Ireland is a citizen of the Republic of Ireland were two of the five pillars of the Good Friday agreement that persuaded IRA Sinn Fein to abandon their struggle for a united Ireland. The other two were that Northern Ireland would remain part of UK in accordance with the wishes of the majority unionist community, but that the door was left ajar if in future the majority population in Northern Ireland vote to become part of the Republic of Ireland.

Last but not least was the incorporation of the European Convention of Human Rights into the domestic law of Northern Ireland, which was particularly welcome by the Catholic community.

However, I cannot see how the power to make regulations given to a UK government minister to decide state aid according to his understanding of the meaning and effect of EU law as it stood when the Northern Ireland protocol was signed undermines the Good Friday accords.

In any case the bill and any regulations made under it will be subject to rigorous and anxious scrutiny by both Houses of Parliament whose job it is to ensure laws are not in breach of international law.

If the EU, Ireland and Sinn Fein really believe that the bill undermines the Good Friday Agreement they can instruct their members of the UK parliament to stop skiving and attend parliament and make their case instead of leaving it to the American Congress Speaker Nancy Pelosi. I am not at all sure she read article 10 of the protocol and cross referred it to at least four articles of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, as well as the Good Friday Agreement and the UK Internal Market Bill.

Alper Ali Riza is a queen’s counsel in the UK and a retired judge

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32 NEW CORONAVIRUS CASES IN THE NORTH

 Cyprus Mail 13 September 2020 - by Jean Christou

Thermal cameras at Tymbou (Ercan) airport

The number of coronavirus cases in the north rose to 32 between Friday and Saturday evening during which time 2,254 tests were carried out.

According to a statement issued late Saturday by ‘health minister’ Ali Pilli, of the 32 new cases, two arrived in the north by air and one by sea. Fifteen were identified through contact tracing and 14 were local cases.

Five people were discharged from hospital on Saturday. The total number of cases in the north stood at 573 with 108 people being treated in hospital – none in ICU – and 135 people in quarantine hotels.

The total number of tests carried out in the north to date clocks in at 140,284.

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EIGHT BUSINESSES AND 14 INDIVIDUALS BOOKED FOR COVID VIOLATIONS

 Cyprus Mail 13 September 2020 - by Staff Reporter

Fourteen individuals and eight businesses were booked for Covid violations from 537 checks islandwide in the 24 hours up to Sunday morning.

– Nicosia 69 checks, 6 bookings of premises, 5 individuals.

– Limassol 137 checks, 3 individuals booked.

– Larnaca 82 checks, 1 premises and 3 individuals booked

– Paphos 60 checks, 1 business booked and 1 individual

– Famagusta 112 checks, 2 individuals booked

– Morphou area 77 checks, no bookings

Port Police conducted 65 checks with no one booked.

No passengers arrived without their CyprusFlightPass.

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EU PLANS MAJOR REVAMP OF CARBON MARKET

 Cyprus Mail 13 September 2020 - by Reuters News Service

The world’s biggest carbon trading market faces a major overhaul under European Union climate change plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions faster this decade, a draft seen by Reuters shows.

Under the EU emissions trading system (ETS) factories and power plants have to buy pollution permits to cover the greenhouse gases they emit, while airlines must do so for flights within Europe.

The draft document, which confirms that the European Commission will next week propose that the EU sets a target to cut emissions from 1990 levels by “at least 55 per cent” by 2030, lays out options it is considering to deliver the new goal.

The Commission said it did not comment on leaked documents.

The existing target of a 40 per cent cut by 2030 will not be enough for the EU to meet its goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

The new target, which needs national government and European Parliament approval, could be met both by reducing production of greenhouse gases and removing them from the atmosphere.

It would also require a tighter cap on the amount of permits in the carbon market, and the rate at which this cap drops each year would need to go beyond the planned rate of 2.2%, the draft said.

The Commission, which will propose a law containing the ETS reforms by June 2021, will assess what this means for the amount of free permits given to industry, a system designed to avoid companies relocating outside Europe to avoid carbon costs.

An initial analysis found a “significant amount” of free permits would still be available under a tighter cap, the draft said.

The Commission will also propose reducing free permits for airlines, while changes to fossil fuel taxes could also help cut emissions, which could make jet fuel more expensive.

The draft confirms plans to expand the ETS into new sectors, including “at least intra-EU maritime transport”, and possibly road transport and buildings.

However, it said the ETS should not replace existing emissions-cutting policies – such as the bloc’s emissions limits for cars, which would be made more ambitious.

 

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PROTEST HELD AGAINST COVID MEASURES AT ELEFTHERIA SQUARE

 Cyprus Mail 13 September 2020 - by Peter Michael

A second protest centered on opposition against the Covid-19 restrictions took place on Saturday evening at Nicosia’s Eleftheria Square, which was attended by hundreds of people.

Protest groups who demonstrated first on August 29, include those against masks, vaccinations, 5G, loss of individual liberty and choice.

Around 200 protesters attended the rally and few seemed to be wearing masks, or social distancing, both stipulations announced by the government in allowing protests to be held.

Police were present at the demonstration, taking videos of the protesters. They said they would be doing so after receiving the go-ahead from the personal data protection commissioner.

The government said if protesters did not comply with the rules as set out, the organisers of the events would be held accountable for any fines or penalties.

Meanwhile, a poll published on Saturday found that over one quarter of people in Cyprus would oppose taking a coronavirus vaccine, a poll published on Saturday showed.

Out of 1,378 people polled by RetailZoom for daily Politis, 28 per cent said they did not want the vaccine if one becomes available.  Thirty-two per cent said they would get the vaccine, while another 31 per cent said they would follow the advice of specialists.  Nine per cent said they were unsure.

According to the poll, 25 per cent were against wearing mandatory face masks in closed areas, while 72 per cent agreed with the decision of the health ministry to mandate mask wearing in closed public spaces.

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ORUC REIS LEAVES THE AREA, RETURNS TO ANTALYA

 Cyprus Mail 13 September 2020 - by Jean Christie

The Turkish seismic research vessel Oruc Reis has returned to Turkey following the expiry of a navigational warning, Navetx for exploration in the region, including an area west of Cyprus.

The Navtex expired at midnight Saturday night and the vessel has returned to Antalya on the Turkish coast. It was not renewed.

Commenting on the departure of the Oruc Reis, Greek government spokesman, Stelios Petsas said it was a positive step which Athens was evaluating. “This attitude must have continuity and consistency in the coming, period” he said, according to CNA.

The war of words over maritime disputes has not ended however though both Greece and Turkey say they want dialogue.

The latest statements out of Ankara saw harsh words for both Greece and France, which has taken on the championing of the rights of Greece and Cyprus in the region. At the Med7 conference in Corsica Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron said Turkey was no longer a partner in the Mediterranean and that the Turkish people would be better off without President Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan responded warning Macron: “I do not even want to say his name, but I am obliged, because he is constantly in my face… Mr Macron, you will have even more problems with me.”

He said the history of Africa was literally the history of France. “You are the one who killed a million people in Algeria. You can not teach us lessons in humanity. I told him [Macron] personally… I told him ‘look you do not know your story, you have to learn this’. As for us, we did not break a nose in Africa,” he added.

Erdogan also said that during the coronavirus Turkey offered support to almost 150 countries in Africa and the world and asked Macron what he had done in that regard.

Turkish foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusogolu meanwhile, said if Greece has conditions for talks then Turkey did also. However the ideal was for them to sit at the negotiating table without conditions, he said.

During a news conference, after his meeting with his Maltese counterpart who was in Cyprus on Friday, Cavusoglu said Turkey was always in favour of dialogue.

He also said that when Turkey invited Greece and other countries to the negotiating table, some perceived it as a retreat. “He who is right does not avoid the table, he does not avoid negotiations. If Greece is right in its arguments, if it thinks that they are in line with international law, they will come to the table with maps and agreements to support them. And we will put forward our arguments. Everyone on that day will see who is right,” he added.

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POLICE WARN OF MINOR TRAFFIC DISRUPTIONS DUE TO MULTIPLE ROADWORKS

 Cyprus Mail 13 September 2020 - by Staff Reporter

Police warned motorists Sunday to expect some small disruptions on the road networks due to works being carried out in several areas.

A bulletin said the main highways did not have any serious problems but work would be carried out at points on the Limassol-Paphos highway, as well as on urban roads in Larnaca and Limassol, which may affect traffic.

On the Limassol bypass road, along the section between the roundabouts of Ayia Fyla and Mesa Geitonia, in the direction from Limassol to Nicosia, water repair works were being carried out from 6am. The right lane was closed for a distance of about 200 metres and traffic was being channelled to the left lane. The works are expected to be completed shortly after noon.

On the Paphos – Limassol highway, as well as on the Limassol bypass road, in the direction of Paphos, from 7am until 11am pruning works were being carried out inside the central reservation by the forestry department. The right lane is partially closed for a distance of about 200 metres and the traffic will be channelled to the left lane.

Also on the Paphos – Limassol highway, from 7am until 3pm works on the construction of a rainwater drain are being carried out. The right lane of the road  is partially closed in both directions to Limassol and Paphos and traffic is being channelled to the left lane in both directions. The works will last until September 16.

In Larnaca, works are being carried out on Grivas Dighenis Avenue, meaning traffic will be affected from the GSZ roundabout to the church of Ayios Georgios. Work began on September 7 and is expected to be completed on December 31.

Work for the construction of a roundabout is also being carried out on G. Christodoulides Avenue in Larnaca from the GSZ roundabout, to the new hospital roundabout. Work began on September 11 and is expected to be completed on December 31.

Also in Larnaca, works are being carried out on Alexandrou Panagoulis Avenue, by the Larnaca Sewerage Council, meaning the section of the avenue from the roundabout of the Technical School to the roundabout Livadia is closed to traffic, which will be channelled to adjacent roads. Work began on September 10 and is expected to be completed on September 20.

There are also a number of ongoing roadworks in Nicosia.

Drivers moving in the areas where road works are being carried out are called on to drive at low speed, to maintain safe distances from the vehicles in front and comply with traffic signs.

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SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 13 - CORONAVIRUS GLOBAL UPDATE

 in-cyprus 13 September 2020 - by Josephine Koumettou

U.S. CDC reports 192,388 deaths from coronavirus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday reported 6,427,058 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 46,045 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 1,035 to 192,388. The CDC’s tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, was of 4 p.m. EDT Sept. 11 versus its previous report a day earlier.

China bans German pork imports after African swine fever case

China banned pork imports from Germany on Saturday after it confirmed its first case of African swine fever last week, in a move set to hit German producers and push up global prices as China’s meat supplies tighten. China’s ban on imports from its third largest supplier comes as the world’s top meat buyer deals with an unprecedented pork shortage after its own epidemic of the deadly hog disease.

UK records 3,497 more confirmed cases of COVID-19

The United Kingdom reported 3,497 confirmed new cases of COVID-19, according to government data published on Saturday, compared with 3,539 a day earlier. It also reported a further nine new deaths from the coronavirus.

Fauci disagrees with Trump on coronavirus, cites disturbing U.S. statistics

Top government infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Friday he disagreed with President Donald Trump’s assessment the United States has “rounded the corner” on the coronavirus pandemic, saying the statistics are disturbing. Fauci, the outspoken director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the United States was starting the flu season with a high baseline of around 40,000 new COVID-19 cases a day and deaths are averaging around 1,000 daily.

France’s daily COVID-19 cases pass 10,000 for first time

France has had 10,561 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, health authorities said on Saturday, a new daily record as the number topped 10,000 for the first time. The latest daily count, surpassing the previous record of 9,843 new infections reported on Thursday, highlights a resurgence of the disease in France.

Australia’s Victoria takes small step in easing virus restrictions

Lockdown restrictions in Australia’s state of Victoria will ease very slightly as of Monday, state officials said, as the number of new daily coronavirus cases continued to fall in the country’s hotspot. Announcing a A$3 billion ($2.2 billion) package in financial aid to businesses in Victoria, home to a quarter of Australia’s population, officials also said there were 41 new coronavirus infections on Sunday and seven more deaths.

Pfizer, BioNTech propose expanding COVID-19 vaccine trial to 44,000 volunteers

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE on Saturday proposed to the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expand their Phase 3 pivotal COVID-19 vaccine trial to about 44,000 participants while increasing the diversity of the trial population. The initial target figure for the trial was up to 30,000 participants, which the companies said they expect to reach by next week.

Mexico’s confirmed coronavirus deaths rise to 70,604

Mexico reported 5,674 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 421 additional fatalities on Saturday, bringing its totals to 663,973 infections and 70,604 deaths, according to updated Health Ministry data. The government has said the real number of infected people is likely to be significantly higher than the confirmed cases.

Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 948: RKI

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 948, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday. The reported death toll rose by two, the tally showed.

AstraZeneca resumes UK trials of COVID-19 vaccine halted by patient illness

AstraZeneca has resumed British clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine, one of the most advanced in development, after getting the green light from safety watchdogs, the company said on Saturday. The late-stage trials of the experimental vaccine, developed with researchers from the University of Oxford, were suspended this week after an illness in a study subject in Britain, casting doubts on an early rollout.

(Reuters)

Pictured: A woman in personal protective equipment (PPE) collects a swab sample from a woman amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID–19) in Mumbai, India, September 12, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

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