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The British government on Wednesday confirmed that animals and food products entering Northern Ireland from the rest of Britain will face new checks as part of the Brexit deal.
In a command paper, the government sets out how Britain will meet its obligations under the Northern Ireland Protocol -- upholding Northern Ireland's place in Britain and respecting the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.
The infrastructure at ports in Northern Ireland where checks on animals and food products are already carried out will be expanded, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove told MPs.
Gove also said implementation of the protocol will not involve new customs infrastructure. Any processes on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will be kept to an absolute minimum, he added.
"Although there will be some limited additional process on goods arriving in Northern Ireland, this will be conducted taking account of all flexibilities and discretion, and we will make full use of the concept of dedramatisation," according to the command paper.
Businesses in Northern Ireland will have unfettered access to the rest of Britain's market, and there will be no tariffs on goods remaining within Britain's customs territory and no new customs infrastructure, said the paper.
Northern Ireland businesses will be able to benefit from the new free trade agreements that Britain will strike with countries around the world, said the paper.
"The command paper outlines how the protocol can be implemented in a pragmatic, proportionate way: one that protects the interests of the people and economy of Northern Ireland, recognises Northern Ireland's integral place in the United Kingdom and its internal market, provides appropriate protection for the EU Single Market, and respects the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland," said the government in a press release.
The protocol arrangement will only remain in force as long as the people of Northern Ireland want to keep it, with elected institutions in Northern Ireland deciding whether to extend or end the arrangements in a vote every four years, starting in 2024, said the government.
Trade arrangements on the island of Ireland was one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the protracted trade negotiations between London and Brussels.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street for Prime Minister's Questions in London, Britain, May 20, 2020. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua)
Ireland will ban the sale of menthol flavored cigarettes and tobacco products starting from May 20, according to a government statement released here on Tuesday.
The statement issued by the Irish Department of Health quoted Minister for Health Simon Harris as saying that the sale of menthol flavored tobacco including cigarettes will be prohibited from Wednesday.
The purpose of the ban is to ensure that cigarettes and tobacco products for sale can no longer include ingredients that would make smoking more palatable or make it easier for people to start smoking by masking the taste of tobacco, said the minister.
He noted that smoking is an addictive and lethal habit and the COVID-19 pandemic has made it more important than ever to quit the habit.
According to the minister, the World Health Organization said earlier this month that a review of studies by public health experts found that smokers are more likely to develop severe disease with COVID-19 compared to non-smokers.
The review also warned that tobacco is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases and these conditions increase the risk of developing severe illness when affected by COVID-19.
The social impact of the COVID-19 crisis on women is greater than men in Ireland, according to a survey released by the country's Central Statistics Office on Tuesday.
The survey, which was conducted between April 23 and May 1, showed that the percentage of women now reporting "low" satisfaction with overall life has more than doubled the rate in 2013 when the country was experiencing the effects of the 2008 financial crisis.
In 2013, only 15.1 percent of women in the country reported "low" satisfaction with overall life, but now the figure reached 36.7 percent, said the survey.
The survey also found that more women (38.6 percent) than men (26 percent) reported feeling "downhearted and depressed" during the COVID-19 crisis.
More women than men reported an increase in their consumption of alcohol, tobacco and junk food since the introduction of the COVID-19 restrictions at the end of March, it said.
According to the survey, more female respondents reported being "extremely" concerned about their own health, somebody else's health and maintaining social ties than male respondents.
Almost half (48.6 percent) of female respondents reported that they would like to return to their place of work after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, compared to less than one in three (31.7 percent) of male respondents, the survey found.
Almost nine in ten (88.4 percent) of female respondents rated their compliance with COVID-19-related government advice and guidelines as "high" compared with seven in ten (72.5 percent) of male respondents, it showed.
Photo taken on May 18, 2020 shows a general view of the Vauxhall factory in Luton, Britain. Vauxhall reopened production at its Luton plant on Monday after the British government loosened restrictions imposed to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua)
Ireland on Monday entered into what it called Phase-One stage in easing the restrictions which were imposed some 50 days ago following the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.
During the stage, more businesses are allowed to be reopened in the country. They include hardware stores, homeware shops, garden centers, farmers' markets, repair shops for cars, motorbikes and bicycles, and optical shops. Restaurants like McDonald's and Burger King are also permitted to provide drive-through services.
Prior to this, only essential retail outlets in the country, such as supermarkets and pharmacies, were allowed to run business.
Starting from Monday, a phased return of work is also allowed for people who are mainly involved in outdoor work, such as construction workers, gardeners and people working on allotments. However, people who can have their job done remotely are still advised to stay home.
Some outdoor public amenities such as beaches, tennis courts, golf courses, parks and mountain walks are also reopened to the public.
People can also go and meet friends now so long the meeting involves no more than four persons. But indoor visits to other homes are still discouraged.
Under the new rules, people can also travel up to five kilometers away from their homes for exercise purpose, instead of the past 2-kilometer limit.
In the Phase-One stage, two-meter social distancing rules are still applicable for both businesses and individuals and people are also required to wear face masks or coverings when using busy public transport or in crowded indoor facilities.
Ireland plans to reopen its social and economic lives which have been badly hit by the pandemic in five stages with each stage to be reviewed at a three-week interval. If all goes well, the country can enter the next stage in easing its lockdown measures which were announced by the government on March 27.
Ireland reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 at the very end of February when a male from the east of the country was diagnosed with COVID-19 after traveling back from an infected area in northern Italy.
Earlier in the day, the Irish Department of Health reported another 88 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and four COVID-19-related deaths in the country.
The death number reported on Monday dropped below the single-digit level for the first time since the end of March, according to official tallies.
To date, a total of 24,200 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Ireland and 1,547 of them have died from the disease, said the Irish Department of Health.
Politicization of the COVID-19 pandemic is not allowed, said Irish Health Minister Simon Harris here on Monday.
Harris made this remark in a statement issued before attending the annual session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) held on Monday.
"Today's meeting will be an important opportunity for the WHO and its Member States to collectively address the single most pressing global health issue in a moment of crisis," he said, adding that the meeting is also an opportunity for Ireland to show its support for the World Health Organization (WHO).
"In this time of great crisis, we need unity, not division. We cannot allow the politicization of this pandemic. Ireland stands shoulder to shoulder with the WHO," he said.
The Irish health minister said he would underline the importance of ensuring equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics and equipment in the COVID-19 context during his address to the WHA on Monday.
The WHA is the decision-making body of the WHO. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the 73rd WHA is virtual.
A delivery man waits outside a McDonald's restaurant in London, Britain, May 17, 2020. Some restaurants, cafes and other catering shops in Britain have gradually resumed business with preventive measures like keeping social distancing after the British Government released a phased easing strategy from the novel coronavirus lockdown. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua)
The British public has lost confidence in the way the government is dealing with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, according to a poll by Opinium published on Sunday.
The survey found that 42 per cent of those polled were unhappy with how the British government, led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has handled the pandemic, while 39 per cent approve of the way the crisis is being handled.
This is the first time these approval ratings have dipped into negative territory, the pollster noted.
The poll sought the opinion of 2,000 adults between May 13 and 14.
In an editorial in the newspaper Mail on Sunday, Johnson said he understood people’s frustration with the government’s plan to ease its restrictions.
“We are trying to do something that has never had to be done before – moving the country out of a full lockdown, in a way which is safe and does not risk sacrificing all of your hard work,” Johnson wrote, and asked for people to be patient.
During the past week, Johnson called for some measures to be lifted, and people in England have been allowed to leave their homes and take trips since Wednesday.
The government also changed its slogan from “Stay Home” to “Stay Alert.”
Many criticized the government’s advice as unclear, however, and regional leaders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland refused to implement the new guidance, meaning different rules are in place.
With an official death toll of 34,000, Britain has recorded the most deaths in Europe due to the virus, according to official figures.
In total, it is expected that in fact more than 40,000 people have died of COVID-19.
Edited By: Emmanuel Yashim (NAN)
Hopes of Britain securing a permanent post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union (EU) hit a major stumbling block on Friday when the latest round of bilateral talks ended.
Angry words were traded by chief Brexit negotiators from London and Brussels at the end of a third round of high-level talks, conducted virtually through cross Channel video links.
It leaves both sides with just six weeks to reach an agreement before a deadline for a decision to be made on extending the transition period beyond Dec. 31.
With just one further round of talks remaining, scheduled to start June 1, political commentators were asking Friday night whether it was time for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to enter the fray in a bid to break the deadlock.
What is at stake is whether Britain will have a new trading agreement in place by January, or will trade by both sides be forced to follow WTO (World Trade Organization) export and import rules.
Johnson has continually insisted Britain will not seek an extension to the so-called implementation period under which the country is following EU rules while talks continue.
The first salvo in the latest trading of angry words came from Britain's chief negotiator David Frost.
After this week's round of intensive negotiations concluded Friday, he said: "I regret that we made very little progress towards agreement on the most significant outstanding issues between us."
"The major obstacle is the EU's insistence on including a set of novel and unbalanced proposals on the so-called 'level playing field' which would bind this country to EU law or standards, or determine our domestic legal regimes, in a way that is unprecedented in Free Trade Agreements and not envisaged in the Political Declaration," Frost added.
Hurtling a gauntlet at Brussels, Frost said: "As soon as the EU recognises that Britain will not conclude an agreement on that basis, both sides will be able to make progress."
Harsh words also emerged from Brussels, with EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier saying: "There seems to be a real lack of understanding regarding the objective mechanical consequences of the British choice to leave."
He bounced back an EU gauntlet, saying: "The UK will have to be more realistic. It will have to move beyond this lack of understanding."
In Brussels, Barnier told reporters the latest round of talks had been very disappointing, saying he was not optimistic about the outcome.
Holding out hope of a breakthrough at some stage, Frost said "The UK will continue to work hard to find an agreement, for as long as there is a constructive process in being, and continues to believe that this is possible."
The verbal clashes prompted the Daily Telegraph in London to describe the situation as a game of chicken.
The Telegraph said British and EU Brexit heavyweights traded blows in public for the first time today and revealed the parlous state of the deadlocked trade negotiations between London and Brussels.
The paper's commentary said if Britain does not agree a free trade deal with the EU by October, which would allow ratification of the agreement before Dec. 31, it will be forced to trade on WTO terms only with its major trading partner.
The Guardian also suggested that Johnson may have to fight Britain's corner.
"There is now a working assumption on the UK side that it will take a summit between Johnson and the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, in mid-June to break the impasse," Guardian reported.
Meanwhile Johnson held talks with his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar, discussing both Brexit and the UK and Ireland's approaches to tackling coronavirus.
Downing Street said the two leaders spoke about the latest round of UK-EU negotiations.
"The Prime Minister said the UK will continue to work hard to reach an agreement and continues to believe that this is possible," said an official spokesperson for Number 10.
