The Guardian (March 30)
“The pandemic has changed, but the idea that it is over is false.” Last week, the UK had an estimated 4.26 million cases and hospital “admissions with Covid are only 2% below the first Omicron peak two months ago and still rising.” Nor is Covid endemic. Eventually, it probably will be, but endemic “does not necessarily mean mild,” as TB, Malaria and other endemic diseases illustrate. “Trying to ignore a disease that is still so unpredictable feels a bit like turning your back on a hungry tiger in the undergrowth.”
Tags: Admissions, Cases, Covid, Diseases, Endemic, False, Hospital, Hungry tiger, Malaria, Mild, Omicron, Pandemic, Peak, Rising, TB, UK, Unpredictable
Bloomberg (March 1)
“First BP, then Shell. In just two days, Britain’s twin energy giants have dumped Russian investments nurtured over decades and shut themselves out of the world’s largest energy exporter, probably forever.” The moves will “put pressure on remaining foreign investors, including Exxon Mobil Corp. and France’s TotalEnergies SE, to follow suit as Russia’s war in Ukraine forces a dramatic rupture with the global economy.”
Tags: BP, Energy giants, Exporter, Exxon Mobil, Investments, Investors, Nurtured, Pressure, Russia, Shell, TotalEnergies, UK, Ukraine, War
BBC (January 18)
“The United Nations has identified three existential environmental threats – climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution – and concluded that they must be addressed together” through multilateral agreements. Now “more than 100 countries, including the UK” appear to support a dedicated plastics treaty that may be “proposed at the next UN Environment Assembly in February and March.”
Tags: Biodiversity, Climate change, Environmental, Existential, Multilateral agreements, Pollution, Support, Threats, UK, UN
New York Times (December 29)
UK companies got hit with “higher costs and endless forms” in the first post-Brexit year. “While the worst of the Brexit trade disruptions are over, British exports to the European Union are down and companies are frustrated.”
Tags: Brexit, Companies, Down, Endless forms, EU, Exports, Frustrated, Higher costs, Trade disruptions, UK
The Guardian (December 28)
The UK has seen another record rise of daily Covid cases, with 138,831 reported in England, Scotland and Wales alone.” Still, there may be cause for hope. “Although hospital admissions had increased in recent weeks as Omicron spreads through the population, fewer patients were needing high-flow oxygen and the average length of stay was down to three days.”
Tags: Admissions, Cases, Covid, England, Hospital, Omicron, Oxygen, Patients, Record, Rise, Scotland, UK, Wales
The Guardian (December 11)
Under New Zealand’s ban on smoking, “those aged 14 and under in 2027 will never be able to buy tobacco products legally. The legal smoking age will increase with every year that passes–meaning that in 2073, someone who is 61 will be able to buy cigarettes whereas someone who is 60 will not. But, as the government ramps up anti-drug measures in the UK at the same time, you have to ask – when has criminalising a substance ever worked?”
Tags: Age, Anti-drug, Ban, Cigarettes, Criminalising, Government, Legal, New Zealand, Smoking, Tobacco, UK
BBC (October 27)
“The impact of Brexit on the UK economy will be worse in the long run compared to the coronavirus pandemic.” According to Richard Hughes, the chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, “leaving the EU will reduce the UK’s potential GDP by about 4% in the long term” while the impact of the pandemic is forecast as a 2% contraction of GDP.
Reuters (September 16)
“Australia’s new security pact with the United States and the UK, seen as a move to contain China, may worsen strained ties with its biggest export customer, but China’s insatiable appetite for resources may limit its punitive responses.”
Tags: Australia, China, Contain, Customer, Export, Insatiable, Punitive, Resources, Responses, Security pact, Strained, U.S., UK
The Guardian (April 30)
“It is time for a public inquiry. The coronavirus crisis has been an extraordinary period for the UK, and the toll substantial. More than 127,000 people have died, children have lost years of education, and we have seen the largest drop in GDP since consistent records began more than half a century ago…. While the government has done some things well – the vaccine programme is an undisputed success so far – there are sincere, legitimate questions about many of its other choices.*
Tags: Coronavirus, Crisis, Drop, Education, Extraordinary, GDP, Government, Legitimate, Public inquiry, Questions, UK, Vaccine
Investment Week (April 9)
“JP Morgan chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon claimed Brexit ‘cannot possibly be a positive’ for the UK in the short term as he warned that the investment bank may one day move all European business out of London.” The bank’s 19,000 UK employees include 12,000 in London.
Tags: Brexit, Dimon, Employees, European, Investment bank, JP Morgan, London, Move, Short term, UK
