Category Archives: Brexit

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Brexit and Trump 'leave world more divided than at any time in 50 years' - The Courier

The contract was signed by European industry to build the Ariel space telescope, which will see aerospace giant Airbus lead the construction. But the UK will scientifically lead on the project, which could see the Ariel telescope launched by 2029. Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, will use its Stevenage facility in the UK, for important structural and avionics work.

The news comes as scientists have tipped that the coming decade will be thriving with fresh insights into the nature of extra-solar planets, or exoplanets.

Over 5,000 have been discovered since the mid-Nineties, but so far little has been understood about them.

Over the next few years, scientists will rump up the analysis of their characterisation, to discover what they are made of and how their atmospheres function (if they have them).

Later this month, NASA is set to launch the $10billion (7.6billion) James Webb infrared space telescope.

Its purpose will be to take an in-depth look at a handful of exoplanets, imaging them directly and "fingerprinting" the gases in their atmospheres.

But while NASAs telescope will only look at many tens of exoplanets, Ariel is set to perform a similar function, but for 1000 exoplanets.

Ralph Cordey from Airbus told BBC News: "Webb of course is a general-purpose observatory and it will be doing many other things than just studying exoplanets. But for Ariel - it will be totally focussed on this one job.

100 percent of its observing time will be dedicated to characterising exoplanet atmospheres."

READ MORE:Moon mystery as China spots bizarre cube on lunar surface

Ariel is an acronym for Atmospheric Remote-Sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey.

The stunning space asset was chosen for development by European Space Agency (ESA) member states back in 2018.

The project has been undergoing various feasibility studies ever since.

But now, the new contract will allow Airbus and its 60 industrial partners to speed up the design process and finalise the required technologies.

Ariel keep tabs on every target planet as it moves in front of its host star, monitoring how the starlight changes due to passing through the moving world's atmosphere to reach the telescope.

This will provide valuable insights for understanding the chemistry of the exoplanet's atmosphere.

Ariel's goal is to build a large type-catalogue.

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Astronomers are trying to find out the "typical" conditions on exoplanets to work out the "standard model" for planetary systems.

We currently cannot see hardly any places that appear similar to our own Solar System.

The telescopes mirror system and instrumentation will be assembled and tested at RAL Space on the Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire.

But different components will come from all around Europe.

The mirror system will be all aluminium and will need to operate at very low temperatures, down at -230C (40 kelvin).

Paul Eccleston, the chief engineer at RAL Space, said: "We will build the telescope out of aluminium, out of the same material, so that when it goes from room temperature to something that's very cold - it should all shrink at the same rate; all the surfaces should deform together.

If it's perfectly aligned when warm, it should stay perfectly aligned when cool.

"The challenge is actually being able to manufacture a really large, 1.1m diameter mirror, and to be able to polish that to the level that we need out of a completely flawless block of aluminium that has no inclusions and no differences in grain size."

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Brexit Britain leads Europe as 170m agreement signed to build stunning space assets - Daily Express

DEAR DEIDRE: BREXIT is wrecking my marriage.

My wife and I have been together for 15 years. Im 46 and shes 38.

1

For more advice from Dear Deidre

No issue is too small, too large or too embarrassing. Read our personal replies here.

I love her, but we have completely different views on leaving the EU.

Shes a Remainer, while I voted to leave.

Lately, whenever anything negative possibly relating to Brexit occurs like empty shelves in the supermarket shell make a cutting remark, as if Im personally responsible.

Shell say: Theres no lorry drivers but, hey, at least youve got your bendy bananas.

Ive told her this upsets me, and theres nothing I can do to turn back time, but she says shell never let me forget it.

Im starting to dislike her and lose respect for her, and its making me miserable and affecting my confidence.

Get in touch with Deidre

Every problem gets a personal reply, usually within 24 hours weekdays.

Im not even sure our marriage will last.

What can I do?

DEIDRE SAYS:Brexit has divided people more than any other political issue for decades. But your wife is taking it too far.

She needs to understand how much her behaviour is affecting you. Talk to her again and ask if you can agree to disagree on Brexit.

Make it clear how upset you are. Ask if she can try to stop bringing up the subject or at least stop making it personal.

My support pack, Standing Up For Yourself, should help you to do this without causing an argument.

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My marriage is on the brink as we have totally different views over Brexit... - The Sun

The FTSE All Share index has returned 13 percent year-to-date, despite global economic uncertainty and Covid lockdown concerns. Now experts say there could be more action to come next year.

Despite this years success, UK shares remain relatively good value compared to many countries.

That explains why US private equity companies are falling over themselves to snap up British companies at bargain prices.

Rising inflation is a worry as this could cut consumer demand and business profitability, but its not all bad news.

The UK stock market remains cheap and unloved despite this year's success, said Alex Wright, portfolio manager of investment fund Fidelity Special Situations.

FTSE shares are good value and the countrys economic future looks promising. The removal of Brexit uncertainty and the countrys swift vaccination rollout have both contributed to the improved outlook.

Wright said the final shudders of the pandemic should work their way through the global economy in 2022. The risk is the arrival of a yet more dangerous variant.

Stock markets will continue to be volatile in the months ahead, said Darius McDermott, managing director of investment platform FundCalibre.

Until we know more about the new variant, global markets will go up and down depending on whether we get good or bad headlines.

McDermott agreed that the UK stock market offers some of the best value in the world right now cheap.

Private equity and overseas companies are snapping up British firms, and so should UK investors.

He tipped Threadneedle UK Equity Income, AXA Framlington UK Mid Cap and Jupiter UK Smaller Companies as funds to consider.

READ MORE:Don't spend retirement on the breadline - YOUR pension survival target

Alternatively, Ninety One UK Alpha makes a great core fund while Fidelity Special Values consistently beats the FTSE All Share.

McDermott also suggested holding some gold and silver to hedge against central banker mistakes, as they battle to support growth and fight inflation.

Jupiter Gold & Silver or Ninety One Global Gold can be bought tax free inside a stocks and shares Isa, he said.

McDermott said financial stocks such as banks could also benefit if interest rates rise, as this will allow them to make greater margins when lending money.

GAM Star Credit Opportunities or Jupiter Financial Opportunities could both climb if he is correct.

He also suggested investing in mining stocks as the world transitions to a cleaner economy. "We need a whole load of metals to get electric vehicles on the road and Id consider BlackRock World Mining Trust.

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For investors seeking higher yields to protect them income against rising inflation, McDermotts fund tips are: Man GLG High Yield Opportunities, which currently yields 5.59 per cent a year, and Baillie Gifford High Yield Bond, which yields 4.40 per cent.

These are far superior returns to cash.

Artemis UK Select was the best performing UK fund over the past 12 months, up 56.4 per cent, according to research from Tilney Investment Management Services.

Fidelity Special Situations grew 51.7 per cent, and with TM RWC UK Equity Income not far behind.

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, the Vanguard LifeStrategy range of passive trackers and Fundsmith Equity remain highly popular investment fund choices, figures from Interactive Investor show.

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British is BEST - UK shares are 'great value' after Brexit and may SOAR in 2022 - Express

LONDON Companies with a track record of poor delivery, fraud or corruption will be blocked from winning U.K. public contracts, the government announced as part of its post-Brexit reform of procurement rules.

With this change the U.K. will depart from current rules, which were set by the EU and only allow the government to ban companies from bidding for new public work if there has been a significant breach of contract.

The new rules, detailed in a consultation response published Monday, aim to reduce bureaucracy for businesses bidding for public contracts, place greater emphasis on social value so contracts dont always go to the lowest bidder, and exclude unreliable firms.

Leaving the EU gives us the perfect chance to make our own rules for how the governments purchasing power can be used to promote strong values, said Cabinet Office Minister Steve Barclay.

As part of its simplification drive, the government plans to create a single central platform where suppliers can register their data once in order to qualify for any public procurement process, and to set out the new rules in much simpler and clearer language than the EU terminology used in the current rules, it said.

The reform also seeks to address a lack of transparency around contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) handed out during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purchasing of emergency goods will now be carried out through a competitive process, rather than exclusively relying on direct awards as happened during the early months of the pandemic, the government said.

Ministers also committed to publishing procurement data and promised to make procurement more transparent and effective during times of crisis, where government needs to act quickly to ensure vital goods and services are bought.

A new unit in the Cabinet Office will oversee public procurement with powers to intervene to improve companies compliance with the rules if necessary.

Link:

UK pledges to fight corruption in post-Brexit overhaul of procurement rules - POLITICO.eu

Boris Johnson claimed that Brexit was finally done just under a year ago, when the trade deal was agreed that replaced the transition arrangements on 1 January this year. The Department for Exiting the European Union was wound up and ministers were instructed to stop using the B-word.

As the year ends, however, Brexit has failed to retire quietly to the history books. Within months of the new trading relationship with the EU coming into effect, the UK government said it wanted to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement containing the special rules applying to Northern Ireland because they were not working as British negotiators had expected.

David Frost, the prime ministers chief Brexit negotiator, was elevated to the cabinet via the House of Lords, and began a new round of never-ending talks, punctuated by weekly public statements of the kind that have been issued for five years now, about how progress had been made but that the two sides remain far apart.

Meanwhile, relations between the UK and the EU, and particularly between the UK and France, have been characterised all year by diplomatic hostilities. At the start of the year the EU resented the UKs speed in approving and delivering coronavirus vaccines, with Emmanuel Macron, president of France, publicly questioning the efficacy of the British-partnered Astra-Zeneca vaccine.

Anglo-French relations worsened over a dispute about post-Brexit fishing rights in Jersey waters, and then degenerated further as both sides appeared to blame the other for the death of 27 people trying to cross the Channel in November. The increase in dangerous small boat traffic from France to the UK was not caused by Brexit, although Britains departure from the EU has complicated attempts to solve it. The EUs attempt to agree a common approach to asylum, known as the Dublin III Regulation, had not worked well, but now there was no mechanism for EU-level cooperation at all.

So far, the Anglo-French disputes over fishing rights and unauthorised Channel crossings have not affected the talks on the Northern Ireland protocol indeed both sides in those negotiations have sounded more hopeful in recent weeks. But there seems plenty of scope for any of these disputes to flare up. One year on, Brexit is anything but done.

If you have a question about Brexit, the Northern Ireland protocol or the state of Anglo-French relations, submit it now, or when I join you live at 1pm on Tuesday 7 December for an Ask Me Anything event.

To get involved all you have to do is register to submit your question in the comments below.

If youre not already a member, click sign up in the comments box to leave your question. Dont worry if you cant see your question they may be hidden until I join the conversation to answer them. Then join us live on this page at 1pm as I tackle as many questions as I can.

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Brexit: Commentator John Rentoul to host ask me anything on Anglo-French relations - The Independent

Emmanuel Macron has been brutally torn apart over his "vendetta" against Brexit Britain, with one leading foreign policy expert branding him "desperate and pathetic".

The French President has been a fierce critic of the UK's departure from the European Union - right from the early stages of negotiations to the withdrawal agreement to the present day over access for France's fishermen to British territorial waters. But the row between the English Channel neighbours exploded to new levels last week when Mr Macron reportedly branded Boris Johnson a "clown" and a "knucklehead".

The scathing assessment of the Prime Minister has threatened to fuel the already bitter diplomatic row between London and Paris.

These comments attributed to the French President were made privately to a small group of his advisers during a visit to Croatia the previous week, French satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine reported.

Mr Macron had reportedly attacked the Prime Minister for looking to make France a "scapegoat" for Brexit, which he claimed had been "catastrophic" for the UK.

He has already been left furious after Mr Johnson posted a letter he sent the French President outlining proposals for tackling the migrant crisis on Twitter.

But Nile Gardiner, a foreign policy analyst and former aide to Margaret Thatcher, has launched a scathing attack against the French President, telling Express.co.uk: "It is a bit rich of Macron to be calling Boris a clown because Macron is one of the least popular presidents in French history.

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Not our problem! Gloating EU boasts about UK Brexit crisis as Lord Frost row erupts - Daily Express

Boris Johnson has been told by furious Britons to rip up post-Brexit fishing licences to France following the latest huge ultimatum from across the English Channel.

French Europe minister Clement Beaune has urged the European Union to take retaliatory measures against the UK if the row over granting licenses to its fishermen cannot be resolved by next Friday.

The European Commission has also set that deadline for the dispute to be settled as it ramps up the pressure on Britain during the negotiations.

Mr Beaune said in a video message on Saturday: "We had good news with Annick Girardin, the Minister for the Sea, this week, since a little more than 40 licenses have been confirmed by the island of Guernsey.

"And our fight continues, because we still need additional licenses, in the Channel Islands and in the Hauts-de-France.

"We will continue this discussion via the European Commission, with a very important meeting: December 10.

"As we have said, and the European Commission has said too, on December 10 we will see if the dialogue bears fruit and continues to issue licenses, finally, in additional numbers.

"Or if we are stuck, in which case we will have a European reaction, to move on to another phase, because the dialogue will not have borne fruit."

READ MORE:/news/politics/1531636/brexit-news-uk-france-fishing-licences-december-10-boris-johnson-clement-beaune

Original post:

'A danger to the world!' EU blasted over brazen and 'reckless' raid on UK - Daily Express

Almost 430,000 student visas were issued in 2021 by the British Home Office. In a blow to Brussels and fear-mongering Remainers, Brexit Britain immigration services have issued more student visas than ever.

Celebrating the record-breaking numbers, the Home Office said that "from 2017 until the pandemic, there has been a strong annual increase in the number of student visas, with an average increase of + 10 percent per year over the period".

Mocking the EU and those who believed the UK would become unattractive to students and businesses post-Brexit, Generation Brexit leader Charles-Henri Gallois said: "The United Kingdom of Brexit is very isolated from the rest of the world.

"As the supporters of the EU had promised!"

Around 135,000 visas have been issued to Chinese students, a 13 percent increase from September 2019 - the UK is apparently the only English-speaking country that has seen an increase this year in the number of student visa applications from China.

Among the European students enrolled this year, French students obtained the highest number of scholarships (3,872), followed by German (3,500) and Spanish (3,183) students.

It comes as Britain is still locking horns with the bloc over the Northern Ireland protocol.

Brexit minister Lord Frost has said "significant" gaps still remain following his latest talks with the European Commission on Friday.

Following a video conference call with commission vice president Maros Sefcovic, Lord Frost said they would speak again next week while their teams will have intensified talks in the coming days.

READ MORE:Brexit news: EU blasted over 'nutty' Northern Ireland trade rules

After the meeting, Mr Sefcovic urged London to conclude a deal to allow medicines to flow easily from Britain to Northern Ireland as well as other issues concerning trade to the British province.

He said: "Time to get medicines across the finish line and show strong political will to advance on the rest.

"This will translate into real benefits for all communities in Northern Ireland."

The UK is pressing for an easing of checks on goods moving from mainland Great Britain to Northern Ireland under the protocol, arguing they are damaging business and straining community relations.

Continued here:

'Very isolated!' EU mocked as Brexit Britain sees record-breaking number of student visas - Daily Express

Ireland is to receive a total of 920.4m from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve, after the European Commission adopted the decision to allocate the funding.

Ireland, which is the biggest beneficiary of the 5.4bn European fund, is the first member state to receive pre-financing.

The Commission said the funding will help Ireland's economy "in mitigating the impact of Brexit" through economic support, job creation and training

"Brexit has had a negative impact on many people's lives. Within the EU, it is the people in Ireland who feel it the most." Cohesion and Reform Commissioner Elisa Ferreira said.

"The EU's Brexit Adjustment Reserve stands for solidarity with those most affected. In moving forward, we don't want to leave anyone behind," she added.

Ireland will receive 361.5m in 2021, 276.7m in 2022 and 282.2m in 2023.

The funding can cover expenses since 1 January 2020.

The Commission will disburse the first instalment of the pre-financing to Ireland by the end of the year.

The Commission expects to adopt Brexit Adjustment Reserve decisions for the other Member States in the coming weeks.

Original post:

Ireland allocated almost 1bn from Brexit fund - RTE.ie