Boris Johnson urges Angela Merkel to support Northern Ireland Protocol renegotiation
The Prime Minister has urged Angela Merkel to back his plan for the Northern Ireland Protocol to be renegotiated after Brussels ruled out fresh talks. During a phone call from Chequers (where he is currently self-isolating) Boris Johnson told the outgoing German Chancellor on Thursday that the disruption being caused to Northern Irish businesses by the protocol was not sustainable. “He urged the Chancellor and the EU collectively to engage in a constructive and detailed discussion on the UK’s pr
news.yahoo.comBrussels has three months to sort out NI Protocol or Britain will go it alone, ministers to say
Brussels must help find a way to resolve the problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol within three months or the UK will look at ways to work around it, ministers are expected to say on Wednesday. In joint statements in the House of Commons and House of Lords, Lord Frost and Brandon Lewis are likely to stress that the Province needs arrangements because the Protocol is not working. The ministers will not at this stage rip up the Brexit agreement, by invoking Article 16 of the Protocol unilate
news.yahoo.comSausage wars: UK and EU agree to delay post-Brexit meat import ban
A grace period extension in the sausage wars has been agreed between the UK and the European Union. The UK and European Union have agreed to extend a grace period allowing chilled meats including sausages to be sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland until September 30. An eleventh-hour deal to hold off a post-Brexit ban on sausages and other chilled meats moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland had been mooted on Tuesday night. And the extension was announced just before 3.30pm on Wed
news.yahoo.comSir Keir Starmer’s top aide ‘demoted’ as Labour shake-up continues
Sir Keir Starmer's closest aide has been reshuffled as part of a major clear-out of his top team as Labour seeks to avoid another potential disaster in the forthcoming Batley and Spen by-election. Baroness Chapman will be moved from her role as the party's political director to a position on the front bench, where she will be tasked with shadowing Lord Frost, the Brexit minister. The 47-year-old, who voted Remain in 2016, served under Sir Keir when he was the shadow Brexit Secretary and was cons
news.yahoo.comBrussels takes heat out of sausage trade war in Northern Ireland
Brussels has signalled it could back down and avert a trade war with the UK as on Friday it welcomed the Government's request for a three-month extension for British sausages to be sold in Northern Ireland. Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission vice president, told an audience in Bruges that he was "convinced there is still a window for productive political dialogue" before the ban on chilled meats comes into effect in July. His comments came 24 hours after it was confirmed that Lord Frost, th
news.yahoo.comPolitics latest news: Boris Johnson feels the heat at PMQs as Dominic Cummings launches new broadside
No green light to vaccinate children, Ministers to be told 'Light a bonfire' of EU red tape to fuel economic growth Britain still paying the price for the original sin of locking down Britain to accept flood of Australian beef in landmark deal Allison Pearson: June 21 will still be our Freedom Day Coronavirus latest news: Children 'should not be vaccinated just to protect others' Boris Johnson has failed to respond to questions about why he kept Matt Hancock in place, despite apparently calling
news.yahoo.comSausage wars: Boris Johnson hints he may rip up EU rule book over trade with Northern Ireland
Boris Johnson warned on Friday night that he was willing to unilaterally breach the Northern Ireland Protocol to keep meat imports flowing ahead of talks with European Union leaders on Saturday. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said "all options are on the table" when asked whether he would waive checks on such imports if no agreement is reached by the end of this month. Doing so would breach the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol, signed in December, which was designed to avoid check
news.yahoo.comSausage trade war: We need to end this beef, Lord Frost tells Brussels
Lord Frost has told Brussels to stop threatening a sausage trade war with the UK and focus on solving the problems faced by families and small businesses in Northern Ireland, ahead of a showdown summit on Wednesday. On the eve of the first UK-EU Partnership Council in London, the Brexit minister warned that “further threats of legal action” would do nothing to solve the “damaging impact” that the Northern Ireland Protocol was having on the ground. “Trade retaliation from the EU won’t make life a
news.yahoo.comUK could threaten to pull out of EU's €100bn research programme amid Brexit deal row
The UK could threaten to pull out of the EU's €100bn flagship research programme after Brussels was accused on Friday of holding up access in the latest act of "political" vengeance, The Telegraph can disclose. In what looks set to become the next major political dispute between the two sides, senior Government sources have claimed that the EU is "purposely going slow" on formalising the UK’s participation in Horizon Europe. Ministers are similarly frustrated at the progress of the UK’s associat
news.yahoo.comEU to remove Brexit barriers to medicine supplies for Northern Ireland
Brussels will offer to remove barriers to British medicine supplies to Northern Ireland in a bid to break the deadlock in Brexit border negotiations with the UK next week. The European Union is expected to set out the plan as an olive branch in tense negotiations over the Northern Ireland Protocol, in London on Wednesday, sources said. Under the Protocol, which prevents a hard Irish border, Northern Ireland continues to follow EU rules for medicines and medical equipment after Brexit. That will
news.yahoo.comUK must align with EU to ease Northern Ireland border checks, says Irish foreign minister
The UK must align itself with EU rules to escape many of the customs checks on British goods exported to Northern Ireland, the Irish foreign minister said on Thursday. Writing in the The Telegraph, Simon Coveney said following Brussels’s rules on food safety and animal health would make post-Brexit trade between Northern Ireland and Britain “as light as possible”. “The EU side is open to making it work,” Mr Coveney said ahead of negotiations next week over the Northern Ireland Protocol. “The yea
news.yahoo.comPolitics latest news: PM warned opportunities of Brexit at stake amid major Cabinet row over Australia trade deal
Public told to abandon summer holidays abroad Wembley could be used for vaccination drive in fight against Indian variant Analysis: Cummings’s campaign should not be taken lightly Michael Deacon: There’s a problem with Cummings's criticisms Coronavirus latest news: Follow updates in our live blog Boris Johnson has been warned that the opportunities of Brexit are at stake amid a major Cabinet row over the Australia free trade deal. Ahead of a crunch meeting tomorrow, senior ministers are split over the issue of granting Australian farmers zero-tariff access, amid fears that lamb and beef imports could harm the British farming industry. George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, is fighting to extend a transition period - during which tariffs would gradually reduce to zero - from 10 to 15 years in order to shield British farmers and give them more time to adjust. He is also said to favour maintaining tariff rate quotas, which would only allow a certain quantity of Australian imports to benefit from lower tariffs. He is backed Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, along with Scottish Secretary Alister Jack and Welsh Secretary Simon Hart, who fear a backlash from Scottish beef and Welsh lamb farmers. However, allies of Liz Truss, the International Trade Secretary, have hit back at Mr Eustice, claiming that a failure to agree terms could scupper future deals with the US and other major economies, in turn squandering the opportunities of Brexit. One source questioned why Mr Eustice had voted to leave the EU if he intended to resort to protectionism, while another accused him and Mr Gove in The Sun of being "more Waitrose than Redwall." Ms Truss is backed by Lord Frost, the former Brexit negotiator and minister in charge of EU relations, as well as Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, who warned that a failure to strike an agreement with Australia would make other deals "very challenging." The Prime Minister is said to side with Ms Truss on the issue, but will be forced to try and broker a compromise on Thursday when the Cabinet committee in charge of trade deals meet. Follow the latest updates below.
news.yahoo.comStop thinking like the EU, Lord Frost tells ‘indoctrinated’ UK officials
British officials remain indoctrinated with "EU ways of thinking" that must be eradicated to make Brexit Britain more competitive, Lord Frost said on Monday as he called for a bonfire of Brussels red tape. He told MPs on the European Scrutiny Committee that a revolution was needed to "normalise" EU law still on Britain’s rulebook and return them to UK common law traditions, which are "lighter touch" and less risk averse. Lord Frost said: "Lots of our bureaucracy and our regulatory systems have had to operate within a prescriptive EU law framework." "We have internalised principles of EU law and EU ways of thinking about things for the last 50 years, which is harder to eradicate because it's quite subtle," the Cabinet minister and former Brexit negotiator said. Lord Frost said he was recruiting for a task force that would focus on how to diverge from EU rules to give Brexit Britain a global competitive edge over European businesses in areas such as financial services. "I have a role in making sure that what we put before Parliament is genuinely reforming, genuinely consistent with deregulation and the spirit of Brexit and and goes forward on that basis," he told MPs in comments that will fuel Brussels’ anxiety about Britain’s plans to diverge from EU rules. The Brexit trade deal has level playing field provisions and an enforcement system that can allow either side to hit the other with tariffs if divergence is too dramatic. Lord Frost added: "I personally profoundly believe that it's a huge advantage to a country to have the control over its own laws and the ability to design arrangements that suit its own traditions and ways of doing things."
news.yahoo.comAnother nice fall day before a work week warm-up
ROANOKE, Va. – As was the case on Saturday morning, we are waking up to chilly temperatures around the area. Morning lows next few days (WSLS)Overall, today should be a pretty nice day despite the chilly start. We’ll be watching the upper level pattern closely the next few days to determine how high temperatures rise. Upper air pattern for Sunday (WSLS)The jet stream gradually retreats northward into the work week and an upper level ridge builds in across the eastern U.S. That means a warm-up for us. Upper level pattern for Wednesday (WSLS)We’ll start to gradually cool down a bit after Wednesday.
Hit the pumpkin patch! Fabulous fall weather all weekend
ROANOKE, Va. – The cold front we’ve been telling you about all week is now well east of the area and Canadian high pressure is building in. Morning coffee forecast (WSLS)It looks like an ideal weekend to hit the pumpkin patch or do any of the other classic fall activities. Jeter Farm Fall Festival forecast (WSLS)There’s also fall fun to be had in places like Wytheville, Christiansburg and Blue Ridge. High pressure shifts to the northeast of us tonight, but temperatures will drop to chilly levels again. Cold weather tips (WSLS)Temperatures may be a touch warmer on Sunday afternoon and we should avoid a frost and/or freeze Sunday night.
‘Cuddle alert’ goes into effect as temps fall into the 30s by Saturday morning
FutureTracker - 5 p.m. FridayBecause the front is moving through during the daytime, our high temperature has already happened. Morning lows on 10/17 and 10/18/2020In addition, it might not be a bad idea to fill up your tires. For every 10° drop in temperatures, tire pressure drops by 1 psi. Fall festivities forecast for Saturday, 10/17/2020While this will be some of the coolest daytime air we’ve had in months, it will still be sunny and nice! Upper air pattern next weekThe jet stream retreats north, meaning the autumn air does so as well.
Coolest air in five months set to arrive Friday, Saturday
Crisp, autumn air fades as sunshine goes to quick work throughout the rest of the day. Even as clouds develop near and east of the Blue Ridge Parkway, high temperatures will still rise into the 70s once again Thursday afternoon. Thursday's high temperature forecast - 10/15/2020This all changes once a cold front moves through the area Friday. Our high temperature will likely come early in the morning. Temperatures fall west of the Parkway and then level off in areas east of the Parkway throughout the day.
PHOTOS: Parts of the area see frost in final days of summer
While we didn’t break any records, the frost in parts of the New River Valley and Highlands was “premature.”Full Screen 1 / 6 Photo: Doug Urbaniak - RaphineOn average, the first frost in parts of the New River Valley doesn’t happen for another 2 to 3 weeks. For those seeing a little frost this morning, it's coming quite early! When the air is dry and the wind is calm, the last piece of the puzzle is a clear sky. A clear sky is like a bed without blankets. Morning lows from 9/21 to 9/25/2020Lynchburg’s record low Tuesday is 41 degrees set back in 1962.