Sources: 19 Austin police officers indicted over protests
A Texas grand jury has indicted 19 Austin police officers on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for their actions during 2020 protests over racial injustice that spread nationwide after the killing of George Floyd, according to people familiar with the matter.
What Is Article 16 and Why Is It Reviving Brexit Wars?
The U.K. and the European Union are wrangling over Brexit arrangements covering trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland that are designed to avoid the return of a hard border with the Republic of Ireland. The current regime is stifling the flow of goods and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has rejected the EU’s proposals to improve the situation. Instead, his government wants to rewrite the arrangements painstakingly agreed to in years of negotiations. The tensions are a reminder th
washingtonpost.comWhy Northern Ireland Has Become the Flashpoint for Post-Brexit Trade Tensions
The U.K. and the European Union are wrangling over Brexit arrangements covering trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland that are designed to avoid the return of a hard border with the Republic of Ireland. The current regime is stifling the flow of goods and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has rejected the EU’s proposals to improve the situation. Instead, his government wants to rewrite the arrangements painstakingly agreed to in years of negotiations. The tensions are a reminder th
washingtonpost.comWe must renegotiate Northern Ireland Protocol, UK tells EU
Brussels has been told to stop European courts overseeing the Northern Ireland Protocol and to renegotiate customs checks rules in a major intervention by the UK Government. Government ministers on Wednesday published their proposals to change the Protocol, which governs how to keep trade flowing on the island of Ireland after Brexit. Lord Frost, the minister overseeing Brexit-linked talks with the EU, and Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary, made joint statements in Parliament on Wedn
news.yahoo.comUK irks EU with call to change post-Brexit trade rules
The British government said Wednesday that post-Brexit trade rules it negotiated with the European Union “cannot go on” and need a major rewrite, straining already tense U.K.-EU relations. The government said Britain would be justified in unilaterally suspending the legally binding Brexit agreement but had decided not to do so just yet. Since the U.K. left the EU's economic embrace at the end of 2020, relations have soured over trade arrangements for Northern Ireland, the only part of the U.K. that has a land border with the 27-nation bloc.
news.yahoo.comPolitics latest news: Joe Biden to warn Boris Johnson not to 'imperil' peace process as EU says patience is 'wearing thin' on sausage wars
We need to end this beef, Lord Frost tells Brussels Covid laws to be replaced by ‘stringent guidance’ Ray Bassett: The case for an Irish Brexit is growing stronger Government 'unlawfully' awarded to friends of Dominic Cummings Oliver Dowden’s painful ‘vaccine playlist’ will have young people running for the hills Coronavirus latest news: Eight in 10 UK adults 'have Covid antibodies' Joe Biden will warn Boris Johnson not to "imperil" Northern Ireland's peace process, after the EU warned that its
news.yahoo.comUK urges EU to show 'common sense' in post-Brexit talks
The U.K.’s chief negotiator called on the European Union to show “pragmatism and common sense,” instead of threatening to retaliate, as the two sides meet to resolve differences over the deal that was supposed to keep trade flowing after Brexit.
We preferred working with Michael Gove say EU diplomats
Brussels misses dealing with Michael Gove, EU sources said as they accused David Frost of stoking up Unionist anger at the Northern Ireland Protocol. Lord Frost took over responsibility for negotiations with the EU over the Protocol from his fellow Cabinet member in February, amid growing fears that Mr Gove was too soft on Brussels. But one EU diplomat told The Telegraph: “Gove’s professional, less emotional approach was the more logical one from where we sit." Mr Gove is said to have built up a
news.yahoo.comBritish official says UK-EU relations 'bumpy' after Brexit
Britain’s Brexit minister predicted Monday that relations between the U.K. and the European Union would continue to be “bumpy” amid tensions over post-Brexit trading arrangements. David Frost said talks with the EU on ironing out the problems were “not hugely productive” so far. Since Britain made its final economic break from the 27-nation bloc at the end of 2020, the two sides have sparred over EU boats’ fishing rights in U.K. waters and new trade arrangements for Northern Ireland.
news.yahoo.comAmid pandemic, UK delays imposing post-Brexit border checks
The U.K. government says it is postponing full border controls until Jan. 1, six months later than planned, because of disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The U.K. government says it is postponing full border controls until Jan. 1, six months later than planned, because of disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. AdNorthern Ireland continues to follow EU trade rules in order to preserve its open border with Ireland, a member of the bloc. “For all that we need to have high levels of trust — mutual trust,” he said. AdThis week, European Council President Charles Michel claimed the U.K. had imposed an “outright ban” on coronavirus vaccine exports.
EU, Britain clash again in latest post-Brexit spat
European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic speaks during a media conference, after a General Affairs Council meeting, at the European Council building in Brussels, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič said in a statement that UK's decision to unilaterally extend a grace period on checks for goods moving between Britain and Northern Ireland amounts to “a violation" of the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol. The Protocol was designed to ensure an open border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic after Brexit. The sensitivity of Northern Ireland’s status was underscored earlier this year when the EU threatened to ban shipments of coronavirus vaccines to Northern Ireland as part of moves to shore up the bloc’s supply. Šefčovič held discussions Wednesday with cabinet minister David Frost, the former chief Brexit negotiator now responsible for EU relations.
British lawmakers approve post-Brexit trade deal with EU
UK chief trade negotiator David Frost looks on as Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson signs the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement at 10 Downing Street, London Wednesday Dec. 30, 2020. (Leon Neal/Pool via AP)BRUSSELS – Britain’s Parliament voted resoundingly on Wednesday to approve a trade deal with the European Union, paving the way for an orderly break with the bloc that will finally complete the U.K.’s long and divisive Brexit journey. With just a day to spare, lawmakers in the House of Commons voted 521-73 in favor of the agreement sealed between the U.K. government and the EU last week. She noted that the deal protected trade in goods but did not cover services, which account for 80% of Britain's economy. “We have a deal in trade, which benefits the EU, but not a deal in services, which would have benefitted the U.K.," May said.
EU chief negotiator still sees hope to clinch EU-UK deal
European Commission's Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom Michel Barnier talks to the media outside the EU headquarters in Brussels, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)BRUSSELS – European Union chief negotiator Michel Barnier said Monday he still has the firm belief that a Brexit trade agreement is possible, and whittled the outstanding disputes to be settled ahead of the New Year to just two. It highlighted that just as EU fishermen crave to continue working in British waters, the U.K. seafood industry is extremely dependent on exports into the 27-nation bloc. Johnson has made fisheries and U.K. control over its waters a key demand in the long saga of leaving the EU. ___Follow all AP stories on the Brexit trade talks at https://apnews.com/BrexitJ
Going 'the extra mile': UK, EU keep up Brexit trade talks
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrives to deliver a statement at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020. (Olivier Hoslet/Pool Photo via AP)BRUSSELS – Teetering on the brink of a no-deal Brexit departure, Britain and the European Union stepped back from the void Sunday and agreed to continue trade talks, although both downplayed the chances of success. U.K. and EU negotiators were still talking at EU headquarters on Sunday, with less than three weeks to go until the U.K. leaves the economic embrace of the 27-nation bloc. What we want is a good deal, a deal that respects these principles of economic fair play." Tariffs will be applied to many U.K. goods, including 10% on cars and more than 40% on lamb, hurting the U.K. economy as it struggles to rebound from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Last-ditch post-Brexit trade talks resume between EU, UK
European Union flags flutter in the wind prior to a meeting of Britain's chief negotiator David Frost and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier at EU headquarters in Brussels, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020. If there remain major issues with legal oversight of any trade deal and standards of fair play the UK needs to meet to be able to export in the EU, fisheries appears to move toward some sense of compromise. While the U.K. left the EU on Jan. 31, it remains within the bloc’s tariff-free single market and customs union through Dec. 31. A second issue is that the EU wants the toughest legal checks possible on Britain respecting any deal that emerges. The EU has demanded widespread access to U.K. fishing grounds that historically have been open to foreign trawlers.
Crunch UK-EU talks on post-Brexit ties to resume Sunday
(Julien Warnand)LONDON – The European Union and the United Kingdom decided Saturday to press on with negotiating a post-Brexit trade deal, with all three key issues still unresolved ahead of a year-end cutoff. While the U.K. left the EU on Jan. 31, it remains within the bloc’s tariff-free single market and customs union through Dec. 31. The talks would surely have collapsed by now, were the interests and economic costs at stake not so massive. “Both sides underlined that no agreement is feasible if these issues are not resolved,” von der Leyen and Johnson said Saturday. The EU has demanded widespread access to U.K. fishing grounds that historically have been open to foreign trawlers.
UK-EU trade talks 'paused' with deal still elusive
With less than one month to go before the U.K. exits the EU's economic orbit, talks are continuing, and U.K. officials have said this is the last week to strike a deal. U.K. officials briefed media outlets that the EU had set back negotiations by making last-minute demands — an allegation the bloc denied. Any deal must be approved by lawmakers in Britain and the EU before year’s end. If there is no deal, New Year’s Day will bring huge disruption, with the overnight imposition of tariffs and other barriers to U.K.-EU trade. That will hurt both sides, but the burden will fall most heavily on Britain, which does almost half its trade with the EU.
With a month until split, Brexit trade deal hangs in balance
With less than two months to go before the U.K. exits the EU's economic orbit, trade deal talks resume in London. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)LONDON – The British government told businesses on Tuesday to make sure they are ready for big changes when the U.K. makes its final Brexit break from the European Union in exactly a month. Talks are continuing, and U.K. officials have said this is the last week to strike a deal. That will hurt both sides, but the burden will fall most heavily on Britain, which does almost half its trade with the EU. But firms that trade with the EU say they still don’t know what conditions they will face in a month’s time.
UK says Brexit trade talks with EU are in their 'last week'
Teams from Britain and the European Union are continuing face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal in the little remaining time. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)LONDON – Britain’s foreign minister said Sunday there is only about a week left for the U.K. and the European Union to strike a post-Brexit trade deal, with fishing rights the major obstacle to an agreement. EU countries want their boats to be able to keep fishing in British waters, while the U.K. insists it must control access and quotas. “On fisheries, there is a point of principle: As we leave the transition, we are an independent coastal state and we’ve got to be able to control our waters,” Raab said. That will hurt both sides, but the burden will fall most heavily on Britain, which does almost half its trade with the EU.
UK, EU resume face-to-face trade talks with time running out
LONDON – Teams from Britain and the European Union resumed face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal Saturday, with both sides sounding gloomy about striking an agreement in the little time that remains. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier returned to London to meet his U.K. counterpart David Frost. If there is no deal, New Year’s Day will bring huge disruption, with the overnight imposition of tariffs and other barriers to U.K.-EU trade. That will hurt both sides, but the burden will fall most heavily on Britain, which does almost half its trade with the EU. The U.K. claims the EU is failing to respect its independence and making demands it has not placed on other countries with whom it has free trade deals, such as Canada.
EU, UK still have 'fundamental' differences in trade talks
BRUSSELS – With the European Union's chief negotiator Michel Barnier in quarantine, trade talks with the United Kingdom continued by videoconference this week, though the optimism expressed last week seemed to have faded. The talks were shifted to a videoconference last week when an EU official tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing Barnier into a quarantine until at least Thursday. Though the U.K. left the EU on Jan. 31, it remains within the bloc’s tariff-free single market and customs union until the end of this year. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned that the long-term impact of a no-deal Brexit on the British economy would be greater than the long-term impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The bank expects the British economy to end the year around 12% smaller and to not recover its virus-related losses until early 2022.
Brexit trade negotiations suspended because of COVID-19 case
The Brexit trade negotiations have been suspended Thursday Nov. 19, 2020, at a crucial stage because an EU negotiator has tested positive for the coronavirus and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said that we have decided to suspend the negotiations at our level for a short period. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, FILE)BRUSSELS – As if the Brexit trade negotiations were not tortuous enough, the coronavirus added a twist at a crucial stage on Thursday when top-level talks had to be suspended because an EU negotiator tested positive for COVID-19. It added uncertainty to the negotiations as a deadline looms ever closer and both sides are still divided on three key issues. Only on Wednesday a top European Union official said that trade talks with the United Kingdom still face “substantial work” that might spill over into next week. Both sides had hoped to get a trade deal by then to protect hundreds of thousands of jobs and businesses that could suffer if Brexit leads to a sharp end to existing trade relations.
EU, UK enter tension-filled week seeking post-Brexit deal
(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)BRUSSELS – European Union and British negotiators on Monday entered yet another tension-filled week as they sought a belated post-Brexit trade deal that needs to be vetted and get legislative approval before a Jan. 1 cutoff date. The U.K. already left the EU on Jan. 31, but a transition period when EU rules apply to trade and other issues runs until the end of next month. Both sides had hoped to get a trade deal by then to save hundreds of thousands of jobs that could be at stake if Brexit amounts to a brutal cliff edge divorce. And the EU insisted that it wouldn't be forced into any deal because of time pressure. At some point, it will come to EU and UK leaders to settle the final divisive issues.
Brexit: Trade deal 'may not succeed' before year end
Negotiations continue on London between the EU bloc and British officials to agree A Brexit deal as Britain is due to split from Europe from January 1. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)LONDON – The U.K.’s chief Brexit negotiator said Sunday before renewed talks that a trade deal with the European Union may not succeed, but he was still hopeful of a resolution. The two sides are trying to strike a new trade deal before then, but key sticking points such as fishing rights and competition rules haven't been resolved. A failure to strike a deal will hurt both sides, with businesses facing tariffs and other barriers to trade starting on Jan. 1. ___Follow all developments on the Brexit trade negotiations at https://apnews.com/Brexit
UK, EU make one more push for elusive Brexit trade deal
European Commission's Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom Michel Barnier arrives for Brexit talks at the Conference Centre in London, Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. With less than two months to go before the U.K. exits the EU's economic orbit, trade deal talks resume in London on Monday. The Internal Market Bill gives the U.K. power to override sections of the agreement dealing with Northern Ireland trade. Environment Secretary George Eustice said that fears the bill could lead to border checks between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland — something that could undermine Northern Ireland peace — were unfounded. Although Johnson said Sunday that a trade deal is “there to be done,” Frost and Barnier have both warned that serious “divergences” remain.
AP Explains: Why are UK and EU still arguing over Brexit?
Her successor, Johnson, secured his own withdrawal agreement with the EU in October 2019, allowing for the U.K. to leave on Jan. 31. The two sides are hoping to agree a free trade deal with no tariffs and no quotas. So it is demanding strict legal guarantees on the governance of any trade deal. The EU fears Britain will slash social and environmental standards and pump state money into U.K. industries, becoming a low-regulation economic rival on the bloc’s doorstep. As well as the economic impact, a no-deal exit would endanger everything from U.K. police forces’ access to EU crime databases to U.K.-EU cooperation in science.
UK's Lords condemns Brexit bill as UK-EU talks stay stalled
Britains foreign minister says there are only narrow differences remaining in trade talks between the U.K. and the European Union. The U.K. government says the bill is needed as an insurance policy to ensure smooth trade among all parts of the U.K. no matter what happens after Brexit. The legislation has soured talks between Britain and the EU on a new trade deal. U.K.-EU talks ground to a halt last week, with each side calling for the other to compromise in order to secure agreement. He told British businesses to prepare for a no-deal economic break with the EU at the end of the year.
UK, EU inch toward more Brexit talks but hurdles remain
Britains foreign minister says there are only narrow differences remaining in trade talks between the U.K. and the European Union. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)LONDON – Britain and the European Union edged toward resuming their troubled trade talks on Monday, after the bloc's chief negotiator said he was ready to “intensify” negotiations on the legal text of an agreement. Britain and the EU have been attempting to strike a new trade deal since the U.K. left the bloc on Jan. 31. He told British businesses to prepare for a no-deal economic break with the EU at the end of the year. The bill soured talks aimed at securing a new trade deal between Britain and the EU.
UK says EU trade talks 'over' but bloc sees room for a deal
Britains foreign minister says there are only narrow differences remaining in trade talks between the U.K. and the European Union. The EU said it was ready to continue negotiating, but Britain declared the talks as good as dead. “The trade talks are over," Johnson's spokesman James Slack said. While Australia has no comprehensive trade deal with the EU, Johnson insisted Britain would “prosper mightily” under those conditions, which would mean tariffs and other barriers between the U.K. and its biggest trading partner. The EU says Britain can’t have the same trade terms as Canada because of its proximity to the bloc and its economic clout.
Herbert Kretzmer, lyricist of Les Miserables, dead at 95
LONDON – Herbert Kretzmer, the journalist and lyricist best known for his English-language adaptation of the musical Les Miserables, has died. Tributes poured in from giants of the London stage, including theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh, singer Elaine Paige and lyricist Tim Rice. Les Miserables producer Mackintosh said Kretzmer was instrumental in bringing Victor Hugo's classic tale of defiance and redemption in early 19th century France to the stage in English in October 1985, five years after it had opened in Paris. Until a young British producer by the name of Cameron Mackintosh invited Kretzmer to tea in June 1984 and his life changed. Though the expanded English version of Les Miserables — it was never Les Mis for Kretzmer — had mixed reviews at the start, it would soon become one of the biggest successes of 20th century theater.
On eve of UK deadline, trade talks with EU still stalled
EU nations are already looking to the end of the month, when they see the ultimate deadline for an agreement if they still want to get it through legal vetting and parliamentary approvals before the deadline of Jan. 1. A trade deal for the EU and the recently departed U.K. has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of jobs and not exacerbate the economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The EU says Britain is trying to retain the advantages of EU membership without the commitment to play by the bloc's rules. Johnson says the EU must shift its position if it wants a deal, and insists the U.K. is quite prepared to walk away without one. ___Follow all AP stories on the Brexit trade talks at https://apnews.com/Brexit
Yet another Brexit deadline looms; trade talks in rut
Now, the end of a transition period is drawing close and both sides have to decide what kind of trade deal, if any, they want. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has long billed the two-day EU summit that starts Thursday as an ultimate deadline. On Monday, Johnson's spokesman said the U.K. still viewed this week's talks as crucial. After months of talks, Britain and the EU appear to remain deadlocked on the key issues of fishing and rules to ensure fair economic competition. ___Follow all AP stories on the Brexit trade talks at https://apnews.com/Brexit.
Progress is the word in Brexit trade talks before summit
(Brian Lawless/PA via AP)BRUSSELS – The European Union finally sees progress in trade talks with the United Kingdom, but insists a momentary change in mood between the oft-bickering sides is no guarantee that an agreement will be delivered on time, officials said Thursday. “I would say that the mood appears to have changed," Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said when he hosted European Council President Charles Michel. It does need substance to follow the mood," he added, urging the negotiators meeting in London this week to speed up progress. In diplomatic delegations in Brussels where member states eagerly follow the talks EU negotiator Michel Barnier has with his counterpart David Frost, there is the same sense of change in the air. In London, the government said the talks would go on straight through to next week's EU summit.
EU-UK spat over Brexit deal clouds key trade talks this week
After a short meeting between the two sides in Brussels, U.K. Brexit planning minister Michael Gove said Britain wouldn't withdraw its Internal Market Bill, which includes clauses to override parts of the Brexit withdrawal treaty. “Those clauses will remain in that bill” as a safety net in case the U.K. and the EU don't reach a trade agreement, Gove said. The rift means that talks between the two sides' trade negotiators will begin Tuesday under an ominous cloud. Sefcovic warned Monday that Britain shouldn't try to use the withdrawal agreement and its Northern Ireland provisions as “a bargaining chip” in trade negotiations. ___Follow all developments on the EU-Britain trade talks at https://apnews.com/Brexit.
Brexit trade deal gets tougher as coronavirus strikes officials on both sides
The Brexit trade deal will face greater challenges ahead as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now in intensive care because of the coronavirus, while other key negotiators have either been infected or are in self-isolation. "In the last couple weeks, we've seen EU's Brexit negotiator get coronavirus, the British negotiator has also been showing symptoms and now of course this very sad situation with the prime minister," she added. On March 19, Europe's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier also announced he had been infected, while U.K. negotiator David Frost went into self-isolation around the same time after showing symptoms. Johnson, 55, was moved to intensive care on Monday as his coronavirus symptoms worsened over the course of several hours, according to a statement from the government. "Clearly with this move into intensive care, there is a desire to put extra precautions into place, (Johnson) clearly is not in a position to govern at the moment," Sloat said.
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