Airlines

March 22, 2017

Aviation caught in battle of Brexit

A sector that in 2015 contributed £55bn to UK GDP and supported 945,000 jobs is calling for air transport not to be caught up in any “horse-trading” that might take place in…

October 12, 2016

UK tourism in search of silver lining

New agreements maintaining market access for United Kingdom airlines operating in Europe must be quickly put in place or they will lose the legal right to operate services, Parliament will be told…

Video: Blinken visits Ukraine in show of US support as Russian attacks intensify
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in an unannounced diplomatic mission to reassure Ukraine that it has American support as it struggles to defend against increasingly intense Russian attacks. France 24, May 14

Israeli protesters block aid trucks destined for Gaza
Israeli protesters blocked aid trucks destined for Gaza on Monday, throwing food packages onto the road and ripping bags of grain open in the occupied West Bank. The lorries, which were set upon at the Tarqumiya checkpoint west of Hebron, came from Jordan and were headed to the Gaza Strip, where people are in desperate need of humanitarian aid. The White House has condemned the attack, describing the “looting” of aid convoys as “a total outrage”. The group reportedly behind the protest said they were demonstrating against the continued detention of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Unverified footage shared on social media showed protesters toppling boxes from lorries onto the ground, and stomping on them once they had fallen. Some videos appeared to show vehicles being set on fire later in the evening. The BBC has not been able to independently verify these. According to reports in Israeli media, the Tzav 9 activist group were responsible for organising the protest. Israeli media describe it as a right-wing group which is seeking to halt humanitarian aid transfers into Gaza while Israeli hostages are held there. BBC news, May 14

Michael Cohen on the stand
Michael Cohen - the do-anything fixer who once boasted about burying Donald Trump’s secrets and spreading his lies - testified yesterday at Trump’s criminal trial. In a crucial passage, he said that the hush-money payment that he made to Stormy Daniels came at Trump’s direction. “He expressed to me, ‘Just do it,’” Cohen said on the stand in New York, adding, “I was doing everything and more to protect my boss.” Cohen’s testimony is a key to prosecutors’ efforts to tie Trump to allegations of a conspiracy to safeguard his presidential campaign in 2016 by burying Daniels’s account of a 2006 sexual encounter. Cohen admitted to lying and bullying for Trump, buying and suppressing negative stories while acting the part of a “thug”. Cohen, who still faces cross-examination from the defense, also ground down some key assertions: that Trump was, as his lawyers argue, oblivious to his fixer’s machinations, and that the former president was a family man deeply worried about how Daniels’s accusations would harm his marriage. Cohen described Trump as a micromanager, who was focused above all else on his campaign. New York Times, May 14

Migration headache for Rishi Sunak as watchdog backs graduate visas
The visa route allowing foreign students to stay in the UK for two years after their studies should be retained in its present form, the government’s immigration advisers have recommended. The conclusion from the Migration Advisory Committee gives Rishi Sunak a fresh headache as he searches for further measures to reduce immigration to the UK. James Cleverly, the home secretary, had told the MAC to review the graduate visa route amid concerns it was being used as a back door for migrants. However, the MAC found there was no evidence of widespread abuse specifically for the graduate route and it was not undermining the quality and integrity of the UK’s higher education system. The Times, May 14

Union chiefs to hold showdown talks with Starmer over workers’ rights
Union leaders are to meet Keir Starmer for a showdown over the party’s plans to overhaul workers’ rights, with some also expected to express concerns over the defection of Natalie Elphicke. The meeting at the party’s Southwark HQ on Tuesday afternoon comes amid divisions over whether the proposals have been watered down since they were first proposed by Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner. Union general secretaries will convene at lunchtime before the 90-minute meeting with Starmer, Rayner, the party chair, Anneliese Dodds, and the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones. Unite, the Communication Workers Union and the Fire Brigades Union are understood to be raising concerns about the latest draft of the document that includes several changes to the proposals, including the speed and methods of the changes. The Guardian, May 14

Jeremy Hunt bets on creating a $1tn ‘British Microsoft’
Jeremy Hunt has said the UK can create a $1tn homegrown tech giant to rival Microsoft or Google as he shrugged off foreign bids for London-listed companies as “part of how capitalism works”. The chancellor has been leading a regulatory overhaul to make it easier for start-ups to access funds to fuel growth and stem the outflow of investment capital from UK equity funds. “What’s my yardstick of success? I’d like to see a British Alphabet, I’d like to see a British Microsoft,” Hunt told the FT. “It might not be for a decade. But I’d like to see a homegrown company with a trillion-dollar [market] cap, with a big global position … That would reflect my ambition for the UK to be the world’s next Silicon Valley. It’s a big dream, but we can definitely get there,” he said in an interview. A $1tn (£800bn) company would dwarf London’s most valuable businesses. Apple’s $2.9tn valuation alone is bigger than that of the entire FTSE 100, at £2tn. The UK’s leading tech company, chip designer Arm, was bought by Japan’s SoftBank in 2016 in a deal welcomed by the prime minister at the time Theresa May. It subsequently chose New York over London when it returned to the public market last year. Financial Times, May 13

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Airlines

Aviation caught in battle of Brexit

UK tourism in search of silver lining