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UK fishing industry disappointed by Brexit deal "fudge"

https://foundflight.com/cities/london/ LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's fishing industry is disappointed that a Brexit trade deal struck with the European Union does not represent more of a reduction in the access that the bloc currently has to British waters, an industry representative said. "The industry will be bitterly disappointed that there is not more of definitive break," Barrie Deas, chief executive of The National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, told Reuters. "It's a bit of a fudge." British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said earlier on Thursday that Britain had agreed a "reasonable" five-and-half-year transition period with the EU over fisheries, longer than the three years it wanted but shorter than the 14 years the EU had originally asked for. Deas said the biggest concern for the industry was likely to be a decision to allow EU fishing boats to continue to operate up to six miles from the coasts of the United K
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Sit back, remain, COVID detection! Dogs from Chile report for duty at Santiago Airport

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - At Chile's Santiago International Airport, the task of sniffing out passengers contaminated with COVID-19 falls to the dogs. When they smell the infection, a team of Golden Retrievers and Labradors sit down to get a treat. The canines wear green jackets "biodetector" with a red cross. Passengers clean their necks and wrists at an airport health checkpoint with gauze pads that are then placed in glass containers and sent to the dogs to see if they detect COVID-19. Sniffer dogs are best known for detecting drugs and bombs, but they have also been trained to detect malaria, cancer and Parkinson's disease beforehand. In the United Arab Emirates and Finland, dogs qualified to detect the novel coronavirus have already begun sniffing passenger samples at airports. A research recently discovered dogs with 85 percent to 100 percent accuracy can identify infected individuals and rule out infection with 92 percent to 99 percent accuracy. The dogs were

Two-thirds of England will be under the toughest steps of COVID-19

LONDON (Reuters) - This weekend, wide areas of England will be added to the 'extremely high warning' category COVID-19, bringing people under the strictest collection of restrictions to combat an increasing number of infections. Britain, like other nations, is struggling to tame a second wave of novel cases of coronavirus and deaths, and over Christmas, the government has to justify a decision to loosen communication restrictions for five days. The government said most secondary school students will have a week of remote learning before returning to classrooms in January in a sign of mounting concern over the possible effects of Christmas socializing. In the southeast of England, Health Minister Matt Hancock said cases have risen by 46 percent in the past week while hospital admissions have increased by more than a third. Cases were up by two-thirds in eastern England, and hospital admissions by nearly half. "Therefore, Tier 3 measures need to be applied across a much

For 'coming days' Brexit trade talks continue, UK PM's office says

LONDON (Reuters) - British legislators could be reminded of legislating for a Brexit trade agreement early next week if one is negotiated with the European Union, with negotiations set to begin "in the coming days," the office of Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday. Parliament will start its annual Christmas break on Thursday, the statement said, having completed all the requisite legislation for the end of the current Brexit transition phase. "The time for an agreement with the EU is now short, and we expect discussions to continue in the coming days," the statement said. "If one is obtained, we will recall MPs (Members of Parliament) and Peers to legislate for an agreement. The reminder could be as early as next week. Parliament will need to send 48 hours' notice to lawmakers for any recall.

As jets return from pandemic storage, airlines warned about safety

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Regulators, insurers and experts advise airlines to take special caution during the COVID-19 pandemic to reactivate aircraft left in extended storage, citing possible pilot rustiness, maintenance failures and even insect nests blocking key sensors. The unprecedented number of aircraft grounded as blocked air travel by coronavirus lockdowns - approaching two-thirds of the global fleet at one point - has created an increase in the number of problems reported as airlines return them to service. According to the International Air Transport Organization, the number of "unstabilised" or badly handled approaches has increased dramatically this year (IATA). Such mishaps can lead to difficult landings, overshoots of the runway or even crashes. Gary Moran, head of Asian aviation at insurance broker Aon PLC, said that, worried by IATA's numbers, insurers are asking airlines about whether they are doing extra pilot training to concentrate on landings. "The

AstraZeneca to purchase Alexion to grow in immunology for $39 billion

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Britain's AstraZeneca has agreed to buy U.S. drugmaker Alexion Pharmaceuticals in the biggest transaction ever for $39 billion, diversifying its fast-growing cancer sector in a gamble on medicines for rare diseases and immunology. The deal comes a week after AstraZeneca said it was undertaking more testing to confirm whether its COVID-19 vaccine could be 90% successful, potentially delaying its introduction, and was introduced in Britain as a competing shot from Pfizer and approved for use in the United States . On Saturday, the British company said Alexion shareholders will receive $60 in cash and around $115 worth of equity per share - either in ordinary shares exchanged in the UK by AstraZeneca or in American Depositary Shares denominated in dollars. That implies a total price of $175 per share based on a reference average ADR price of $54.14. Alexion shares closed on Friday at about $121 apiece. "It's a tremendous opportunity for us to accelera

Britain's navy in the event of a no-deal Brexit to defend fishing waters

LONDON (Reuters) - In the event that the Brexit transition phase ends on Dec. 31 without an agreement on future relations with the European Union, four Royal Navy patrol ships are on standby to defend Britain's fishing waters, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) said. The step attracted criticism from lawmakers within the Conservative Party of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but was brushed off by the French government. "Keep calm and carry on," said an Elysée official, using a British wartime slogan. Where no trade agreement is reached, questions are raised about potential skirmishes between British and international fishing vessels, with current transitional rules allowing EU boats access to British waters set to expire by the end of the year. "An MOD spokesman said The MOD has carried out comprehensive training and preparation to ensure that Defence is ready at the end of the Transition Phase for a variety of scenarios. The 80-meter-long navy vessels would h