UK cash system is 'at risk of collapse'

- The UK’s cash system will collapse without urgent legislation to protect it, according to a new study.

Panel members behind the Access to Cash Review, which published its final report a year ago, said action is needed to protect cash for as long as people need it.

They say that in the 12 months since their last review, significant issues within the country’s cash infrastructure remain.

The review was set up by ATM network provider Link to help understand how consumers use cash and how their requirements to access physical money will change over the next five to 15 years.

It previously predicted that society would be at the point of being "virtually cashless" by 2035, with fewer than one-in-10 transactions being made in cash.

But trade association UK Finance now expects the UK to hit this point within the next decade.

Panel members also pointed to figures showing that, over the past year, 13% of free-to-use UK ATMs have closed, as lower levels of cash use have made them economically unviable. About 25% of ATMs now charge people to withdraw their cash.

They also warn that the Post Office's cash access service is under serious threat.

Barclays recently reversed plans to stop customers accessing cash withdrawal services from post offices following a backlash.

Various initiatives have been set up by the industry to help maintain people's access to cash, including cashback initiatives at local shops and a "request an ATM" service.

But the panel said it believes the only way to manage the cash system is for the government to legislate and give regulators the tools that they need to protect cash access.

Boris Johnson to be next prime minister of U.K., replacing Theresa May amid Brexit turmoil

DRAMA!

London -- Former London Mayor Boris Johnson has been chosen by his party to become Britain's next prime minister. He will replace Theresa May, who was forced to resign amid a bitter feud in the U.K. -- and within both her and Johnson's Conservative Party -- over Britain's exit from the European Union.

As CBS News correspondent Charlie D'Agata reports, the new leader of America's closest ally is one of Great Britain's most prominent figures, and probably a familiar face to many Americans.

By a quirk of British politics, Johnson was not elected by the general public but instead chosen to lead by about 160,000 registered Conservative Party members. He won with 92,153 votes to rival Jeremy Hunt's 46,656 -- a margin of almost two to one.

The new prime minister will officially take office on Wednesday, when May formally resigns the post. Johnson thanked his opponent in the leadership contest, Hunt, and May in remarks to gathered party members in London after the results of the election were announced on Tuesday.

Brexit: UK and EU agree delay to 31 October

BBC - European Union leaders have granted the UK a six-month extension to Brexit, after late-night talks in Brussels.

The new deadline - 31 October - averts the prospect of the UK having to leave the EU without a deal on Friday, as MPs are still deadlocked over a deal.

European Council President Donald Tusk said his "message to British friends" was "please do not waste this time".

Theresa May, who had wanted a shorter delay, said the UK would still aim to leave the EU as soon as possible.

The UK must now hold European elections in May, or leave on 1 June without a deal.

The prime minister will later make a statement on the Brussels summit to the House of Commons, while talks with the Labour Party, aimed at reaching consensus on how to handle Brexit, are set to continue.

Mrs May tweeted: "The choices we now face are stark and the timetable is clear. So we must now press on at pace with our efforts to reach a consensus on a deal that is in the national interest."

So far, MPs have rejected the withdrawal agreement Mrs May reached with other European leaders last year and they have voted against leaving the EU without a deal.

The EU has ruled out any renegotiation of the withdrawal agreement.

Before the summit, Mrs May had told leaders she wanted to move the UK's exit date from this Friday to 30 June, with the option of leaving earlier if Parliament ratified her agreement.

British Army wants ‘millennials’, ‘snowflakes’, 'phone zombies' to pick up rifles and defend country

- Calling all “Binge Gamers”, “Snowflakes” and “Selfie Addicts” – lay down your controllers, stop being outraged over everything and put that photo upload on hold – instead, why not join the British Army?

Those are the kind of people Britain's armed forces are now going after in a new advertising campaign launched Thursday targeting everyone from “Class Clowns” to “Me Me Me Millennials”.

“The army sees people differently and we are proud to look beyond the stereotypes and spot the potential in young people, from compassion to self-belief,” British Army Major General Paul Nanson told Sky News.

The ad campaign, which features YouTube videos and posters modeled off the famous ‘Your Country Needs You’ slogan from the First World War, comes as Britain is struggling to recruit new soldiers.

A government committee was informed in October that the British Army has 77,000 fully-trained troops, below its target of 82,500. A National Audit Office report in December also revealed that nearly half of the Army’s applicants chose to drop out of the hiring process in 2017 and 2018 because it was taking up to 321 days to transition from applying to starting training, according to Sky News.

Brexit pressure rises, but UK government says no to second vote

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s government is not preparing for a second referendum on Brexit, ministers said on Sunday, sticking to the script that Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal could still pass through parliament with a few changes.

May delayed a vote last week on her agreement to leave the European Union because she was set to lose in parliament and has tried to secure “assurances” from the bloc to try to better sell it to skeptical lawmakers. Brussels said last week it was ready to help but warned her that she could not renegotiate the deal.

With less than four months before Britain is due to leave in March, Brexit, the biggest shift in trade and foreign policy for more than 40 years, is proving anything but smooth, complicated by the deep divisions in parliament and across the country.

With May facing deadlock in parliament over the deal and the EU offering little so far, more politicians are talking about the possibility of Britain leaving without an agreement or a second referendum that could stop Brexit from happening.

Asked if the government was preparing for a vote, education minister Damian Hinds told Sky News: “No, a second referendum would be divisive. We’ve had the people’s vote, we’ve had the referendum and now we’ve got to get on with implementing it.”

Trade minister Liam Fox also said a second referendum would “perpetuate” the deep divisions in Britain, adding that the prime minister was securing the necessary assurances to persuade parliament to back her deal.

He said that would take some time.

“It will happen over Christmas, it’s not going to happen this week, it’s not going to be quick, it will happen some time in the New Year,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show.

But the longer it takes, voices urging a change of tack are getting louder and the pressure on the main opposition Labour Party to move against the government is rising.

Simon Coveney, Ireland’s foreign minister, said if Britain wanted to put an “entirely new” Brexit proposal forward the government would most likely have to delay its departure.

May survived a no confidence vote among her Conservative lawmakers last week, but opposition parties are calling for Labour to propose a parliamentary motion of no confidence against the government this week.

Second ever case of Monkeypox recorded in England

- A second individual has been diagnosed with monkeypox in England, health officials have said.

The patient, who had travelled to Nigeria where they are believed to have acquired the infection, presented with symptoms at the Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Public Health England (PHE) said.

It is the second ever case of the rare viral infection recorded in the UK, after a resident of Nigeria staying at a naval base in Cornwall was diagnosed last week.

However there is "no UK link" between the two patients, PHE said.

Monkeypox does not spread easily between people and most who contract the infection recover within a few weeks, although severe illness can occur in some people.

Dr Nick Phin, deputy director of the National Infection Service at PHE, said it was "very unusual" to see two cases in this short a period of time.

"We know that in September 2017 Nigeria experienced a large sustained outbreak of monkeypox and since then sporadic cases have continued to be reported," he said.

"It is likely that monkeypox continues to circulate in Nigeria and could therefore affect travellers who are returning from this part of the world, however, it is very unusual to see two cases in such a relatively short space of time.

"We are working hard to contact individuals, including healthcare workers, that might have come into contact with the individual to provide information and health advice."

The second individual was transferred to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital after testing positive for the infection.

Burberry ends bonfire of the luxuries after waste outcry

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Burberry will no longer burn unsold luxury goods to protect its brand after an admission that it destroyed almost $40 million worth of stock last year sparked a furor over waste in the fashion industry.

Burberry also said on Thursday it would no longer use real fur such as mink and racoon, in another step to improving its social and environmental credentials which was immediately welcomed by animal rights campaigners.

The waste revelation in July from Burberry came only months after the owner of Cartier and Montblanc admitted to destroying some of their unsold watches and coincides with growing public awareness of waste and its environmental impact.

“Modern luxury means being socially and environmentally responsible,” said CEO Marco Gobbetti, who is in the process of taking Burberry, where coats sell for more than 2,500 pounds ($3,234) and handbags are priced at up to 1,500 pounds, more upmarket.

Many retailers have been called out in recent years for destroying unsold stock, including by slashing or punching holes in garments before throwing them out.

Richemont, owner of luxury watch brands, said it bought back unsold stock from dealers during a recent downturn and recycled the precious metals and stones that were in the high-end pieces.

Burberry physically destroyed 28.6 million pounds worth of finished goods in the financial year to April, up from 26.9 million pounds the previous year, including 10 million pounds worth of beauty products such as perfume.

The products are generally those that did not sell via discount outlets and are more than five years old. Burberry said it would try to reuse, repair, donate or recycle its products while a strategy to make fewer, more targeted collections should help reduce excess stock.

It is also working with the sustainable luxury company Elvis & Kresse to transform 120 tonnes of leather offcuts into new products over the next five years.

Britons see Brexit turning sour, half want chance to vote again: poll

LONDON (Reuters) - Two-thirds of Britons now think the government will end up with a bad deal when Britain leaves the European Union early next year, and half want the chance to vote on what happens next, Sky News reported on Monday, citing its own poll.

With less than eight months until Britain is due to leave the EU, Prime Minister Theresa May has yet to find a proposal to maintain economic ties with the bloc that pleases both sides of her divided party and is acceptable to negotiators in Brussels.

The Sky poll said 65 percent of British voters thought the government would end up with a bad deal - an increase of 15 points from March - and half support a referendum to choose between leaving with a deal, leaving without a deal or staying in the EU. The poll indicated 40 percent opposed such a vote, while 10 percent did not know.

When asked to choose between three options - May’s deal, a no deal or staying in the EU - 48 percent said they would prefer to stay in the EU, 27 percent wanted to leave with no deal and 13 percent would opt for the government’s deal.

Sky Data interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,466 Sky customers online between July 20 and 23. Data are weighted to the profile of the population.

The shift in public opinion comes as May has stepped up planning for a so called “no-deal” Brexit that would see the world’s fifth largest economy crash out of the EU on March 29, 2019 without a trade agreement.

A separate poll on Friday suggested that the proportion of voters who favor a referendum on the final terms of any Brexit deal had overtaken those who do not for the first time.

May has repeatedly ruled out holding another public vote on Brexit, saying the public spoke at a June 23, 2016, referendum, in which 51.9 percent of the votes cast backed leaving the EU while 48.1 percent backed staying.

Her main opponents in parliament, the Labour Party, are also not advocating a second referendum, meaning that, despite growing support and a vocal campaign for another vote, there is no obvious path for one to take place.

However, the potential for major political upheaval remains, with May’s minority government facing a series of make-or-break moments in the Brexit process over coming months.

She must find a way to strike a deal with the EU, which has already rejected her preferred plan on trade, then sell that deal to her deeply divided Conservative Party, before putting it to a vote in parliament. Failure at any of those three hurdles could cost her her job.

4 Men Arrested in the UK in Connection with Suspected Acid Attack on 3-Year-Old Boy

LONDON—Four men have been arrested after a 3-year-old boy was attacked with a corrosive substance in the UK.

The boy was attacked while sitting in his stroller in a Home Bargains store in Worcester, West Midlands, on Saturday, July 21.

He was left with serious burns on his face and arm although he has now been released from hospital. The long-term implications of his injuries are unknown, West Mercia Police said.

Three men were arrested in London on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm and are aged 22, 25, and 26, police said.

A 39-year-old man from Wolverhampton in the West Midlands was arrested on Sunday, July 22 on the same charges and is in police custody.

Police said the motive for the attack was “unclear” but they were treating it as a “deliberate act towards the child.”

Is Trump trying to collapse Britain’s government?

washingtonpost.com - On Thursday night, British Prime Minister Theresa May treated President Trump to a lavish dinner with 150 guests at Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill, one of Trump’s great heroes. Just as the dinner was winding down, the Sun, a British newspaper, released a bizarre and breathtaking interview with Trump during which he sneered at May’s latest Brexit plans, praised her main political rival and gave another jolt to her teetering government. It’s the old story: Who needs enemies when Trump is your friend?

The interview — equal parts insane, insulting and incendiary — essentially derailed Trump’s visit to Britain almost before it even began. The American president is doing everything he can to collapse the government of the United States’ most important ally. And in the process he’s imperiling relationships that are crucial to American and international security. (Now he’s trying to backpedal by calling the interview “fake news,” blithely ignoring the fact that the Interview was taped.)

It was insane when Trump falsely claimed that U.S. gross domestic product “has doubled and tripled” since he took office. (Tripling GDP takes decades, not 18 months.) Or when he absurdly claimed that his poll numbers are better than Abraham Lincoln’s. (Presidential approval ratings didn’t exist when Lincoln died in 1865.) Or when he wondered aloud why we don’t hear the “beautiful name” of England as much anymore, compared with the United Kingdom. (The answer, Mr. President, goes back to the 1707 Acts of Union; and when people mention Wales this week, they’re not talking about belugas.)

It was insulting when he insinuated that he has a secret Brexit strategy that May ignored. That seems highly unlikely given that his ignorance about the European Union’s basic functioning is on display every time he discusses it. He also caused offense with a highly personal attack on London Mayor Sadiq Khan, whom he accused of weakness on migrants and terrorism. (The mayor of London has as much control of British immigration policy as the mayor of Toledo, Ohio, has control over the United States’ borders.)

Finally, the interview was incendiary — for British politics and for the “special relationship” between the United States and Britain, a pillar of the current system of international security.

May’s government is already teetering as a result of the Brexit negotiations, which are not going well. Trump just gave her a shove. May already faces the risk of an internal party challenge that could topple her government. When Trump casually dropped the remark that her latest plan, a compromise designed to soften the blow of withdrawal from the E.U. for British businesses, would lead to the United States abandoning or downgrading trade relations with Britain, it was 10 Downing Street’s worst nightmare come true. That makes an internal revolt by the hard-core “Brexiteers” more likely.

Trump’s interview also imperils international security. When his questioners pressed him about Dawn Sturgess, a British woman who recently died from the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok, Trump continued to play up the value of a good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mind you, this is just one week after the British government again accused the Kremlin of using the nerve agent to murder British citizens on British soil. By failing to clearly and unequivocally condemn the Russians’ action, Trump is simply emboldening them. Why shouldn’t Moscow just do it again? As long as it’s Putin who’s pulling the trigger, apparently, no one is softer on terrorism than Trump.

It’s astonishing to think that Trump arrived in Britain only yesterday, considering the amount of political and diplomatic wreckage he is already leaving in his wake. It’s imperative that someone — anyone — on either side of the Atlantic stand up to him before he blows apart the “special relationship.”

After a Week of Turmoil, British Government Publishes Its Plan for Brexit

LONDON—The British government published in detail the long-awaited plan for its future economic relationship with the European Union, including proposals that have disappointed the financial-services industry because they accept a significant reduction in the sector's access to Europe.

The contents of the 98-page document have already torpedoed a fragile truce between warring factions in Prime Minister Theresa May’s ruling Conservatives over how close the U.K.’s economic ties to the EU should be after the country’s departure from the bloc in March 2019. Two cabinet ministers resigned this week when details of the plan were finalized.

The government hopes the proposal will inject fresh momentum into Brexit talks with less than nine months to go until Britain’s planned withdrawal. Yet Mrs. May now faces the twin challenges of steering her plan through Parliament and persuading a skeptical EU to sign up to it before the time for negotiations runs out.

The so-called white paper, published Thursday, proposes an ambitious free-trade area between the U.K. and the EU after Brexit. It suggests new institutional arrangements to oversee the new partnership and resolve disputes, citing international precedents such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the EU’s own association agreement with Ukraine.

The paper effectively commits the U.K. to mirroring EU product regulations in to preserve cross-border trade in goods, while seeking a freer hand on services—a move that London acknowledged will inevitably mean less business for U.K.-based financial firms from EU customers.

Preserving unfettered access to the EU market for financial services was once a central goal of the U.K.’s Brexit strategy. But the government said Thursday it would instead seek only to negotiate a framework enshrined in international law for the close cooperation between U.K. and EU financial regulators, while preserving British autonomy on financial-sector rules. It acknowledged such an approach “means that the U.K. and the EU will not have current levels to access to each other’s markets.”

The proposal crystallizes concerns in the financial sector that Brussels and London weren’t likely to reach an agreement that broadly preserved the status quo. Already some banks have begun moving key staff to EU capitals ahead of Britain’s withdrawal. ContinueReading

McDonald's to scrap plastic straws in UK and Ireland

- McDonald's has joined the fight against plastic pollution by switching to paper straws at its restaurants in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The change, which will begin to take effect in September, follows trials of paper straws at select locations. The US fast food chain said a majority of its customers supported the move away from plastic.

"Reflecting the broader public debate, our customers told us they wanted to see a move on straws but to do so without compromising their overall experience when visiting our restaurants," said Paul Pomroy, CEO of McDonald's UK and Ireland.

McDonald's (MCD) uses 1.8 million straws each day at its 1,361 restaurants in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company said the changeover would be complete in 2019.

Plastic straws are the sixth most common type of litter globally, according to Litterati, an app that identifies and maps trash. Only 1% are recycled, largely because they are made of a mixture of polypropylene and polystyrene.

According to the UK government, 1 million birds and more than 100,000 sea mammals die every year from eating or getting tangled in plastic waste. And research shows there will be more plastic than fish by weight in the world's oceans by 2050.

UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove called on other companies to follow the example of McDonald's.

"McDonald's has made a significant investment in UK manufacturing to produce an alternative to plastic, showing British businesses are taking a global lead," he said in a statement.

Several large UK restaurant chains such as Pizza Express and Wagamama have already stopped using plastic straws.

And a group of more than 40 companies including Coca-Cola (KO), Nestle (NSRGF), Unilever (UL) and Procter & Gamble (PG) pledged earlier this year to slash the amount of plastic they use and throw away in the United Kingdom.

A 'doomsday' no-deal Brexit scenario could see Britain run out of food within days — and it only gets worse from there

LONDON — A no-deal Brexit could see Britain run out of food within days, according to a "doomsday scenario."

The UK is scheduled to leave the European Union on March 29, 2019 and senior civil servants have produced three alternative scenarios — "a mild one, a severe one, and one dubbed 'Armageddon'" — for David Davis, the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU.

The Sunday Times reports that Whitehall "has begun contingency planning for the Port of Dover to collapse 'on day one'."

The Port of Dover, the nearest English port to France, is responsible for handling approximately 17% of the UK's trade in goods, so if Britain crashed out of the EU with no deal and the port collapsed, it could lead to a desperate shortage of essential supplies.

A Sunday Times source said: "In the second scenario, not even the worst, the port of Dover will collapse on day one. The supermarkets in Cornwall and Scotland will run out of food within a couple of days, and hospitals will run out of medicines within two weeks."

The UK may even have to enlist the help of the Royal Air Force to shuttle supplies to the more remote areas of the country.

"You would have to medevac medicine into Britain, and at the end of week two we would be running out of petrol as well," the source added.

A spokesman for the Department of Exiting the EU confirmed discussions on different scenarios had occurred but said claims of a "doomsday" outcome becoming reality were "completely false."

"A significant amount of work and decision making has gone into our no deal plans, especially where it relates to ports, and we know that none of this would come to pass," the spokesman said.

California's economy is now the 5th-biggest in the world, and has overtaken the United Kingdom

- California's economy is so large, and has grown so quickly, that it is now the fifth-biggest in the world all by itself, according to US government data.

Figures released on Friday by the US Department of Commerce put California's effective GDP from 2017 at around $2.747 trillion. It said the state's economy grew by 3.4% in the past year.

That growth puts it ahead of the United Kingdom, which has a GDP of $2.625 trillion, according to data published last month by the International Monetary Fund.

According to the Associated Press, California's boom has been especially pronounced because of its thriving tech, entertainment and agricultural industries.

The difference is even more stark in light of the respective economies' populations: Britain has around 66 million inhabitants, compared to California's 40 million.

The United Kingdom has experienced sluggish growth in the past year and many consider its future economic prospects in peril because of its impending exit from the European Union, characterised by fraught negotiations.

It also highlighted currency fluctuations which helped increase the US dollar figure for California's economy at the expense of Britain's.

Alfie Evans, Toddler At Centre Of Court Battle Over Treatment, Dies

- The parents of Alfie Evans said they were “heartbroken” as they confirmed their son died in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The 23-month-old, who was being treated at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool died at 2.30am, Kate James and Thomas Evans said on Facebook.

The youngster was at the centre of a legal battle over his treatment that touched hearts around the world.

The post on Facebook said: “Our baby boy grew his wings tonight at 2:30 am. We are heart broken. Thank you everyone for all your support.”

Evans, 21 and James, 20, had fought to take their son to a foreign hospital for treatment for a degenerative medical condition, but lost a final court appeal on Wednesday.

Doctors had removed Alfie’s life-support following a High Court judge’s ruling on Monday, however he continued to live.

His parents said that the youngster had defied doctors’ expectations and they took their case to the Court of Appeal, but the application to take him abroad was rejected.

Tom Evans said their lives had been “turned upside down” by the “intense focus” his case had received.

“Our little family along with Alder Hey has become the centre of attention for many people around the world and it has meant we have not been able to live our lives as we would like,” he said.

The attention and emotion garnered by Alfie’s plight and his parents’ determined public campaign to get the treatment they believed he needed led to high tensions between supporters and staff at Alder Hey.

Further Reading: There was never going to be a happy ending in the Alfie Evans case, but perhaps there's still a lesson learned

Britain's sugar tax on soft drinks comes into effect

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s sugar tax on soft drinks came into effect on Friday, a move that will lead to some higher prices as the country seeks to battle childhood obesity.

The tax, announced in March 2016, has already cut sugar content in drinks by 45 million kg per year, Britain’s Treasury said, as over 50 percent of manufacturers have reformulated their products to be below the levy’s sugar threshold.

“Our teenagers consume nearly a bathtub of sugary drinks each year on average, fuelling a worrying obesity trend in this country,” Public Health Minister Steve Brine said.

“The soft drinks industry levy is ground-breaking policy that will help to reduce sugar intake, whilst funding sports programs and nutritious breakfast clubs for children.”

Because of the reformulations, the Treasury now expects the levy to raise only about 240 million pounds ($336 million) in its first year, less than half of its prior forecast of 520 million.

Soft drink makers including Coca-Cola, Britvic and Lucozade Ribena Suntory have reformulated drinks, though Coca-Cola Classic, the nation’s top-selling branded soft drink, is subject to the tax.

Retailers Tesco, Asda and Morrisons have also reformulated their own-label fizzy drinks to be below the levy’s threshold. ContinueReading

U.K. YouTuber convicted of hate crime for teaching dog ‘Nazi salutes’

washingtontimes.com - A Scottish YouTuber who goes by the name Count Dankula could be facing jail time after he was convicted Tuesday of committing a hate crime for purportedly teaching his dog to give Nazi salutes in a 2016 video.

Mark Meechan, 30, was arrested in April 2016 for producing a viral clip showing his girlfriend’s pet pug sitting in front of a video of Adolf Hitler and appearing to salute the Nazi dictator. Mr. Meechan later apologized to the Jewish community for the video, which he said was made to annoy his girlfriend.

Sheriff Derek O’Carroll on Tuesday found Mr. Meechan guilty of posting content that was “grossly offensive” and “anti-semitic and racist in nature,” convicting him under the U.K.’s Communications Act.

Mr. Meechan could face up to six months in prison for the offense. He will be sentenced on April 23.

English comedian Ricky Gervais came to Mr. Meechan’s defense on Twitter Tuesday, writing, “If you don’t believe in a person’s right to say things that you might find ‘grossly offensive’, then you don’t believe in Freedom of Speech.”

Jewish comedian David Baddiel also supported Mr. Meechan, writing on Twitter: “The court should seek to acquit Mr Meechan for no other reason but to show it is 2018 and not 1984.”

UK blames Russia for cyber attack, Moscow decries Western campaign

LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Britain blamed Russia on Thursday for a cyber-attack last year, publicly pointing the finger at Moscow for spreading a virus which swept across Europe and beyond, hitting companies and other users after initially targeting Ukraine.

Russia denied the accusation, saying it was part of “Russophobic” campaign that it said was being waged by some Western countries.

Two sources familiar with the matter said later on Thursday that London’s announcement had been coordinated with the United States and other countries, some of which were expected to follow up with their own statements about who was responsible for NotPetya in the coming days.

The so-called NotPetya attack in June started in Ukraine where it crippled government and business computers before spreading around Europe and the world, halting operations at ports, factories and offices.

Brexiteers back second EU referendum to stop 'soft' departure from bloc

LONDON (Reuters) - Two of Britain’s most prominent Brexit campaigners endorsed a second referendum on leaving the European Union on Thursday as the best way to stop EU supporters from trying to water down, or even halt, the country’s departure from the bloc.

Britons shocked the political establishment in June 2016 by voting 52 to 48 percent in favor of ending more than four decades of political, economic and legal ties with the EU.

But, with the nation still deeply polarized, disillusion over the complexity of withdrawal setting in and pessimism about the economic impact of Brexit rising, many in the fervently anti-EU camp fear an eventual “soft” withdrawal that would keep key ties and foil any clampdown on immigration.

Nigel Farage, a central figure in the “Leave” campaign ahead of the referendum and in its surprise outcome, said he was warming to the idea of holding a second vote to settle the argument on whether leaving was the right decision or not.

“Maybe, just maybe, I‘m reaching the point of thinking that we should have a second referendum ... on EU membership,” the former leader of the small UK Independence Party told Channel Five’s “The Wright Stuff” show.

“I think if we had a second referendum on EU membership we’d kill it off for a generation. The percentage that would vote to leave next time would be very much bigger than it was last time round.”

Opinion polls show little sign of a change of heart among voters. A poll in December showed 51 percent would now keep EU membership and 41 percent wanting out. But pollster BMG said that shift was largely among those who did not vote - notably many young people - in 2016; around nine in 10 “Leave” and “Remain” voters hold fast to their views.

Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May has promised Britain will leave the EU in March 2019 and then enter a roughly two-year transition period for the government to implement new policies on issues such as trade, customs and immigration.

Asked about Farage’s comments, May’s spokesman said: “We will not be having a second referendum.” ContinueReading

Ireland's leaders say deal shows Britain is edging towards soft Brexit

theguardian.com - The Irish border deal hammered out after objections from the Democratic Unionist party has inadvertently edged Britain towards a soft Brexit deal, political leaders in Ireland have said.

Ireland’s prime minister, Leo Varadkar, said he was delighted with the deal because not only had it delivered an invisible border with Northern Ireland but the DUP clause had unexpectedly delivered a new promise of barrier-free trade between the whole of Ireland and the UK in the event of no deal.

Varadkar pledged that May would have “no closer friend” in the next stage of negotiations on the back of the agreement on the Irish border.

He said it was in Ireland’s interest to help Britain get a deep and ambitious deal because Ireland wanted to preserve the £50bn-a-year trade it does with the UK, its biggest export partner.

He admitted Anglo-Irish relations had been damaged by the fractious negotiations over Brexit, but said that could quickly be repaired.

“I’ll be very frank. Brexit, by its nature, has strained relations between Ireland and the UK. Of course it has. How could it not?” he said. “Our role now is to get through that. I actually think because of this agreement that we have today, because we have the guarantees and the assurances that we sought, Britain will have no closer friend than Ireland.”

He confirmed that under the deal there would be no cameras, customs checks or patrols on the border, something he said everyone north and south of the border should appreciate as a major achievement in the Brexit negotiations.

The 15-paragraph Irish deal also guarantees the Good Friday agreement will continue in all its parts, allows border communities to continue to access EU funding, and means anyone in Northern Ireland opting for Irish citizenship will continue to have rights as EU citizens.

The leader of Ireland’s opposition, who is in a confidence-and-supply agreement with Varadkar’s Fine Gael government, went further. “From the British perspective, it seems to me we are edging towards a soft Brexit, something the Brexiteers may not want to hear, but there are certain realities dawning,” said Micheál Martin, leader of the Fianna Fáil party. (ontinueReading