The easing of lockdown restrictions in the UK has been delayed by four weeks, with the map to "normality" blocked by the need to ensure more people are vaccinated against the highly contagious Delta mutation of Covid-19.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the decision was to "save thousands of lives" with a quicker vaccination programme and applied to England.
Mr Johnson said the choice was to press on with lockdown easing or hit pause and give the National Health Service a chance to give more people vaccinations.
“As things stand, and on the evidence I can see right now, I’m confident that we will not need more than four weeks," he said.
"By being cautious now, we have the chance in the next four weeks to save many thousands of lives by vaccinating millions of people."
Ministers estimate up to 10 million people could be offered a second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine during the four-week delay.
The majority of those admitted to hospital with the Indian variant have only received one dose or none at all.
Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of the NHS in England, said on Tuesday everyone over 18 would be offered a vaccine by the end of the week.
"It is now very important that we use the next four weeks to finish the job to the greatest extent possible for the Covid vaccination programme," he told the NHS Confederation conference.
Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said that despite the delay the government was “pretty confident” restrictions could be eased on July 19.
Of the accelerating vaccination campaign, he said it "should provide, we hope, a very high level of protection”.
Asked whether hundreds a day could die from Covid-19 once restrictions were eased, Mr Gove said the illness should be treated in the same way as the flu.
“We’re going to have to learn to live with Covid,” he said.
“It’s a very nasty virus but we can provide people with protection through the vaccination programme. As with flu, we know every year there are a number of people who contract it and every year, sadly there are a number of people who are hospitalised and suffer as a result.”
The most recent data has showed the Delta variant spreading through communities and putting more people into hospital.
During the pause, the country aims "to have double-jabbed two-thirds of the adult population", the prime minister said.
The UK has followed a phased road map to lifting coronavirus restrictions and the final milestone was to have been June 21.
On Monday, Mr Johnson said the latest data on the country’s coronavirus outbreak meant restrictions could not be lifted further.
Epidemiologists have been testing whether to allow lockdown easing against the effectiveness of the vaccination programme, taking into consideration hospital cases, deaths, infection rates and mutations of concern.
The Delta variant, first identified in India, has been sweeping through parts of the country.
Some data indicates it is responsible for nine in 10 cases in the UK. It also appears to be far more contagious than the original strain.
Last week included some of the worst days for new cases since lockdown easing began.
On Monday, the UK recorded another 7,742 new Covid-19 cases and three more deaths.
Some indoor hospitality has been open since May 17 but many businesses are still unable to make a profit because of continuing restrictions on numbers in their premises.
The delay will be a bitter pill to swallow for many hospitality businesses, which were pinning their hopes on the June 21 "Freedom Day".
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre supercharged V6
Power: 416hp at 7,000rpm
Torque: 410Nm at 3,500rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Fuel consumption: 10.2 l/100km
Price: Dh375,000
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
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UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
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Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
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EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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Cardiff City 0
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
