UK warns Brits not to travel to PH, as COVID-19 fears remain

The United Kingdom on Saturday advised its citizens not to travel to the Philippines, unless their trip is considered "essential."

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office cited the impact of the Philippine government measures being carried out to contain the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as the reason for that decision. 

According the UK foreign affairs office, more than 200,000 British nationals visited the Philippines in 2018, most of which were "trouble-free."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Cheers, fears, tears as Brexit finally dawns

Union Jack-waving Brexit backers danced in the London rain on Friday as the hours wound down to Britain's split from the European Union after years of epic drama, but for others there were only fears and tears.

After 47 years in the European fold, the country leaves the EU at 11:00pm (2300 GMT) on Friday, with a handful of the most enthusiastic supporters gathering opposite the Houses of Parliament 12 hours before the final countdown.

"It's a great relief that we're finally leaving the EU," said Wayne Green, 48. "The EU is a con, it's been a con since we started and I'm so glad that we're leaving."

Things got more feisty as the evening wore on and the historic moment neared, with a small group burning the gold-and-blue European Union flag and chanting: "Bye bye, EU, bye bye!"

Others were there to commiserate, wearing EU berets and holding signs reading "we'll be back", and "you have destroyed my future career and dreams".

"People are really, really depressed about this and some people may do silly things -- we've already had one attempted suicide," said accountant Peter Benson, 57.

"Grief, sadness," added women's rights activist Katrina Graham, 31.

"It's deeply, deeply appalling that this is actually happening.

'Utter disaster' 

While the two groups largely kept apart, there was a minor flashpoint when one man placed his paintings, depicting a naked Prime Minister Boris Johnson riding a donkey, at the foot of Parliament Square's Winston Churchill statue.

"He's very rude, very rude. A lot of people don't know history and they don't respect tradition, they don't respect the culture," said Nados Adhanom, 36, who works in a bakery.

The exchange reflected similar arguments that have raged across the country for more than three years, after Britain voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum, and emotions are still raw.

"I think it's an utter disaster, it's awful," said Daniel Price, a sales director from Brighton, on England's south coast.

Across the banks of the River Thames in the city hall building, London Mayor Sadiq Khan met hundreds of Europeans who worried about their future status in Britain.

"For more than a thousand years, we've been open to people, trade and ideas, and as long as I'm mayor, that's not going to change," Khan told AFP

But Bulgarian national Toni Petkova was less certain.

The pro bono legal assistant said officials data showed 96,000 Bulgarians needing to apply for settler status by the end of June, or get kicked out.

"So far, almost 140,000 have applied, which means 140 percent," she said, worrying that authorities had no idea how many Europeans needed help getting registered in time.

"A lot of them do not use the internet, they don't follow the news, they don't even speak English, some of them. They live in their own bubbles and they don't even know that they have to apply."

'Too polite' 

But the mood was more buoyant in the industrial towns of northern England that voted heavily to leave.

"In London it is going to be decked today with Union Jacks, I am very pleased," said 82-year-old Ada Sowerby in the northeastern coastal town of Hartlepool, where voters opted to leave by a margin of almost 70 percent.

"I'm pleased, it's about time, this has taken far longer than it should have," added fellow resident Eric Horsley.

While Brexiteers got ready to mark the historic moment, Remainers were already looking ahead to rejoining the EU.

"I'm certain the UK will be returning to the EU in the future, in maybe 10 years," said Benson, the London accountant.

"France and Hong Kong have shown the way how to protest; we are being too polite."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

UK fears crisis as 11.5 million get potentially addictive drugs

LONDON - More and more Britons are being prescribed potentially addictive medicines like sleeping pills, opioids and other painkillers, raising the risk of a drug crisis like the one in the United States, health officials said on Tuesday.

In a government-commissioned report, researchers at Public Health England (PHE) said evidence showed that "since at least 10 years ago more people are being prescribed more of these medicines and often for longer".

In 2017 to 2018 alone, 11.5 million adults in England - more than a quarter of the adult population - was prescribed one or more of the medicines under review, the PHE analysis found.

The medicines included anti-anxiety drugs called benzodiazepines and sleeping pills known as z-drugs, as well as the epilepsy and anxiety medicines gabapentin and pregabalin, antidepressants, and opioid pain medicines.

Many of these can be addictive and could cause problems for people taking them or coming off them, PHE said. The report also found higher rates of prescribing to women and older people.

While prescribing of some drugs, like benzodiazepines and opioids, has dipped a little recently amid fears about the deadly opioid epidemic in the United States, others, such as the gabapentin, pregabalin, and some antidepressants, are being prescribed more often and for longer.

"This means more people are at risk of becoming addicted to them or having problems when they stop using them," PHE said.

"It also costs the NHS (National Health Service) a lot of money, some of which is wasted because the medicines do not work for everyone all the time, especially if they are used for too long."

An opioid epidemic in the United States has killed almost half a million Americans since 1999, and a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) policy forum earlier this year warned that the United States "is by no means alone in facing this crisis."

The Paris-based OECD said deaths linked to opioid use were rising sharply in Sweden, Norway, Ireland, and England and Wales.

Responding to the PHE report, Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said it is watching the U.S. crisis closely and aiming to take avoiding action.

"We take the experience in the U.S. of dependence and addiction to opioids very seriously and are following ... developments ... to learn from the actions other countries are taking to tackle this issue," it said in a statement. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Trump meeting Queen rankles with many Britons

LONDON - Queen Elizabeth II welcomed US President Donald Trump for tea at Windsor Castle on Friday -- a meeting which many Britons find to be the toughest of his already contentious trip to swallow.

Trump walked ahead of the 92-year-old while inspecting troops and did not bow when he met her -- a couple of minor protocol breaches -- but the meeting went smoothly.

Trump was gracious about the British sovereign in a newspaper interview out Friday in which he attacked Prime Minister Theresa May's strategy on Brexit.

However, his previous comments about the Royals have been less tactful, including boasting he would have slept with Diana, Princess of Wales "without even hesitation," and saying "who wouldn't" photograph the Duchess of Cambridge topless.

Some 1.86 million people signed a petition at the June 2017 general election, wanting to prevent Trump from making a state visit "because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen".

His four-day trip to Britain is not a state visit -- with the formal trappings of a carriage procession and certain banquets -- but it bears many of the hallmarks, including time with the head of state.

A YouGov poll of 1,648 British adults conducted on Monday and Tuesday found that half thought Trump's working visit to Britain should go ahead, with just over a third thinking it should be canceled.

However, the meeting with Queen Elizabeth on his first visit to Britain as US president still seems to rankle.

Just one in three (35 percent) thought the monarch should meet Trump, as opposed to half (49 percent) who thought she should not.


'GREAT AND BEAUTIFUL GRACE'

Trump was treated with a guard of honor when he arrived at Windsor Castle, west of London. The Coldstream Guards gave a royal salute and played the US national anthem.

The two heads of state inspected the guard before watching them march past, in the castle's quadrangle.

The Trumps then went for tea with Queen Elizabeth.

"For so many years she has represented her country, she has really never made a mistake. You don't see, like, anything embarrassing. She is just an incredible woman," Trump told The Sun newspaper.

"My wife is a tremendous fan of hers. She has got a great and beautiful grace about her."

His previous comments about members of the royal family have not been so generous. Buckingham Palace said no other royals will be meeting him at Windsor.

Trump has previously spoken about Prince William's wife Kate and his late mother Diana. William, second in line to the throne, is the monarch's grandson.

In a 1997 interview, just weeks after Diana's death, US radio host Howard Stern asked Trump if he "could have nailed her."

Trump replied: "I think I could have."

In 2000, Stern asked Trump if he would have slept with Diana. The tycoon replied: "Without even hesitation."

"She was crazy, but these are minor details."


'ONLY HERSELF TO BLAME'

In 2012, after Kate was photographed sunbathing topless in France, Trump weighed in on Twitter.

"Who wouldn't take Kate's picture and make lots of money if she does the nude sunbathing thing. Come on Kate!" he wrote.

"Kate Middleton is great -- but she shouldn't be sunbathing in the nude -- only herself to blame."

Trump will not be meeting Queen Elizabeth's eldest son and William's father Prince Charles, the heir to the throne.

A January 2017 report in The Sunday Times newspaper said Trump and Charles would not meet during his visit to Britain due to their strongly divergent views on climate change.

Prince Charles is a keen environmentalist.

A source close to Trump was quoted as saying: "He won't put up with being lectured by anyone, even a member of the royal family. Frankly, they should think twice about putting him and Prince Charles in the same room."

There have been 13 US presidents since Queen Elizabeth's reign began in 1952, and, including Trump, she has met them all but one: Lyndon B. Johnson.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Britain's May wins PM race after pro-Brexit rival quits

LONDON - Interior minister Theresa May will become Britain's prime minister on Wednesday, with the task of steering its withdrawal from the European Union, after rival Andrea Leadsom abruptly terminated her disastrous leadership campaign.

May, 59, will succeed David Cameron, who announced he was stepping down after Britons unexpectedly voted last month to quit the EU. Britain's planned withdrawal has weakened the 28-nation bloc, created huge uncertainty over trade and investment, and shaken financial markets.

May and Leadsom had been due to contest a ballot of grassroots Conservative party members, with the result to be declared by Sept. 9. But Leadsom unexpectedly quit on Monday after a campaign dogged by ill-judged comments about her rival's lack of children and questions about whether she had exaggerated her CV.

"I am honored and humbled to have been chosen by the Conservative Party to become its leader," said May, who favored remaining in the EU but has made clear there is no going back on the result of the June 23 referendum.

"Brexit means Brexit, and we're going to make a success of it."

Earlier, Cameron told reporters in front of his 10 Downing Street residence that he expected to chair his last cabinet meeting on Tuesday and take questions in parliament on Wednesday before tendering his resignation to Queen Elizabeth.

"So we will have a new prime minister in that building behind me by Wednesday evening," he said.

May will become Britain's second female prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher.

Her victory means that the complex process of extricating Britain from the EU will be led by someone from the losing side of the acrimonious referendum campaign. She has said Britain needs time to work out its negotiating strategy and should not initiate formal divorce proceedings before the end of the year.

In a speech earlier on Monday in the city of Birmingham, May said there could be no second referendum and no attempt to rejoin the EU by the back door.

"As prime minister, I will make sure that we leave the European Union," she said.

The White House said U.S. President Barack Obama was confident that the "special relationship" between the United States and Britain would continue after May becomes prime minister.

RELATIVE UNKNOWN

Leadsom, 53, is a junior energy minister who has never served in cabinet and was barely known to the British public until she emerged as a prominent voice in the successful Leave campaign.

She had been strongly criticized over a newspaper interview in which she appeared to suggest that being a mother meant she had more of a stake in the country's future than May, who has no children. Some Conservatives said they were disgusted by the remarks, for which Leadsom later apologized, while others said they showed naivety and a lack of judgment.

Leadsom told reporters she was pulling out of the race to avoid nine weeks of campaign uncertainty at a time when strong leadership was needed. She acknowledged that May had secured much greater backing in a vote of Conservative members of parliament last week.

"I have ... concluded that the interests of our country are best served by the immediate appointment of a strong and well supported prime minister," she said. "I am therefore withdrawing from the leadership election and I wish Theresa May the very greatest success."

Graham Brady, head of the Conservative party committee in charge of the leadership contest, confirmed that May had been elected with immediate effect.

The pound, which has hit 31-year lows since the referendum on concern about potential damage to the British economy, bounced slightly on the news that the Conservative leadership question would be resolved much sooner than expected.

It was trading around $1.2970, up 0.1 percent on the day but still down around 13 percent since the day of the vote. The FTSE 250 index of mid-sized companies rose 3.27 percent.

"Welcome news we have 1 candidate with overwhelming support to be next PM. Theresa May has strength, integrity & determination to do the job," finance minister George Osborne tweeted.


FORGING NEW ROLE

The 52-to-48 percent vote to quit the EU after 43 years of membership was a stunning rebuke to Britain's political leaders and especially Cameron, who had argued that breaking away would bring economic disaster.

Britons ignored his warnings, swayed by the arguments of the Leave campaign that 'Brexit' would enable them to regain 'independence' from Brussels and clamp down on high immigration, something hard to achieve under EU rules allowing people to live and work anywhere in the bloc.

May's leadership hopes had appeared at risk of being damaged by her failure, in six years as interior minister, to bring immigration down, and the fact she found herself on the losing side of the referendum campaign.

But her two best-known rivals on the Leave side were felled by political back-stabbing when Justice Secretary Michael Gove brought down former London mayor Boris Johnson and was then punished for his perceived treachery by being eliminated from a ballot of Conservative MPs.

In her speech in Birmingham on Monday, May set out her vision for the economy, calling for "a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few".

In a pitch for the political center, she said she would prioritise more house-building, a crackdown on tax evasion by individuals and companies, lower energy costs and a narrowing of the 'unhealthy' gap between the pay of employees and corporate bosses.

"Under my leadership, the Conservative Party will put itself completely, absolutely, unequivocally, at the service of ordinary working people ... we will make Britain a country that works for everyone," she said.


LABOUR DISARRAY

May's biggest challenge will be to map out the course of Britain's withdrawal, a process still clouded in uncertainty, and to sort out new terms of trade with the other 27 EU nations.

"We will have difficult negotiations with Britain, it will not be easy," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel who insisted that Britain would not be able to get free access to the EU's single market without accepting free movement of people.

European Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said: "We should open the negotiations as quickly as possible in order to limit uncertainty."

More than 1,000 British lawyers said in a letter to Cameron that members of parliament should decide whether Britain leaves the EU because the referendum was not legally binding.

Opposition members of parliament, responding to the impending appointment of May, demanded a general election.

"It is crucial, given the instability caused by the Brexit vote, that the country has a democratically elected prime minister," Labor party election co-ordinator Jon Trickett said.

Labour too has been thrown into upheaval by the referendum, with leader Jeremy Corbyn widely criticized for failing to make a sufficiently passionate case in favour of staying in the EU.

Minutes before Leadsom's announcement, Labour lawmaker Angela Eagle launched a leadership challenge to Corbyn.

"Jeremy Corbyn is unable to provide the leadership that this party needs -- I believe I can," Eagle said.

Corbyn was elected last year with overwhelming support from grassroots Labor activists. He has ignored a vote of no confidence from the party's lawmakers, saying he has a responsibility to carry out that mandate.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Fed minutes suggest rate hikes on hold until Brexit impact clearer

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve policymakers decided in June that interest rate hikes should stay on hold until they have a handle on the consequences of Britain's vote on EU membership, according to the minutes of the Fed's June policy meeting released on Wednesday.

The minutes of the June 14-15 meeting, which took place ahead of the June 23 referendum in which Britons voted to leave the European Union, showed widespread unease over the so-called "Brexit" vote, including among voting members on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee.

"Members generally agreed that, before assessing whether another step in removing monetary accommodation was warranted, it was prudent to wait for additional data on the consequences of the U.K. vote," according to the minutes.

Worries have only intensified since the vote and Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo cited the rise in uncertainty on Wednesday when he argued for holding off on rate hikes until inflation had turned decisively higher.

At the June policy meeting, policymakers also cited a severe slowdown in hiring by U.S. employers as a reason for leaving interest rates steady last month, the minutes showed.

The Brexit vote shocked investors and triggered $2 trillion in losses in global stock markets the day after the referendum.

Anxieties remain, with global financial conditions tightening as investors anticipate it could take years before Britain and the EU agree to new rules on finance, trade and immigration.

On Wednesday, U.S. benchmark and long-dated Treasury yields hit record lows, with some investors betting the Fed would keep rates on hold through 2017.

"We would need to see a few months of good data ... to support a hike," said Brian Jacobsen, chief portfolio strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

The dollar, which has gained more than two percent against a basket of currencies since the Brexit vote and could weigh on U.S. exporters, weakened slightly following publication of the minutes.

Before the British vote, the Fed had signaled two interest rate hikes would likely be needed this year to keep the U.S. economy from eventually overheating.

But since the British referendum, several Fed policymakers have said the uncertainty warrants caution, including New York Fed President William Dudley who said on Tuesday the Fed needed to be patient on rate increases and that it was too soon to know the fallout from the British decision.

A severe slowdown in hiring during May and weak business investment even outside the sagging energy sector had raised questions about the U.S. outlook even before the Brexit vote.

Still, in the minutes of the June meeting, many Fed policymakers who participated in the policy discussion stressed the sharpness of the hiring slowdown could be statistical noise, and most argued the economy would be ready for rate increases unless a financial or economic shock knocks America off course, according to the minutes.

Since the Brexit vote, the British pound has plunged 13 percent against the dollar, including a 1 percent decline on Wednesday, and investors and policymakers are watching out for further signs of financial stress that could hit economic growth in America and worldwide.

"None of us really knows the magnitude and I doubt there will be a moment when people say Brexit is done," Tarullo said on Wednesday. "There is a good bit of uncertainty."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

British EU exit turmoil alarms Asia

Three million back petition for new EU referendum

LONDON/BEIJING -- Turmoil unleashed by Britain's vote to leave the EU engulfed the opposition Labour Party while policymakers as far away as China, Japan and South Korea fretted on Sunday over the threat to global financial stability, hours before markets reopen.

In the oldest parliamentary democracy, three million Britons have signed a petition calling for a re-run of Thursday's referendum that split the nation, and one opinion poll showed a strong majority of Scots now want to break with the United Kingdom rather than with the European Union.

Labour's left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn sacked his foreign policy chief as the party plunged into open conflict.

His health chief responded by resigning, calling for a new leader and reflecting accusations among pro-EU lawmakers that Corbyn's failure to win over traditional Labour voters had played a major role in the referendum result.

Sacked foreign affairs spokesman Hilary Benn also called for Corbyn, who was elected last year largely by left-wing party members and supporters, to go. "He is a good and decent man but he is not a leader," Benn told BBC television.

The 52-48 percent referendum vote marked the biggest blow since World War II to the European project of forging greater unity across the continent.

Sterling fell as much as 10 percent against the dollar last Friday to levels last seen in 1985, while world stocks saw more than $2 trillion wiped off their value. The weekend gave some respite from the turmoil, but with markets opening shortly in Asia, anxiety is growing.

Prime Minister David Cameron resigned on Friday after Britons ignored his passionate appeals to stay in the EU, but left formally notifying Brussels of Britain's exit to his successor, who is unlikely to be in office for about three months. That signals a long period of limbo.

Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said the vote "will cast a shadow over the global economy."

"It's difficult to predict now," he said at the first annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing. "The knee-jerk reaction from the market is probably a bit excessive and needs to calm down and take an objective view."

Japan, likewise, fretted over the effect on the global currency market and contemplated official action. "Speculative, violent moves have extremely negative effects," said Tomomi Inada, policy chief of the ruling LDP party. "If necessary, the government should not hesitate to respond, including currency intervention," Nikkei daily quoted him as saying.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has tried to engineer a weaker yen to encourage exports to help revive the Japanese economy. But after initial success, investors have sought safety in the yen this year due to stock market turmoil and now the Brexit vote, pushing the currency back up.

NO RESPITE

South Korea's finance minister also said he feared international markets will remain volatile throughout negotiations on the British exit.

The United States, which during campaigning made clear it wanted Britain to stay in the EU, also showed signs of unease.

Secretary of State John Kerry will meet EU foreign policy chief Frederica Mogherini in Brussels and British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond in London on Monday.

The visit is largely meant to offer symbolic reassurance at a critical juncture for Europe, but a senior U.S. official said Kerry would also stress the importance of other members not following Britain's lead and further weakening the EU.

Despite the international expressions of concern, respite from the uncertainty is unlikely for months, at the very least.

Cameron has offered to stay on as a caretaker, but he has refused to invoke Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which allows for two years of exit negotiations. Instead he left that job to his successor, who is due to be elected by his Conservative Party sometime before its annual conference in October.

Only after the new leader has invoked can work on thrashing out Britain's new relationship with the bloc begin. The man widely tipped as the next prime minister is former London mayor Boris Johnson, the most prominent member of the campaign to leave the EU.

NO LYING DOWN

Signs are growing that not all the 16 million Britons who voted to stay in the EU are willing to take the result lying down. Many flocked to back an online petition demanding a second vote, with signatures exceeding three million on Sunday morning, more than double the figure the previous afternoon.

The petition, posted on parliament's website before the referendum, said there should be another vote if the outcome was close on a turnout of less than 75 percent - three points above Thursday's figure.

It will have to be considered for debate by lawmakers, but has no legal force and its backers compare with the 17.4 million who voted "leave."

The referendum has also re-energized support for Scotland, which voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, to break away from the United Kingdom instead.

An opinion poll in The Sunday Post said 59 percent of respondents backed independence, rocketing from 45 percent of votes cast in a referendum in 2014.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said a fresh independence referendum is possible

"My challenge now as first minister is to work out how I best protect Scotland's interests, how I try to prevent us being taken out of the EU against our will with all of the deeply damaging and painful consequences that that will entail," she told the BBC's Andrew Marr show.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Merkel calls for sober EU divorce talks with "partner" Britain

BERLIN/HERMANNSWERDER - German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Saturday for clear-headed negotiations with Britain on its departure from the European Union, stressing that talks with the "close partner" must take place in a good atmosphere.

Merkel's reasoned approach came despite a call from foreign ministers from the EU's six founding members for Britain to leave the bloc as soon as possible after Britons voted to quit in the biggest blow to the project since World War Two.

"The negotiations must take place in a businesslike, good climate," Merkel told a news conference after a meeting of her conservative party in Hermannswerder, outside Potsdam to the west of Berlin.

"Britain will remain a close partner, with which we are linked economically," she said, adding that there was no hurry for Britain to invoke Article 50 of the EU treaty -- the move it must make to set in motion the process to exit the bloc.

"Quite honestly, it should not take ages, that is true, but I would not fight now for a short time frame," Merkel said.

To the north of the German capital, the six foreign ministers struck a more urgent tone, pressing Britain to trigger the process for exiting the bloc after Britons voted by 52-48 percent to exit the EU, which it joined more than 40 years ago.

"We now expect the UK government to provide clarity and give effect to this decision as soon as possible," the ministers from Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg said in a joint statement.

It is up to Britain to set in motion this process to exit the bloc.

In London, Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the Vote Leave campaign, said Britain should begin informal negotiations on a full settlement governing its post-Brexit relationship with the EU before invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

FRENCH PRESSURE

France pressed for a swift start to the exit process.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the negotiations with Britain must move quickly and the remaining EU member states also needed to give fresh impetus to the project.

"We have to give a new sense to Europe otherwise populism will fill the gap," he said, stressing that the EU could not wait for British Prime Minister David Cameron to depart in October before the exit process begins.

Ayrault said other EU leaders would put "a lot of pressure" on Cameron at a summit meeting next Tuesday to act quickly.

In Colmar in eastern France, French President Francois Hollande said the separation "will be painful for Britain but ... like in all divorces, it will be painful for those who stay behind too."

France and Germany have drafted a 10-page paper mapping out three areas of immediate concern for the remaining EU members: security, migration and refugees, and jobs and growth.

Global stock markets plunged on Friday, and sterling saw its biggest one day drop in more than 30 years after the British vote to leave the EU. Ratings agency Moody's downgraded its outlook for Britain.

The six foreign ministers lamented the watershed brought by Thursday's 'Brexit' vote and said the EU was losing "not just a member state but history, tradition and experience."

Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told Reuters: "I believe you can destroy the European Union with referenda. We have to communicate better what the EU is done and we have to work harder on issues such as migration where we have failed."

Both Ayrault and Asselborn warned Britain not to play games by drawing out the exit process.

"There's no reason to play a cat and mouse game. That would not be respectful after deciding to organize this referendum," Ayrault told a news conference after the ministers' meeting.

"It's in Britain's interest and in the interest of Europeans not to have a period of uncertainty that would have financial consequences, and that could have economic and political consequences," he said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

UK PM Cameron says will step down after Brexit vote

LONDON - David Cameron said he would resign as prime minister by October, after Britons ignored his plea to stay in the European Union and voted in a referendum to leave.

Cameron addressed the world's media outside his Downing Street offices on Friday morning as financial markets pummeled sterling and investors sold off British shares after the 52-to-48-percent victory for the "Leave" campaign was confirmed.

"The British people have made the very clear decision to take a different path and as such I think the country requires fresh leadership to take it in this direction," he said.

"I do not think it would be right for me to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination."

He sought to reassure investors that the country's economy was "fundamentally strong", after sterling plunged to its lowest since 1985 and European shares fell more than 8 percent - on course for their worst-ever day's trading.

Making the statement alongside his wife Samantha, Cameron choked back tears. He said he had already advised Queen Elizabeth of his decision to stand down.

Cameron, 49, Britain's prime minister for six years, gave no detailed timetable for his departure but said there should be a new leader by the time his Conservative Party holds its annual conference in October.

"This is not a decision I've taken lightly but I do believe it is in the national interest to have a period of stability and then the new leadership required," he said.

"I think it's right that this new prime minister takes the decision about when to trigger article 50 and start the formal and legal process of leaving the EU," he said. Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty deals with the mechanism for departure.

As he spoke under the gaze of cameras crammed into the narrow London street, celebratory horns sounded from cars passing nearby and "Leave" supporters marked their victory by waving Union Jack flags.

Cameron took office in 2010 as leader of a coalition government and in May last year won a second term with a surprise outright majority at a national election. He had been due to serve as prime minister until 2020.

He said he believed he had made "great steps" during his time in office, citing, among other things, his landmark move to legalize gay marriage in Britain.

"I love this country - and I feel honored to have served it ... I will do everything I can in future to help this great country succeed," he said before taking his wife's hand, turning away and walking back into Number 10 Downing Street.

The vote is expected to deliver at least a short-term hit to growth in Britain and might push it into recession. It could prompt the Bank of England to cut interest rates to zero and test the willingness of creditors to keep on funding Britain's current account deficit.

Further ahead, the implications of the vote will depend on what kind of trading relationship Britain can strike with the EU, which accounts for nearly half the country's exports.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Britain votes to leave EU

LONDON - Britain has voted to break out of the European Union, striking a thunderous blow against the bloc and spreading panic through world markets Friday as sterling collapsed to a 31-year low.

Investors scrambled to sell the pound, oil and stocks as Britain took a lurch into the unknown, becoming the first country to quit in the EU's 60-year history, a culmination of decades of suspicion over European aims of creating an ever-closer political union.

Voters decided 52 percent to 48 percent in favour of quitting the bloc with 374 out of 382 regional results declared.

With 16.8 million votes for "Leave" and 15.7 million for "Remain", it is now mathematically impossible for "Remain" to win, the BBC reported.

"Let June 23 go down in our history as our independence day," said top anti-EU campaigner Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, who had promised Britons the chance to retake power from Brussels and rein in high immigration.

"If the predictions now are right, this will be a victory for real people, a victory for ordinary people, a victory for decent people," he told supporters.

A joyous crowd chanted back to him: "Out! Out! Out!"

At the rival "Remain" party in London, subdued supporters stood glued to TV screens clutching beers -- some with their hands over their mouths.

'EUROSCEPTIC GENIE'
Sterling plunged more than nine percent to $1.33, a 31-year low. World oil prices skidded by more than six percent and Asian stocks sank.

Britons appeared to have to shrugged off dire warnings that quitting the 28-nation alliance would create a budget hole requiring spending cuts and tax increases once they lose unfettered trade access to the EU.

Their decision will undoubtedly reawaken fears of a domino-effect ripple of exit votes in EU-sceptic members that could imperil the integrity of the bloc, already struggling with twin economic and refugee crises.

"The eurosceptic genie is out of the bottle and it will now not be put back," Farage said.

Dutch far-right MP Geert Wilders and French National Front leader Marine Le Pen immediately called for a referendums on EU membership in their own countries.

Prime Minister David Cameron, who led the ultimately doomed struggle to sway voters in favour of sticking with Brussels, will face immediate pressure to resign.

The bookmakers' favourite to replace him is former London mayor Boris Johnson, a rival from within his ruling Conservative Party who was the "Leave" camp figurehead.

GOING IT ALONE

The result means the world's fifth-largest economy must now go it alone in the global economy, launching lengthy exit negotiations with the bloc and brokering new deals with all the countries it now trades with under the EU's umbrella.

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has warned the EU will "not be bending over backwards" to help Britain in those negotiations. Analysts say it could take the island nation a decade to secure new trade accords worldwide.

In a worst-case scenario, the International Monetary Fund has warned that the British economy could sink into recession next year and overall economic output would be 5.6 percent lower than otherwise forecast by 2019, with unemployment rising back above six percent.

Thousands of jobs in the City could be transferred to Frankfurt or Paris, top companies have warned. The Brexit camp argued that the business world will adapt quickly, however, with Britain's flexible and dynamic economy buoyed by new economic partners and selective immigration.

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso told an emergency press briefing that Tokyo was "extremely worried" about the risks to the global economy and markets but stood ready to respond "firmly".

The campaign has left Britain riven in two, marked by the brutal murder of pro-"Remain" British lawmaker Jo Cox, a mother of two who was stabbed, shot and left bleeding to death on the pavement a week ahead of the vote.

BRITISH UNITY THREATENED

The vote threatens the unity of the United Kingdom, too.

Two years after Scotland voted in a referendum to remain in the United Kingdom, its political leader First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said a new independence vote is "definitely on the table" after Britain voted against the majority will expressed by Scots.

"Scotland sees its future as part of the EU," Sturgeon told Sky News after the vote.

Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, is now faced with the prospect of customs barriers for trade with EU-member the Republic of Ireland. Irish republicans Sinn Fein called for a vote on Irish unity following the referendum.

Leaders of Europe, born out of a determination to forge lasting peace from the carnage of two world wars, will open a two-day summit on Tuesday to grapple with the British decision.

DISINTEGRATION

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned this month that a British departure would be a shock requiring quick action to avert the "disintegration" of the bloc.

"It looks like a sad day for #Europe +the United Kingdom," he wrote on Twitter on Friday.

Small countries that are economically at least as affluent as the UK are the main ones at risk, especially Denmark and potentially also Sweden," said Carsten Nickels of the Teneo analyst group in Brussels.

Immigration and an erosion of economic security have become rallying cries for populist challenges that remain scattered across in Europe, just as they have for Donald Trump's campaign in the US presidential election.

The bloc will have to learn lessons not only from events in Britain but from the rest of Europe, Juncker said ahead of the referendum, warning against a rapid push for more integration.

"This euroscepticism is not only present in Britain," he said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

British toll in Tunisia attack to rise to 'around 30'

LONDON, United Kingdom - The number of Britons killed in a gun massacre in Tunisia is expected to rise to "around 30", officials said on Monday, as a British military plane evacuated some of the injured.

Prime Minister David Cameron promised to mount a "full investigation" into Friday's attack on a beach resort near the city of Sousse with 16 British detectives already in Tunisia to aid the police there.

Hundreds more British police were sent to interview tourists who have been returning to Britain from Tunisia, some of whom might have witnessed the beach massacre claimed by the Islamic State group.

"We will not give up our way of life and cower in the face of terrorism," Cameron said, underlining the need both to fight IS jihadists in Iraq and Syria and to tackle non-violent extremists in Britain.

Britain is to hold a minute's silence on Friday for the one-week anniversary of the attack, the worst for the country since four suicide bombings in London on July 7, 2005 killed 52 people.

US President Barack Obama expressed condolences in a phone call to Cameron, and said his country "stood firmly by" Britain, a spokeswoman for the prime minister said.

Flags were flown at half mast over Cameron's Downing Street office in sympathy with the victims, and amid fears of a heightened risk of attack, Britain is to hold a major emergency response exercise in London over the next two days.

The confirmed death toll of Britons is currently at 18 out of the 38 foreign tourists who were mowed down by a Kalashnikov-toting gunman, identified as 23-year-old student Seifeddine Rezgui.

Tunisia says four other victims have been identified as tourists from Germany, Portugal, Ireland and Belgium. Ireland said Sunday three of its citizens were killed.

A Royal Air Force (RAF) Boeing C17 plane evacuated four injured Britons on Monday and all 25 of the British wounded -- out of a total of 39 hurt -- will have been brought back by Tuesday, officials said.

Among the Britons killed was former Birmingham City footballer Denis Thwaites, 70, and his wife Elaine, the club announced on Twitter, saying it was "deeply shocked and saddened".

The RAF is ready to repatriate victims' bodies using in accordance with families' wishes using C17 and C130 military transport planes, according to the prime minister.

The government is pressing Tunisia to allow access for British experts to speed victims' identification.

Cameron said he shared the "frustration" of families waiting for news but noted the difficulty of the process as many tourists had not been carrying identification or were too disfigured.

Tour operators have laid on flights to evacuate tourists and the Association of British Travel Agents said about half of an estimated 20,000 British tourists in Tunisia at the time of the attack were now home.

British interior minister Theresa May travelled to Tunisia on Monday along with junior foreign minister Tobias Ellwood, who himself lost his brother in a terror attack on the Indonesian island of Bali in 2002.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Britain evacuates thousands after storm surge

LONDON - British authorities evacuated thousands of people from coastal towns in Britain after a huge storm lashing northern Europe unleashed the worst tidal surge in 60 years, officials said Friday.

The worst of the flood waters were receding, but with another two high tides expected in eastern England later Friday, the Thames Barrier in London was set to be closed for the second time in two days to protect the capital.

Two people were killed in Britain on Thursday when Atlantic storm Xaver hit with winds of up to 142 miles per hour (228 kilometers per hour), before heading out into the North Sea towards Germany and the Netherlands.

One of the victims, a lorry driver, died when his vehicle toppled onto a number of cars in Scotland, while a man riding a mobility scooter was struck by a falling tree in Nottinghamshire, central England.

Officials said at least 10,000 homes had been evacuated: 9,000 in the eastern county of Norfolk and 1,000 in the southeastern county of Essex.

Britain's Meteorological Office confirmed it was the worst tidal surge since catastrophic floods hit North Sea countries in 1953, killing more than 2,000 people.

But defenses along Britain's east coast have been strengthened since then and while some were breached by the latest surge, most of them held.

"The defenses seemed to have held up well and seemed to have performed well," Environment Agency spokesman Tim Connell told the BBC.

The pier in the Norfolk seaside town of Cromer was damaged by the high seas.

Police in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, meanwhile urged "sightseers" to stay away, saying they were placing themselves at "significant risk".

Police in the northeastern county of Northumbria said the floods appeared to be easing Friday, saying that "early indications are that the tidal surges in our area this morning are less than what we saw yesterday."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Four Real Folks Who Overcame Their Debt

If you’re one of the millions of people engrossed in debt, it may seem like financial freedom is a distant dream.  The number of individuals living with debt in the UK has grown exponentially. In part, this is because of rising living expenses and unchanging wages. Based on a recent study, one in three Britons is in debt. That equates to £1.424 trillion in outstanding personal debt, this year alone. Although these statistics may sound menacing, it is possible to reduce and even eliminate your debt.  To prove that it’s possible, here are four average people who won their fight with debt.

Carrie Smith

Carrie Smith’s financial wake-up call occurred the instant she acknowledged her situation. At 28, she found herself with a staggering £9,300 in credit card debt. Eager to regain control of her finances and financial future, she managed to pay it all off in a year through hard work and strict budgeting. Carrie’s approach was to start with the cards which carried the highest interest rates. Most people immediately tackle the cards with the highest balance, but it’s wiser to evaluate the interest rate fees on a monthly and annual basis because that’s where you’ll be hit the hardest. To stay on track Carrie even made a timeline of her progress using a payment tool. And of course, she had to cut her frivolous spending– holidays, salon visits, cable, and dining out. The spending cuts were temporary, but the results enduring long past that year, Carrie points out.

Shari Gordon

Armed with a Master’s degree and a mountain of student loans to accompany it, Shari was unsure how she would repay the £20,000 she owed. She admits that at first she was in debt denial. When bills arrived, she barely paid the minimums. She soon realised that this approach was making no real headway so she broke down the balances into more manageable amounts and created a strict budget. In time, she was promoted at work and started looking for side jobs to make some extra money. It wasn’t easy, but Shari paid off her debt and now advises others on how to do the same.

Grayson Bell

Grayson Bell had dreams of owning his own business with his wife Jane. To bring his dreams to fruition, Grayson financed £33,000 with four different credit cards. When the economy took a turn for the worse, Grayson’s business unfortunately went under, leaving him with no substantial cash flow. As the debts piled up, Grayson continued to spend in hopes that the business would eventually recover. Two years later, his finances were still in ruin so he made the conscious decision to seek help. Grayson opted for debt consolidation as a way to fast track his financial recovery.  Consolidated Credit provided him with the tools necessary to create a budget, lower his balances, and pay off his cards. Today he’s proud to be debt free and on the road to building a new business.

Kate Flanders

Maxed out and looking for a way out, Kate was in over her head by age 25. With very little in her bank account and bills pouring in month after month she did what most people dread—moved back in with her parents.  Within a matter of month, she eliminated all the shopping trips, weekend getaways, and drinks with friends. After 6 months, she saved enough money to pay off her cards in full. Kate’s advice to people suffering from debt is to ask for help sooner rather than later.

Whether you have to create a budget, cut your spending habits, or seek debt consolidation it’s important to get a handle on your debt. It won’t resolve itself so it’s your responsibility to do your part in management and elimination.

source: everythingfinanceblog.com

EU Gender Directive Fuels 500% Rise in Car Insurance Searches

MyVoucherCodes.co.uk has recorded a 506% increase in car insurance searches in the last month. The figure tells the tale of Britons embarking on a money-saving mission since the new legislation came into play on 21st December last year.

Directive 2004/113/EC, as it is known by European lawmakers, has quite a broad anti-discrimination remit. It prevents the unequal treatment between men and women in the access to and supply of goods and services, which in this case is insurance.

Britons in a spin

 

Chairman of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, Mark Pearson, commented on the spike in searches. “The EU Gender Directive has clearly sent Britons into a spin, and rightly so; as many women will have seen their premiums take a huge leap in cost, which they may not have been able to cope with financially,”

The online discount site’s statistics have also exposed a 292% rise in searches for home insurance discounts. The figure was recorded over the past month and then compared to the average number of monthly searches made throughout 2012.

MyVoucherCodes.co.uk disclosed the most popular car insurance providers on-site throughout last December. The likes of Churchill, Tesco, Direct Line, Endsleigh, RAC, AXA and Aviva all featured prominently.

source: affiliates4u.com