The new strain of coronavirus, which prompted the UK government to impose a Tier 4 lockdown in London and southeastern England and tighten restrictions for all of England over the festive period, is “out of control,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Sunday.

The Netherlands is banning all passenger flights coming from the United Kingdom from Sunday morning until the new year to minimize the risk of the new strain from spreading in the country “as much as possible”, the government said in a press release.

The Dutch government said the same variant of the virus had been detected in the Netherlands in a sample from a case from early December, and that it is conducting further investigations to determine if there are any other related cases.

Meanwhile, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said that Belgium will block travelers from the UK for 24 hours on Monday as a “precautionary measure,” though the ban could be extended if necessary.

“As a precautionary measure, we have decided to stop flights from the UK from midnight for a period of 24 hours, and just as importantly for our country, to do the same for the Eurostar (train) — because that’s actually the main way that people from the UK come into our country,” he said, speaking to CNN affiliate VRT’s Sunday morning news program “De Zevende Dag.”

Italy will also suspend flights to and from the United Kingdom, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Luigi Di Maio on Sunday, who did not say when the ban would come into place, or for how long. The country will ban entry to anyone who has been in Britain in the past two weeks, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Facebook Sunday.

The Czech Republic imposed a mandatory 10-day quarantine on anyone arriving from the UK starting Sunday in response to the new coronavirus strain identified there, the Foreign Ministry announced.

Hancock said the new variant, which can spread faster than other strains but is not more dangerous, had to be controlled.

“The only way you can do that is by restricting social contacts and essentially, especially in Tier 4 areas, everybody needs to behave as if they may well have the virus and that is the way that we can get it under control and keep people safe,” he said Sunday.

The United Kingdom on Sunday broke its daily coronavirus case record, recording 35,928 new cases.

Tough coronavirus restrictions

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday broke the news that London and large parts of southern and eastern England, where cases are surging, would enter Tier 4 restrictions, similar to the lockdown seen in Spring — just days after reiterating his pledge to relax rules over the Christmas period.

Johnson outlined that in Tier 4 areas under the toughest restrictions, there will be no possibility for household mixing over Christmas. In areas under lower alert levels in England, Scotland and Wales, mixing will now be permitted only on Christmas Day.

In a hastily called Saturday press conference, Johnson said that the strain of the virus appears to spread more easily, and maybe up to 70% more transmissible than the earlier strain.

Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said on Saturday that the new variant is responsible for 60% of infections in London, which have nearly doubled in the last week.

As with other new variants or strains of Covid-19, this one carries a genetic fingerprint that makes it easy to track, and it happens to be one that is now common. That does not mean the mutation has made it spread more easily, nor does it not necessarily mean this variation is more dangerous.

Multiple experts in the genetics and epidemiology of viruses are noting that this one could be just a “lucky” strain that’s been amplified because of a superspreader event; it could be the mutation somehow makes it spread more easily without causing more serious illness, or it could just be by chance.

Still, the government’s scientific advisory group for Covid-19 has also warned the new strain is a “real cause for concern,” and called for urgent action. On Twitter, Jeremy Farrar said, “Research is ongoing to understand more, but acting urgently now is critical. No part of the UK & globally should not be concerned. As in many countries, the situation is fragile.”

The new variant of Covid-19 originates in southeast England and has been identified in Denmark, the Netherlands, and Australia, World Health Organization Covid-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove said on Sunday.

“We understand that this variant has been identified also in Denmark, in the Netherlands and there was one case in Australia and it didn’t spread further there,” she said in an interview with the BBC.

Van Kerkhove said the new variant had been circulating in southeast England “since September,” adding: “We understand that the virus does not cause more severe disease from the preliminary information that [the UK] shared with us, although again those studies are underway to look at hospitalized patients with this variant.”

Londoners flee capital following new restrictions

When asked about the time-frame of the Tier 4 restrictions, which effectively put parts of the UK back into the lockdown seen in Spring, Hancock said Sunday: “Given how much faster this new variant spreads, it’s going to be very difficult to keep it under control until we have the vaccine rolled out.”

Hancock added what really mattered “is that people not only follow [the new Tier 4 measures] but everybody in a Tier 4 area act as if you have the virus to stop spreading it to other people. (…) We just know that this new variant, you can catch it more easily from a smaller amount of the virus being present.”

“All of the different measures we have in place, we need more of them to control the spread of the new variant than we did to control the spread of the old variant,” he added, in response to whether current measures to protect people, such as the use of masks and the 2-meter rule (6.5 feet), was enough to protect people from the new strain.

Still, Londoners piled on to trains and motorways on Saturday night as they rushed to leave the capital ahead of new restrictions announced by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

By 7 p.m. on Saturday, there were no free seats on trains leaving London from several stations in the capital, PA Media reported. Passengers complained about not being able to socially distance themselves within the train carriages.

The scenes were condemned by politicians and public health experts. London Mayor Sadiq Khan called the introduction of the restrictions “devastating” in an interview with the BBC, adding that scenes at London train stations “was a direct consequence of the chaotic way the announcement was made, and the late stage it was made.”

“I understand why people want to return to see their mums, dads, elderly relations, but I think it’s wrong,” he said.

Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labour Party, accused Johnson of “gross negligence” in failing to act earlier. Starmer said Labour supported the latest coronavirus restrictions but criticized the PM for waiting until the “11th hour” to make a decision.

“It was blatantly obvious last week that the Prime Minister’s plan for a free-for-all over Christmas was a risk too far,” Starmer told an online press conference. “And yet, rather than listening to concerns and taking them seriously, the Prime Minister did what he always does: dismissed the challenge, ruffled his hair, and made a flippant comment.

“We have known about rising infections and the NHS reaching capacity in many parts of the country for weeks. The alarm bells have been ringing for weeks, but the Prime Minister chose to ignore them,” he said.

“It is an act of gross negligence by a Prime Minister who, once again, has been caught behind the curve,” he said.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – In its latest report, International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wedesday announced that Iran’s economy will grow by 3.2 percent in 2021.

The latest report of the International Monetary Fund on the state of world economy and its future outlook, which was recently published, estimates that Iran’s economic growth in 2021 will hit 3.2 percent. This estimate shows that Iran’s economy has improved 0.1 percent as compared to the Fund’s previous estimate of Iran’s economic growth outlook for next year.

According to IMF, next year’s inflation rate in Iran will reach 30%, which shows a 3% decrease as compared to the Fund’s previous estimate for next year.

IMF also pointed to the unemployment rate in Iran and added, the unemployment rate in Iran, which is predicted at 12.2 percent for this year, has been estimated at 12.4 percent in the next year.

The international body estimates that the world economy will end the current year with a negative growth of 4.4 percent, which is an improvement of about 0.8 percent as compared to its previous report and estimate.

This improvement is due to increased hopes for the recovery of developed economies after the coronavirus global pandemic as well as alleviation of restrictions due to the implementation of health protocols such as social distancing and closure of businesses.

In its another report, the International Monetary Fund estimates that world economic growth will reach 5.2 percent in 2021, indicating a recovery in the global economy after the coronavirus pandemic.

This year, the economies of European countries will also experience negative growth; France and the United Kingdom will face negative growth of 9.8 percent, Italy will experience a negative 10.6 percent growth while Spain’s economy will shrink 12.8 percent.

India will record negative growth of 10.3 percent this year, according to the report.

Among the world’s economies, only China will grow positively this year, with economic growth estimated at 1.9 percent.

The post IMF Predicts Iran Economic Growth to Bounce Next Year appeared first on Iran News Daily.

According To Iran News, A political analyst and Islamic scholar based in Leicester, the United Kingdom, highlighted the Washington government’s double standards on the freedom of expression and said the US never tolerates “any sort of protest or dissent” domestically or within its colonies.

“When we see the United States, voicing its support for the so-called “protestors” in various countries such as Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Lebanon, China’s Hong Kong, and others, but then we see the same United States support despotic regimes like the one occupying Palestine; the so-called Israeli Entity; as well as the atrocities committed by the Indian regime in Kashmir, or the crimes of the Saudi and Bahraini “Royal” families on the people of the lands they occupy; this reveals something very important,” Shabbir Hassanally said in an interview with Tasnim.

“The United States will never tolerate any sort of protest or dissent – organic or instigated – against its system of governance, or its excesses, domestically or within its colonies; and will clamp down on them with great fire and fury,” he added.

Following is the full text of the interview:

Tasnim: Some Western powers which call themselves defenders of freedom of speech and interfere in the internal affairs of independent countries under this pretext have acted differently when it comes to their own countries. In the latest instance, the US voiced its support for violent protests in various sovereign states around the world ranging from Iran, Iraq, and Venezuela to China’s Hong Kong. However, many critics slam the lack of free expression in the US, itself. What do you think?

Hassanally: Unfortunately, the age that we find ourselves living in is a strange one. One that while having great good, also has the epitome of evil rampant within it. In this age, we find that hypocrisy, the idea where one says something, but believes another (generally a diametrically opposed) thing is extremely common and indeed could be said to be rampant and endemic.

In this light, when we see, the United States, a country that was built on the foundations of justice and standing for the people against despots and tyrants, speak out against countries across the world; and we see the countries that the US refuses to speak out against; we can see that those principles that it was built upon, have long been forgotten and sadly now inhabit only the books and museums of history.

When we see the United States, voicing its support for the so-called “protestors” in various countries such as Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Lebanon, China’s Hong Kong and others, but then we see the same United States support despotic regimes like the one occupying Palestine; the so-called Israeli Entity; as well as the atrocities committed by the Indian regime in Kashmir, or the crimes of the Saudi and Bahraini “Royal” families on the people of the lands they occupy; this reveals something very important.

The United States has a problem with Iran, with Iraq, with China, with Venezuela and many more besides. However, when it comes to India, or so-called Israel, or the so-called “Saudi” family, these are allies of the United States; well if we’re honest, we can’t really call them allies, since ally means they are on an equal footing and are equal partners; the reality is that they are vassal states of the United States, and so, of course, it goes without saying that the United States will give them carte blanche to do whatever they want, as long as they keep up their servitude and remain subservient to the United States.

The United States has historically been involved in propping up and supporting regimes in various parts of the world where it is strategically useful for them. The United States has used a plethora of tools, including (but by no means limited to) the CIA, various other clandestine agencies, “rebel factions” such as the MEK, and the Shahi Factions (those supporting monarchy) against the Islamic Republic of Iran, or the Kurds against Syria and Iraq; but only while they are useful.

A classic case in point here, is the Kurds, who when they ceased to be useful, or when “defending” them would cost too high a price (as in confronting the Turkish invasion of Syria in 2019), they will drop them like dead weights, without so much as a “we are sorry”.

This is the nature of the United States. Not just of the United States, but this is actually the nature of Global Arrogance, which today manifests itself as the United States, but has manifested itself historically as Pharaoh, as the Roman Empire, as the British Empire and so on.

Ultimately, the Arrogance will die, failing under the weight of its own arrogance and hypocrisy, and drowning in the deluge of blood that it has spilled in its mindless quest for global dominance. A quest that is as stupid as it is futile. In the Holy Quran, God speaks of this futility, when discussing the way that Pharaoh would treat the Children of Israel (the Hebrews):

“We narrate to you from the history of Moses and Pharaoh—in truth—for people who believe. Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and divided its people into factions. He persecuted a group of them, slaughtering their sons while sparing their daughters. He was truly a corrupter. But We desired to favor those who were oppressed in the land, and to make them leaders, and to make them the inheritors. And to establish them in the land; and to show Pharaoh, Hamaan, and their troops, the very thing they feared.” The Holy Quran, Surah al-Qasas (28) (The Narrations), Verses 3 to 6

Of course, to conclude this answer, the United States will never tolerate any sort of protest or dissent – organic or instigated – against its system of governance, or it’s excesses, domestically or within its colonies; and will clamp down on them with great fire and fury. This is the nature of the beast. It also exposes the reality of the beast.

Having said that, I should make it clear that there are times when people in any country will make legitimate protests against social problems, or crime or other internal issues. Sadly, it is these legitimate protests, that entities like the United States prey upon and manipulate, in order to harm those countries that are opposed to the hegemonic and draconian policies of the American Empire.

A net result of this is that for a patriot, say in Iraq, or Iran, in Venezuela or Hong Kong, it becomes very difficult to even voice their grievances with government policies – peacefully and with dignity and respect – since sadly, the Machiavellian manner in which the United States operates within, the way it permeates and occupies these protests, using them as a means to sow the seeds of chaos.

Out of this chaos, the United States then works to implement its version of “order” (which is a synonym for occupation by way of a puppet regime).

So for the United States, if it really cares about human rights, about the rights of the people in these various countries (and others), the most honorable behavior would be for them to stay out of these private internal matters. Let the people sort out their own problems.

Also, people should understand that when the United States supports your cause, you are either on the wrong side of history, or you will be betrayed catastrophically. Examples of this can both be found – sadly – in Iraq.

The first being in the 1991 so-called “Intifada Sha’baniyyah”, when the people of Iraq rose up, after Bush the Father, had told them to rise up and overthrow Saddam. What did Bush the Father do? He allowed Saddam to use his helicopter gunships to destroy the uprising and kill countless – both in the Southern Part of Iraq and of course in the Northern Kurdish regions.

The second example is one I have mentioned before, which is that of the Kurds, who allied with the United States to form the so-called “SDF”, “YPG” and other factions that occupy swathes of Syria under the guise of fighting against Daesh.  When Turkey decided to attack the Kurds, what did America do?  Did it come to the aid of its “allies”?  Of course not, it gave some verbal condemnation (as it did to Saddam’s massacre in 1991), but no tangible support.

It left its “allies” high and dry because there was no strategic advantage for the US in coming to their aid.

This is an important lesson for those who somehow naively think that the United States is some great benefactor for them, who think that the United States will help them and that it is the proverbial savior of humanity. It is not, indeed one might posit that it is the exact antithesis of that!

The United States is a manipulator; it is a bully entity. It will fool the ignorant masses, the weak-minded, but to the one who has Resistance in his soul and heart, and who thinks clearly, the weakness and pathetic nature of the American Empire are clear as the day is bright.

Tasnim: If an academic association in the US criticizes Washington’s Israeli policy, it will lose its federal funding. That is the message the Department of Education recently sent with its threat to withdraw federal support for the Consortium for Middle East Studies, operated jointly by Duke University and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, if it does not alter the content of its programming, according to a recent report published by the Guardian. How do assess academic freedom in the US?

Hassanally: The discussion on this second point is also connected closely to the answer I gave above to the previous question. All of the facilities that the American Empire “provides” to its people.  Even facilities that appear to be “independent” and “privately-owned” (and indeed might well be, but “who are the owners” is an important question that rarely gets answered), are beholden to the Empire.  After all, I once heard someone say:

“If you cross the US government, then if it cannot do anything else to you, it will come at you and your business with the IRS (the Taxman), and destroy you that way.”

As a result, it is not surprising that the US Department of Education has made threats to organizations that wish to ask more searching questions potentially, that want to challenge the status quo in terms of historical narratives regarding various events of recent history. In fact, it would be more surprising if the US Department of Education did not make such threats!

There is academic freedom in the United States, but the proviso is that the definition of “freedom” is provided by the United States. As long as you follow the United States’ definition of freedom and discourse, then enjoy, you are fine. However, there is, of course, no freedom to discuss ideas and concepts, that challenge the policies of the United States.

For example, if a university in the United States (or any of its colonies), were to issue a statement and support a stance that opposed the tyrannical and predatory policies of the American Empire or one of its vassal states, then be certain that will create a political earthquake in the United States, its vassal state will be saddened, the oppressed and occupied populations of its various vassal states and colonies would become invigorated, and would feel that they can stand up to the Empire, after all, a prestigious education establishment in the belly of the United States has stood up to its policies.

It would be completely unacceptable. It would oblige (or rather force) the United States, to utilize more of its political capital (not to mention actual capital to provide gifts to its various puppets – call it a Hazard Pay bonus shall we say) in order to pacify the situation with the aggrieved party. It would just generally be awkward and difficult.

It would be far easier (and far less expensive) to nip the situation at its inception. Send a directive, and prevent any discourse on the subject that might cause embarrassment or problems to the Empire. Problem solved.

Tasnim: The French government’s crackdown on yellow vest demonstrators is another example that refutes the world power’s claim to be a defender of freedom of speech. The protests began a year ago over high fuel prices but evolved into a broader social movement over income inequality and President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership. How do you assess the crackdown and the free expression situation in the Western European country?

Hassanally: Again, this continues from my previous two answers. Indeed it allows us to try to understand the mentality of the Empire – because let us be under no illusion, while France and the US might have their differences in some areas, they are both parts of the same faction.

Both countries are ruled by a very small percentage of “political and corporate elites”, and far more besides. I’m not going into ideas that small groups control things, such as the Bilderberg Group and the like, but as the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire (figuratively speaking).

The French government knows that the protesters came out against rising prices, which led to rises in the cost of living; all the while large corporations continued to be given preferential treatment and their avoidance of workers’ rights, tax commitments and far more besides was completely ignored by the government – short of perhaps a token mention as a means to appease the masses.

The French government (and this goes for any of the large capitalist governments – the UK, US, France and so on) knows that it is beholden to the corporate elite, and indeed – like in the United States the President is from the corporate elite (though to be fair, in the United States, the President is from the most corrupt of the corporate elite, but that’s another discussion for another day!). Mr. Macron, of France – comes from the corporate elite, prior to being the president, he was an investment banker.  This means he has alliances with “big money”; and indeed, people might argue that he came to power on account of his promises to big money; part of his campaign was designed to reduce regulation and taxation on businesses. So, for him to support any move against big business; which is exactly what the Yellow Vest Movement was; it demanded workers’ rights, that people get a fair wage, that business pays their taxes, that the cost of living be brought down – through corporations actually paying their dues and so on.

In Britain, the Conservative Party is the same, but I will not go into the issues in the UK at this time, as this document has already become considerably more verbose than I had initially anticipated.

Again, with regard to the crackdown on the Yellow Vests, of course, this was inevitable – the same as it was on various Occupy movements a few years ago, and against anything that threatens the status quo of the corporate and capitalist elite over the Western World.

The mere notion of the British Labour Party led by Mr. Jeremy Corbyn winning in the December 2019 general election in the UK, keeps the corporate and capitalist elite up at night and makes them break out in cold sweats from the mere thought!

I mean, heaven forfend that the people actually be given the rights that are theirs! It’s all well and good when they are spewing bile against other countries who they have agendas against, and who they have sent their security services to sow the seeds of chaos in – such as Iran and Venezuela, Iraq and Lebanon and many other places; but when it comes to their own doorstep; they are the real ones who are brutal.  They are the real ones who “shoot on sight”. They are the real ones who break down the doors at night and kidnap activists and throw them into jail for days, weeks, months or even years without ever giving them a fair trial; and far more besides.

To expect anything else from them, would be folly. All we can hope is that the global people, the global population, that sadly has been kept docile and blinded by the machinations of Hollywood and consumerism, wake up and smell the smoke, because if they don’t, then be certain that the house will, and is burning down.

The post US Claim on Free Expression Nothing but Hypocrisy appeared first on Iran News Daily.

“Apart from negatively affecting our bilateral relationships with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy, the joint resolution would hamper the ability of the United States to sustain and shape critical security cooperation activities,” Trump said in one of the messages, CNN reported.

He called each resolution “ill-conceived” and said it failed to address the root causes of the ongoing war in Yemen.

The package of resolutions of disapproval stood as a symbolic showing of congressional opposition — including from within Trump’s own party — to the administration’s relationship to Saudi Arabia, following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year.

The Trump administration declared in May an emergency to bypass Congress and expedite billions of dollars in arms sales to various countries — including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — citing the need to deter what it called “the malign influence” of Iran throughout the Middle East.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Rep. Eliot Engel, a Democrat from New York who is the chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said there is no emergency that calls for Trump to go around Congress with these arms deals.

“The President’s veto sends a grim message that America’s foreign policy is no longer rooted in our core values — namely respect for human rights — and that he views Congress not as a coequal branch of government, but an irritant to be avoided or ignored,” Engel said in a news release.

“Worse still, this veto is going to cost innocent lives. These weapons are going to continue fueling a reckless and brutal campaign of violence and exacerbating the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe.”

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IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

The British Royal Marines seized the giant Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar on July 4 for trying to take oil to Syria allegedly in violation of EU sanctions.

Tehran maintains that the supertanker was not bound for Syria and its seizure has taken place at the behest of the U.S.

The Leader also talked about the nuclear deal saying that since Iran has started to scale down its commitments under the deal, the Europeans are coming forth. “Now, we have just started to slow down the commitments and this process will definitely continue.”

Calling them “the rude”, Ayatollah Khamenei blasted the Europeans for not complying with their 11 commitments.

Elsewhere in his remarks on Tuesday, the Iranian Leader said the great slippage of the western countries is their arrogance.

“If their opposite government is weak, their arrogance works, but if it is a country that observes the realities and stands against them, they will fail. Now, in the cases between us and the Europeans, the reason for the problems is their arrogance. According to our foreign minister, who is struggling hard, Europe has had eleven commitments and has not fulfilled any. The foreign minister, who has diplomatic considerations, explicitly expresses this.”

“But what did we do?” stressed the Leader.

“We met those commitments and even something more than that. “Among these vain expectations, the mean Britain commits piracy, robs our vessel, commits a crime, and gives it a legal form.”

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