Thousands of EU domains registered to UK users ‘suspended’ after Brexit

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6 January 2021

ESMA promotes transparency for TLTRO III transactions

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, issues today a public statement promoting transparency in the IFRS financial statements of banks regarding accounting for the third series of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations (TLTRO III).

ESMA observes that, in practice, there is diversity regarding the accounting treatment of the ECB’s TLTRO III refinancing transactions by banks. ESMA believes that, given the overall volume of the TLTRO III operations, this matter may have a material effect on the financial statements of banks and may be widespread across the EU. Therefore, ESMA emphasises the importance of providing an adequate level of transparency regarding the accounting treatment of these transactions in the financial statements of banks.

The main recommendations for affected banks are:

to provide entity-specific disclosures of the significant accounting policies and of the significant judgements and assumptions related to the TLTRO III transactions;
to ensure transparency about risks arising from financial instruments, addressing banks’ assessment of the possible achievement of conditions or covenants attached to the TLTRO III loans; and
to disclose the carrying amount of TLTRO III liabilities at the end of the reporting period and the related interest expense.

Next steps

ESMA intends to submit questions related to this matter to the IFRS Interpretations Committee for consideration.

tibetans’ lives and religion are being ripped from them. tell the…

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6 January 2021

tibetans' lives and religion are being ripped from them. tell the…

Just as the U.S. Congress was getting ready to vote on its much-needed economic stimulus package that provides financial relief to struggling Americans, an unexpected addendum was added. It’s not unusual for members of Congress to sneak horrendous or unattractive items into larger laws, quietly passing them under the cover of more widely-discussed legislative topics. But this time, the quiet additions were miraculous, life-saving provisions for the tortured and massacred Tibetan people as well as their peaceful religious and political leader, the Dalai Lama.Sign the petition to demand that the European Union follow Congress’s example! The European Parliament must pass similar legislation protecting the Dalai Lama and his followers.

Traditionally, U.S. law has been relatively silent on the topic of the Dalai Lama even as the Chinese government drove the Tibetan spiritual leader into exile in India. Even after they kidnapped many of his associates, including the 6 year old Panchen Lama, who has been missing along with his family for 25 years. Even as soldiers continue to imprison, torture, and murder Tibetan Buddhists en masse — monks and civilians alike. These are all violent, direct attacks on the right to freedom of religion, which both China and the U.S. claim to uphold.

But the U.S. government has finally taken a big, bold, long-overdue step. The Chinese government has said for decades that once the current Dalai Lama passes away, it will refuse to allow his followers to find and identify his successor. Instead, they’re determined to find a new Dalai Lama of their own to ensure full control over Tibetans. Previously, there was little to dissuade them from this religious and political overthrow. Except now, since the international pressure is on.

According to this newly-passed law, the U.S. will protect Tibetan Buddhists from outside interference when it comes to naming the Dalai Lama’s next successor. If Beijing attempts to swoop in, D.C. will actually implement economic sanctions on top Chinese Communist Party leaders. On top of that, the law states that the government will refuse to let China establish any new consulates on U.S. soil until the U.S. is allowed to establish its own consulate in the capital of Tibet, Lhasa.

We should all be celebrating these breathtaking steps. But it shouldn’t end here. Every single day, the Tibetan people continue to be oppressed and brutalized simply for belonging to an ethnic minority that doubts China’s control over their region. In the past five years, Chinese officials have moved bulldozers into two sacred, highly-populated monastic communities and torn down monks’ and nuns’ residences, forcing them to sign agreements that they will never return, and herding them onto buses even as the Buddhists weep in anguish.

Some experts estimate that approximately 1.2 million Tibetan people have been murdered in a state-sponsored mass genocide.

The new U.S. law is an important step in asserting Tibetan people’s rights to their religion, their dignity, and their lives. Now the European Union must follow suit in order to make this pressure even stronger.

Tell the European Parliament to pass a law stating that they will sanction the Chinese government if it interferes in the naming of the Dalai Lama’s successor!

Economic impact of Brexit lessened by EU-UK deal: study

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6 January 2021

BERLIN, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) — The free trade deal agreed by the UK and the European Union (EU) on Christmas Eve would significantly lessen the negative economic impact of Brexit, according to a study published by Germany’s Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) on Tuesday.

“The agreement on a comprehensive agreement between the EU and the UK without tariffs and without quotas is a good signal for the economy in Germany, the EU and the UK,” said Minister for Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier in a statement.

However, Germany’s trade with the UK had already declined before the withdrawal of Britain from the EU, according to the study by the ifo Institute in cooperation with the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) on behalf of the BMWi.

Although the best theoretical economic scenario was for the UK to remain in the EU’s single market, Altmaier stressed that “German companies have already prepared for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU single market.”

Goods traded between Germany and the UK continuously declined since the Brexit referendum in 2016, the study found. German car manufacturers and the country’s chemical industry were particularly affected by dropping exports to the UK.

Part of the reduced trade with the UK would be compensated by increased trade between Germany and other EU countries as well as third countries. China and the United States would become “even more important sales markets for Germany, as a result of the Brexit,” the study noted.

After months of negotiations, the EU and UK agreed on a comprehensive agreement shortly before the end of the Brexit transition period. The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement provisionally entered into force on Jan. 1.

Even with a comprehensive agreement in place, the study estimated that Germany’s real GDP would fall by around 0.14 percent, equivalent to around 4.9 billion euros (6.01 billion U.S. dollars), and by up to 0.96 percent in the UK as a result of Brexit.

“The immediate effects of Brexit on future trade link with the UK are likely to be smaller than many feared,” said Altmaier.

EU will strengthen attempts to revive Iran nuclear deal

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6 January 2021

EU will strengthen attempts to revive Iran nuclear deal

The European Union said on Tuesday it would redouble its efforts to save the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement despite Iran’s “important breach” of commitments made in the deal, The Associated Press reported.

Iran officially announced on Monday that it had resumed enrichment of uranium at its underground site in Fordow, in the latest violation of the 2015 deal.

Major book deal, TV and film rights ‘surreal’ for first-time Canadian author of ‘The Push’

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5 January 2021

Major book deal, TV and film rights ‘surreal’ for first-time Canadian author of 'The Push'

TORONTO —
Ashley Audrain used to be on the other side of book publishing when she worked as publicity director with Penguin Canada, but the first-time author hit the jackpot when her buzzy psychological suspense novel, ‘The Push’, reportedly garnered her a $3 million two-book deal across more than 20 countries and attention from Hollywood. ‘The Push’, which came out Tuesday, is an unsettling tale of a mother who begins to wonder if her young daughter Violet has a dark side.

The book has generated positive reviews in the U.K.’s Guardian, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jan/02/the-push-by-ashley-audrain-review-the-dark-side-of-motherhood" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">which described it</a> as “well thought out, carefully crafted, vividly realized and gripping,” and the New York Times, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/05/books/review/the-push-ashley-audrain.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">which said</a> “Audrain has a gift for capturing the seemingly small moments that speak volumes about relationships.”


“It’s as surreal as you might expect it to be, to be honest,” Audrain told CTV’s Your Morning of her journey as an author. “It’s an absolute dream come true.”


Audrain said she has always been fascinated by motherhood -- the question of why women do it, how it changes them, and what the experience is really like.


“You know -- how we’re told it would be, how we’re taught we should feel, even sort of the language we’re supposed to use around the experience of motherhood - I really wanted to explore that in fiction,” she said.


She experienced it first hand several years ago when she had her first child, who was born with health issues and spent a month at Toronto’s Sick Kids hospital after birth. That “really had me looking at motherhood quite differently and sort of examining those expectations.”


While the novel, which focuses on a mother who believes there is something wrong with her daughter but is doubted by those around her, is not autobiographical in any way, ‘The Push’ does explore what happens when a character’s expectations of motherhood do not match the reality. She spent three years writing it.


After she sent her manuscript out, Audrain was prepared to wait months before hearing back. Instead, one agent whom she had sent the manuscript to -- Madeleine Milburn -- emailed her later that same day, saying she was hosting a dinner party that evening but just wanted her guests to go home so she could finish reading.


“Which I took as a pretty good sign,” said Audrain, who is the mother of two young children, aged three and five. “I just signed with Madeleine. She’s incredible and she really just lit the match that kind of turned into what it is. It was an incredible moment I’ll never forget.”


Shortly after the book sold to publishers last summer, Hollywood producers for film and TV came knocking as well with multiple offers. Rights were ultimately sold to David Heyman, who did the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts franchise, as well as Marriage Story and the Paddington films.


“It was just such a strange, wild and wonderful summer,” Audrain said.

WHO chief begins 2021 with plea for ‘less politicking’ over health

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5 January 2021

WHO chief begins 2021 with plea for ‘less politicking’ over health

In his first regular media briefing of the new year, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told journalists that WHO was also “picking up and analyzing hundreds of potential signals every week”, concerning other life-threatening illnesses. 

But he made clear the pandemic remains “a major public health crisis”, while assuring that WHO is “working day and night” to accelerate science, provide solutions on the ground and build global solidarity.

“This is as important for tackling the pandemic as it is for getting essential services back up and running again”, said Tedros. 

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‘Investment in overall development’

Pointing out that WHO’s work stretches “far beyond emergencies”, the UN official explained that its operations encompass improving “human health in all its aspects from birth to old age”.

He elaborated on the breadth of the agency’s activities – from keeping mothers and babies alive during childbirth to tackling mental health and controlling HIV and other diseases. 

“We have learned a lot in the last year; not least that health is an investment in overall development, critical for thriving economies and a key pillar of national security”, said the WHO chief. 

No afterthought

Integrated primary healthcare systems are imperative to prevent, screen and treat infectious and noncommunicable diseases.

Citing the pandemic, Tedros said that infectious viruses put those with underlying conditions “at highest risk of dying”, and that countries with high numbers of people with health conditions put “extra stress on the health system”.

He maintained that health cannot be “an afterthought when we have an emergency” and underscored the need to “invest in preparedness and surveillance to stop the next pandemic”.

New vaccine development standard

At the dawn of 2021, scientists and public health experts from inside and outside WHO are continuing to break down the latest data and put forward solutions to “build back greener and stronger health systems”, Tedros said.

“My one hope is that there’s less politicking about health in the year ahead”, he stated.

Pointing out that the scientific community has “set a new standard for vaccine development”, he urged the international community to set a new standard for access. 

“People must come first over short-term profits. It’s in countries self-interest to shun vaccine nationalism”, the UN official said. 

A shot in the arm

Last week, WHO cleared the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use and yesterday the rollout of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine, developed by Oxford University, began in the United Kingdom. 

With 190 “countries and economies” backing the COVAX international vaccines-for-all initiative, Tedros wants to see to see all manufacturers quickly channel supplies there, to enable rollouts to protect high-risk people globally. 

“We owe it morally to health workers everywhere who have been fighting this pandemic around the clock for the best part of a year, to vaccinate them all as soon as possible”, he said.

Most Britons say their country is Christian, but participation is low: survey

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5 January 2021

Most Britons say their country is Christian, but participation is low: survey

(Photo: REUTERS / Stefano Rellandini)Britain’s Queen Elizabeth talks with Pope Francis during a meeting at the Vatican April 3, 2014.

Despite a national decline in religious observance, slightly over half of Brits continue to see the United Kingdom as a Christian country, but religiousness is low, a new study has found and it is very low in the 16-24 age group.

The survey reveals that Christian Britain in more of a self-perception than a praticed reality.

YouGov, a UK international internet-based market research and data analytics firm, found that while most British people celebrate Easter and Christmas, the majority do so in a secular way.

“Religiousness is also low – with over half of Britons (55%) saying they are not a member of any religion. Even amongst those who are religious, just over half say they believe there is a god,” found You.

Just over half (56 percent) of Britons say the UK is a Christian country.

“This view is held by seven in ten (69 percent) British Christians. The 16-24-year-old generation is split — 41 percent say Britain is a Christian country, whilst 39 percent say it isn’t,” the poll found.

“Our study has found that whilst the majority of Britons celebrate both Christmas and Easter, most do it in a secular way,” says YouGov.

It noted that there is a generational divide to the holiday that is more important in the Christian calendar.

“For those who celebrate, Christmas is more important than Easter. Whilst the majority of Britons think that the religious aspects of Christmas/Easter celebrations are on the decline, a minority would like to see this reversed.”

Older Britons are more likely to see Britain as a Christian country, with 53 percent of those aged 25-39, 59 percent of those in their 40s and 50s, and 61 percent of those aged 60 and above holding that view, reported Premier Christian News.

Amongst younger citizens, the number drops – 41 percent say it is a Christian country, whilst 39 percent say it isn’t.

There is also a general agreement that both Christmas and Easter should remain as national public holidays – a view held by those who are both religious and non-religious.

Around eight in 10 Britons (82 percent) say that the religious aspects of Christmas celebrations are declining, with seven in 10 (72 percent) saying the same of Easter, the poll found.

CHRISTMAS AND EASTER IN DECLINE

Around four in 10 (40-42 percent) who think the religious significance of Christmas and Easter is in decline say this is a bad thing, while 18 percent say it is a good thing

Yet, just 4 percent of Britons who celebrate Christmas do so in a religious manner, whilst for six in 10 (61 percent) it is a completely secular event.

Three in ten (31 percent) combine the two aspects.

“Easter is marked in a religious fashion by 10 percent of those who observe this holiday, 56 percent have a secular celebration and 29 percent combine the two.

Just over a quarter of Britons (27 percent) follow the Pope’s Christmas and Easter messages. A third (32 percent) pay attention to the Christmas/Easter messages by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Anglican leader.

Just over half of those surveyed (52 percent) consider the story of the birth of Jesus Christ to be historically inaccurate, whilst 31 percent think it’s accurate.

Among British Christians, over a quarter (27 percent) say they don’t believe in the accuracy of the Christmas story.

World Bank expects global economy to expand by 4% in 2021

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5 January 2021

World Bank expects global economy to expand by 4% in 2021

Policy makers must move decisively, according to January’s Global Economic Prospects, and although it is already growing again following the 4.3 per cent contraction of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused “a heavy toll of deaths and illness, plunged millions into poverty, and may depress economic activity and incomes for a prolonged period”, said a press release issued by the World Bank – a key financial institution within the United Nations system.

Immediate policy priorities should now focus on controlling the spread of coronavirus and ensuring rapid and widespread vaccine deployment. “To support economic recovery, authorities also need to facilitate a re-investment cycle aimed at sustainable growth that is less dependent on government debt”, the Bank advises.

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‘Formidable challenges’

“While the global economy appears to have entered a subdued recovery, policymakers face formidable challenges—in public health, debt management, budget policies, central banking and structural reforms—as they try to ensure that this still fragile global recovery gains traction and sets a foundation for robust growth”, said World Bank Group President, David Malpass.

“To overcome the impacts of the pandemic and counter the investment headwind, there needs to be a major push to improve business environments, increase labour and product market flexibility, and strengthen transparency and governance.”

Less severe contraction

The collapse in global economic activity in 2020 due to the onset of the pandemic, is estimated to have been slightly less severe than previously projected, mainly due to shallower contractions in advanced economies overall, and a more robust recovery in China, the forecast states.

However, for most emerging market and developing economies, the impact was more acute than expected.

“Financial fragilities in many of these countries, as the growth shock impacts vulnerable household and business balance sheets, will also need to be addressed”, said Vice President and World Bank Group Chief Economist, Carmen Reinhart.

Known unknowns

The variables in the near-term remain “highly uncertain” the World Bank warned, and a continuing rise in infections coupled with a delayed vaccine rollout, could limit global expansion this year to just 1.6 per cent.

“Meanwhile, in an upside scenario with successful pandemic control and a faster vaccination process, global growth could accelerate to nearly five per cent”, according to the press statement.

In the United States, GDP, or gross domestic product, is forecast to increase by around 3.5 per cent this year, after an estimated 3.6% contraction in 2020. In the Eurozone, output is anticipated to grow 3.6%, following a 7.4% decline in 2020. Activity in Japan, which shrank by 5.3% during 2020, is forecast to grow by 2.5% in 2021.

Aggregate GDP in emerging market and developing economies, including China, is expected to grow 5% in 2021, after a contraction of 2.6%, according to the World Bank prospects.

Near 8% growth forecast for China

China’s economy is expected to expand by 7.9% this year following 2% growth last year.

Excluding China, emerging market and developing economies are forecast to expand 3.4% in 2021 after a contraction of 5% in 2020. Among low income economies, activity is projected to increase 3.3% in 2021, after a contraction of 0.9% in 2020.

Debt concerns

The Prospects also examine how the pandemic has amplified risks around taking on increasing debt and its impact on long term growth.

“The pandemic has greatly exacerbated debt risks in emerging market and developing economies; weak growth prospects will likely further increase debt burdens and erode borrowers’ ability to service debt,” World Bank Acting Vice President for Equitable Growth and Financial Institutions Ayhan Kose said.

“The global community needs to act rapidly and forcefully to make sure the recent debt accumulation does not end with a string of debt crises. The developing world cannot afford another lost decade.”

Long-lasting effects

The pandemic is expected to leave long lasting adverse effects on global activity, the World Bank warns, with a likely slowdown in global growth stretching through the next decade, due to underinvestment, underemployment, and labour force declines in many advanced economies.

The global economy could be heading for a decade of “growth disappointments unless policy makers put in place comprehensive reforms to improve the fundamental drivers of equitable and sustainable economic growth”, said the World Bank press release.

Policy solutions

Policymakers need to continue to sustain the recovery, gradually shifting from income support to growth-enhancing policies, the World Bank said.

In the longer run, in emerging market and developing economies, policies to improve health and education services, digital infrastructure, climate resilience, and business and governance practices will help mitigate the economic damage caused by the pandemic, reduce poverty and advance shared prosperity, while in the context of reduced public spending and elevated debt, institutional reforms to spur organic growth are particularly important.

SEER SIGNS MOU WITH US-BASED BWAB INC., AND ITS EUROPEAN-BASED AFFILIATES FOR INTERNATIONAL ROLLOUT OF SEER’S TECHNOLOGIES

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5 January 2021