The governor of the Falkland Islands has sought to calm concerns over the territory’s sovereignty, following the UK’s deal to hand over the Chagos Islands.
In a historic move, the UK has agreed to give up ownership of the tropical archipelago to Mauritius, after decades of often fractious negotiations.
But in an attempt to assuage the fears of people on another strategically-important group of islands, Falklands Governor Alison Blake said the legal and historical context of the two territories are “very different”.
The UK commitment to the South Atlantic territory’s sovereignty is “unwavering” and “remains undiminished”, she said in a statement posted to social media.
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In the message to residents, she said: “I would like to reassure you that the legal and historical contexts of the Chagos Archipelago and the Falkland Islands are very different.
“UK ministers have been very clear throughout the process that the UK will not agree to anything that runs the risk of jeopardising sovereignty in other Overseas Territories.
“The UK government remains committed to defending the Falkland Islanders’ right of self-determination, and the UK’s unwavering commitment to defend UK sovereignty remains undiminished.”
The Falkland Islands are a British overseas territory in the south-west Atlantic Ocean. Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the islands.
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Argentina invaded in 1982 in a bid to reclaim sovereignty and said it had inherited the Falkland Islands from Spain in the 1800s.
A brief but bitter war lasting 74 days followed – with 655 Argentinian, 255 British and three Falkland deaths – before British forces regained control on 14 June 1982.
Gov Blake’s announcement came after a deal which, after years of negotiations, saw the UK hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
The treaty will also “address wrongs of the past and demonstrate the commitment of both parties to support the welfare of Chagossians”, according to a joint statement from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.
The health secretary is expected to urge GPs in England to end collective action and warn it will “only punish patients” in a speech on Friday.
Addressing the Royal College of GPs conference in Liverpool, Wes Streeting is set to say he understands why doctors “wanted to give the previous government a kicking”.
But he will urge them not to “shut your doors to patients” and instead “work with us to rebuild the NHS together”.
GPs voted to work-to-rule in a ballot conducted by the British Medical Association (BMA) in August, with 98.3% of the 8,500 GPS who took part in favour of taking collective action.
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Following the ballot, the BMA recommended 10 protocols for surgeries to action, including limiting the number of patients seen by a doctor each day to 25 and being able to stop work when they are not contracted to do so.
NHS England warned the action could not only disrupt GP services, but also affect A&E waits and delay referrals for treatments such as knee and hip operations.
Streeting is also expected to announce plans to cut the amount of paperwork for GPs to free up more patient-facing hours, as part of the so-called Red Tape challenge.
“I’m determined to bulldoze bureaucracy and cut red tape so we can free up GPs,” he will say.
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“Our reform agenda will deliver three big shifts in healthcare to make the NHS fit for the future – moving it from analogue to digital, hospital to community, and sickness to prevention.”
Officials will ask GPs, hospitals and integrated care boards (ICBs) what changes they would like to see, with the information then relayed to doctors working in primary and secondary care.
This will then be passed on to NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard early next year.
Ms Pritchard said GPS and NHS staff are “under immense pressure”, adding the NHS needs to be better at “sharing and implementing” processes to alleviate this.
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Speaking at the Labour party conference last month, Streeting said he would not back down on his message that the NHS is “broken” after concerns were aired.
The government had previously claimed cancer was a “death sentence” because of NHS failings, while maternity services “shamed” the nation.
Senior sources in the health service told the BBC of concerns that the claims may result in patients being put off seeking help and causing lasting damage to staff morale.
His comments came after junior doctors in England agreed a deal last month to stop strike action, ending one of the longest running disputes in NHS history in which 11 strikes resulted in 44 days of disruption since March 2023.
THIS is the shocking moment a huge blast erupted after a British ship was struck in an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Footage shows the Iran-backed militia launching an explosive-laden drone boat into a British oil tanker in the Red Sea.
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A British ship was struck in an attack by the Houthi rebelsCredit: EPA
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Footage showed a huge blast erupting from the ship in the Red SeaCredit: EPA
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Black plumes of smoke were seen billowing into the skyCredit: EPA
The Houthi group shared the clip of a big explosion near the side of the Cordelia Moon, which damaged its port side tank and covered it in clouds of smoke.
On Tuesday, a strike occurred approximately 110 kilometres (70 miles) off the port city of Hodeidah in Yemen, targeting the buoyancy of a Panama-flagged oil tanker.
A captain on a neighbouring ship reported four “splashes” near the vessel, according to the centre monitored by the US Navy, which were most likely missiles launched at the vessel but missed.
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The Houthis later claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that eight ballistic and winged missiles, a drone, and an unmanned surface boat were used in the strike.
About 97 nautical miles northwest of Hodeidah, a missile struck a second ship headed for Suez, a bulker flying the flag of Liberia, causing damage, according to maritime security sources and British security company Ambrey.
The crews of both vessels reported being safe.
The conflict between Israel and Lebanon has the potential to escalate into a larger regional conflict, but these attacks marked the rebels’ first on commercial vessels in weeks.
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It also followed the Houthis’ Monday threat of “escalating military operations” against Israel following the apparent downing of an American military drone over Yemen by their forces.
Moment Yemen oil tanks explode in massive fireball as Israel blitzes Houthi rebels in fiery revenge strike
Its entire international crew were taken hostage in what the gunmen clinging to the sides of a helicopter screamed was revenge for Israel’s war in Gaza.
THE Houthi rebels have spent months terrorising the Red Sea by launching persistent missile and drone attacks on vessels and warships – but who are they?
The Shia militant group who now controls large swaths of Yemen spent over a decade being largely ignored by the world.
Their warped battle cry is “Death to America, Death to Israel, curse the Jews and victory to Islam”.
Why are they attacking ships?
In October, the rebel group began launching relentless drone and missile attacks on any ships – including warships – they deem to be connected with Israel in solidarity with their ally Hamas.
In reality, they targeted commercial vessels with little or no link to Israel – forcing global sea traffic to largely halt operations in the region and sending shipping prices around the world soaring.
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The sea assaults added to the carnage in the Middle East tinderbox as intense ripples from Israel’s war in Gaza were felt across the region – with Iran accused of stoking the chaos.
The Houthi chiefs pledged their Red Sea attacks would continue until Israel stopped its offensive in Gaza.
The group’s chiefs have previously said their main targets are Israel, and its allies the US and Britain.
And despite repeated threats from the West and joint US and UK strikes blitzing their strongholds in Yemen – Iran’s terror proxy appears undeterred.
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This week, the militant group claimed to have attacked a US destroyer in the Red Sea.
On Thursday, the ruthless ‘King of the Houthis’ Abdul-Malik al-Houthi pledged once more that all ships heading to Israeli ports will be targeted – and not just in the Red Sea region.
Al-Houthi demanded that China, Russia, Asian and European countries stop transporting goods to Israeli ports.
You report that AP Møller Holding, the Maersk family’s investment group, is putting its weight behind moves to cut fossil fuel plastic production (Report, October 1).
Plastics derived from renewable biomass, however, are a double-edged sword and may worsen environmental pollution rather than reduce it.
Bio-based plastics can only counter emissions from fossil fuel-based plastic if the electricity used in their production is entirely derived from clean, renewable sources. Otherwise, if they are produced from gas or coal-fired electricity, their emissions are four to seven times higher than that of fossil fuel-based plastics.
Furthermore, bio-based plastics do not address the root cause of the plastic pollution challenge. The current rate of plastic production is too high!
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Calling it bio-based does not mean that the plastic is biodegradable and decomposes. So, even if bio-based plastic recycling were at an optimum level globally, we would still be unable to recycle our way out of plastic pollution.
Innovators can focus more on alternative, sustainable materials with low environmental footprints and shift consumer behaviour to reduce the demand for plastic of whatever composition.
Hilton and Aldar recently announced the signing of the UAE capital’s first Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts property, which will be taking over and transforming the former The Anantara Eastern Mangroves into the Waldorf Astoria Abu Dhabi
Live video from Reuters showed the sky light up with and several loud bangs were heard.
Minutes earlier, an aircraft inbound from Dubai could be seen making its final approach and landing.
The explosions did not appear to be within the confines of the airport, but were visible from Sin El Fil, about 4.2 miles (6.8 km) northwest of the airport.
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