Britain could toughen its travel restrictions on Spain because one in 35 people returning from the country are testing positive for Covid-19.
Rules on travelling to Spain, a popular destination for British holidaymakers, were relaxed for vaccinated travellers on July 19.
But there are concerns it could be added to an “amber plus” list, currently comprising France, which forces even vaccinated people to enter quarantine.
Latest figures from England’s National Health Service show that out of 71,418 people returning from Spain in July, 2,065 tested positive for Covid-19.
The 2.9 per cent rate of positivity was higher than for other popular holiday destinations, such as France, Portugal and Greece.
“I cannot see Spain being put on red, but realistically amber plus is likely,” said data analyst Tim White. “From the data, my analysis is bleak”.
He described the decision on Spain’s status, expected in the coming week, as a “huge call” for UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.
Spain and its popular tourist islands are currently on the "amber list", which means vaccinated travellers do not need to enter quarantine when they return to England.
France was moved to the “amber plus” list on July 19 because of concerns over the Beta variant first identified in South Africa.
This led to controversy after critics said the variant was most prevalent in a French overseas territory thousands of kilometres from mainland France.
Paul Charles, head of travel consultancy the PC Agency, said ministers might want to move away from the “amber plus” list after criticism of the tier.
“I think it would be a very brazen government that would tell a million British tourists in Spain at the moment, and the Balearics, that they would have to quarantine on their way back,” he said.
“It would be a really tough decision. I can’t believe they’re going to do that.”
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab this week declined to rule out Spain being moved to the “amber plus” list.
Asked whether people should book holidays to Spain, he told Sky News: “You’ll know next week what the latest assessment is.”
“We can’t give cast-iron guarantees about what the next review system will decide. If we did, it wouldn’t be a very meaningful review system,” he said.
Mr Charles predicted that the "green list" could be expanded to include countries such as Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Poland and Romania.
People returning from "green-list" countries do not need to enter quarantine regardless of their vaccination status, but must take two tests.
Britain this week opened its doors to visitors from the EU and US who are vaccinated with a shot approved by European or US regulators.
The move was welcomed by airline group IAG, the owner of British Airways, which said it was an important step in re-opening transatlantic travel.
IAG announced on Friday that passenger numbers were still only a fifth of where they were before the pandemic.
The limited number of countries on Britain’s "green list" has “severely limited the recovery” expected when restrictions were eased, it said.
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Healthy tips to remember
Here, Dr Mohamed El Abiary, paediatric consultant at Al Zahra Hospital Dubai, shares some advice for parents whose children are fasting during the holy month of Ramadan:
Gradual fasting and golden points - For children under the age of 10, follow a step-by-step approach to fasting and don't push them beyond their limits. Start with a few hours fasting a day and increase it to a half fast and full fast when the child is ready. Every individual's ability varies as per the age and personal readiness. You could introduce a points system that awards the child and offers them encouragement when they make progress with the amount of hours they fast
Why fast? - Explain to your child why they are fasting. By shedding light on the importance of abstaining from food and drink, children may feel more encouraged to give it there all during the observance period. It is also a good opportunity to teach children about controlling urges, doing good for others and instilling healthy food habits
Sleep and suhoor - A child needs adequate sleep every night - at least eight hours. Make sure to set a routine early bedtime so he/she has sufficient time to wake up for suhoor, which is an essential meal at the beginning of the day
Good diet - Nutritious food is crucial to ensuring a healthy Ramadan for children. They must refrain from eating too much junk food as well as canned goods and snacks and drinks high in sugar. Foods that are rich in nutrients, vitamins and proteins, like fruits, fresh meats and vegetables, make for a good balanced diet
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Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
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Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
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Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
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What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
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5.30pm: Shabab Al Ahli v Al Wahda
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Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
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Benjamin Mendy (Monaco) - £51.75m (Dh247.94m)
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Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
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Elvis
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
