Brexit: 2.5 million people could be caught out by new passport rules

New regulations state holders of British travel documents will require at least six months validity when visiting countries within the EU and EEA

New post-Brexit passport rules could mean that up to 2.5 million people are caught out due to invalid expiry dates.

Up until 1 January 2021, Britons will continue to be able to travel to EU countries as long as their passport is in-date for the duration of their trip.

However, from the new year, regulations will state that UK nationals will need to have at least six months remaining on their passport when travelling to countries within the EU and EEA.

These rules do not apply to Ireland.

With the passport office issuing 5 million passports a year – most with a 10 year lifespan – these new rules could see up to 2.5 million people stuck with a passport that has not yet expired but which is not valid for travel in continental Europe.

A government spokeswoman told The Times: “We have delivered on people’s priorities by leaving the EU and have launched a campaign to help businesses and individuals to prepare.

“The Home Office is encouraging customers to check that their passport will meet the new rules for travel to Europe. If you need to renew your passport, please make sure that you apply in good time and ahead of booking any travel.”

Source: The Independent

Bangladesh ships Rohingya refugees to remote island despite outcry

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Bangladesh naval vessels carried some 1,600 Rohingya refugees towards a remote island in the Bay of Bengal on Friday despite complaints by refugees and humanitarian groups that some were being coerced.

Bangladesh says it is only moving refugees who are willing to go to Bhasan Char and it will ease chronic overcrowding in camps that are home to more than 1 million Rohingya, members of a Muslim minority who have fled neighbouring Myanmar.

But refugees and humanitarian workers say some of the Rohingya had been coerced into going to Bhashan Char a flood-prone island that emerged from the sea 20 years ago.

A naval official said the Rohingya were aboard seven boats, with two more carrying supplies, that set out from the southern port of Chittagong.

Refugees were packed across the decks of the naval vessels on plastic chairs. Some brought umbrellas to shelter from the sun on a journey that takes several hours.

“The government is not taking anyone to Bhashan Char forcibly. We maintain this position,” Foreign Minister Abdul Momen told reporters late on Thursday.

But two Rohingya being relocated told Reuters their names appeared on lists compiled by government-appointed local leaders without their consent, while aid workers said officials used threats and enticements to pressure people into going.

“They have taken us here forcefully,” a 31-year-old man told Reuters tearfully by phone as he boarded a bus from the camps near Cox’s Bazar. “Three days ago, when I heard that my family is on the list, I ran away from the block, but yesterday I was caught and taken here,” he said.

An 18-year-old woman said her husband had put their names on the list thinking it was for food rations. He fled when they were told to go to Bhasan Char, she said, adding that she is also hiding in the camp.

They were among more than 730,000 Rohingya who fled Myanmar in 2017 following a military-led crackdown that the United Nations said was executed with genocidal intent. Myanmar denies genocide and says its forces were targeting Rohingya militants who attacked police posts.

“Not one refugee should be moved until all human rights and humanitarian concerns have been resolved and genuine informed consent is assured,” said Ismail Wolff, director of the Fortify Rights group.

Human Rights Watch said it had interviewed 12 families whose names were on the lists, but had not volunteered to go.

Two aid workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said refugees had come under pressure from government officials who used threats and offers of cash and other enticements to persuade them to go to the island.

The United Nations said in a statement it had been given “limited information” about the relocations and was not involved in preparations.

Bangladesh has built more than a thousand cinderblock housing units on Bhasan for the Rohingya refugees.

More than 300 refugees were brought to the island earlier this year after several months at sea in an attempt to flee Bangladesh. Rights groups say they are being held against their will and have complained of human rights violations.

Singapore approves sale of lab-grown meat in world first

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore has given U.S. start-up Eat Just the greenlight to sell its lab-grown chicken meat, in what the firm says is the world's first regulatory approval for so-called clean meat that does not come from slaughtered animals.

The meat, to be sold as nuggets, will be priced at premium chicken prices when it first launches in a restaurant in Singapore "in the very near term", co-founder and CEO Josh Tetrick said.

Demand for alternatives to regular meat is surging due to concerns about health, animal welfare and the environment. Plant-based substitutes, popularised by the likes of Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and Quorn, increasingly feature on supermarket shelves and restaurant menus.

But so-called clean or cultured meat, which is grown from animal muscle cells in a lab, is still at a nascent stage given high production costs.

Singapore, a city state of 5.7 million, currently only produces about 10% of its food but has set out ambitious plans to raise that over the next decade by supporting high-tech farming and new means of food production.

Josh Tetrick said the San Francisco-based firm was also talking to U.S. regulators but that Singapore was a "good bit" ahead of the United States.

"I would imagine what will happen is the U.S., Western Europe and others will see what Singapore has been able to do, the rigours of the framework that they put together. And I would imagine that they will try to use it as a template to put their own framework together," he said in an interview.

The Singapore Food Agency said it had reviewed data relating to process, manufacturing control and safety testing before granting approval.

Eat Just said it will manufacture the product in Singapore, where it also plans to start making a mung bean-based egg substitute it has been selling commercially in the United States.

Founded in 2011, Eat Just counts Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing and Singapore state investor Temasek among its backers. It has raised more than $300 million since its inception, Tetrick said, and is valued at roughly $1.2 billion.

It is targeting profitability at an operating income level before the end of 2021 and hopes to go public soon after, he added.

Globally more than two dozen firms are testing lab-grown fish, beef and chicken, hoping to break into an unproven segment of the alternative meat market, which Barclays estimates could be worth $140 billion by 2029.

Competitors have also attracted some eye-catching investors.

U.S.-based Memphis Meats raised funds this year in a deal led by Japan's SoftBank Group and Temasek, and also counts Bill Gates and Richard Branson among its backers.

Singapore's Shiok Meats, which aims to become the first company to sell lab-grown shrimp, is backed by Henry Soesanto of Philippines' Monde Nissin Corp, which also owns Quorn.