Domestic Politics
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their intention to “step back” as senior royals and work towards becoming financially independent. The Queen is scheduled to meet senior royals in Sandringham to decide on the future roles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex following this announcement. [BBC]
In Glasglow, a pro-independence march organised by All Under One Banner, a Scottish independence group, saw thousands of supporters calling for a second referendum for Scotland. [Al Jazeera]
The Northern Ireland assembly has reopened for business after three years. On Saturday, the regional parliament elected Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster as the first minister, Michelle O’Neill as deputy first minister, and Alex Maskey as the chamber’s speaker. [The Guardian]
International Relations
Rob Macaire, the British ambassador to Iran was detained for half an hour for attending a vigil for victims in the Ukraine International Airlines plane crash. Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, called this a “flagrant violation of international law”. [The Guardian]
The House of Commons voted in favour of the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill, which is a major step towards the finalisation of Brexit. The details of the deal with the EU are still to be finalised. The EU chief, Von der Leyen, has warned the UK to make significant compromises if it intends to continue to get “highest quality access” to the European markets. On a visit to London, she stated that the UK’s future trade deal with the EU will only conclude after tough negotiations. [Al Jazeera]
Environment
As Storm Brendan hits on Monday, Western parts of the UK, as well as Wales and Scotland, are likely to witness strong winds and heavy rain. The Met Department has issued a yellow-warning for a 14 hour period. [BBC]
The British Heart Foundation predicts that deaths caused by rising levels of air pollution will continue to increase this decade. The charity has called for the UK to adopt the World Health Organisation guidelines on air pollution. Currently, the EU limits for fine particulate matter stand at 25μg/m3 as an annual average, whereas the WHO limits impose a stricter standard of 10μg/m3 . [ The Guardian]
Health
The National Health Survey in England posted the “worst-ever performance figures”. The figures suggest that almost 100,000 patients in the last month had to wait 4-12 hours for a bed in hospitals. This crisis has increased the instances of “corridor nursing”, wherein nurses were forced to provide care to patients in corridors and trolleys due to overcrowding in emergency departments. [The Guardian]