Kamis, 24 Juni 2021

Covid: Balearics and Malta added to UK's green travel list - BBC News

Spain's Balearic Islands, Madeira, Malta and Barbados are among the places being added to the UK's green travel list, the transport secretary has said.

People entering the UK from 16 places will not have to quarantine from 04:00 on 30 June, Grant Shapps confirmed.

He also said the government intended to drop quarantine for fully vaccinated people returning from amber list countries "later in the summer".

Six destinations have also been added to the government's red list.

The travel industry welcomed the additions to the green list, but urged the government to go further.

The destinations added to the green list from 04:00 BST on 30 June are:

  • Europe: The Balearic Islands (which include Ibiza, Menorca, Majorca and Formentera), Malta and Madeira
  • Caribbean: Antigua, Barbados, Barbuda, Dominica and Grenada
  • UK overseas territories: Anguilla and Montserrat, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Pitcairn, and Turks and Caicos Islands.

The places added to the red lists for the same time are:

Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Haiti, Mongolia, Tunisia and Uganda.

Mr Shapps cautioned that all the additions to the green list, with the exception of Malta, had also been added to the green watch list, signalling that they are at risk of moving back to amber. Israel and Jerusalem have also been put on the watch list.

The Department for Transport said the plan to allow fully-vaccinated people to arrive from amber list countries without having to quarantine was expected to take place in phases, starting with UK residents.

The department also said it intended to remove the guidance that people should not travel to amber countries, and it would take clinical advice on whether regular testing could provide a safe alternative to quarantine for children accompanied by vaccinated adults.

A spokesman said further detail will be set out next month, including the rules for children and those unable to be vaccinated and the dates the changes will come into effect.

Graph showing cases rate in selected countries

Mr Shapps added: "We're moving forward with efforts to safely reopen international travel this summer, and thanks to the success of our vaccination programme, we're now able to consider removing the quarantine period for fully-vaccinated UK arrivals from amber countries - showing a real sign of progress.

"It's right that we continue with this cautious approach, to protect public health and the vaccine rollout as our top priority, while ensuring that our route out of the international travel restrictions is sustainable."

But Eluned Morgan, Wales' minister for health and social services, said: "Our message is clear - this is the year to holiday at home. We're calling on people to only travel overseas for essential reasons."

On Thursday, the UK reported 16,703 cases and 21 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test.

People enjoy warm weather at a beach in Menorca
EPA

The prospect of European holidays also faces another hurdle after German Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested all EU countries should make British travellers quarantine on arrival to slow the spread of the Delta variant.

Mrs Merkel told Germany's parliament: "In our country, if you come from Great Britain, you have to go into quarantine - and that's not the case in every European country, and that's what I would like to see."

French President Emmanuel Macron also spoke of his concern at the spread of the variant.

"We should all be vigilant because the Delta variant is coming," he said on Thursday.

"We see that it affects people who have not yet been vaccinated or who have only had one dose, which means we have to be even faster in this vaccination campaign."

Those going to Italy have to self-isolate for five days then take a test, while fully-vaccinated UK visitors to France can enter without quarantining.

Most holiday hotspots are currently on the amber list, including France, Italy and mainland Spain, meaning travellers returning to the UK have to self-isolate for 10 days, as well as pay for tests.

The expanded green list is the longest it has been since the government set up the traffic light system for travel.

But BBC transport correspondent Caroline Davies pointed out that most of Europe and other key transport destinations are still not on the green list.

There is also no set date for when fully vaccinated travellers will no longer have to quarantine, with the government still having to resolve questions about how the policy will work.

Our correspondent added that it was potentially a small step in the right direction for the industry, "but maybe a bit of a shaky one".

'Cannot afford another missed summer'

The travel industry welcomed the expansion of the green list but warned it was not enough to help the sector recover from the pandemic.

Sean Doyle, chief executive officer of British Airways said: "We cannot afford another missed summer. There are jobs at stake, Britons separated from family members and we cannot afford to allow the success of our vaccine programme to be wasted."

He added that plans to allow vaccinated people to travel more freely this summer were "critical" and urged the government to work with the aviation industry to set this up.

Matthew Fell, the Confederation of British Industry's chief UK policy director, said the additions to the green list "won't be enough to salvage the summer season for the international travel sector".

He said: "The UK's successful vaccine rollout means we should be in the vanguard of safely restarting international travel. Other countries are already pressing ahead with enabling travel for the fully vaccinated."

Shai Weiss, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said the expanded travel green list "fails to go far enough", adding that the US should have been added to it.

He said quarantine should be removed for fully vaccinated passengers arriving from amber and green countries "no later" than 19 July.

But Rory Boland, travel editor of consumer magazine Which?, said travellers still needed to be "extremely cautious" about booking trips abroad with the rules on international travel changing regularly.

"Most providers will not pay refunds if a country is moved from green to amber, and 'free' amendments are often anything but, with many companies requiring significant notice of any changes and bookings for new dates usually costing hundreds of pounds," he said.

Table showing how the UK Covid case numbers compare

Earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there was a "real opportunity" to open travel this summer for those who have had two jabs.

Asked about the prospect of a change to travel rules, Mr Johnson said: "The most important thing is that we think double jabs do offer a good way forward, we think they offer the hope of travel this summer.

"More than 60% of our population have now had two jabs, I think 83% have had one jab, we're really getting through it now. The crucial thing is, come forward and get your second jab," he said.

The UK government reviews which countries are on which list every three weeks.

There will also be a "checkpoint" review of the rules for each category on Monday 28 June.

Graphic showing how the traffic light system for arrivals will work

On Wednesday, workers in the industry, including cabin crew, pilots, travel agents and airport staff, held a series of protests against the rules.

Industry body Abta, representing travel agents and tour operators, estimated 195,000 travel jobs have been lost during the pandemic or are at risk.

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Will you be travelling for holiday or to visit family to a country on the green list? Tell us your plans by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.

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2021-06-24 21:22:58Z
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Covid: Balearics and Malta added to UK's green travel list - BBC News

Spain's Balearic Islands, Madeira, Malta and Barbados are among the places being added to the UK's green travel list, the transport secretary has said.

People entering the UK from 16 places will not have to quarantine from 04:00 on 30 June, Grant Shapps confirmed.

He also said the government intended to allow quarantine-free travel from amber list countries for people who were fully vaccinated "later in the summer".

Six destinations have also been added to the government's red list.

The travel industry welcomed the additions to the green list, but urged the government to go further.

The destinations added to the green list from 04:00 BST on 30 June are:

  • Europe: The Balearic Islands (which include Ibiza, Menorca, Majorca and Formentera), Malta and Madeira
  • Caribbean: Antigua, Barbados, Barbuda, Dominica and Grenada
  • UK overseas territories: Anguilla and Montserrat, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Pitcairn, and Turks and Caicos Islands.

The places added to the red lists for the same time are:

Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Haiti, Mongolia, Tunisia and Uganda.

The Department for Transport said the plan to allow fully-vaccinated people to arrive from amber list countries without having to quarantine was expected to take place in phases, starting with UK residents.

The department also said it intended to remove the guidance that people should not travel to amber countries, and it would take clinical advice on whether regular testing could provide a safe alternative to quarantine for children accompanied by vaccinated adults.

"Further detail will be set out next month including the rules which will apply to children and those unable to be vaccinated, how we will operationalise this approach at the border, and the dates on which these changes will come into effect," a spokesman said.

Graph showing cases rate in selected countries

Mr Shapps added: "We're moving forward with efforts to safely reopen international travel this summer, and thanks to the success of our vaccination programme, we're now able to consider removing the quarantine period for fully-vaccinated UK arrivals from amber countries - showing a real sign of progress.

"It's right that we continue with this cautious approach, to protect public health and the vaccine rollout as our top priority, while ensuring that our route out of the international travel restrictions is sustainable."

But Eluned Morgan, Wales' minister for health and social services, said: "Our message is clear - this is the year to holiday at home. We're calling on people to only travel overseas for essential reasons."

The prospect of European holidays also face another hurdle after German Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested all EU countries should make British travellers quarantine on arrival to slow the spread of the Delta variant.

Mrs Merkel told Germany's parliament: "In our country, if you come from Great Britain, you have to go into quarantine - and that's not the case in every European country, and that's what I would like to see."

French President Emmanuel Macron also spoke of his concern at the spread of the variant.

"We should all be vigilant because the Delta variant is coming," he said on Thursday.

"We see that it affects people who have not yet been vaccinated or who have only had one dose, which means we have to be even faster in this vaccination campaign."

'Cannot afford another missed summer'

Most holiday hotspots are currently on the amber list, including France, Italy and mainland Spain, meaning travellers returning to the UK have to self-isolate for 10 days, as well as pay for tests.

Sean Doyle, chief executive officer of British Airways said: "We cannot afford another missed summer. There are jobs at stake, Britons separated from family members and we cannot afford to allow the success of our vaccine programme to be wasted."

He added that plans to allow vaccinated people to travel more freely this summer were "critical" and urged the government to work with the aviation industry to set this up.

Matthew Fell, the Confederation of British Industry's chief UK policy director, said the additions to the green list "won't be enough to salvage the summer season for the international travel sector".

He said: "The UK's successful vaccine rollout means we should be in the vanguard of safely restarting international travel. Other countries are already pressing ahead with enabling travel for the fully vaccinated."

Shai Weiss, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said the expanded travel green list "fails to go far enough", adding that the US should have been added to it.

He said quarantine should be removed for fully vaccinated passengers arriving from amber and green countries "no later" than 19 July.

But Rory Boland, travel editor of consumer magazine Which?, said travellers still needed to be "extremely cautious" about booking trips abroad with the rules on international travel changing regularly.

"Most providers will not pay refunds if a country is moved from green to amber, and 'free' amendments are often anything but, with many companies requiring significant notice of any changes and bookings for new dates usually costing hundreds of pounds," he said.

Table showing how the UK Covid case numbers compare

Those going to Italy have to self-isolate for five days then take a test, while fully-vaccinated UK visitors to France can enter without quarantining.

The travel rules are broadly the same between the UK nations and previous changes to the lists have been adopted by all four nations.

Earlier, Boris Johnson said there was a "real opportunity" to open travel this summer for those who have had two jabs.

Asked about the prospect of a change to travel rules, Mr Johnson said: "The most important thing is that we think double jabs do offer a good way forward, we think they offer the hope of travel this summer.

"More than 60% of our population have now had two jabs, I think 83% have had one jab, we're really getting through it now. The crucial thing is, come forward and get your second jab," he said.

The UK government reviews which countries are on which list every three weeks, and the last update - when Portugal was stripped from the green list - was three weeks ago on 3 June.

As well as the latest announcement, the government has also said there will be a "checkpoint" review of the rules for each category on Monday 28 June. That could be when ministers decide whether to relax quarantine for fully-vaccinated travellers.

Graphic showing how the traffic light system for arrivals will work

On Wednesday, workers in the industry, including cabin crew, pilots, travel agents and airport staff, held a series of protests against the rules.

Industry body Abta, representing travel agents and tour operators, estimated 195,000 travel jobs have been lost during the pandemic or are at risk.

Banner saying 'Get in touch'

Will you be travelling for holiday or to visit family to a country on the green list? Tell us your plans by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:

If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.

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2021-06-24 20:38:36Z
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Saskatchewan: More than 750 unmarked graves found on site of former indigenous school in Canada - Sky News

Investigators have found more than 750 unmarked graves at the site of a former indigenous school in Canada.

It comes just weeks after the remains of 215 children were discovered at another school in May.

Chief Bobby Cameron, of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous First Nations, said: "We are treating this as a crime".

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaking after the 215 children's remains were found near British Colombia.
Image: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his 'heart breaks' for the victims

He warned how he expected more graves to be found on residential school grounds in Canada.

And Chief Cameron vowed not to stop "until we find all the bodies", describing the tragedy as a "crime against humanity, an assault on First Nations."

The 751 graves were found at the Marieval Indian Residential School, open from 1899 until 1997, where Cowessess is now located.

The graves had markers in the past which were removed by people operating the school, Chief Cadmusn Delmore of the Cowessess First Nation told a news conference.

More on Canada

Chief Bobby Cameron has vowed not to stop 'until we find all the bodies'  (Picture: AP)
Image: Chief Bobby Cameron has vowed not to stop 'until we find all the bodies'. Pic: AP

The reserve is about situated about 87 miles east of Regina, the capital of Saskatchewan, in western Canada.

Adults as well as children are believed to have been buried on the site, said Chief Delmore.

"We are not asking for pity. We are asking for understanding," he said.

"We didn't remove the headstones. Removing headstones is a crime in this country.

"We are treating this like a crime scene."

The remains of 215 children - some as young as three - were found buried on the former site of Canada's largest indigenous school, near Kamloops, British Colombia, in May.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the discovery as "heartbreaking".

Mr Trudeau tweeted this afternoon: "My heart breaks for the Cowessess First Nation following the discovery of indigenous children buried at the former Marieval Residential School.

"We cannot bring them back, but we will honour their memory and we will tell the truth about these injustices."

Mr Trudeau added: "I know these findings only deepen the pain that families, survivors, and all indigenous communities are already feeling."

Pope Francis blesses attendees after celebrating Easter Mass at St Peter's Basilica at The Vatican
Image: The Pope described the discovery of the 215 children as a 'sad affair'

More than 150,000 indigenous children were forced to attend state-funded Christian schools - many run by Roman Catholic missionaries - from the 19th century until the 1970s.

The Canadian government apologised in 2008 after admitting students suffered physical and sexual abuse and were beaten for speaking in their native languages.

Up to 6,000 are said to have died.

The Pope described his anguish following the discovery of the 215 bodies, urging religious and political parties to investigate "this sad affair".

But he has not offered the apology sought by First Nations and Mr Trudeau.

Chief Delmore said last month: "The Pope needs to apologise for what happened.

"An apology is one stage in the way of a healing journey."

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2021-06-24 16:50:50Z
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John McAfee, cyber security magnate, 1945-2021 - Financial Times

When cyber security magnate John McAfee attempted to run for the White House in 2016, he invoked a Silicon Valley mantra from Steve Jobs in his campaign video, celebrating nonconformists: “Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes.”

McAfee, who was found dead in a Spanish prison cell on Wednesday as a result of an apparent suicide, fitted each of those descriptions — and more. 

In his 75 years, the pioneer of his eponymous antivirus software built and lost a fortune, recast himself as a libertarian politician, and then as a cryptocurrency hype man — all while having repeated brushes with the law.

His death came hours after the Spanish high court approved an extradition request from the US, where he faced tax evasion charges. McAfee had been in prison in Barcelona since October, when he was arrested at the request of the US after fleeing America in his yacht, in the final of several high-profile flights from authority. 

To many, McAfee’s nomadic life had descended into paranoia, violence and grifting. He had recently been charged with fraud over his involvement in cryptocurrency pump-and-dump schemes, and had been linked by authorities to the murder of a neighbour in 2012. His ramblings on Twitter and YouTube had become increasingly incoherent. 

But to the friends and fans to whom he addressed his campaign video, he was an anti-establishment hero — whose fears around technology-enabled government surveillance and financial institutions reflected growing mistrust of authorities today. 

“He always dreamt of building an alternative internet that wouldn’t have all the flaws and problems that the current internet has,” said Kim Dotcom, an internet entrepreneur and friend who himself is accused of masterminding one of the largest copyright infringements in history. 

In McAfee’s own words, per his Twitter biography, he was an “iconoclast” and a “lover of women, adventure and mystery”.

McAfee was born in 1945 on an army base in the UK to an English mother and an American soldier who was stationed there. Educated in mathematics, McAfee quickly learned to master computing during stints at Nasa, Xerox and Lockheed Martin in the 1970s and 1980s. 

He made his name with his antivirus software, which became ubiquitous as computer viruses became an increasingly pervasive security threat. In 1994, he stepped down as chief executive, selling his McAfee stake for a reported $100m, a fortune that he all but lost during the financial crisis. 

“Although John McAfee founded the company, he has not been associated with our company in any capacity for over 25 years,” said McAfee, which listed on public markets late last year. “That said, our thoughts go to his family and those close to him.” 

Outside of the corporate world, the multimillionaire displayed a penchant for risk. A decade after leaving McAfee, he pioneered a sport called “aerotrekking”, which involved flying microlight aircraft at high speeds over a desert airstrip. When tragedy struck in 2007, and a client of his aerotrekking venture died in an accident at his New Mexico property, he swiftly moved to Belize. 

There, he took up residency in a “party palace”, embarking on a playboy lifestyle of drugs, guns and girlfriends. That, too, was not to last: in 2012, his neighbour, US citizen Gregory Faull, was murdered by a gunshot to the head and McAfee was named a “person of interest” in the case. Denying any involvement, he fled to neighbouring Guatemala, where he was later arrested and deported to the US. He was never charged in relation to the murder. 

An unapologetic libertarian who reportedly conducted press interviews with a loaded gun in each hand to feel “comfortable”, McAfee also embarked on a quixotic political career. He first announced a White House bid in 2015 with his own newly formed party, the Cyber party, before later — unsuccessfully — seeking the Liberation party nomination in the 2016 race.

“His main mantra in life was freedom,” said Zoltan Istvan, the founder of the Transhumanist party, who met McAfee on the campaign trail in 2015.

“He knew he was being eccentric,” Istvan added, of his public persona. “He liked to be a maverick and he liked the attention . . . But when you sat down to dinner and there were no [journalists] there to cover it, it’s just a real good conversation with a guy who’s incredibly bright.” 

McAfee told the Spanish courts last week that his foray in politics came about because he had uncovered corruption in the US tax system, and “considered that only through political action could the tax authorities be rid of [this]”.

A deep mistrust of state surveillance and financial institutions also drew him to the freewheeling world of cryptocurrencies. He was quick to become one of the earliest and most vociferous virtual currency proponents, pledging in 2017 that he would eat his own penis “on national television” if the bitcoin price did not reach $500,000 by mid-2020. 

His propensity to talk up cryptocurrency projects on Twitter also caught the attention of regulators. In March, he was charged by US federal prosecutors with fraud. According to the complaint, McAfee selected some small cryptocurrencies — including dogecoin — to promote on the social media platform as “coin of the day” or “coin of the week” in early 2018, buying up them in advance and cashing out once the market surged on his recommendations. 

McAfee and others also earned $11m touting several initial coin offerings on Twitter, while failing to publicly disclose that they were being paid for the promotional work, regulators said. 

In what was to become his final voyage, McAfee fled the US in 2019 on his yacht after he was indicted by a grand jury for hiding millions of dollars in taxable income between 2016 and 2018. The money was earned, in part, from his promoting cryptocurrencies and selling the rights to his life story, and was concealed by frontmen.

Though he was eventually arrested in Spain in October 2020, he still did not give up the fight. In a Spanish high court hearing last week, he claimed that the US tax charges had “a political motivation”, since he had used his political platform to “denounce corruption” of the US Internal Revenue Service.

But the court rejected his arguments and on Wednesday morning approved an extradition request from the US, and McAfee faced the possibility of the rest of his life behind bars. 

He is survived by his wife Janice, a former sex worker who has campaigned for his release under the catchphrase “Free McAfee”.

Even in death, McAfee was remarkable at sparking a media frenzy. For months, he had mythologised a potential departure from the world at the hands of authorities. In one tweet in October, he wrote: “Know that if I hang myself . . . it will be no fault of mine”.

Around the time of his death on Wednesday, a post appeared on his Instagram that simply showed the letter “Q” — an apparent reference to conspiracy cult QAnon, sparking its own wave of conspiracies. 

“All power corrupts,” he wrote in his final Twitter message on Friday. “Take care which powers you allow a democracy to wield.” 

Additional reporting by Daniel Dombey in Madrid and Richard Waters in San Francisco


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2021-06-24 12:27:09Z
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Rabu, 23 Juni 2021

Apple Daily: Hong Kong pro-democracy paper forced to shut down - BBC Newsnight - BBC News

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2021-06-23 23:05:04Z
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Berlin under fire over attempt to interfere with Wirecard inquiry - Financial Times

Germany’s finance ministry has come under fire over an attempt to secretly interfere with the questioning of a key witness during a parliamentary inquiry into Wirecard, a potential breach of parliamentary etiquette.

The collapse of the German payments company last summer sent shockwaves through Germany’s financial and political elite. A parliamentary inquiry has exposed multiple regulatory failures and led to the departure of the heads of three supervisory agencies.

Days ahead of Friday’s final parliamentary debate on the committee’s final report, the finance ministry disclosed that one of its senior officials tried to intervene in the inquiry’s work in the run-up to the questioning of Munich chief prosecutor Hildegard Bäumler-Hösl, a key witness.

The government revealed this in a written answer to a question raised by Fabio De Masi, an MP for the hard-left Die Linke party, which was seen by the Financial Times.

The ministerial official was not named, but can be identified by the description of his role, as Reinhard Wolpers, the head of the subdivision financial market stability. Wolpers is one of three finance ministry employees who are members of BaFin’s administrative council. The finance ministry declined to comment on his identity.

In the run-up to the questioning of Bäumler-Hösl in January, Wolpers approached BaFin’s then-vice president, Elisabeth Roegele, and asked her to provide questions for Bäumler-Hösl which he then would pass on to MPs.

The government has no constitutional role in the inquiry, which is being pursued by parliament and has powers akin to a court. Moreover, Roegele was also nominated as a witness and had not yet been questioned by MPs at that point. She was forced out of her job by the government alongside President Felix Hufeld in late January.

“Wolpers’ behaviour is a clear violation of rules,” De Masi told the Financial Times, adding that the government official showed a “lack of respect for the Bundestag”.

BaFin and Munich prosecutors are embroiled in a blame game over the controversial 2019 short selling ban which investors regarded as a vote of confidence in the disgraced company. BaFin imposed the ban after receiving information from Munich prosecutors about an allegedly imminent short selling attack against Wirecard.

Several BaFin employees told MPs that Munich prosecutors had stated that the information was highly credible. Bäumler-Hösl denied that and said she just passed it on to BaFin without commenting about its validity.

The short-selling ban is potentially toxic for German finance minister Olaf Scholz, who is the Social Democrats’ candidate for chancellor in September’s federal election.

The finance ministry scolded the watchdog publicly for the short selling ban, saying it was based on poor and insufficient analysis.

The ministry’s response to De Masi disclosed that Wolpers approached Roegele via email and text messages days ahead of Bäumler-Hösl’s testimony. The ministry said Wolpers “acted upon his own, personal initiative and did not co-ordinate with other employees of the finance ministry”. It added that the executive level “at no point” was informed about the behaviour but only became aware of the matter because of De Masi’s inquiry.

“The communication of [our] employee with Ms Roegele was eventually without a result, as Ms Roegele did not submit such suggestions for questions,” the ministry said, adding that “no information” was passed on to members of the inquiry committee from the ministry.

Lisa Paus, a Green MP, said that the “authority of the finance ministry” was misused for the political interest of the Social Democrats. “That’s an absolute no-go.”

Florian Toncar, an MP for the pro-business Free Democrats, said that it would be “very surprising” if Wolpers’ actions were “not approved or even requested by the ministry’s senior level”.

Jens Zimmermann, SPD representative on the inquiry, said he was unable to comment on internal procedures at the ministry “as I don’t have any insights [into them]”, adding that his only contact was with the ministry’s official representatives in the committee. “I did not receive any suggestions for potential questions to Ms Bäumler-Hösl,” Zimmermann said.

Wolpers and Roegele did not respond to FT requests for comment. Munich prosecutors declined to comment.

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2021-06-23 18:15:54Z
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US cheerleader wins free speech case against her former school - bbc.co.uk

Brandi Levy
Reuters

The US Supreme Court has ruled in favour of a teenager who was kicked off her school cheerleading squad over a profane social media post.

In an 8-1 ruling, it concluded that the Mahanoy Area School District had violated Brandi Levy's freedom of speech under the First Amendment.

The justices were asked to consider whether public schools had the ability to regulate off-campus speech.

The case affects free speech rights for millions of American school students.

Ms Levy, now an 18-year-old college student, was previously a member of the junior varsity cheerleading squad at Mahanoy Area High School in Pennsylvania.

In May 2017, when she was 14, Ms Levy made a Snapchat post after an unsuccessful try-out for the school's varsity team. She uploaded it while at a convenience store in Mahanoy City.

The post featured a picture of her and a friend raising their middle fingers, with a profanity-laden caption voicing her displeasure at cheerleading, school, softball and "everything." In another post, she questioned another girl's selection to the cheerleading squad.

The post was screenshotted by a friend and shown to another pupil, who was the daughter of one of the cheerleading coaches.

As punishment, Mahanoy Area High School coaches kicked Ms Levy off the cheerleading squad for a year.

She then sued the Mahanoy Area School District, arguing that the decision breached her First Amendment right to free speech. When Ms Levy's case reached the Court of Appeal last year, the court in Philadelphia ruled in her favour, and the school district decided to take its case to the Supreme Court instead.

It argued that staff commonly take action against pupils for speech and actions that happen off-campus, and that this power is important for tackling bullying, racism and harassment that occurs on social media outside of school hours.

But the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Ms Levy and her parents, argued that students needed to be protected from censorship and monitoring.

In its decision, the Supreme Court concluded that Ms Levy's right to freedom of expression, protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution, had been violated since the social media posts did not cause substantial disruption at the school.

"The vulgarity in BL's posts encompassed a message, an expression of BL's irritation with, and criticism of, the school and cheerleading communities," Justice Stephen Breyer wrote in the majority opinion, using Ms Levy's initials.

"The school's interest in teaching good manners is not sufficient, in this case, to overcome BL's interest in free expression."

But the court added that schools still had a "significant" license to regulate student speech "in some off-campus circumstances". It said it would not categorically define which "school-related off-campus activities" this meant.

Ms Levy said in a statement following the decision: "Young people need to have the ability to express themselves without worrying about being punished when they get to school."

"I never could have imagined that one simple snap would turn into a Supreme Court case, but I'm proud that my family and I advocated for the rights of millions of public school students."

Pupils' right to free speech in public schools is protected by a landmark Supreme Court case from 1969 - Tinker vs Des Moines Independent Community School District - when pupils wore black armbands to protest against the Vietnam War.

The court in that case ruled that pupils' speech was protected as long as it did not cause "material and substantial" disruption to the school.

But, until now, it had not addressed how to handle school-related speech made by students off-campus.

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiM2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLXVzLWNhbmFkYS01NzU3MDQ3MNIBN2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLXVzLWNhbmFkYS01NzU3MDQ3MC5hbXA?oc=5

2021-06-23 18:46:56Z
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