Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

PA

The latest Brexit row: UK's solo run has left the EU in a tricky position

This is Brexit: so expect to see more rows between the UK and EU, particularly over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

THE LATEST BREXIT row is not entirely surprising, as we have had hints that this would be a hostile partnership between the EU and UK – remember the Internal Market Bill?

But when the UK unilaterally announced that it would extend one of the several grace periods in place, waiving certain Brexit checks required between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, it raised concerns about how this latest row could escalate.

Despite an EU-UK Joint Committee set up to encourage dialogue to avoid this exact problem, the UK decided on Wednesday to go on a “solo run”.

The next stage of this saga will see the EU taking legal action “very soon” for a breach of the Northern Ireland Protocol; while the UK could take more ‘unilateral’ actions as soon as this week.

Northern Ireland, meanwhile, is left caught in a technical quandary about how its trade should flow, all to the backdrop of its own heated, historical, political debate.

What are these ‘grace periods’?

A ‘grace period’ in this context is an agreement to waive customs or regulatory obligations for a limited amount of time. 

These were agreed to because of the last-minute nature of the Brexit trade deal – but only on the basis that the UK would implement a number of measures in return, such as giving the EU real-time access to its IT systems. It’s understood many, if not all of these, haven’t yet been put in place.

Although the grace period that was extended by the UK government this week only relates to the requirement of health export certificates for agri-food products being sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, there are other checks that have been waived.

As it stands now, Northern Ireland checks on the following have been waived until: 

  • 1 April/1 October: End of a grace period for supermarkets, which will now need health certificates to move agri-food goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
  • 1 April: End of three-month grace period waiving custom declarations needed for parcel deliveries going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
  • 1 July: End of a six-month grace period for GB-NI trade on chilled meat products, which aren’t permitted to be imported to the EU at all. This means chilled meats, like sausages or pre-prepared meals like lasagna, can’t be sent from GB to NI.
  • 31 December: End of a 12-month ‘adaptation’ period for British businesses to implement new EU regulation on the flow of medicines to Northern Ireland.

The UK has requested that several of the above grace periods be extended, however. 

Dear Maros UK Government UK Government

On 2 February, in the wake of the EU’s rescinded suggestion that Article 16 be triggered to protect the bloc’s Covid-19 vaccine supply, British minister Michael Gove wrote to European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič asking for the grace periods for agri-food checks, parcel deliveries, chilled meats, and medicines to be extended until “at least” 1 January 2023.

He also made requests relating to problems with the trade of seed potatoes and plants, professional qualifications, pet travel, and steel trade to Northern Ireland.

Although the agri-food health certificates are the only sector of the above to receive an extension by the UK, the statement released on Wednesday by the UK government also said that ”further guidance will be provided later this week” on parcel deliveries and for problems with soil attached to trading plants, seeds, bulbs, vegetables and agricultural machinery.

It’s understood that a meeting of the EU-UK Joint Committee was suggested for mid-March, where an extension of the grace periods would have possibly been discussed. 

Where did these ‘grace periods’ come from?

On 8 December, Gove and Šefčovič agreed to a grace period for “trusted” supermarkets and retailers exporting agrifoods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland as well as the other grace periods listed above.

brexit European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic PA PA

In essence, this was in response to concerns raised from businesses and hauliers about how late in the day the Brexit trade deal was being left, putting them in an awkward position to change how the region’s trade flows.

The EU-UK trade deal was finally agreed to on 24 December, which meant that both sides avoided tariffs being added to customs and regulatory checks that result from the UK leaving the Single Market and Customs Union.

This gave businesses, workers, and hauliers a matter of days to read and understand the document – though they would have known the UK was leaving the Customs Union and Single Market for some time.

A few months earlier in June, the UK had refused to extend the transition period by six months, arguing that this time pressure would speed negotiations with the EU up. It could be argued that these grace periods are mini extension by another name.

What’s going to happen next? 

The UK’s latest decision has left the EU in a bit of a bind. If they reject the UK’s extension of the grace period, it will court no favours with the people of Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland Retail Consortium has welcomed the extension of the grace period “even if it is unilaterally, to allow us to continue to give NI households the choice and affordability”.

It’s not yet clear whether the European Commission’s planned legal action will mean them challenging the extension itself, or the way in which it was done.

The European Parliament has also postponed its vote on ratifying the Brexit trade agreement, which was due to happen on 26 March. The trade agreement is being applied in principal at the moment – again, due to the last-minute nature of the deal.

brexit PA PA

If the EU accepts the extension of six months, it may give the UK more of an inclination to do something similar again, and the longer these checks are put off being implemented, the greater a threat it is to the EU’s valuable Single Market.

This is despite this being a row of the UK’s own choosing: Theresa May announced in a 2017 speech that Brexit meant leaving the Single Market and Custom Union – seemingly against the wishes of those in her own party – and a UK negotiation decision to pursue and agree to this arrangement, that has landed Northern Ireland in this position.

As trade expert David Henig said: “The UK government chose to minimise regulatory alignment with the EU in the full knowledge this would mean greater checks on Great Britain – Northern Ireland food trade”.

This also raises concerns for the future dialogue between the EU and UK - Šefčovič is no longer in discussions with Michael Gove, who reportedly got on well together. 

In the past week, former Brexit negotiator David Frost has been appointed to the role and has been suggested as the driving force that “upped the ante” through Wednesday’s unilateral decision.

Coveney said yesterday morning that this relationship was “really important for Ireland”:

And before Lord Frost had even spoken in detail to Maroš Šefčovič in his new role, this was announced in a written statement by the British government in Westminster. To say that is disrespectful would be an understatement.

The huge problem the North faces

If and when the grace periods are eventually lifted, it’s going to cause a lot of administrative problems for Northern Ireland – particularly for those agri-food certs.

Speaking at a Stormont Agriculture Committee yesterday, Permanent Secretary at the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) Denis McMahon said that food and plant safety checks currently only applied to 30% of the agri-food goods, thanks to the grace period.

“We’re achieving this ahead of a major change when the retail grace period ends, and there will be a huge increase in demand, building on current levels, which will not be sustainable with the staff and resources currently available to Daera.”

Stormont’s chief vet Dr Robert Huey said when the grace period for supermarket goods expires, the number of regulatory agri-food checks required in the region will be close to the number currently processed by the whole EU.

Dr Huey said that using Ireland-bound lorries as a guide, he calculated that 1,350 NI-bound loads from GB currently covered by operator declarations would require 20-30,000 certifications when the grace period ends.

“That’s a huge challenge, that’s approaching the same number of CHED-P (Common Health Entry Document) checks that are done for the entire European Union,” he said.

And I’ve spoken about this to the Commission on purely technical, not political, terms about ‘here is what I’m being asked to do by the Northern Ireland Protocol with my currently 12 vets, that’s not going to work’.

“That’s where we find ourselves. So the extension of the grace period, if that is what occurs, is welcomed but it’s not the solution. And we need to use that and if we do get the extra time we need to use that to work our way towards a better solution.”

With reporting from PA.

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
48 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Paul Furey
    Favourite Paul Furey
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 11:36 AM

    Unfortunately the UK need to pay a penalty for breaking an agreement. I have no idea what that penalty should be. The EU is between the rock and that hard place, but needs to do something.

    187
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Padraic O Sullivan
    Favourite Padraic O Sullivan
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 11:47 AM

    @Paul Furey: well the EU cant use the Enigma machine as Turing cracked that during WWII.
    They will have to come up with a more secure communication system to support an invasion.

    37
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ima Bored
    Favourite Ima Bored
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 11:56 AM

    @Paul Furey: and when the EU activated article 16 , what penalty should they recieve

    88
    See 14 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute john s
    Favourite john s
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 12:02 PM

    @Ima Bored: they reversed that knee jerk decision in a matter of hours . Have the UK changed their mind no. Dup are pushing ahead

    91
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Daimhín De Naois
    Favourite Daimhín De Naois
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 12:06 PM

    @Ima Bored: when did they activate it? They threatened to, but, didnt. Same as UK did two weeks prior to that occassion. How is there so much mis-information out there by people when its been literally all over the news? Fascinating and kinda frightening that people havent got a clue what theyre on about when they can easily check for themselves. Alternate reality kinda stuff

    118
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ima Bored
    Favourite Ima Bored
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 12:12 PM

    @john s: That may be true, but the fact that an unelected commision can do that worries me

    34
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Paul Furey
    Favourite Paul Furey
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 12:14 PM

    @Ima Bored: so many get so much wrong here. A couple of EU lawyers under pressure trying to ensure no vaccination conniving would happen up north. Ursula corrected her error and apologised within hours. Nothing was activated. So stop it with your twisted news. At least only 5 sheep liked your post and that’s a good sign.

    113
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Gerry Ryan
    Favourite Gerry Ryan
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 12:15 PM

    @Paul Furey: fianacial services passport to EU trade, in the pocket, that’ll learn em

    19
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Paul Furey
    Favourite Paul Furey
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 12:27 PM

    @Gerry Ryan: looks like EU legal action is imminent. I wonder are the brits actually moving towards cancelling the brexit trade deal? I’m getting the popcorn.

    23
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mad Worldman
    Favourite Mad Worldman
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 12:43 PM

    @Ima Bored: they didn’t do it though. It was a reaction to vaccines produced in the EU going to the UK where they already have plenty.
    And the commission is elected. Stop swallowing the propaganda in the British press.

    54
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Niall O
    Favourite Niall O
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 1:24 PM

    @Paul Furey: Keep a cool head, don’t say too much publicly, don’t upset the status quo…and head to court.

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Niall O
    Favourite Niall O
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 1:27 PM

    @Ima Bored: You mean European Parliament, don’t you, which is, in fact, elected. The Commission are just civil servants.

    25
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Rudy de Groot
    Favourite Rudy de Groot
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 3:15 PM

    @Ima Bored: they are not unelected. They are voted in by the European Parliament. Last time I looked, the European Parliament is elected by the voters in the respective EU Memberstates.

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ima Bored
    Favourite Ima Bored
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 7:36 PM

    @Mad Worldman:

    How is the European Commission elected?
    The Commissioners are proposed by the Council of the European Union, on the basis of suggestions made by the national governments, and then appointed by the European Council after the approval of the European Parliament.

    4
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mad Worldman
    Favourite Mad Worldman
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 8:58 PM

    @Ima Bored: you’ve answered your own question there

    4
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute A Well Known Comical Stereotype
    Favourite A Well Known Comical Stereotype
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 9:40 PM

    @Padraic O Sullivan: You stuck in the 1940′s? This is 2021. The EU is 27 countries.

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Nigel Barlow
    Favourite Nigel Barlow
    Report
    Mar 6th 2021, 3:09 AM

    @Paul Furey: baaaaa

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute SPQH
    Favourite SPQH
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 11:45 AM

    As we all know UK has a long history of not honoring territorial agreements all around the world, it was almost laughable was it not so serious, when the UK was insisting last December the agreements should be based on trust. The EU rightly insisted on a rules based approach.

    181
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Marc Power
    Favourite Marc Power
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 11:56 AM

    The UK never even thought about Ireland… either part… in the run up to their referendum. The problems associated with their Brexit should have been addressed before the referendum and leaving there EU. These problems have all been caused by the UK side and now in typical Johnson style he’s trying to make the EU responsible for the UK’s irresponsibility. The UK and by default the unionists are the problem here… not Ireland or the EU

    121
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Paul Furey
    Favourite Paul Furey
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 12:18 PM

    @Marc Power: and they never thought about their emigrants living elsewhere in the EU and never thought that so many businesses want to keep a presence within the EU. The voted on emotions….zero facts

    58
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Marc Power
    Favourite Marc Power
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 12:19 PM

    @Paul Furey: they voted on ignorance and arrogance

    77
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Paul Furey
    Favourite Paul Furey
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 12:29 PM

    @Marc Power: that to :) and delusion based on tainted nostalgia

    27
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dara Mac Fhionnain
    Favourite Dara Mac Fhionnain
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 11:42 AM

    GB trying to delay the enivitable. Use the grace period to set up the customs infrastructure and just get on with it. This is what GB voted for.

    91
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Paul Furey
    Favourite Paul Furey
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 12:16 PM

    @Dara Mac Fhionnain: actually they had no idea what brexit entailed. They only now realise what it means.

    57
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mad Worldman
    Favourite Mad Worldman
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 12:02 PM

    It’s obvious now that Brexit was a bad idea. Only a small number of very rich people are going to benefit.
    The majority of people in Northern Ireland voted against it but because of the claptrap pedalled by the British tabloids now have to live with the reality of it.
    Some democracy.

    69
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jack Cass
    Favourite Jack Cass
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 12:27 PM

    @Mad Worldman: @Mad Worldman: And the majority of people in the Roscommon/ South Leitrim constituency voted against the same sex referendum. Should their democratic rights be upheld or only the democratic rights of causes you believe in?

    31
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mad Worldman
    Favourite Mad Worldman
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 1:19 PM

    @Jack Cass: that’s a false equivalence. The people of Roscommon dont have to participate in same sex marriage if they dont want to. Those in NI who knew Brexit was bad for NI now have no choice but to go along with it. Voters in Yorkshire or Cornwall have imposed restrictions on people in an area they don’t know about or give a damn about.

    49
    See 4 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jack Cass
    Favourite Jack Cass
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 2:08 PM

    @Mad Worldman: Brexit was an all UK referendum the same as the same sex marriage referendum was a Republic of Ireland referendum. The Leave side won the Brexit referendum, a victory for democracy whether you like the outcome or not. Complaints regarding voting jurisdictions are nothing more than diversions to those that refuse to accept outcomes of votes. How is your argument different than those of Donald Trump supporters in Florida? Trump won that state but lost the overall vote.

    7
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mad Worldman
    Favourite Mad Worldman
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 2:57 PM

    @Jack Cass: Brexit was a vote on international trade and politics. It is not the same as a general election or a vote on civil rights. You should try to understand this. International politics is very complicated and specialised. The Brexit vote, specifically, was a failure of democracy. The arguments for it were spurious, misinformed, vague, populist and deliberately divisive, influenced by agents outside the UK, data analysts, PR companies and dodgy algorithms. It definitely was not a “victory for democracy”, it was a victory for a small number of wealthy vested interests.

    15
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jack Cass
    Favourite Jack Cass
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 3:21 PM

    @Mad Worldman: Are you saying that a nations vote on a General Election or a Civil Rights issue is less important than a vote on International Trade and/or Politics? Wow!!!

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mad Worldman
    Favourite Mad Worldman
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 3:34 PM

    @Jack Cass: now you’re just being silly because your argument doesn’t stand up

    6
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Hugo Bugo
    Favourite Hugo Bugo
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 11:55 AM

    The uk were always going to play this card, if the eu negotiators didn’t forsee this then I don’t know what to say, you’ve been had

    49
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Gerry Ryan
    Favourite Gerry Ryan
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 12:18 PM

    @Hugo Bugo: Boris pandering to the ERG, giving them a reason to puff out their chests, he’s done it before and changed his mind, several times, this is yet another, he’ll back off when it’s pointed out to him that financial services still haven’t been given the all clear to shake down EU citizens

    31
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Paul Furey
    Favourite Paul Furey
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 12:20 PM

    @Hugo Bugo: they knew! The EU constantly agreed to a UK delays over the last 2 years. The EU know that the UK government cannot be trusted.

    33
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Rory J Leonard
    Favourite Rory J Leonard
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 1:45 PM

    @Hugo Bugo:

    EU negotiated with UK in good faith, so their hands are spotlessly clean, in the eyes of the World.

    The only folk who have “been had” are the UK Electorate in that 2016 Referendum, which was won on the basis of lies and false promises from the ERG driven Tories, ably assisted by a largely unquestioning and compliant main stream media.

    Now that Brexit has been delivered, all signed off agreements need to be honoured.

    Allowing UK sail off into their Brexit sunset would be relatively easy for EU, except for NI with a leg in each camp, which should in itself be brilliant news for NI Economy, but not according to gospel of the DUP, who seeming would feel lonely for yet-to-be-defined delights of Brexit (unless it’s to do with tax), if they ever stopped rattling their sabres.

    11
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Gerard
    Favourite Gerard
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 12:05 PM

    I’m sure China is getting ready for the next time the UK cries foul over the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

    The most egregious part, and the very reason why this is so tricky to navigate, is that the extensions the UK has “decided” on (after having asked for them), were ones the EU was likely to grant by all accounts.

    Now if the EU agrees to them, it looks like we just rolled over to the Great Trading Nation of the UK. If the EU refuses, it looks unreasonable because the extension was reasonable (which was why we were likely to agree). It was intentionally inflamatory.

    34
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Julian Friesel
    Favourite Julian Friesel
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 2:00 PM

    @Gerard: which leaves EU negotiators with few options, one of them being a complete halt of trade with the UK (we can call it “temporary” too) until they implement even a hint of their commitments. I don’t favour this but I don’t like being bullied by English men either.

    22
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Tom Mc Phillips
    Favourite Tom Mc Phillips
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 1:04 PM

    A United ireland would solve all these problems including tighter covid controls (quarantines and PCR testing) on flights coming into belfast.

    28
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Paul Furey
    Favourite Paul Furey
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 1:26 PM

    @Tom Mc Phillips: except for a lot of unionists. I’ve no idea how these can be won over.

    15
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Niall O
    Favourite Niall O
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 1:28 PM

    @Tom Mc Phillips: I think we should give talk of a United Ireland a rest for a while. Not likely in our lifetime.

    22
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute A Well Known Comical Stereotype
    Favourite A Well Known Comical Stereotype
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 9:47 PM

    @Niall O: Bozo is working hard to make it happen.

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Niall Ó Cofaigh
    Favourite Niall Ó Cofaigh
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 11:50 AM

    The empty shelves and keeping people fed, etc. that are betrayed sometimes cannot be a consequence of the Brexit rules that are only to be applied in the future… I too have fallen into that trap forgetting that the current supply issue, if there is one, is caused by existing rules and not new rules and aaking for a deferrment past April will not address the issues caused since January.

    While some wish to tar the DUP as antagonists, and make this political, this needs to be avoided aa the underlying issue is more serious and deep rooted.

    I really believe the UK government had no idea what it was signing up to as many people do not remember pre EEC and EU days although some should have realised that the deal cut NI off just like Jersey etc.

    22
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute SPQH
    Favourite SPQH
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 11:55 AM

    @Niall Ó Cofaigh: that’s a good point regarding “existing” third country rules.

    7
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Niall Ó Cofaigh
    Favourite Niall Ó Cofaigh
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 12:02 PM

    @Niall Ó Cofaigh: The problem is that the only comeback that the EU have is to stop and check the flow of goods into the EU at the NI border if the UK does not stop and check the flow of goods into NI. If this does not happen then the next step is to implement stops and checks of goods leaving Ireland for the rest of the EU. We should have joined Schengen as, withour membership, there are already controls on the movement of people between Ireland and the EU so adding Customs to existing immigration controls is an option – which I hasten to add I wouod be against but it is easy to implement. The risk to the EU is small at this time while the risk of a hard border on the island of Ireland increases despite the unproven argument that such a border breaches the Good Friday Agreement.

    19
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Joe Thorpe
    Favourite Joe Thorpe
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 4:21 PM

    @Niall Ó Cofaigh: Absolutely no reason Ireland couldn’t join Schengen, just withdraw from the common travel area with the UK & end all rights to live & work in each other’s jurisdictions. I doubt many in the UK would object & the days of passports at airports for intra EU travel would be over, except they wouldn’t because our airports are not up to the job they can’t funnel passengers who need passports and those that don’t to separate arrival desks which is why Irish travellers to the UK don’t need to show passports while travellers from the U.K. to Ireland do have to show passports.

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Albert Brennerman
    Favourite Albert Brennerman
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 2:45 PM

    NI have a point if they are having issues in food supply.
    EU hasa a right to secure its trade border.

    Abandonning protocol is biased towards unionist politics. It cannot be the solution.

    The basic principle must remain towards the greatest peace for all people those who fly the union jack and people that fly the tri colour our history is shared.

    4
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute brendan o connell
    Favourite brendan o connell
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 2:00 PM

    The UK just keep poking the best who is obviously sleeping.

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute brendan o connell
    Favourite brendan o connell
    Report
    Mar 5th 2021, 2:01 PM

    @brendan o connell: meant BEAR

    3
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

Leave a commentcancel

 
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds