PM considers call for foreign fans and VIPs to avoid quarantine at Wembley Euro games

Published

4 years ago

June 18, 2021

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A minister has said the government is trying to “accommodate” Euro 2020 “as much as we possibly can” – amid reports thousands of VIPs will be granted quarantine-free access to England for the final.

Both semi-finals and the final of the tournament are set to take place at London’s Wembley stadium next month.

And, according to The Times, around 2,500 senior UEFA and FIFA officials, politicians, sponsors and broadcasters could be exempted from having to self-isolate on arrival to England.

The newspaper said there were concerns within government that the semi-finals and final would be moved to Hungary, which is soon to significantly ease COVID border restrictions, if they did not relax rules for VIPs coming to England for the showpiece football matches.

Under England’s current border restrictions, only those travelling from 11 “green list” countries are not required to quarantine on their arrival.

These include a number of south Atlantic islands as well as countries – such as Australia and New Zealand – that are currently not allowing international travel.

No countries competing at Euro 2020 – apart from England, Scotland and Wales – are on the travel green list.

Sky News understands ministers are still working through details with UEFA and the Football Association, although no decisions have yet been taken on any possible exemptions for VIPs.

Any move to exempt VIPs from quarantine rules would prompt a public backlash, with many Britons having been left unable to book a foreign holiday this summer due to the limited number of countries on the green list.

Asked if it was unfair that some VIPs could enjoy quarantine-free travel to the UK – while many British holidaymakers who return from non-green list countries would have to self-isolate – Home Office minister Kit Malthouse told Sky News: “One of the things we are trying to do… is obviously accommodate the Euros as much as we possibly can.

“While much of, I guess, the concern around coronavirus regulations has been about whether one situation is fair compared to another situation, what we’re generally trying to do is make difficult decisions about the path of the virus at the same time as trying to enable the ordinary operation of very special events like the Euros.

“No doubt the health professionals and the immigration professionals at the Home Office and then the senior ministers who make the decision will take all of that into account as we proceed.

“It’s a great competition, we’re very lucky to have it, we’re trying to make it happen with as much kind of satisfaction all round as we possibly can and that will be taken into account in the decision over the next few days.”

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Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the proposal of special access for VIP visitors for Euro 2020 “does not sound fair at all”.

“It’s part of the way this Conservative government operates – there’s one rule for their friends and another rule for the rest of us,” he told Sky News.

“We saw that with Dominic Cummings during the pandemic who broke all the rules and didn’t pay the price.

“So often with this Conservative government, if you’re friendly with them you get special favours – that is not the way to do politics.”

This year’s Champions League final – between English clubs Chelsea and Manchester City – was held in Portugal and not at Wembley, as had been floated, after UEFA and the UK government failed to reach agreement on quarantine exemptions.

Despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson having delayed the final easing of lockdown rules, which had been due on 21 June, the semi-finals and final of Euro 2020 at Wembley will have crowds of up to 45,000.

Politics

Why a ‘Trump-fest’ could be just the tonic for a special relationship under strain

Published

3 hours ago

April 18, 2025

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Why a 'Trump-fest' could be just the tonic for a special relationship under strain

It was perhaps not quite how officials, in London at least, had envisaged the announcement of the state visit would be made.

In the Oval Office, Donald Trump revealed the news in his own way.

“I was invited by the King and the great country. They are going to do a second fest – that’s what it is. It is beautiful,” he said during an impromptu Oval Office moment.

The question was, did this “fest” – which Mr Trump suggested could happen in September – amount to the much hyped second state visit for the American president?

Or was this actually just the smaller visit that had been offered two months ago as an initial bilateral visit at which the state visit would be discussed?

Back in February, Sir Keir Starmer presented the president with a letter from King Charles and the offer of a state visit.

The letter proposed an initial meeting between the King and the president to discuss details of the state visit at either Dumfries House or Balmoral, both in Scotland, close to Mr Trump’s golf clubs.

The King wrote: “Quite apart from this presenting an opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest, it would also offer a valuable chance to plan a historic second state visit to the United Kingdom… As you will know this is unprecedented by a US president. That is why I would find it helpful for us to be able to discuss, together, a range of options for location and programme content.”

As he revealed the news of his “fest” with his “friend Charles”, Mr Trump said: “I think they are setting a date for September…”

Sources have since confirmed to Sky News that it will amount to the full state visit.

‘Even more important’

It’s possible the initial less formal presidential trip may still happen between now and September. Mr Trump is in Europe for the NATO summit in June and is due in Scotland to open a new golf course soon too.

“It is the second time it has happened to one person. The reason is we have two separate terms, and it’s an honour to be a friend of King Charles and the family, William,” the president said.

“I don’t know how it can be bigger than the last one. The last one was incredible, but they say the next one will be even more important.”

His last state visit in 2019, at the invitation of the late Queen, drew significant protests epitomised by the giant blow-up “Baby Trump” which floated over Parliament Square.

Britain’s trump card

September is a little earlier than had been expected for the visit. It may be an advantage for it to happen sooner rather than later, given the profoundly consequential and controversial nature of the first few months of his second term.

The decision by the British government to play its “state visit trump card” up front back in February drew some criticism.

And since February, Mr Trump’s position on numerous issues has been increasingly at odds with all of America’s allies.

On Ukraine, he has seemingly aligned himself closely with Vladimir Putin. His tariffs have caused a global economic shock. And on issues like Greenland and Canada, a member of the Commonwealth, he has generated significant diplomatic shock.

A risk worth taking

Mr Trump is as divisive among the British public as he is in America. Sir Keir is already walking a political tightrope by choosing the softly softly approach with the White House.

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The UK government chose not to retaliate against Mr Trump’s tariffs, unlike some allies. Sir Keir and his cabinet have been at pains not to be seen to criticise the president in any way as they seek to influence him on Ukraine and seek an elusive economic deal on tariffs.

On that tariff deal, despite some positive language from the US side and offers on the table, there has yet to be a breakthrough. A continuing challenge is engaging with the president for decisions and agreements only he, not his cabinet, will make.

British officials acknowledge the risk the state visit poses. In this presidency, anything could happen between now and September.

But they argue British soft power and Mr Trump’s fondness for the Royal Family and pomp – or a “fest” as he calls it – amount to vital diplomatic clout.

For a special relationship under strain, a special state visit is the tonic.

Politics

Hashkey takes aim at XRP ETF in Asia with new fund backed by Ripple

Published

5 hours ago

April 18, 2025

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Hashkey takes aim at XRP ETF in Asia with new fund backed by Ripple

Hong Kong-based crypto investment firm HashKey Capital announced the launch of an XRP fund, with plans to convert it into an exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the future.

According to an April 18 announcement, the fund, officially titled the HashKey XRP Tracker Fund, is reportedly “the first investment fund in Asia designed to track the performance of XRP.”

XRP developer Ripple will serve as the fund’s anchor investor. In a separate X post, HashKey Capital said the fund aims to bring “more institutional capital into regulated XRP products and the broader digital asset ecosystem.”

Close collaboration with Ripple

In another X post, HashKey Capital said the fund marks the beginning of a closer collaboration with Ripple. The two firms “are exploring new investment products, cross-border DeFi solutions, and tokenization —including the possibility of launching a money market fund (MMF) on the XRP ledger.”

In the announcement, HashKey Capital partner Vivien Wong said the firm will share its connections with financial institutions, regulators and investors in Asia with Ripple, adding:

“Ripple offers us the opportunity to collaborate on more investment products and solutions across cross-border payment solutions, decentralized finance (DeFi), and enterprise blockchain adoption.”

A Hong Kong XRP ETF in the works?

The XRP (XRP) Tracker Fund is HashKey Capital’s third tracker fund and follows the firm’s Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) ETF products. The company noted that this product may also become an ETF in the future.

A boon for XRP’s institutional adoption in Asia

Hank Huang, CEO of Kronos Research, a crypto investment firm based in Asia, told Cointelegraph that “the launch of the XRP Tracker Fund by HashKey Capital marks a pivotal moment for institutional adoption” in the region. He said regulated and transparent products like Hashkey’s fund are what institutional investors need to enter the market.

“XRP’s proven use case in cross-border payments, combined with HashKey’s robust infrastructure, sets the stage for meaningful capital inflows and wider acceptance of crypto assets in global finance,“ Huang said.

Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple and industry with no crypto legal precedent set

Politics

Altcoins may rally in Q2 2025 thanks to improved regulations: Sygnum

Published

6 hours ago

April 18, 2025

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Altcoins may rally in Q2 2025 thanks to improved regulations: Sygnum

Altcoins may see a resurgence in the second quarter of 2025 as regulations for digital assets continue to improve, according to Swiss bank Sygnum.

In its Q2 2025 investment outlook, Sygnum said the space has seen “drastically improved” regulations for crypto use cases, creating the foundations for a strong alt-sector rally for the second quarter. However, it added that “none of the positive developments have been priced in.”

In April, Bitcoin dominance reached a four-year high, signaling that crypto investors are rotating their funds into an asset perceived to be relatively safer.

But Sygnum believes regulatory developments in the US, such as President Donald Trump’s establishment of a Digital Asset Stockpile and advancing stablecoin regulations, could propel broader crypto adoption.

“We expect protocols successful in gaining user traction to outperform and Bitcoin’s dominance to decline,” Sygnum wrote.

Increased focus on economic value ignites competition

Sygnum also said that competition would increase as the market focuses on economic value. Increased competition in a market often results in better products, ultimately benefiting consumers:

“The market’s increased focus on economic value compels greater competition for user growth and revenues, with rising protocols such as Toncoin, Sui, Aptos, Sonic, or Berachain taking different approaches.”

Sygnum added that while high-performance blockchains address limitations of the Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana blockchains, these chains find it challenging to achieve meaningful adoption and fee income.

The report highlighted that some approaches have been more sustainable. These include Berachain’s approach of incentivizing validators to provide liquidity to decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, Sonic’s rewarding developers that attract and retain users, and Toncoin’s Telegram affiliation to access one billion users.

Aside from layer-1 chains, Sygnum highlighted that layer-2 networks like Base also have potential. The report pointed out that while the memecoin frenzy on the blockchain pushed its users and revenue to new highs, it made an equally sharp decline after memecoins started losing steam.

Despite this, Sygnum noted that Base remains the layer-2 leader in metrics like daily transactions, throughput and total value locked.

Memecoins still a leading crypto narrative in Q1

Despite recent price declines, memecoins remained a dominant crypto narrative in Q1 2025. A CoinGecko report recently highlighted that memecoins remained dominant as a crypto narrative in the first quarter of 2025. The crypto data company said memecoins had 27.1% of global investor interest, second only to artificial intelligence tokens, which had 35.7%.

While retail investors are still busy with memecoins, institutions have a different approach. Asset manager Bitwise reported on April 14 that publicly traded firms are stacking up on Bitcoin. At least twelve public companies purchased Bitcoin for the first time in Q1 2025, pushing public firm holdings to $57 billion.