Equipment manufacturers struggle with weak demand amid coronavirus pandemic

Kip Eideberg, Senior Vice President at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, joins ‘America’s Newsroom.’

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  • For Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the end of her sentence may not mean freedom

    After five years of imprisonment and house arrest, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe must have felt a surge of elation when Iranian prison officials finally removed her ankle tag on Sunday. But relief will be tempered by the knowledge that the end of her prison sentence does not necessarily mean her freedom. The blunt truth, her family fear, is that she is one of several British-Iranian hostages being held for ransom. And that ransom has still not been paid. Neither government wants to admit to anything so shabby in public. But over the past five years, Iranian officials have explicitly told Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her family in Iran that her detention is linked to a multi-million-pound debt the UK owes Iran for failing to deliver on a 1970s arms deal. Richard Ratcliffe, her husband, says that has been confirmed to him by international sources he would rather not name. And that is why he is guarded about what happens next: He does not believe that after five long years, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps are willing to give up their hostage until they see the colour of the UK’s money. The dispute goes back to the 1970s, when the Shah of Iran ordered over 1,000 Chieftain tanks and armoured vehicles from International Military Services (IMS), a UK Ministry of Defence-owned export company. After the Shah’s government was overthrown in the 1979 revolution, the deal fell apart - but Britain did not return the advance payment it had already received. In 2008, an international arbitration court ruled in the Iranian Ministry of Defence's favour and said the UK should pay the debt. But lawyers for IMS, which now exists only as a vehicle to settle this dispute, have fought an epic legal battle over the size of the payment and whether it should pay interest. The next hearing of the dispute is due in a London court on April 20. It will be relatively simple to keep Mrs Zaghari Ratcliffe in Iran until then - or even beyond - if her captors wish to. Most easily, officials could simply refuse to give back her passport. That would leave her ostensibly free, but unable to leave the country to rejoin her husband and daughter. It is a tactic that other prisoners have faced in the past. More menacing is the threat of a second criminal case. In September, she was told she would face fresh charges of "propaganda against the regime” - allegations that may be linked to remarks Boris Johnson made when he was Foreign Secretary. Her family say there is no new evidence that would justify a fresh prosecution. But she has been summoned to court again next Sunday, raising fears she could be hit with a new conviction. British officials have always down-played any supposed link between the two cases, briefing journalists who raise the issue that it would be irresponsible to draw any such connection. But there has recently been a change of tone in Whitehall. Mr Ratcliffe told The Telegraph last week that Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, did not dispute the existence of a link at a recent meeting about his wife’s case. Don't expect Britain or Iran to ever acknowledge such a deal. But the April court hearing in London could mark the moment when an understanding is reached.

  • Prince Harry and William to reunite at unveiling of Diana statue as they move past rift

    The Duke of Sussex is determined to stand shoulder to shoulder with his brother at the unveiling of a statue of their mother Diana, Princess of Wales, whatever the fallout from his interview with Oprah Winfrey. Prince Harry hopes that the brothers can present a united front at Kensington Palace on July 1, which would have been the Princess’s 60th birthday, in an attempt to move past their rift. A source close to Prince Harry insisted that whatever had been said and done, he desperately hoped to attend the event and considered it a priority. There is more uncertainty about whether the Duke might make it back to the UK for earlier events, such as Trooping the Colour on June 12 or the Duke of Edinburgh’s 100th birthday on June 10, partly due to the impending birth of his second child, thought to be due around that time. Despite the explosive nature of the revelations made to Ms Winfrey, the Sussexes consider the interview their last word on the subject and want to move on. They felt they needed to have their say and explain to the public why they turned their backs on royal life, but now consider the matter closed, sources said. One friend said: “It was something they felt they wanted and needed to do but now they have done it, they feel a line has been drawn under that chapter of their lives and they want to move on.”

  • Unions threaten parents with school closures if too many pupils fail to wear face masks

    Unions have warned parents that schools could close if not enough pupils wear face masks, raising the spectre that the long awaited return to classrooms could be short lived. Schools across England reopen on Monday, in the first step in easing lockdown, but there are escalating tensions over the rules on pupils wearing face masks. Government guidance now stipulates that masks should be worn in the classroom and anywhere indoors where it is impossible for secondary students to keep two metres apart, whereas previously when schools were open masks were only required in corridors. This has caused an outcry among parents, MPs and health experts who fear that masks impede education and are uncomfortable for children, with insufficient evidence that they help to reduce transmission of the virus. On Sunday night Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), the main union representing secondary heads, said a letter had been issued to members to send to parents who raise objections about their children wearing masks when they return to school. The letter, seen by The Telegraph, says that if not enough pupils wear masks it could create “ramifications” for a school’s insurance. It explains that masks are one of the recommended measures schools need to take to get “risk of infection to an acceptable level to enable them to remain open”. On Sunday the chief inspector of schools added her voice to the chorus of concern about face masks. Amanda Spielman said she hoped that they will only be necessary for a “short time”, adding: “I love the idea of children being able to come back in summer term able to see everybody fully." Ministers have vowed to reconsider the advice at the end of this month after Public Health England analyses the impact of schools being open for three weeks. A source close to the Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said he is reluctant to prejudge the analysis and will wait for the review, but added: “He wants to see a return to pre-pandemic norms as safely and as soon as possible.” The return to schools represents the first step in the lifting of lockdown. From Monday, people are also able to meet one on one to socialise as well as to exercise, and the government has confirmed that children under 5 do not count towards the limit, allowing grandparents to be reunited with young grandchildren.

  • Over-56s are invited for Covid vaccine jabs as July target date on track

    Everyone aged 56 and over will be invited for jabs this week, NHS England has announced. Hundreds of thousands of letters for those aged between 56 and 59 began landing on doorsteps on Saturday. The latest round of invitations comes after eight in 10 people aged 65 to 69 took up the offer of inoculation. More than 18 million people in England - more than a third of the adult population - have already received a vaccine. Across the UK, more than a million people have received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, while almost 21.4 million people have had one dose. Dr Nikki Kanani, NHS England national medical director for primary care, said: "It is testament to our incredible staff that we can now move on to the next age group. The vaccines are both safe and effective, so if anybody who is eligible hasn't been vaccinated yet, I'd urge them to go online or call 119 and get themselves booked in."

  • Austria suspends AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine batch after death

    Austrian authorities have suspended inoculations with a batch of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine as a precaution while investigating the death of one person and the illness of another after the shots, a health agency said on Sunday. "The Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) has received two reports in a temporal connection with a vaccination from the same batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the district clinic of Zwettl" in Lower Austria province, it said.

  • Hospitals offer holiday and bonuses to Covid-weary staff in England

    Hospitals offer holiday and bonuses to Covid-weary staff in England. Food, drama and poetry also part of efforts to reward NHS workers and improve conditions

  • Piers Morgan claims he was ‘scolded’ in the street by an elderly woman for Meghan Markle criticism

    Morgan has criticised the duke and duchess of Sussex multiple times in recent weeks

  • Our Girl's Michelle Keegan responds to rumours of marriage problems with TOWIE's Mark Wright

    "I find it ridiculous."

  • Boris Johnson news: PM ‘misled parliament’ over Covid contracts as strike fund launched over 1% NHS pay rise

    Follow the day’s events as they happened

  • PM vows to stick with cautious lockdown approach as schools prepare to return

    It comes as those aged 56-59 are being invited to join the cohort of the population being offered a Covid-19 vaccine.

  • Hope for summer holidays but Britons should prepare for hard winter, Dr Susan Hopkins says

    ‘Population immunity’ to flu and other viruses may have been impacted by Covid health measures, government adviser says

  • ‘Keep Meghan Markle’s name out of your damn mouth’: Kamala Harris’ niece defends the Duchess ahead of interview

    She accused critics of the Duchess of being racist

  • Liverpool "not good enough" says Klopp following Fulham defeat

    Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp reviews his side's 1-0 loss to league trailers Fulham. Klopp said the Reds "conceded a goal, didn't score and lost the game, not good enough".

  • Exodus of foreign workers ‘a threat to UK recovery’

    Exodus of foreign workers ‘a threat to UK recovery’Construction, care and hospitality industries all at risk from major shortage of employees, say business leaders The government could fail to meet its target to build 300,000 homes a year because of a potential shortage of workers in the construction industry. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

  • Scots don’t support independence after Sturgeon inquiry, poll suggests

    More than third of Scottish voters less likely to vote for cutting ties with rest of UK after events of recent days

  • School Holidays Could Be Cut After Covid, Gavin Williamson Confirms

    Education secretary said teachers were among public sector workers set to face "pay restraint".

  • Six million ‘hidden’ patients could flood NHS waiting lists this year

    Exclusive: Chancellor has only done ‘half the job’, warn NHS bosses as they call for waiting time targets to be suspended

  • Queen will ramp up engagements to 'show where the focus is' following Sussexes' Oprah interview

    The Queen will increase her official engagements this week as the Royal family responds to the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ Oprah Winfrey interview with a clear message about where the “focus” lies. Her Majesty, 94, is expected to be seen at least once this week as she carries out official duties via Zoom from Windsor Castle. All other senior members of the Royal family will also be highly visible as they conduct a raft of engagements, including marking International Women’s Day. A senior Buckingham Palace aide said: “We will see them getting on with the day job. “There are several engagements in the diary – they’ve been there for a while.” The volley of royal engagements will leave the public in no doubt about “where the focus is,” one source said. No members of the Royal family were expected to stay up into the early hours of this morning to watch the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ explosive Oprah Winfrey interview. But they were each expected to receive a detailed breakfast briefing from aides, highlighting the main allegations and topics of discussion. A palace aide said they would not “rush to respond” to the issues raised by the Sussexes and reserved the right not to comment at all. One source told a newspaper that the couple were “playing with fire”, adding: “It's very high stakes because there's a lot that could come out in the wash that hasn't been told." While they were braced for damaging revelations about racism and the perceived failure to protect and guide the Sussexes, they were also hoping not to be drawn into the fray. Aides said the mood at Buckingham Palace ahead of the interview was calm, as courtiers maintained the view that “this, too, will pass.” One signalled the belief that the Sussexes were unlikely to win the PR battle as they said: “History teaches us that only the interviewer wins from these programmes.” The Palace has repeatedly insisted that the focus should be on children’s return to school and the vaccination programme, rather than the “media circus” surrounding the Sussexes. The family also remains concerned about the Duke of Edinburgh, 99, who has spent almost three weeks in hospital and remains at the King Edward VII hospital in central London, where he is recovering from a heart procedure. The Cambridges are understood to have been focused on Prince George and Princess Charlotte's return to school this week and have relocated from Anmer Hall, in Norfolk, where they spent lockdown, to Kensington Palace. Prince Louis, who turns three in April, is also expected to start nursery soon. The contrast between the Sussexes’ litany of complaints and the Queen’s own attitude to self-sacrifice was highlighted on Sunday as the monarch released her annual Commonwealth Day message just hours ahead of the Oprah interview. In it, she has stressed the importance of keeping in touch with family to “transcend boundaries or division,” focusing on a message of unity.

  • Yemen's Houthis attack Saudi oil heartland with drones, missiles

    Yemen's Houthi forces fired drones and missiles at the heart of Saudi Arabia's oil industry on Sunday, including a Saudi Aramco facility at Ras Tanura vital to petroleum exports, in what Riyadh called a failed assault on global energy security. Announcing the attacks, the Houthis, who have been battling a Saudi-led coalition for six years, also said they attacked military targets in the Saudi cities of Dammam, Asir and Jazan.

  • Caroline Flack's twin sister begged her to leave showbiz prior to her death

    'Caroline Flack: Her Life And Death' is due to air on Channel 4 soon.