5 Things You Need To Know (26/7/17)
Please note this blog post was published over 12 months ago and so may not include the most up-to-date information, for example where regulation around investing has changed.
Welcome to our daily update, where we summarise the key talking points from the last 24 hours.
1. New petrol and diesel cars banned from 2040
The sale of new diesel and petrol cars will be banned in the UK from 2040, with the aim to get these vehicles off the road completely by 2050. Clean electric vehicles are intended to replace current car models.
2. Russia sanctions
The US has imposed fresh sanctions on Russia, despite opposition from President Donald Trump. In addition to Trump’s opposition, the EU has expressed concern the sanctions could hurt energy companies.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has warned of “unintended unilateral effects that impact the EU’s energy security interests.”
3. UK economy
UK economic growth was 0.3% in the three months to June, the Office for National Statistics has reported.
Growth in the first part of the year was 0.2%, and the growth since then has been driven by services such as retail.
Chancellor Philip Hammond has responded to say, “We can be proud of that, but we are not complacent.”
4. Gove says US chicken won’t be imported
Environment secretary Michael Gove has said that US chicken won’t be imported to the UK as part of any post-Brexit trade deal.
“We are not going to dilute our high animal welfare standards, or our high environmental standards, in pursuit of any trade deal,” he told the BBC.
Chicken is chlorinated in the US as a means of cleaning the product. International trade secretary Liam Fox had suggested that a ban on this import to the UK could be lifted as part of a potential UK / US trade deal.
5. Trump bans transgender people from the military
President Donald Trump has banned transgender people from the military, claiming that he is acting on advice of military experts. It was only last year that Barack Obama’s administration decided to allow transgender people to serve openly.
Trump announced the decision via Twitter, stating, “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.”
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