Brexit import charges may mean rise in food prices, say trade groups | The Guardian |

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the fees of up to £145, which come into force on 30 April, will pay for border inspections and improve biosecurity by preventing the import of plant and animal diseases into the UK. The charges apply to imports entering the UK and transits entering and leaving.

Leaked documents show the Foreign Office has shortlisted more countries to which to deport migrants, as the < wipes tears > Safety of Rwanda Bill is set to receive royal assent

Britain has entered talks to replicate the Rwanda migrant deportation scheme with Armenia, Ivory Coast, Costa Rica, and Botswana, according to leaked documents that reveal the government's extensive search for another third-country deal.

Several South American countries including Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Brazil, and Colombia have also been approached but were viewed as less likely to be interested in what the government describes as a "third-country asylum processing deal".

A list of African countries including Cape Verde, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Angola, and Sierra Leone were put on a reserve list that would be approached if other targets failed.

Other African countries including Morocco, Tunisia, Namibia, and The Gambia "explicitly declined" to enter technical discussions.

ChatGPT | China is a threat to Europe's gunpowder supply, defense boss warns, 18 Apr

In an interview with POLITICO, Saab CEO Micael Johansson called on governments to cut environmental rules to make it easier for companies to diversify their supply chains for critical < wipes tears > military components.

dual-use: sulfur, potassium nitrate (fertilizer), CO₂ (charcoal), possibly nitrocellulose (gun "cotton" or wood pulp)

Beijing plays a key role in supplying EU countries with the raw materials they need for their defense industries, even though China is also providing vital support to Vladimir Putin's war machine in Ukraine.
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googlish: maaseuduntulevaisuus.fi | 40 000 truck cargo block went underground and disappeared - trade journal: the Suspicion of the cooked pulp and scorched heat (06.04.24)

While lead times and prices for some components have improved, Johansson told POLITICO that the European defense industry still faced "bottlenecks", especially on "powder and nitrocellulose to create powder".

"The risk of China sort of disconnecting the deliveries of nitrocellulose to do powder in Europe ... would be detrimental."