The Foreign Ministers of Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America strongly support the work of the UN Secretary-General and UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2254.

In recent weeks, the UN has opened a door to progress in the political process with the launching of the Constitutional Committee, which could be a first step towards a political solution. After more than eight years of violence, there is no military solution that can bring stability to Syria, allow displaced Syrians to return safely and voluntarily to their homes, and defeat terrorism.

We remain committed to upholding the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Syria and oppose forced demographic change. We particularly call upon all actors in the northeast to immediately implement a cease fire and to halt all military offensive operations. We commit to disburse no assistance for any resettlement of Syrian refugees into northeast Syria that is not the safe, dignified, and voluntary return of those refugees to their homes. We also call for an immediate and genuine cessation of hostilities in Idlib, including an immediate halt to attacks against civilians. In addition, we stress the need to deal effectively with the terrorist threat emanating from Idlib and northwest Syria.

We also ask the international community to commit to support the UN on implementation of all aspects of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, notably a nationwide ceasefire, the creation of a genuine and representative Syrian constitution, the mass release of political prisoners, as well as UN-supervised elections that are free, fair and credible. Internally displaced persons, refugees and the diaspora must be able to participate in these elections in a safe and neutral environment. We continue to support efforts to ensure that all perpetrators of abuses and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law throughout Syria are identified and held accountable.

We encourage the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to all of Syria with the support of the UN agencies and stress the importance of ensuring safe and unhindered humanitarian access for all Syrians currently in need of it. We also support the safe, dignified, and voluntary return of refugees to their homes. Finally, we express our commitment to the enduring defeat of ISIS and other UN designated terrorist groups and remind the international community that a political settlement in Syria remains essential to sustainably achieving this shared goal.

Flooding is expected to cause continued disruption to communities in South Yorkshire, and parts of Lincolnshire and the north Midlands into next week. Areas of Gloucestershire around the River Severn, and near the River Avon in Worcestershire and Warwickshire are expected to be affected by flooding today until Monday.

More localised flooding is also possible in the east and north-east of England on Sunday, due to the potential for further rain or showers falling on wet ground.

Environment Agency teams have been working around the clock to protect communities from flooding. Incident rooms will remain open across the weekend to monitor the unsettled weather forecast due over the weekend.

Over 21,000 properties have been protected by flood defences in England, since the flooding began, including nearly 7,000 properties in Yorkshire alone. Other areas protected include:  

• 5, 713 properties in the West Midlands
• 1,000 properties in the East Midlands
• 2,191 properties in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire
• 5,202 properties in the Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire

There are now over 400 EA operational staff and military personnel working 24/7  on flooded sites across Yorkshire assisting with pumping and erecting more temporary barriers to help better protect more homes and businesses against further flooding. We currently have 55 high volume pumps, including two ultra-high volume units,  extracting 22 cubic metres of water per second help protect homes and business in South Yorkshire. If pumping in Fishlake continues at the current rate, the community will be free of floodwater by Sunday.

Kate Marks, Flood Duty Manager at the Environment Agency, said:

“Communities in northern England, northern and western parts of the Midlands should remain vigilant to the risk of flooding with further rainfall expected over the weekend.

“Over 20,000 properties have been protected from flooding thanks to Environment Agency flood schemes. Our teams will continue to work around the clock maintaining flood defences, clearing river blockages, and monitoring river levels

“Every flooded home is a personal tragedy and our thoughts are with those who have been affected and those waiting to return to their homes

“Our incident rooms remain open 24 hours a day and we are continuing to work closely with local authorities and partners.”

The public are advised to stay away from swollen rivers and not to walk or drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car. People can check their flood risk and keep up to date with the latest situation, or by calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or following @EnvAgency on Twitter.

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The team on-board Newquay-based Sikorsky S92 aircraft were actually airborne and on their way to Land’s End for a routine training exercise – but received contact from the Falmouth Coastguard Rescue Team and the Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre (ARCC), reporting that a man had fallen into the water at Porthcothan, a coastal village between Newquay and Padstow.

Walkers at Park Head cliff tops in Porthcothan saw a local fisherman washed off the rocks at Bedruthan Steps and straight into freezing cold seawater.

Responding to the incident straightaway, the search and rescue helicopter headed to the scene but were roughly 30 minutes or so away from caring to the man.

Fortunately, during the time it took for the search and rescue team to arrive at Porthcothan, a quick-thinking member of the public managed to throw a life-ring buoy into the water and as close to the stranded fisherman as possible.

And, despite the buoy not having a direct line to shore, the throw was so accurate that it landed within the man’s grasp and enabled him to keep afloat, tread water and stay much closer to land, despite rocky waves.

And that intervention – along with the search and rescue helicopter’s rapid response – played a huge part in saving the man’s life.

“When we arrived at Park Head, we had our winchman ready to go because it was such a remote and challenging area,” said Mark Coupland, who was co-pilot in the successful rescue alongside captain Debs Bhattacharya.

“The fisherman had been treading water and didn’t have anything left.

“Our winch operator Phil Warrington and winchman Bungi Williams winched the man up as fast as possible, but it was a struggle to move him out of the buoy and move the rope clear of his body, as we lifted him up out of the water.”

Reflecting on the weekend’s rescue on Monday, Coupland added: “Whoever launched the ring from the cliff side really saved this gentleman’s life. The public also helped us locate the man, given they made sure they were visible by waving their arms to get our attention as we arrived.

“We wrapped the man in blankets as soon as we rescued him and his body temperature was -32 degrees. Again, that was another reminder of how tough the conditions must’ve been for this gentleman in the water.”

The search and rescue team transported the man from Porthcothan to Treliske Hospital, near Truro.

The fisherman was discharged from hospital on Sunday night.

Rescue

A Foreign Office spokesperson said:

“We welcome the ceasefire reached between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. We are grateful to Egypt and the UN for their mediation efforts. The indiscriminate attacks against civilians by Palestinian Islamic Jihad were completely unacceptable. We greatly regret the loss of civilian life in Gaza and urge all parties to adhere to the ceasefire arrangement.”

Further information

Published 15 November 2019

Advice for fans travelling to Germany for Germany v Northern Ireland match on 19 September 2019.

Date: 19 November 2019

Venue: Commerzbank Arena – Frankfurt

Kick off time: 8.45pm local time

You should also read our travel advice for Germany

Passports and visas

• you don’t need a visa to travel to Germany, but your passport should be valid for the duration of your trip
• remember your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) but also take out travel insurance, even if you’re only going for one night – it could save you a lot of money if you get into difficulties
• carry ID with you at all times
• if you lose your passport, you will need to get an Emergency Travel Document

Getting to the stadium

The address for the Commerzbank Arena is Mörfelder Landstrasse 362 60528, Frankfurt. It is located approximately 5km from the city centre and is well connected via public transport.

• you can travel to the arena by S-Bahn (Lines S8 or S9 – direction of Mainz or Wiesbaden), which take approximately 6 minutes from Frankfurt main railway station
• alternatively you can take a tram (Lines 20 & 21) from Frankfurt main station and the closest station is Stadion Straßenbahn
• Parking is available for visiting fans. Cars and coaches can be parked in P9; however, it may be necessary to register in advance

At the match

• turnstiles open 120-minutes prior to kick off (8:45pm local time). You should be inside the stadium no later than 30-minutes before kick-off
• only valid ticket holders will be admitted to the ground. If you have damaged or forged tickets, or have lost or had tickets stolen, you’ll be turned away
• access to the stadium can be slow. There will be ticket checks and body searches at the entrance to the turnstiles
• in addition to items which would usually be prohibited in the UK & Northern Ireland, the following restrictions apply at the stadium: no bottles and cans are allowed to be brought into the ground and flags and banners with metal poles aren’t allowed

Tips

• beware of pickpockets and bag snatchers at airports, railway stations, around the town centre and when using public transport. Only carry what you need and leave spare cash and valuables in hotel safety deposits
• change money at a bank, hotel, or in exchange kiosks – not on the street (it’s illegal and holding counterfeit money is punished by a prison sentence in Germany)

British Consulate-General Düsseldorf
Willi-Becker-Allee 10
40227 Düsseldorf
Germany

Telephone: + 49 (0) 211 94480

Consular opening hours: Monday to Friday: 9 to 12pm

For more information, please visit British Embassy Berlin website.

Emergency services numbers

You can contact the police on 110 and all other emergency services including ambulance and fire brigade on 112.

Further information

Published 15 November 2019