The British Museum is very popular among Chinese people and is one of the most popular destinations for many people to visit the UK.
Yesterday, at the peak of the Spring Festival outing, many people were visiting the British Museum, and suddenly the news came that the British Museum was occupied by a group of people.
It turned out that environmental groups and pro-Palestinian institutions had organized a group of protesters at the British Museum against its £50 million sponsorship partnership with energy giant BP.
Activists held banners and flags to occupy the atrium of the museum. As tourists pass by, they applaud and chant "I believe we will win" and "Your profits are stained with blood". There were also activists throwing leaflets from upstairs.
Some visitors are infected by it and also "sit down and join the event".
Last year, Israel's Ministry of Energy issued licenses to energy companies, including BP, to explore for natural gas off the coast of Gaza.
In December of the same year, the British Museum confirmed that its partnership with BP would be extended for a further ten years, accepting a £50 million grant from BP as funding for the maintenance of monuments. This sparked the on-site protest organized by activists.
It was only after the police arrived that the activists slowly dispersed. A spokesperson for the British Museum said: "The British Museum respects the right of others to express their views and allows peaceful protests on the Museum site, as long as there is no risk to the collections, staff or visitors. ”
NHS has a record number of employees overseas
According to NHS data, one in five NHS jobs is now held by non-UK nationals.
Three-in-10 doctors and nurses working in health services are from overseas, the highest proportion on record.
In September 2023, the proportion of overseas staff in the NHS England was 20.4%, up from 13% in 2016 and 11.9% in 2009 when it was first announced.
The largest proportion of overseas medical staff are Indians, accounting for 10.1 per cent of full-time nurses and 8 per cent of doctors.
3.7% of NHS doctors are from Pakistan, 2.9% from Egypt and 2% from Nigeria.
Of NHS nurses, 7.7 per cent are in the Philippines, 2.5 per cent in Nigeria and 1.1 per cent in Ireland.
However, not all NHS jobs have seen an increase in overseas staff, with the number of attending doctors from overseas remaining at around 22%.
The NHS has staff from 214 countries, with India, Portugal and Ghana in the top 10.
Alex Baylis, assistant director of policy at the charity's Kings Foundation, noted there are currently 120,000 vacancies in the NHS England, including 42,000 nursing and 9,000 doctors.
"As professional training takes years, the NHS will be more reliant on overseas recruiters for the next five years if vacancies are to be filled," he stressed. ”
Last year, the NHS unveiled a long-term workforce plan, pledging to halve the number of foreign doctors over the next 15 years and double the number of medical school places for homegrown graduates.
A spokesperson for the UK Department of Health and Social Security said: "The first NHS long-term manpower programme was commissioned by the government. With £2.4bn support, the plan will double the number of places in medical schools, almost double the number of adult nurse training places, and increase the number of GP training places to 50% by 2031. ”