Category Archives: UK news

Top lawyer accused of relaying offer of £1m ‘bribe’ to police, say court transcripts

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Exclusive: Mishcon de Reya partner Mike Stubbs allegedly relayed offer as part of plot to release €300m from Swiss bank account

A lawyer at one of the UK’s most prestigious law firms has been accused of relaying an offer of a £1m “bribe” to police officers as part of a bizarre plot to release €300m (£274m) hidden in a Swiss bank account, according to court transcripts obtained by the Guardian.

Mike Stubbs, a partner at Mishcon de Reya, allegedly told two Metropolitan police detectives that a former SAS sergeant with intelligence contacts had concocted a plan to release what were described as “CIA funds” being held in the Swiss bank for “covert” purposes in Somalia.

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Boris Johnson says ‘anti-vaxxers are nuts’

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Prime minister makes comments while promoting extension of free winter flu jabs

Boris Johnson has said people opposed to vaccinations are “nuts” as he promotes an expanded programme of flu jabs that ministers hope will ease pressure on the NHS if there is a second wave of coronavirus this winter.

Visiting a doctors’ surgery in London on Friday, the prime minister said to staff: “There’s all these anti-vaxxers now. They are nuts, they are nuts.”

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Coronavirus live news: US cases top 4m as WHO chief chides Pompeo for ‘untrue’ claims

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US Secretary of State’s reported comments ‘untrue, unacceptable and without foundation’ says WHO; Trump cancels Jacksonville RNC; Bolsonaro not distancing despite positive test. Follow the latest updates

US infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci has thrown out the first pitch at a Nationals-Yankees game, and it didn’t go amazingly well, but it did lead to some okay Covid-19 jokes:

Fauci finally flattened the curve pic.twitter.com/I0zUwbl6OH

The US surpassed 4m coronavirus cases on Thursday, after more than 1,100 new Covid-19-related deaths were reported in a single day on Wednesday for the first time since late May.

As states continue to dial back reopening efforts, nearly every metric for tracking the outbreak has shown a worsening spread. The US politicians volunteering other people’s lives to fight Covid-19Read more

Related: US surpasses 4m Covid-19 cases as states dial back reopening

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Coronavirus live news: record daily rise in global cases with almost 285,000 new infections

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Biggest increases were from the US, Brazil, India and South Africa, according to the World Health Organization

Brazil has registered an additional 1,156 deaths over the last 24 hours and another 55,891 confirmed cases, the health ministry has said. The South American nation has now registered 85,238 deaths and 2,343,366 total confirmed cases.

Footage of Niagara Falls tour boats highlights the stark differences in physical distancing between Canadian and US-managed companies.

The Canadian tour company Hornblower Niagara Cruises’s ships can carry up to 700 people but Ontario’s strict rules have permitted them to carry only six passengers at a time.

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Britain and US accuse Russia of launching ‘weapon’ in space

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Launch of projectile from satellite into orbit ‘threatens the peaceful use of space’

The US and UK have accused Russia of testing an anti-satellite weapon in space, in the latest sign that a space-based arms race is heating up.

General John Raymond, the head of the new US Space Force, said the alleged test of a projectile, conducted on 15 July, was “further evidence of Russia’s continuing efforts to develop and test space-based systems, and consistent with the Kremlin’s published military doctrine to employ weapons that hold US and allied space assets at risk.”

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Crossrail opening delayed again due to coronavirus

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First section of Elizabeth line will not open as planned in summer 2021, board says

The heavily delayed Crossrail will not open as planned in summer 2021 because of delays caused by coronavirus, its board has said.

The troubled railway, from Berkshire to Essex via central London, was originally expected to open in December 2018 but repeated delays have pushed it back.

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Sturgeon accuses Johnson of using Covid-19 as ‘political weapon’

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First minister says no one should be ‘celebrating’ crisis as PM visits Scotland

Boris Johnson was accused of using the coronavirus pandemic “as some kind of political weapon” by Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, against a backdrop of rising tension over the future of the union.

Sturgeon accused the prime minster of “celebrating” the pandemic after Johnson used his first visit to Scotland since last December’s election to hammer home his message that the UK’s response to the virus exemplified the “sheer might” of the union. He claimed it would have spelled economic disaster for Scotland had it not been able to rely on the UK Treasury for assistance.

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‘Wave of silence’ spread around world during coronavirus pandemic

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Seismologists said high frequency noise fell as much as 50% as planes were grounded and roads emptied

An unprecedented wave of silence spread around the world in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, according to researchers who found that vibrations from human activity slumped under national lockdowns.

Records from seismic stations all over the planet show that high frequency noise caused by industrial plants, traffic and other activities fell as much as 50% as country after country imposed restrictions that grounded planes, emptied roads and brought down the shutters on shops and businesses.

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Children’s news website apologises to JK Rowling over trans tweet row

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The Day faced legal action from author after implying that her comments on gender harmed trans people

A news website aimed at British schoolchildren has agreed to pay an unsubstantiated amount after it implied that JK Rowling’s comments on gender caused harm to trans people.

The Day, which is recommended by the Department for Education and is designed to prompt teenagers to discuss current affairs, faced legal action from the Harry Potter author after publishing an article entitled: “Potterheads cancel Rowling after trans tweet”.

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Elton John’s ex-wife tells court she changed identity to shed ties to singer

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Renate Blauel claims damages as high as £3m for breach of privacy after the release of Rocketman

Sir Elton John’s ex-wife Renate Blauel adopted a new identity and went into hiding in a British village in an attempt to shed her connection to the singer, according to court filings in her multimillion pound legal case against the songwriter.

Blauel is seeking substantial damages from John, which could be as high as £3m, claiming he has caused her deep psychological distress by repeatedly breaching a 1988 divorce agreement to not discuss their marriage.

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Coronavirus in your area: are UK Covid-19 cases rising or falling near you?

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Latest updates: how has Covid-19 progressed where you live? Check the week-on-week changes across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The map shows local authorities where the number of cases has increased week-on-week and where it has fallen. Some of this is due to natural fluctuations, especially in areas where there are very few cases, and so a rise from 1 to 2 is a doubling. Increased testing also means that more cases may be being detected than previously, although the impact of this between one week and the next is likely to be slight.

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Donald Trump’s assault on the WHO is deeply worrying for global health | Peter Beaumont

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A diplomacy shaped around self-serving tittle-tattle now risks lives and undermines America’s standing in the world

The campaign by the Trump administration against the World Health Organization has often seemed faintly preposterous.

Over the months of the coronavirus pandemic its untruths and hyperbole have been dismissed by many as iterations of Trumpspeak, whose main purpose has been to distract from the US’s catastrophic response to Covid-19, which has claimed almost 140,000 lives and devastated the economy.

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Coronavirus live news: California sees record daily cases as global infections top 15m

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California Covid-19 cases pass New York’s after record day; WHO emergencies chief says vaccinations unlikely before 2021; global cases pass 15m. Follow the latest updates

The BBC reports that the coronavirus pandemic has pushed South Korea into a recession, with the country seeing a 2.9% fall in GDP:

South Korea has fallen into recession as the country reels from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw gross domestic product (GDP) fall by a worse-than-expected 2.9% in year-on-year terms, the steepest decline since 1998.

China plans to provide a $1bn loan to make its coronavirus vaccine accessible for countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, the Mexican foreign ministry said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

Mexico’s foreign ministry said in a statement that China had made the pledge in a virtual meeting between ministers from some Latin American and Caribbean countries.

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Antisemitism settlement plunges Labour party into civil war

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Jeremy Corbyn’s statement caused astonishment among litigants in libel action

Labour’s decision to pay a six-figure libel settlement to ex-staffers who claimed the party was failing to deal with antisemitism has plunged the party back into civil war, with Jeremy Corbyn publicly condemning his successor’s decision to settle the case.

Corbyn’s statement caused astonishment among the litigants in the libel action, with the Panorama journalist John Ware confirming to the Guardian that he was “consulting his lawyers” and raising the prospect of another costly court battle over Labour and antisemitism.

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Brexit negotiations have not broken down, say No 10 sources

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Downing Street officials say there has been neither ‘breakthrough nor breakdown’ on major sticking points

Downing Street sources have denied Brexit negotiations between the UK and European Union have broken down, but admit they are at an impasse.

After two full days of talks in London, No 10 officials described the current state of play as neither a “breakthrough nor a breakdown”. The latest round is expected to end on Thursday without advancing on a deal.

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Portugal police could reopen case into rape of Irish woman in 2004

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Possible inquiry into assault on Hazel Behan comes after claims against Madeleine McCann suspect

Portuguese police have begun a process that could lead to the reopening of an investigation into the unsolved rape of an Irish woman as they seek to build a case against a possible suspect in connection with the abduction of Madeleine McCann.

Detectives in Portugal last week collected the archived case file on the vicious assault in 2004 of Hazel Behan, who was working as a holiday rep in Praia da Rocha on the Algarve, according to a source in the public prosecutor’s office.

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Test and trace failing to contact thousands in England’s worst-hit areas

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Exclusive: proportion of close contacts being reached is below 80% in high infection areas

The government’s flagship test-and-trace system is failing to contact thousands of people in areas with the highest infection rates in England, raising further questions about the £10bn programme described by Boris Johnson as “world-beating”.

Local leaders and directors of public health are demanding more control over the tracing operation amid concerns that their ability to contain the virus is being put at risk.

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Coronavirus live news: WHO reports worrying infection trends in southern Europe and Balkans

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WHO says Americas remain global hotspot but cases accelerating in southern Europe, Balkans and Africa; Trump urges people to wear masks

As the coronavirus spreads around the world, there are concerns that it will mutate into a form that is more transmissible, more dangerous or both, potentially making the global health crisis even worse.

What do we know about the way the virus is evolving?

Related: Will Covid-19 mutate into a more dangerous virus?

The US federal government has signed a contract with Pfizer for 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccine, once it is approved.

The health and human services secretary, Alex Azar, said on Fox News:

We just signed a contract with global pharmaceutical leader Pfizer to produce 100 million doses of vaccine starting in December of this year with an option to buy a half a billion doses.

Now those would of course have to be safe and effective.

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Labour pays out six-figure sum and apologises in antisemitism row

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Party settles with whistleblowers and BBC reporter John Ware over ‘false allegations’


The Labour party has apologised “unreservedly” and paid out a six-figure sum to seven former employees and a veteran BBC journalist, admitting it defamed them in the aftermath of a Panorama investigation into its handling of antisemitism.

The settlement and formal apologies to both the reporter, John Ware, and the ex-employees, which have been read in open court, is believed to have cost the Labour party around £600,000, with about £180,000 in damages agreed for the eight individuals.

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