Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
Boris Johnson urges nation to unite in tribute as celebrations are adapted owing to Covid-19
RAF jets will roar over Britain to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day, as Boris Johnson urged the nation to unite in tribute to the achievement and sacrifice of the wartime generation.
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will lead a two-minute silence from Scotland on a day of celebration and commemoration which also includes a “national toast”, an address by the Queen, and a nationwide sing-a-long of Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again.
The government was on Thursday evening urgently trying to regain control of the next phase of the pandemic crisis as it faced fierce criticism and warnings that mixed messaging was priming the public to give up on the lockdown.
European committee says Britain should share same amount of fingerprint data as member states
The UK should be denied access to an EU crime-fighting system until it agrees to share more fingerprint data with member states, a European parliamentary committee has said.
The vote, in the European parliament’s justice and home affairs committee on Thursday, is not binding on EU decision-makers, but could prove influential as the UK seeks to negotiate a permanent deal on the exchange of fingerprint, DNA and other data as part of a long-term security relationship with the EU.
First people were meant to stay at home to save lives, and then government sources raised the prospect of picnics with pals and sunbathing in the park just before a sunny bank holiday weekend.
Boris Johnson told the nation that scientists thought face masks might help stop the spread of the disease, but no change was made to the government advice that they were not needed outside medical and care settings.
Travel industry could see an 80% decline in international arrivals for 2020 amid crisis that threatens livelihood of up to 120 million people
International tourism faces its worst crisis since records began, with up to 1.1bn fewer people taking trips globally in 2020. The scale of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact is outlined in a report by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which predicts a decline in international arrivals of between 58% and 80% this year.
This is due to widespread travel restrictions and the closure of airports and borders worldwide. The prediction of a 58% decline is based on the gradual reopening of international borders and easing of travel restrictions in early July; the 80% figure is based on early December.
PM Jacinda Ardern outlines easing curbs to allow domestic travel and eating out; White House says US-China relationship one of ‘disappointment’; eurozone’s future threatened. Follow the latest updates
A gas leak at a chemical factory in southern India has killed at least nine people and led to hundreds being taken to hospital, amid warnings that the death toll could climb higher.
Styrene leaked from the Korean-owned LG Polymers plant during the early hours of Thursday morning when families in the surrounding villages were asleep, a local official in Andra Pradesh state said.
Donald Trump has again suggested the US may need to accept the reality of more deaths in order to start reopening the economy, as governments around the world continued to ease out of lockdown restrictions.
Russia on the offensive, Brexit Britain stands alone, and US disdain for European allies recalls its naivety with Stalin
Victory in Europe was made possible by a remarkable military collaboration between the main anti-Axis powers – the US, Russia and Britain. But the three-way relationship, between Franklin D Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill, was never easy, and it set a pattern of national rivalry, suspicion, fear and distrust that persists to this day.
A row over a top-secret message, known as SCAF-252, sent to Stalin in late March 1945 by Gen Dwight Eisenhower, the supreme allied commander, shows how fraught the relationship could be. In it, Eisenhower detailed his plans for the final defeat of Nazi Germany – but omitted to first consult or inform his British allies.
Last month, amid dire warnings of shortages of personal protective equipment for health workers, ministers publicised the imminent arrival from Turkey of a fleet of RAF cargo planes bringing in a “very significant” shipment of PPE for the NHS.
Zara Anne Radcliffe, 29, accused of killing John Rees, 88, and injuring three others
A 29-year-old woman has been charged with the murder of an elderly church warden and the attempted murder of three other people in an alleged stabbing incident in south Wales, police said.
Zara Anne Radcliffe will appear before Cardiff magistrates’ court on Thursday accused of stabbing to death John Rees, 88, who was allegedly attacked in a Co-op store in Penygraig, Rhondda Valley.
Since the coronavirus outbreak hit the UK the government has changed its strategy and public messaging a number of times, in some cases within days. Here are some of the areas where the line has changed:
Antibody tests have been hailed as a key to understanding the spread of the coronavirus and even as a means of easing us out of lockdown. But what are they, and what can they tell us?
Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s video posted on Save the Children UK’s Instagram page
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shared a rare public glimpse of their son, Archie, marking his first birthday on Wednesday with a video of him enjoying one of his favourite books, Duck! Rabbit!
The footage, shot by Harry during the lockdown birthday celebrations, showed Meghan cradling Archie, and was posted on Save the Children UK’s Instagram page in support of its coronavirus campaign to raise funds for children and families struggling in the pandemic.
Boris Johnson has said he wants to reach 200,000 coronavirus targets per day by end of May. Responding to a question by the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, at prime minister's questions about testing falling below the current target of 100,000 a day, Johnson said his ambition was to increase testing further to end the lockdown
Health secretary says Professor Neil Ferguson was right to step down after breaking lockdown rules; Boris Johnson to face Keir Starmer for the first time at PMQs
Rory Stewart has abandoned his bid to become London mayor, saying that campaigning has become impossible after the election was delayed due to the coronavirus crisis. The former Tory cabinet minister said it had been an “agonising decision” but it was unfair on the unpaid volunteers working on his campaign.
I have decided that I will not be standing again for Mayor in the now delayed 2021 election. It has been a great privilege to work with so many amazing people with such passion and vision for London. Thank you very much again from the bottom of my heart. https://t.co/pDve6kTcjq
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has just started taking part in a Q&A on Sky News. And he started by escalating the criticism of Prof Neil Ferguson, suggesting there could be a case for the police getting involved.
Asked by the presenter Kay Burley if Ferguson should be prosecuted for breaking the lockdown rules, Hancock replied:
You can imagine what my views are.
It’s a matter for the police. As a government minister, I’m not allowed to get involved in the operational decisions of police matters. But I think that the social distancing rules are very important and people should be followed.
Absolutely I back the police. I back the Scottish police, I would back the police here. They will take their decisions independently from ministers, that’s quite right. It’s always been like that.
And that’s why, even though I’ve got a view as to what I think, as a minister the way we run the police is that they make their decisions like this. So I give them their space to make that decision. But I think he took the right decision to resign.
President says it’s time to reopen businesses as US deaths top 70,000; number of Russian cases rises by more than 10,000 for fourth consecutive day; Spain set to extend state of emergency for two more weeks
Pope Francis has urged employers to respect the dignity of workers, particularly migrants, in the face of economic difficulties brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking at the end of his general audience, held from the papal library instead of St Peter’s Square because of Italy’s lockdown, he said:
It’s true that the crisis is affecting everyone but the dignity of people must always be respected.”
Taiwan has been relatively successful at controlling the virus, with 439 cases to date and six deaths, and 100 active infections, thanks to early prevention and detection efforts. The island has never gone into total lockdown, though the government has promoted social distancing and face masks.
War cabinet papers reveal PM’s concern French ally would pre-empt joint announcement
Winston Churchill believed a disgruntled general Charles de Gaulle intended to pre-empt the allies’ announcement of victory in Europe by 24 hours but felt unable to pressure him to change his plans, according to British war cabinet documents released free online by the National Archives during the lockdown.
VE Day will be celebrated for the 75th time on Friday 8 May but Gen Dwight Eisenhower, the supreme allied commander in north-west Europe, and the Soviet high command had actually received the German surrender in the French city of Reims on 7 May 1945 at 2.41am.
The Apprentice host is partner in firm whose teeth-whitening product he recommended
A tweet by Lord Sugar promoting a company set up by a winner of The Apprentice has broken the UK advertising rules.
In December, the 73-year-old host of the BBC television show posted a tweet encouraging people to buy a teeth whitening package as the “perfect Xmas gift”.
Otters are often scene playing with pebbles, throwing and catching them, known as 'stone juggling' and researchers from the University of Exeter believe they know why.
It was previously thought the game helped hone their foraging skills. The study revealed older and young otters tended to juggle more, but when the researchers tested them with food games, they were no better at solving them than adults, who are less likely to juggle.
Hunger was found to be a big factor in juggling and researches believe the action could be linked to excitement for food
Fake social media accounts also used to support Ron Paul’s presidential bid and the Occupy movement
Iran’s state broadcaster experimented with using fake social media accounts to influence the outcome of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and other western elections, according to a report from Facebook released on Tuesday.
The Iranian network, one of eight to be suspended for so-called “coordinated inauthentic behaviour” by the social media giant in April, points to efforts by state-linked groups to try to use Facebook to influence foreign democratic contests years before Russia’s alleged campaign against the 2016 US presidential contest.