Child among ski chalet group who came into contact with Briton who had been in Singapore
Five British nationals including a child have been diagnosed with the coronavirus in France, after staying in the same ski chalet and coming into contact with a Briton who had been in Singapore, the French health minister said.
Agnès Buzyn said none of the patients were in a serious condition.
Continue reading...British actors including Judi Dench and James Corden among worst actor nominees
The widely panned movie musical Cats and four of its stars have been nominated for Razzie awards, an annual ritual that lampoons the worst of cinema.
James Corden, Judi Dench, Rebel Wilson and Francesca Hayward received Razzie acting nominations for their Cats roles, in which they wore digitally created fur. Oscar winner Dench was singled out for “looking suspiciously similar to the Cowardly Lion from Wizard of Oz”, organisers said in a statement announcing the nominees.
Continue reading...Republican party is hoping poll surge will translate into a parliamentary breakthrough
Voters are going to the polls in Ireland after a tumultuous general election campaign during which Sinn Féin has surged into contention as a potential party of government.
The republican party hopes a rise in popularity among young and urban voters will translate into enough parliamentary gains to make it a kingmaker or participant in Ireland’s next coalition government.
Continue reading...Police say John Kercher was found with series of injuries after incident in south London
The father of the murdered student Meredith Kercher has died after a suspected hit-and-run incident in south London, police have said.
Scotland Yard confirmed on Friday that John Kercher, 77, had died six days earlier, having been found suffering from a series of injuries on 13 January. Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident.
Continue reading...Dangerous conditions fail to deter record number of people from attempting to enter UK
The approach of Storm Ciara has not deterred 102 people from trying to cross the Channel on Friday.
Five inflatable boats carrying migrants who said they were from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Syria were picked up by Border Force, the Home Office said.
Continue reading...David Kaye speaks out over decision to allow NSO Group to exhibit at trade fair
An independent UN investigator has criticised the British government’s decision to host a surveillance company whose technology is allegedly used by repressive regimes to intercept the private messages of journalists and human rights activists.
David Kaye, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression, who has called for a global moratorium on the sale of such technology, said democratic governments “should be outraged and should develop global standards for the exports of such tools” that respected the rule of law and human rights.
Continue reading...You take comfort where you can. Especially at a time like this, when the side of progress is beleaguered, when left or liberal values are taking a hammering on every front, apparently losing every battle, it’s natural to cling to whatever blanket of consolation we can find. When a single week can see Britain leave the European Union and Donald Trump bragging and swaggering in vengeful celebration as he escapes punishment for a high crime he clearly committed, the need for soothing can become intense. One such solace is that, despite the concrete defeats visible all around us, the left is somehow “winning the argument”.
Related: Without the BBC we could be facing a post-truth dystopia | Jonathan Freedland
Continue reading...Former UN climate envoy joins list of experts frustrated at Britain’s lack of leadership
The UK is showing a “lack of coherence” in its leadership of vital UN climate crisis talks this year and giving the damaging impression that the talks are not a high priority, one of the world’s leading voices on the climate crisis has said.
Mary Robinson, a former UN climate envoy and Ireland’s first female president, also said the perception that major British politicians, including the ex-prime minister David Cameron and former foreign secretary William Hague, were unwilling to take on the role of leading the COP 26 summit was damaging.
Continue reading...Smaller steak advertised as ‘one for the ladies!’ at Manhattan Bar and Grill
A restaurant in Liverpool has attracted online ridicule for selling an 8oz “ladies fillet” steak, which is smaller than the other cuts on its menu.
The entry for the £18.95 dish on the Manhattan Bar and Grill menu reads: “One for the ladies! A beautiful 8oz cut, because we can!”
Continue reading...David Abel says in video update on Facebook that he had been dining with fellow Briton who tested positive for coronavirus on a cruise ship docked in Japan. He said Alan Steele was on honeymoon and would be separated from his wife as he was taken off the ship for treatment. Abel has been sharing videos on social media of life under quarantine on the Diamond Princess
Continue reading...Raising flag would be ‘inappropriate’ after prince stepped back from public duties over Epstein scandal, says MP
The British government has changed the policy of flying flags on royal birthdays, with local authorities no longer required to raise the Union Flag for Prince Andrew.
Officials earlier said they were considering how the policy applied “in changing circumstances, such as when members of the royal family step back from their duties”, according to a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Continue reading...US president was reportedly furious about PM’s decision to use Chinese 5G expertise
Downing Street has sought to play down the significance of a difficult phone call between Donald Trump and Boris Johnson over the UK’s decision to allow Chinese company Huawei to help build its 5G network.
Trump was reported by the FT to have been “apoplectic” about the decision taken by Johnson, and the phone call last week was said by one official to have been “very difficult” and tense.
Continue reading...PCS union chief Mark Serwotka says party must not lose ‘radical anti-establishment, socialist message’
A key ally of Jeremy Corbyn has said failing to elect Rebecca Long-Bailey to be the Labour party’s next leader risks turning the clock back to 2015 and the leadership of Ed Miliband.
Mark Serwotka, head of the civil servants’ union PCS, said that the other candidates – Keir Starmer, Lisa Nandy and Emily Thornberry – would either struggle to maintain the radical policies of Jeremy Corbyn or have failed to realise that prevarication over the party’s Brexit policy was a key reason for the devastating 2019 defeat.
Continue reading...In London for LSE symposium, politicians express confusion at Britain’s post-Brexit stance
A flood of senior German politicians visiting the UK this week have been left confused and unnerved by the hardline rhetoric set out by Boris Johnson on trade talks, prompting warnings that the risk of a breakdown, or a no-deal Brexit, is as high as it has ever been.
Germany takes on the EU presidency in the second half of this year, and will have a crucial role in helping the European commission to steer the talks on a future UK-EU trading relationship to a successful conclusion by the end of the transition period in December.
Continue reading...Legal action from Rights Watch (UK) comes amid spate of terror attacks in London
The government’s failure to appoint an independent reviewer of its Prevent strategy and assess the controversial de-radicalisation programme’s effectiveness is to be challenged in court.
The decision by Rights Watch (UK) to initiate legal action against the Home Office comes amid terror attacks in London that raise questions about whether young men can be successfully directed away from terrorist violence.
Continue reading...PM told to say sorry for remark about ‘spaffing’ money up wall as 4,024 claims lead to guilty verdicts
Police say they are uncovering a hidden “epidemic” of paedophile abuse in the 1970s and 1980s, with thousands of allegations leading to convictions against people who abused their power to attack children.
New figures seen by the Guardian show that 4,024 allegations led to guilty verdicts at court after police investigations since 2014 into decades-old child sex offences.
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs
The SDLP’s Colum Eastwood asks about the involvement of the IRA in the murder of Paul Quinn in 2007. It was claimed Quinn was a criminal, he says. That was a lie, he says.
Johnson says the government will implement the Stormont House agreement so as to provide justice for victims.
The SNP’s Owen Thompson asks when the report into Russian interference in UK elections will be published.
Johnson says it will be published when the intelligence and security committee is reconstituted. He says conspiracy theorists will be disappointed by its conclusions.
Continue reading...Thousands on board Diamond Princess cruise ship in offshore quarantine in Japan after 10 people test positive, as China death toll passes 490
A hotel worker in the northern Italian city of Verona has tested negative for coronavirus.
The woman, who was isolated after coming down with a fever, is a member of staff at the same hotel where a Chinese couple being treated for the virus in Rome stayed for one night.
Here’s a report from Josh Taylor, a Guardian reporter based in Melbourne, that the Australian government is considering sending its citizens evacuated from Wuhan to isolated mining camps if Christmas Island reaches capacity for people being quarantined.
The home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, admitted there is the possibility that Christmas Island could reach capacity if the outbreak continues to spread. He said one option would be for people to share rooms, or potentially even open up other locations away from the rest of the Australian population.
Related: Coronavirus: 14th Australian case confirmed as Dutton says people could be sent to mining camps
Continue reading...Matt Hancock’s comments come as UK seeks tougher sentencing for terrorists
A senior government minister has raised further questions over Britain’s relationship with the European convention on human rights (ECHR) as Boris Johnson scrambles to push through tougher sentencing for terrorists.
Legal experts have suggested the government’s intended plan to extend the time terrorists serve in prison could be in breach of the ECHR, to which Britain has been signed up for decades.
Continue reading...Move will cost €200m over five years but have limited financial impact on UK operations
Vodafone is to remove Huawei equipment from the sensitive, core parts of its mobile networks across Europe at a cost of €200m (£169m) over the next five years.
The group, which has 111 million customers across Europe, has taken the decision after the UK government’s move last week to limit the use of Huawei equipment in the country’s 5G network.
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