Fare (Family Action in Rogerfield and Easterhouse) delivers food parcels to vulnerable families in the Greater Easterhouse area, east of Glasgow’s city centre.
It has also taken on the role of a food bank during the coronavirus crisis, delivering provisions to self-isolating elderly people
Continue reading...Brussels laments London’s failure to table comprehensive legal text to work on
Planned negotiating rounds on the UK’s future relationship with the EU have been abandoned as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with Boris Johnson’s government still to table a comprehensive legal text for both sides to work on.
During a European commission briefing on Thursday, envoys for the EU capitals were told that holding negotiations via video-conferencing had so far proved impossible.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak announced a new self-employed income support scheme on Thursday to help those struggling with the consequences of the coronavirus lockdown in the UK. Under the scheme, the government will pay the self-employed a taxable grant based on their previous earnings over the last three years, worth up to 80% of earnings, and capped at £2,500 a month
Continue reading...Elephant will launch on Disney+ days after Sussexes step back from being senior royals
The Duchess of Sussex is to narrate a Disney film which documents the journey of a family of elephants across the Kalahari desert in southern Africa, which will launch three days after she and Prince Harry “step back” from being senior royals.
Meghan will voice the Disneynature documentary Elephant, which will be available on Disney+ from 3 April, and is her first major acting role since becoming a royal.
Continue reading...Derbyshire police have defended using a drone to shame people into staying away from a national park during the lockdown. The force tweeted footage taken near Curbar Edge in the Peak District, insisting members of the public should not be driving there to walk their dogs or take photographs. 'It's not Big Brother,' a spokesman said. 'It's just to illustrate the fact that people are going out and making these journeys against the government's rules.'
Seven ships remained off UK coast for unusually long time this month
Nine Royal Navy ships were involved in a major operation shadowing seven Russian vessels who had lingered in the Channel for several days this month as the coronavirus crisis was beginning to worsen in the UK.
The unusually high level of Russian activity concluded about a week and a half ago and navy officials said they believed it was primarily a response to western exercises in Europe rather than to a perception that the disease was leaving the UK vulnerable.
Continue reading...A 40-year-old pastor suspected of having coronavirus has issued a plea from his hospital bed over social distancing. Struggling to speak, Mark McClurg, from County Down in Northern Ireland, said the virus 'wants to kill you' and 'take all the life out of your lungs'. 'Don't think for one moment that this is just a wee cold and cough you'll get', he warned
Continue reading...Offences including burglary and violence fall by as much as 20% in some areas
The coronavirus crisis has led to a drop in recorded crime, by as much as 20% in some areas.
Offences such as burglary and violence were down last week compared with the previous seven days, after Boris Johnson made his first request for people to stay home on the Monday.
Continue reading...Parts of London were almost entirely deserted on the second full day of national lockdown, after Boris Johnson ordered the country to stay at home unless absolutely necessary to halt the spread of the coronavirus
District Judge Vanessa Baraitser refused Assange’s release from Belmarsh Prison in London believing he still poses a flight risk
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s application for bail to avoid contracting the novel coronavirus has been denied by a British judge.
Assange was denied bail after arguing that his release from a UK prison would mitigate his “high risk” of catching coronavirus.
Continue reading...Proposals for England would allow use of ‘reasonable force’ if people refuse to go home
Police will be authorised to use force to send people back home if they refuse to obey the coronavirus lockdown, under government plans.
Ministers will issue fuller details by Thursday of how police will enforce the lockdown ordered by the prime minister on Monday, aimed at stopping the spread of the virus by keeping people apart.
Continue reading...A 51-year-old man suspected of having coronavirus has made an emotional plea for the public to take Covid-19 seriously. Gasping for breath and struggling to speak, Andy Hardwick says he has been floored by it. 'I wouldn't wish it on my enemy,' he says. 'My spine hurts, my back hurts. You don't want to talk, you get shortness of breath if you move around.'
Continue reading...Boris Johnson has thanked the 405,000 people who have responded to the government's call for volunteers to help the NHS support vulnerable people during the coronavirus crisis. On Tuesday, health secretary Matt Hancock asked for 250,000 volunteers
The building work to turn London’s ExCel conference centre into an emergency hospital treating coronavirus patients 'within days' has begun.
As construction began on Wednesday morning, Alex Woodside, who has been working on the cabling, posted a chilling video on Facebook showing the cavernous 100,000 sq metre Docklands site, saying: 'If you are not taking this seriously, like I wasn't, I think we really need to start'
Continue reading...Jeremy Corbyn pushed Boris Johnson for clarity on government guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic in his last PMQs as the leader of the opposition.
The prime minister said he agreed with Corbyn that people are having to make a sacrifice, but they are doing so gladly
Continue reading...Supreme court says UK broke law because it did not get assurance that men would not face death penalty
The government’s decision to cooperate with US authorities over the prosecution of two alleged Islamic State executioners without assurances that they would not face the death penalty was unlawful, the supreme court has ruled.
In a unanimous judgment that will have repercussions for US-UK relations, the court’s seven justices said the home secretary’s agreement to provide evidence about El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey breached data protection rules.
Continue reading...India locks down; Prince Charles tests positive for coronavirus; Senate and White House reach stimulus deal
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael say they’ve “agreed the need form a strong, stable government” in Ireland as the number of confirmed cases in the country rises by 235 to 1,564. Ireland’s health department has also confirmed two more deaths, bringing the total number to nine.
The Irish general election earlier this year resulted in an almost tied result with Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael dominating. None won enough seats to form a government by itself and numerous rounds of talks between parties have failed to result in an agreement to form a coalition government. The statement reads:
Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael met this afternoon and had a productive meeting. They both agree the need to form a strong stable government that will help Ireland recover post Covid-19.
They are working to develop a programme for government that provides stability and majority support in the Dáil. They will meet again over the coming days and will both continue to reach out and engage with other parties.
Andy Burnham, a former UK health secretary and now the mayor of Greater Manchester in the north of England, says he is taking legal advice on whether firms forcing employees to work without adequate protection and not observing guidance to keep them two metres apart are breaking the law.
After a conference call with Greater Manchester MPs, he tweeted:
... I am taking legal advice about whether @gmpolice or other GM agencies can take enforcement action against companies which are exposing their employees in this way. If you would like to make a confidential report, please do so using: the.mayor@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk 2/2
Following government instructions to stay at home, the move to accommodate hundreds of homeless people in hotel rooms is a recognition of the vulnerability of many rough sleepers and homeless people in shared accommodation spaces, and their need for support and a safe place to stay at this difficult time.
Continue reading...Warning after crimes including theft of oxygen canisters and puncturing of ambulance tyres
Police chiefs have warned the coronavirus pandemic could “bring out the worst in humanity” after a spate of opportunistic crimes hindered efforts to control the crisis.
The theft of oxygen canisters from a hospital, the puncturing of ambulance tyres and the raiding of food banks by thieves were among the “worrying isolated incidents” in recent days raised by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).
Continue reading...The Metropolitan police have released footage of officers clearing Shepherd's Bush Green, west London, of sunbathers on the first day of the UK-wide coronavirus lockdown. 'Can you all go home please,' one officer can be heard saying. 'It's not a holiday, it's a lockdown.'
Under tough new measures announced by Boris Johnson on Monday, people are allowed to leave their homes only to exercise once a day, to travel to and from 'absolutely necessary' work, and to shop for essential items.
Continue reading...Dow Jones has best day since 1933, with Asian and European markets also up, after US move
Global stock markets staged a strong rally on Tuesday as investors were buoyed by the Federal Reserve’s efforts to boost the US economy and the prospect of Congress backing a fiscal stimulus package.
The Dow Jones recorded its best day since 1933 as it gained 11.4%, or 2,113 points, while the FTSE 100 posted its highest ever gain, of 452 points, as it rose 9% to 5,446.
Continue reading...