Category Archives: UK news

Davos 2019: Prince William interviews Sir David Attenborough – live

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Rolling coverage of the first day of the World Economic Forum in Davos, including appearances from Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, Prince William, Sir David Attenborough and New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern

I’m delighted to report that Prince William has cracked a joke.

We’re being shown a dramatic clip from Our Planet, of a glacier ‘calving’ -- a massive skyscraper-sized piece of ice, surging upwards and away from the rest of the sheet (making the most almighty din)

Attenborough is now plugging his new TV venture, Our Planet, created with the World Wildlife Fund.

It’ll be shown on Netflix, Attenborough says excitedly, saying that this will give a new audience for his work.

Now, with Netflix, it is possible for a show to be seen by 150 million people overnight.

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UK gives £2.5m to help salvage Yemen ceasefire

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Funding comes as UN officials fear cessation of hostilities in Hodeidah might soon collapse

The UN’s increasingly fraught attempt to salvage a ceasefire in the Yemeni port of Hodeidah that could lead to a wider peace across the war-torn country is to be shored up by extra money from the UK to support the civilian administration of the city.

The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, announced an initial extra £2.5m funding on Tuesday amid signs that the UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, is struggling to gain agreement even on basic confidence-building measures such as prisoner swaps.

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No-deal Brexit would mean hard Irish border, EU confirms

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Spokesman says it is ‘pretty obvious’ border controls would be needed under no deal

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The EU has confirmed it will enforce a hard border on the island of Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit, despite the risk it would pose to peace.

In comments that will be highly uncomfortable for Dublin, Jean-Claude Juncker’s chief spokesman told reporters it was “pretty obvious” that border infrastructure would be necessary if the UK were to leave without deal.

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Cardiff City’s Emiliano Sala was on missing plane, French authorities say

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• Flight from Nantes to Cardiff missing over Channel
• Sala signed for Cardiff for £15m last Saturday

Emiliano Sala, the Argentinian footballer who signed for Cardiff City last Saturday, was on a private plane that disappeared near the Channel Islands on Monday evening, the French civil aviation authority has said.

A small plane – a Piper Malibu – travelling from Nantes to Cardiff went missing near the Casquets lighthouse, with Sala one of two people on board.

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State secrets were on US man during Russia arrest, says his lawyer

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Paul Whelan, ex-marine accused of spying, may have been unaware of possession

A Russian lawyer for Paul Whelan, the US citizen accused of spying on Russia, has said his client was carrying state secrets when he was arrested in Moscow but may not have realised it.

Whelan, an ex-marine, has been accused of an unspecified “act of espionage”, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

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May claims EU second referendum would threaten ‘social cohesion’

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PM faces a looming revolt over a no-deal Brexit as Corbyn criticises her talks as ‘PR sham’

Theresa May doubled down on her opposition to a second Brexit referendum on Monday night, claiming it would threaten Britain’s “social cohesion” and insisting the centrepiece of her strategy remained negotiating changes to the Irish backstop.

With just 67 days to go until Britain is due by law to leave the European Union, May exasperated MPs and business groups by offering scant evidence that she was willing to change course.

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David Schwimmer lookalike held after missing court hearing

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Abdulah Husseini, a suspect in theft case that went viral online, arrested in London

A suspected thief who resembles the Friends star David Schwimmer has been arrested after failing to appear in court before Christmas.

An arrest warrant was issued last month for Abdulah Husseini, 36, from Slough, after he did not attend a hearing in Blackpool over allegations of theft and fraud.

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Sean Rigg death: Met officers’ hearing could be scrapped

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The officers claim innocence of the 2008 death of the musician in custody in Brixton, London

The family of a man who died in police custody may suffer more delays in uncovering the truth as five officers facing a disciplinary hearing beginning on Monday morning are considering asking for the hearing to be scrapped, the Guardian has learned.

The Metropolitan police officers potentially face the sack over the 2008 death of musician Sean Rigg, 40, who died after being restrained.

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Super blood wolf moon: stargazers battle cold and clouds to view lunar eclipse

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Thousands have endured sub-zero temperatures in US and parts of Europe to see rare celestial event

Thousands of stargazers across the northern hemisphere have battled sub-freezing temperatures to catch a glimpse of a lunar extravaganza known as a super blood wolf moon.

The rare celestial event takes places when the moon is positioned slightly closer to the Earth than normal, and appears slightly bigger and brighter than normal – a phenomenon called a super moon. During the total eclipse, the moon was expected to give off a coppery red glow on the lunar surface as it slips into Earth’s shadow, known as a blood moon.

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EU citizen registration in UK could become ‘new Windrush’, say migration experts

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Critics warn many could be left without legal status to stay if settlement scheme fails

Migration experts have warned that the post-Brexit system for registering EU citizens living in the UK could become a new “Windrush scandal” as the scheme to register an estimated 3.5 million EU citizens living in the UK begins.

From Monday, the third phase of testing will open to EU residents in the UK, who will be able to register for the new post-Brexit “settled status”. The Home Office is extending its live trial to all EU citizens who hold a valid passport and any non-EU citizen family members who hold a valid biometric residence card.

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‘No solutions’ to Irish backstop in May’s Brexit call with cabinet

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Statement on Monday expected to focus on finding a remedy to issue that threatens to split Tory party

Theresa May is expected to reject calls to forge a cross-party consensus on Brexit when she lays out her plan B to parliament on Monday, choosing instead to back new diplomatic efforts in Brussels to renegotiate the Irish backstop.

The prime minister held a conference call with her bitterly divided cabinet from the country retreat of Chequers on Sunday evening.

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Brexit: No 10 hits out at MPs trying to delay article 50 to avert no deal

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Downing Street says it is ‘extremely concerning’ MPs could attempt to override the government

Downing Street has said it is “extremely concerning” that MPs could attempt to override the government to suspend or delay the article 50 process to leave the EU in their effort to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

A slew of backbench amendments are expected to be attached to the prime minister’s statement on Monday on the way forward for the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

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Prince Philip has not said sorry for car crash, injured woman claims

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Emma Fairweather has reportedly said she is in a lot of pain after breaking her wrist in the collision but feels ignored

A woman who broke her wrist in a car crash with Prince Philip claims she has not received an apology from the royal family even though she could have been killed.

Emma Fairweather, 46, was a passenger in her unnamed friend’s Kia, along with her friend’s nine-month-old baby, when the collision with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Land Rover Freelander occurred as he pulled out on to the A149 near the Queen’s Norfolk estate on Thursday.

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Super blood wolf moon: rare total lunar eclipse to grace northern hemisphere skies

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Last blood moon for two years will combine with a supermoon to create unusual celestial phenomenon

An unusual set of circumstances will combine in the early hours of Monday morning in the skies above the northern hemisphere, resulting in a phenomenon called a super blood wolf moon.

A total lunar eclipse will give an apparent reddish colour to the lunar surface – known as a blood moon. At the same time, the moon will be slighty closer to Earth than normal and appear slightly bigger and brighter than usual – a phenomenon called a supermoon.

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Ministers agree to consider Lib Dem plans for new referendum

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Vince Cable says move follows cross-party talks on Brexit deadlock options

Cabinet ministers involved in cross-party talks on how to break the Brexit deadlock have given the first indication that they are prepared to examine plans for a potential second referendum on the UK’s departure from the EU, according to the Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Vince Cable.

The offer to examine a possible timetable for a second vote drawn up by the Lib Dems was made during discussions between senior Liberal Democrats and two cabinet ministers involved in the talks, Michael Gove and David Lidington, in the Cabinet Office on Thursday morning.

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Women around the world march against austerity and violence

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Tens of thousands take to city streets to protest against violence and the impact of austerity on their lives

Propelled by a mass public rendition of Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves and accompanied by a thudding police helicopter overhead, hundreds of protesters have rallied in central London in solidarity with an estimated 89 Women’s Marches worldwide.

In Athens, Berlin, Washington DC and Los Angeles, to name just a few, tens of thousands of demonstrators turned out to protest against violence against women and the impact of policies of austerity. They also had some choice words for Donald Trump and Theresa May.

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