Category Archives: UK news

Wordle creator overwhelmed by global success of hit puzzle

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Josh Wardle developed game to play with his partner – and now more than 2m others have joined in

Wordle, a deceptively simple online word puzzle, has had a meteoric rise since its launch last autumn, from 90 daily players in November to 300,000 at the beginning of January, to 2 million last weekend. But, for its creator, the game’s rapid success has resulted in as much anxiety as excitement.

The game has become an unexpected grassroots hit for Josh Wardle, who developed it for his puzzle-loving partner. The pair played it for fun on their sofa, and other users slowly began to join them.

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Prince Andrew can sell Swiss chalet after settling £6.6m debt, say reports

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Settling of debt will allow Duke of York, who faces large legal bills over sexual assault lawsuit, to sell chalet reportedly worth £18m

The Duke of York has settled a £6.6m debt with a French socialite allowing him to sell a Swiss chalet as he faces escalating legal bills over the sexual assault civil lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, according to reports.

Isabelle de Rouvre, 74, who sold the property to Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, in 2014 for a reported £18m, said: “The war is over. He has paid the money.”

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Covid live: China locks down city of 5 million; enough vaccines for Canadians to get fourth dose, says Trudeau

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China locks down city of Anyang, bringing total under stay-at-home orders to 20m; Canada will give eligible people a fourth dose ‘if necessary’

Five million residents in the central Chinese city of Anyang have started home confinement today in a new lockdown to curb the spread of Omicron variant, according to state media and as reported by Agence France-Presse.

Two Omicron cases were detected in the city in Henan province, prompting authorities to announce a lockdown late Monday, issuing a notice ordering residents not to leave their homes or drive cars on the roads, state news agency Xinhua reported.

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UK Covid death toll has passed 175,000, says ONS

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Figure of 176,035 differs significantly from government’s official count – which exceeded 150,000 at weekend

The UK’s main statistical body has reported more than 175,000 deaths involving Covid since the start of the pandemic.

The ONS has reported 176,035 deaths where Covid was mentioned on the death certificate since March 2020. The figure differs significantly from the government’s official count – which exceeded 150,000 deaths over the weekend – which requires patients to have had a positive test within 28 days before their death.

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UK Covid live: party revelations show PM has done ‘incalculable damage’ to trust in health measures, Labour says

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Latest updates: health minister Edward Argar says he can understand why people are ‘upset and angry’ about reports

The Conservative mayor for the West Midlands, Andy Street, whose mother died of Covid last year, has said news of a party at Downing Street during the first lockdown is “pretty incredible” and that he is “very hungry” to find out what happened.

Speaking to BBC Radio West Midlands, Street said he was shocked when he read the news. He said:

When I saw this I thought, I can’t really believe this, if I’m honest. It was May 2020, a time when we were all restricted. My idea of going out was to walk along the canal with one friend, frankly, and I’m sure there’s lots of people in the West Midlands who have their own recollections of what they were doing in May 2020. So yes, it is very difficult to believe.

What we don’t know is whether the prime minister was there. I obviously can’t possibly comment on that, but that’s why the inquiry has got to come.

And I’m sure that when the inquiry finds out the facts, then the conclusions and the consequences will be acted upon.

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Health minister admits public will be ‘angry’ over No 10 lockdown party

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Ed Argar says he understands public anger after email unearthed inviting staff to drinks in the garden

A health minister has admitted the public will be “upset and angry” at revelations that a senior official invited more than 100 Downing Street staff to a “bring your own booze” party during the first lockdown.

In a tacit acknowledgment of the strength of feeling at the latest revelations, Ed Argar said he had personally not attended any parties and had been aware of the regulations, “not least because I was a health minister who’d helped draw them up”.

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Heathrow demands end to Covid testing for vaccinated as 600,000 cancel flights

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Airport says passengers abandoned plans because of Omicron variant and uncertainty on restrictions

Heathrow airport has said at least 600,000 passengers cancelled their travel plans from the airport in December because of Omicron, warning aviation would take years to recover from the pandemic.

Only 19.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2021 – less than a quarter of 2019 levels and below even 2020, the year when the Covid-19 pandemic started in March.

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Roman town’s remains found below Northamptonshire field on HS2 route

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Findings surpass experts’ expectations after buildings, wells, coins and wide road discovered

A wealthy Roman trading town, whose inhabitants adorned themselves with jewellery and ate from fine pottery, has been discovered half a metre below the surface of a remote field in Northamptonshire.

A 10-metre-wide Roman road, domestic and industrial buildings, more than 300 coins and at least four wells have been unearthed at the site, where 80 archaeologists have been working for the past 12 months.

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Email shows Boris Johnson aide invited No 10 staff to lockdown ‘BYOB’ party

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Police investigating reports that Martin Reynolds invited 100 employees and PM attended at time when social mixing was banned

Boris Johnson was accused on Monday night of an “utterly outrageous” breach of lockdown rules as a leaked email showed one of his top officials invited more than 100 Downing Street staff to a “bring your own booze” party during the first lockdown. The police are now investigating.

The prime minister is believed to have attended the No 10 garden party on 20 May 2020 along with Carrie Johnson, then his fiancee, after it was advertised by his principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds.

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20 May 2020: what was UK doing while No 10 aide organised a party?

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At the time, there was no mixing indoors, non-essential shops were shut, and hospitality businesses remained closed

To many, May 2020 may feel like a lifetime ago, so much has happened in the last 20 months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On 20 May 2020, when the prime minister’s private secretary was inviting colleagues to bring their own booze for socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden to “make the most of this lovely weather”, the rest of the country was in a very different position.

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Cambridge University scraps prisoners programme after 2019 terror attack

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Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones were killed by convicted terrorist at event at Fishmonger’s Hall

Cambridge University has scrapped a programme that taught prisoners alongside students after the deadly 2019 Fishmonger’s Hall terrorist attack was carried out at one of its events.

Jack Merritt, 25, who was employed by the Learning Together programme at the time, and Saskia Jones, 23, who was one of its volunteers, were killed by the convicted terrorist Usman Khan at an event to mark the fifth anniversary of the scheme.

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France to push for EU-wide UK migration treaty over Channel crossings

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French government wants whole bloc to act despite warnings other member states have no appetite

France will press the EU to negotiate an asylum and migration treaty with the UK in an attempt to deter people from making the dangerous Channel crossing.

The French government, which last week took up the six-month rotating presidency of the EU council of ministers, wants the whole bloc to act, despite warnings that other member states have no appetite for a migration treaty with Britain.

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‘It felt like losing a husband’: the fraudsters breaking hearts – and emptying bank accounts

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Romance scams robbed Britons of nearly £100m last year. Thanks to online dating and the pandemic, these cruel crimes are more sophisticated and prevalent than ever

In February 2019, Anna, a finance professional in her 50s, joined the dating website Zoosk. She had been single for four years, recovering from an incredibly difficult, abusive marriage. “I was finally ready to meet someone,” she says.

So, when she met Andrew, a handsome Bulgarian food importer living in London, she was thrilled. The pair were soon spending hours talking on the phone each day. Anna was smitten. “He showered me with love and affection,” she says. “If you imagine candy floss, I was the stick and he was the sugar wrapped around me. I felt as though I was floating.”

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Covid live: Record numbers admitted to US hospitals with coronavirus; Sweden to introduce stricter curbs

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Over 132,000 patients currently on US wards with Covid; Swedish measures include work from home mandate

Two of New Zealand’s most prominent Covid-19 experts have warned that the country is unprepared to prevent the health system from being overloaded by an Omicron outbreak, with likely fatal consequences.

Otago University’s Dr Nick Wilson and Dr Michael Baker also said it was only a “matter of weeks” before the highly transmissible variant seeped into the community due to border failures.

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UK government urges all pregnant women to get immediate Covid jab

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Campaign comes as figures show almost all expectant mothers hospitalised with coronavirus symptoms were unvaccinated

The UK government is warning that almost all pregnant women admitted to hospital with Covid symptoms were unvaccinated in one analysis over several months last year, as it kicks off an advertising campaign encouraging expectant mothers to get boosted.

The campaign is calling on pregnant women not to wait to get either their first, second or booster jab. It will highlight the risks of Covid-19 to mothers and babies, with testimonies of pregnant women who have had the vaccine to be broadcast on radio and social media.

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Platinum pudding for Queen’s jubilee to follow 1953’s coronation chicken

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Fortnum & Mason’s judges include Mary Berry and event will form part of celebrations for 70-year reign

Fortnum & Mason is launching a competition to find a dish celebrating the Queen’s 70 years on the throne, marking the beginning of official jubilee festivities.

Much like Poulet Reine Elizabeth, more commonly known as coronation chicken, invented by Le Cordon Bleu London for the Queen’s coronation banquet in 1953, it is hoped the Platinum Pudding competition will serve as a long-lasting reminder of the 95 year-old monarch’s reign.

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Brexit changes will add to soaring costs in 2022, warn UK manufacturers

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Make UK says two-thirds of companies fear customs delays and red tape from new rules will further hamper supply chains

Manufacturers have warned that Brexit will add to soaring costs facing British industry, amid concerns that customs delays and red tape will rank among the biggest challenges for firms this year.

Make UK, the industry body representing 20,000 manufacturing firms of all sizes from across the country, said that while optimism among its members had grown, it was being undermined by the after-effects of the UK’s departure from the EU.

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‘Living with Covid’ does not have to mean ditching all protective measures

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Analysis: reports and denials that free LFTs will be axed highlight gulf in opinions on how to move forward

Reports on Sunday that free lateral flow tests could be axed under a strategy of living with Covid within weeks were met with a swift backlash. The government promptly denied the suggestion that free tests could soon be scrapped.

The story highlights a gulf in opinions on what “living with Covid” might look like, with some saying we will achieve this only through continued caution and others equating the phrase to ditching all Covid measures and partying like it’s 2019.

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Nadhim Zahawi: UK should lead move from pandemic to endemic Covid – video

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The education secretary has called for the UK to show the rest of the world how to move from 'pandemic to endemic' Covid, as he suggested it would be helpful to cut the isolation period to five days to ease workforce shortages. Nadhim Zahawi also played down suggestions that the government was about to start charging for lateral flow tests, which would lead to fewer infections in the community being identified

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