Category Archives: UK news

Covid live: Italy imposes mandatory testing for all EU arrivals; Poland announces further curbs as deaths rise

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Latest updates: unvaccinated arrivals must quarantine for five days; Poland reported 660 deaths in a day, the highest since April

A member of United States secretary of state Antony Blinken’s travelling press pool has tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival in Kuala Lumpur and is isolating, a state department spokesperson said.

Secretary Blinken and his senior staff were also tested upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur and were all tested negative, Reuters reports.

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Colston statue ‘cast a shadow’ over Bristol, court hears in BLM protest trial

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Defence says memorial to slave trader toppled last June was ‘indecent and threatening’ to city’s black community

The statue of Edward Colston in Bristol was “a monument to racism”, a court has heard, as a defendant described the moment he gave the signal to topple the memorial to the slave trader.

Rhian Graham, 30, Milo Ponsford, 26, and Sage Willoughby, 22, are accused of helping to tear down the statue of the slave trader during a Black Lives Matter protest on 7 June last year. They are on trial alongside Jake Skuse, 33, who is accused of helping to roll the bronze to Bristol harbour where it was thrown into the River Avon.

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Millions of unjabbed a key concern as England scrambles to vaccinate

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Government’s ‘Get boosted now’ slogan means little in areas where up to 30% of people have had no vaccine at all

In the Newtown ward of central Birmingham, the government’s “Get boosted now” slogan means nothing to half of over-16s, because they have not had any vaccination against Covid at all.

It is a similar story in Westminster and Camden in London where among the over-12s, 30% have not had a single jab. In Nottingham, a quarter of the whole population face the coming Omicron “tidal wave” unvaccinated.

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Sotheby’s sells record $7.3bn of art so far in 2021

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Auction house credits younger, tech-savvy collectors for highest annual sales in its 277-year history

Sotheby’s has sold a record $7.3bn (£5.5bn) worth of art and other collectibles so far this year – the most in its 277-year history.

The auction house said on Wednesday that an “influx of younger, tech-savvy collectors” buying luxury items such as handbags, jewellery, wine and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) during the pandemic had helped lift sales to the record high.

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Canapes and party hats in CCHQ: Boris Johnson’s latest photo nightmare

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Picture emerges showing Tory mayoral candidate, activists and a party donor crammed together during lockdown

As Christmas parties go, it may not be everyone’s idea of a good time: there are barely touched canapes, hotel buffet-style containers of hot food, a hand sanitiser dispenser visible in the background, and about 25 political activists, all crammed into a brightly lit basement in the middle of a pandemic.

Uninspiring though it might be, that is the scene captured by a photo taken at Conservative campaign headquarters (CCHQ) last December, which emerged in the Daily Mirror on Tuesday to create another political nightmare for Boris Johnson.

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Why UK has been less keen than US to give Covid jab to children

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Differing adult uptakes, healthcare systems and cultures of medicine have played role in approaches

The UK and US may have many things in common, but when it comes to vaccinating children against Covid, the approach has been markedly different.

In May, the US Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorisation of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab was expanded from people aged 16 and older to those aged 12 to 15, with two doses recommended for all those eligible.

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Gas crisis fuels call for UK to update energy security policy

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As rising tensions with Russia over Ukraine drive prices to record highs, experts warn of lack of strategy for gas supply

Ministers are relying on an outdated energy security policy, leading academics have warned, as escalating tensions between Russia and western leaders propelled the gas market to record price highs.

UK gas reached a record closing price of 322.5 pence per therm on Tuesday, according to data from market price experts at ICIS, vaulting ahead of the previous high of just over 298p/therm set in early October this year.

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Epstein settlement ‘shielding’ Prince Andrew should be public, judge says

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Lawyer says secret 2008 agreement between Virginia Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein protects prince from lawsuit

A secret 2008 settlement that a lawyer for Britain’s Prince Andrew says would protect him against a lawsuit claiming he sexually abused an American when she was 17 should be made public, a judge said on Tuesday.

The agreement was reached between Virginia Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 while awaiting a sex trafficking trial in New York City.

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MPs back Covid passes in England amid large Tory rebellion

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Measure comes into force on Wednesday and was passed despite many Tories voting against

Boris Johnson has suffered a humiliating rebellion over measures to slow the spread of the Omicron variant, with 99 Conservative MPs rejecting plans for vaccine certificates despite surging infections and personal lobbying by the prime minister.

Johnson had earlier warned his cabinet of a “huge spike” in cases but failed to convince many in his party to support plans to insist on a Covid certificate or negative lateral flow test to attend large venues.

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How big is the risk of Omicron in the UK and how do we know?

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Analysis: Sajid Javid estimates there are 200,000 new cases a day – here’s why the experts suggest that number will soon multiply

When Savid Javid revealed on Monday that an estimated 200,000 people a day are getting infected with Omicron, it brought understandable concern – especially as just 4,713 cases of the variant had been confirmed in the UK so far – . So where does this figure come from – and what does it tell us about the trajectory of the surge?

Confirming a Covid case is caused by the Omicron variant requires a full genetic analysis of that person’s swab. According to Prof Paul Hunter at the University of East Anglia, it can take up to two weeks to return a viral sequence, meaning the figure of 4,713 Omicron cases reported by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) was already out of date.

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‘Colossal waste’: Nobel laureates call for 2% cut to military spending worldwide

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Governments urged to use ‘peace dividend’ to help UN tackle pandemics, climate crisis and extreme poverty

More than 50 Nobel laureates have signed an open letter calling for all countries to cut their military spending by 2% a year for the next five years, and put half the saved money in a UN fund to combat pandemics, the climate crisis, and extreme poverty.

Coordinated by the Italian physicist Carlo Rovelli, the letter is supported by a large group of scientists and mathematicians including Sir Roger Penrose, and is published at a time when rising global tensions have led to a steady increase in arms budgets.

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Coronavirus live: US Covid deaths surpass 800,000; Omicron poses real threat, says Moderna chief

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The United States has surpassed 800,000 coronavirus-related deaths; Moderna chief cautions against assumptions Omicron is milder than Delta

United States secretary of state Antony Blinken says by the end of next year, the US will have donated more than 1.2b Covid-19 vaccine doses to the world, Reuters is reporting.

The US air force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the mandate.

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Star Hobson verdict: mother’s girlfriend found guilty of murdering toddler

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Amateur boxer punched 16-month-old to death in Keighley, West Yorkshire, while mother found guilty of allowing the death

A “cunning and clever” woman has been found guilty of murdering her girlfriend’s toddler after being caught on CCTV “terrorising” the child when she was left to babysit.

Savannah Brockhill, 28, an amateur boxer and security guard who called herself the “number one psycho”, punched 16-month Star Hobson to death in Keighley, West Yorkshire, on 22 September 2020.

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As focus turns to Covid boosters what other measures could tackle Omicron

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Boris Johnson has not ruled out new restrictions but how effective could they be and what are the political risks

Ministers’ focus may be a “national mission” to roll out booster vaccines to counter the dramatic rise of the Omicron variant, but the government has not ruled out new restrictions for England. Here we look at options on the table, how effective they could be at reducing the spread of coronavirus and the level of political risk for Boris Johnson.

Mandatory isolation for all close Covid contacts

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Covid passports could increase vaccine uptake, study suggests

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Certification encouraged vaccination in countries with low coverage, especially among young people

Coronavirus passports could lead to increased uptake of vaccines, especially among young people, a study suggests.

Research by the University of Oxford found Covid-19 certification led to increased jab uptake 20 days before and 40 days after introduction in countries with lower-than-average vaccination coverage. Increase in vaccine uptake was most pronounced in people under 30. The modelling analysis was published in The Lancet Public Health.

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Radioactive medicines found in London street by member of the public

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Item containing radiopharmaceuticals lost in transit after being transported between two hospitals

A package of radioactive medicines was found in the street by a member of the public after being lost in transit between two London hospitals.

The item, containing radiopharmaceuticals, is thought not to have been secured properly in the vehicle transporting it and, after coming loose, it came into contact with an internal door release and fell out while being moved between Siemens’ Mount Vernon hospital in London and London Bridge hospital in September.

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Putin tells Boris Johnson urgent talks needed over Nato’s plans for Ukraine

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Kremlin wants legal agreement that alliance will not expand into disputed territory

Vladimir Putin has told Boris Johnson that he wants immediate talks to secure clear legal agreements that Nato will not expand eastwards. According to a Kremlin readout of the two leaders’ phone call on Monday, Putin said talks were needed to discuss Nato’s future intentions, and to clarify Ukraine’s plans for the east of the country.

The call marked the first time the two men had spoken since October before the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow. Johnson expressed the UK’s “deep concern over the buildup of Russian forces on Ukraine’s border”, and warned him “that any destabilising action would be a strategic mistake that would have significant consequences”. The British prime minister also called for the issues to be resolved through diplomatic channels.

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‘So depressing’: Covid empties City of London of pre-Christmas cheer

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The ‘work from home’ rules are less stringent than before in the financial hub, but many seem to be staying away

At about 1pm in Paternoster Square on Monday, four placid, Christmassy eyes gazed at the trickle of workers emerging from the London Stock Exchange in search of lunch. “PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THE REINDEER,” a sign on the enclosure said. “THIS IS TO PREVENT THE TRANSMISSION OF CORONAVIRUS.”

“I remember when you could stroke them,” said a passing trader. “It’s so depressing. I wish I’d stayed at home now.”

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Heads warn of Omicron chaos in English schools, with staff and pupils absent

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Some schools said to have up to half their teachers off due to Covid, and there are fears parents will keep pupils at home

Headteachers are warning of “chaos” in England’s schools as Omicron sweeps across the country, with high levels of staff and pupil absences and reports that parents are planning to keep children home to avoid the virus before Christmas.

School leaders and unions urged the government to introduce more protective measures, including masks in classrooms, better ventilation and tougher isolation rules to try to slow the spread of the virus before the holidays.

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