Seabird carcasses discovered along Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Scottish shores, with many more found emaciated
Several hundred seabirds have been found dead along the coasts of north-east England and Scotland, while many have been discovered emaciated.
The UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), which is investigating the cause of the deaths, said the majority of the birds were guillemots.
Continue reading...Analysis: ties between Paris and Washington in worse state than at time of Iraq war after Australia’s cancellation of submarine deal
The recall of the French ambassadors to Australia and the US – without precedent in two centuries of diplomacy between Paris and Washington – has plunged relations to depths unknown for decades.
Rifts over the Iraq war or Nato pale into insignificance. True, the French recalled their ambassador to Rome a couple of years ago, irked by the insults sent their way by the upstart Five Star leader Luigi di Maio, but that was a little warning to populists to stop encouraging the disruption of the yellow vest protests.
Continue reading...Ronapreve, which was used to treat Donald Trump, will be ‘saving lives as early as next week’, says Sajid Javid
A drug given to the former US president Donald Trump when he had coronavirus last year is to be used to treat vulnerable NHS hospital patients.
Last month, the health secretary, Sajid Javid, heralded Ronapreve as the first treatment designed specifically for Covid-19 to receive regulatory approval in the UK.
Continue reading...Simba Mujakachi says government’s ‘hostile environment’ policies deterred him from taking medication
Simba Mujakachi, a personal trainer, was just 29 years old in June 2019 when he suffered a catastrophic stroke that left him comatose. When he awoke, he was paralysed on his left side and unable to talk or eat.
His stroke could have been prevented by relatively inexpensive medication for a blood clotting condition that, as an asylum seeker, he was not entitled to on the NHS.
Continue reading...Sources say presenter was in legal battle with rightwing channel’s bosses over his £700,000-a-year contract
When Andrew Neil took a leave of absence from GB News a fortnight after its 13 June launch, the rightwing news channel and its star presenter spent weeks insisting he was taking a long break to “recharge [his] batteries”.
The reality, sources have told the Guardian, is that rather than merely being on holiday Neil was locked in an increasingly fierce legal battle with the channel’s bosses from mid-July, with the station in turmoil as their lead presenter attempted to renegotiate and then exit a four-year contract believed to worth about £700,000 a year.
Continue reading...Campaigners call for parades to be re-routed as up to 13,000 people expected to converge in city centre
Campaigners against anti-Catholic bigotry and anti-Irish discrimination will gather in protest around vulnerable churches on Saturday, as Glasgow braces itself for the largest gathering of Orange marchers since the pandemic.
More than 30 of the controversial Protestant parades will converge in the city centre to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the first Battle of the Boyne parade, with potential turnout estimated from 5,000 to 13,000. Hundreds of police officers are expected to be deployed on the day, with 32 streets closed until mid-afternoon to facilitate the marchers.
Continue reading...Research finds those with Down’s syndrome, Parkinson’s and other conditions may benefit from booster dose
People living with chronic conditions such as Down’s syndrome and dementia remain among the most vulnerable to Covid-19 even after vaccination, research has found.
The study, based on data from more than 6.9 million vaccinated adults, 5.2 million of whom had received both doses, found that being vaccinated offers powerful protection against hospitalisation for almost all groups. However, a risk calculator based on the data shows that some groups remain at particular risk and may benefit from booster vaccine doses and treatments such as monoclonal antibodies.
Continue reading...Overhaul in England aims to simplify travel by scrapping traffic light system and changing testing requirements
An overhaul of England’s Covid-19 rules governing international travel has been announced by the Department for Transport, scrapping the traffic light system and signalling changes to requirements to undergo PCR testing on arrival.
The aim, according to the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, is to simplify rules and decrease the burden on people travelling by replacing the system with a single red list and one for the rest of the world.
Continue reading...Traffic-light system replaced, with foreign countries now listed as either ‘red’ or OK for travel
Half-term holiday bookings are expected to surge after ministers unveiled a simplification of Covid foreign travel rules, replacing the traffic-light system with a single red list and bringing in a laxer regime for tests.
But while MPs and some travel groups welcomed the new system, airlines voiced anger that fully vaccinated travellers returning to England will still have to take a test after they return, even if this will be changed to a cheaper lateral flow version.
Continue reading...Gomoh, 24, was ‘innocent and unsuspecting victim’ of brutal stabbing says judge
Four gang members have been jailed for the murder of an NHS worker they picked at random “simply for the sake of it”.
Muhammad Jalloh and David Ture, both 19 and of no fixed address, as well as 23-year-old Vagnei Colubali from Cambridge were found guilty of David Gomoh’s murder in August. Alex Melaku, who could not previously be named as he was younger than 18, was also convicted.
Continue reading...Major commitment with deadline of 2030 is big advance towards reaching 1.5C goal set out in Paris agreement
The US and the EU made a joint pledge on Friday to cut global methane emissions by almost a third in the next decade, in what climate experts hailed as one of the most significant steps yet towards fulfilling the Paris climate agreement.
The pledge came as the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, warned of a “high risk of failure” at the vital UN climate talks, Cop26, set for Glasgow this November.
Continue reading...PM will hope signing of this week’s Aukus deal will help the allies move on from the chaos of Kabul
Boris Johnson will fly to New York this weekend for his first foreign trip since the Covid pandemic, hoping to cement his relationship with the US president, Joe Biden, after a rocky summer marred by the chaotic Kabul airlift.
Two years ago, when Johnson made his first foreign trip as prime minister to the Biarritz G7 summit, the hope was that Donald Trump’s enthusiasm for the man he called “Britain Trump” would help smooth the way for a rapid post-Brexit trade deal with the US.
Continue reading...The deal has upset China, but it also binds the US into European security, in a world where Nato may be less relevant
France is furious. Theresa May is worried. The announcement of the new Australia-UK-US alliance (Aukus) and the ditching of a previous French-Australian submarine deal has led France’s foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, to term the pact “a stab in the back”, while the former British prime minister is concerned about Britain being dragged into a war over the future of Taiwan.
Oddly enough, Beijing’s reaction has been rather muted. Yes, it has accused the west of a “cold war mentality”, and Xi Jinping has warned foreigners not to interfere in the region, but its warning that China would “closely monitor the situation” was close to a “cut and paste” outrage.
Continue reading...Royal’s legal team believed to be contesting service of notice of Virginia Giuffre’s civil sexual assault action
The Duke of York’s lawyers have one week to challenge a decision that he can be formally notified by the UK courts of the US civil sex assault case against him, the high court in London has said.
The high court on Wednesday accepted a request by lawyers for Virginia Roberts Giuffre to formally contact him if necessary about her legal proceedings launched in New York.
Continue reading...Australia and US pledge stronger ties, EU calls for trade deal and Johnson refuses to rule out getting involved in a conflict involving the island
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has vowed to resist “interference from external forces” as Taiwan welcomed support from major allies after a US-Australia ministerial forum pledged stronger ties with the island and the European parliament called for a bilateral trade deal.
Speaking at a meeting of the heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tajikistan via video link, Xi urged members of the grouping to “absolutely resist external forces to interfere [in] countries in our region at any excuse, and hold the future of our countries’ development and progress firmly in our own hands”.
Continue reading...Evacuation of employees, not contractors, ‘splitting hairs’, says HRW, warning of days left to save lives
Afghan employees who worked as contractors on UK aid projects fear for their lives after not being granted resettlement in Britain.
The Guardian has been in contact with four families who said they had been targeted by the Taliban because they worked for the UK government, and have now been forced into hiding.
Continue reading...Ruling on Duke of Edinburgh's will made to protect ‘dignity’ of Queen and her constitutional role
The Duke of Edinburgh’s will is to remain secret to protect the “dignity” of the Queen because of her constitutional role, the high court has ruled. Philip – the nation’s longest-serving consort – died aged 99 on 9 April, just two months before he would have turned 100.
After the death of a senior member of the royal family, it has been convention for over a century that an application to seal their will is made to the president of the family division of the high court. This means the wills of senior members of the royal family are not open to public inspection in the way a will would ordinarily be.
Continue reading...Prince’s lawyer claims settlement between Virginia Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein shields him from sexual assault lawsuit
Prince Andrew can request the unsealing of a 2009 settlement agreement that his lawyer claims protects him from a lawsuit alleging he sexually assaulted a girl two decades ago, a US judge in New York has said.
Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan said in a written order on Thursday that the prince could seek the information to support arguments that the agreement between Virginia Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein disallows her lawsuit against the prince.
Continue reading...Pair, aged 21 and 33, charged with killing McKee as she covered rioting in Derry in 2019, police say
Two men have been charged with the murder of the Belfast journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead during disturbances in Derry in 2019.
McKee, 29, one of Northern Ireland’s most promising young journalists, was killed as she observed rioting in the Creggan area of the city on 18 April 2019.
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