Category Archives: UK news

Government urged to ‘get a handle’ on supply chain crisis

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Chair of commission scrutinising post-Brexit trade deals says ministers must act now to get shelves stocked for Christmas

The government is being urged to “get a handle” on the supply chain crisis, as the chair of a cross-party commission created to scrutinise the UK’s post-Brexit trade deals said ministers need to act now to avoid empty shelves in the run-up to Christmas.

“Red tape and labour shortages from Brexit have exacerbated problems that are being acutely felt across production, processing, manufacturing, retail and of course logistics,” said Aodhán Connolly, who chaired an extraordinary session of the UK Trade and Business Commission, a group of cross-party MPs and business representatives set up as an independent adviser to government in April.

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Abba reunite for Voyage, first new album in 40 years

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Swedish hitmakers to release album of brand new material in November, and digital avatars will appear in London concert residency in 2022

One of the most anticipated comebacks in pop culture has finally come to pass: the return of Abba.

Forty years after the bitter songs written in the wake of two band divorces for their last album, 1981’s The Visitors, the Swedish pop quartet have reunited for Voyage, an album of brand new songs that will be released on 5 November – including, they say, a Christmas song. Two tracks from it, the stately and epic ballad I Still Have Faith in You and the shimmying Don’t Shut Me Down, are out now.

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No urgency on Covid booster shots for healthy adults, says UK scientist

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Exclusive: head of key research into third dose says it may be better to prioritise vulnerable first

There is “almost certainly no urgency” to press ahead with booster shots for healthy adults and it may be better to see how the pandemic pans out before a decision is made, the scientist leading key research into third shots has said.

Prof Saul Faust, chief investigator of the Cov-Boost study whose data next week is expected to help inform a decision on the rollout of boosters across the UK, told the Guardian that for now it may be preferable to prioritise only the vulnerable, including those with compromised immune systems.

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Sage members sent suspicious packages throughout pandemic, says leading scientist

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Prof Calum Semple and others advising government on Covid-19 response have been targeted by anti-vaxxers

Members of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) have been sent suspicious packages and hate mail throughout the pandemic, one of the UK’s leading virologists has revealed.

Prof Calum Semple, a member of Sage and the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said the incidents of abuse included one “particularly nasty” experience when he was targeted by anti-vaxxers.

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Evacuations from Kabul may resume ‘in near future’, says Raab

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Foreign secretary says UK must engage with Taliban in Afghanistan after meeting with Qatari officials

Evacuations may be able to resume from Kabul airport “in the near future”, the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has said as he expressed a need for direct engagement with the Taliban.

Speaking after talks in Qatar on Thursday, Raab raised hopes that the Britons and Afghans left behind may be able to leave on flights from Afghanistan’s capital.

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Brexit: food and drink exports to EU suffer ‘disastrous’ decline

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First-half sales fall £2bn, says industry body, as barriers are compounded by staff shortages

Exports of food and drink to the EU have suffered a “disastrous” decline in the first half of the year because of Brexit trade barriers, with sales of beef and cheese hit hardest.

Food and Drink Federation (FDF) producers lost £2bn in sales, a dent in revenue that could not be compensated for by the increased sales in the same period to non-EU countries including China and Australia.

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Scotland proposes Covid vaccine certificates for nightclub entry

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Nicola Sturgeon says certificates in limited scenarios could protect public health and boost vaccine take-up

The Scottish government is proposing vaccine certificates for entry to nightclubs and large-scale indoor and outdoor events in an attempt to curb escalating Covid infections before the autumn.

Announcing the plans, which MSPs will be asked to vote on next week, the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said that – although expected with schools returning last month – “the scale of the increase [in infections] in recent weeks has been very concerning”.

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UK has little option but to talk with the Taliban

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Analysis: Insurgents’ cooperation is needed for evacuations, but PM could face criticism for engaging with them

Boris Johnson’s decision to dispatch a senior spy chief to talk directly to the Taliban in Qatar reflects an uncomfortable but necessary reality: the UK has little option but to engage with the insurgent group now in control of Afghanistan.

Thousands of Afghans eligible for resettlement in the UK are believed to remain trapped in the country – UK ministers refuse to say how many – and hundreds of British nationals. With western troops withdrawn, it is only with Taliban cooperation that people will be able to leave safely and smoothly.

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British journalist killed by armed robbers in Ghana

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Syed Taalay Ahmed, who worked for Muslim Television Ahmadiyaa International, was ambushed in Tamale

Tributes have been paid to a British journalist who was killed in an armed robbery in Ghana.

Syed Taalay Ahmed, 31, who grew up in Hartlepool, was working for Muslim Television Ahmadiyaa International (MTA) when he was killed, the station said.

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Benjamin Mendy to remain in custody after bail application refused

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Manchester City footballer faces possible trial on four counts of rape and one of sexual assault

The Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy will remain in custody before a potential trial on rape charges after a bail application was refused.

The 27-year-old French international has been in custody at HMP Altcourse in Merseyside since last Friday, when he appeared at Chester magistrates court charged with four counts of rape and one of sexual assault.

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Thousands of British students in limbo with post-Brexit visa chaos

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Students delay studying abroad and some even switch continents because of visa delays

Thousands of British students have been hit by post-Brexit visa hurdles, leaving many struggling to complete their language courses or take up internships in the EU.

While some have delayed studying abroad or even switched continents because of visa delays, hundreds of undergraduates taking modern foreign language courses may miss out on a vital part of their degree.

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National Trust reports 383% rise in online donations during Covid crisis

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Conservation charity’s supporters give more than £865,000 despite pandemic closing majority of sites

The National Trust has reported a 383% increase in online donations during the pandemic year when most of the charity’s venues were “put into hibernation”.

Figures from the charity showed that online donationswere more than £865,000, an increase of 383% from 2019/20.

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Geronimo’s owner says UK government ‘planned to murder’ alpaca – video

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After a four-year legal battle, Helen Macdonald gave an emotional statement after her alpaca was forcibly removed from his home in Gloucestershire and put down. 

Macdonald said the UK government did not engage in good faith and that 'all the time they were simply planning to murder Geronimo'.

She went on to accuse the government of falsifying Geronimo’s positive bovine tuberculosis test, and that she would not accept the postmortem results if there was not an independent witness present

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People can self-identify as male or female in Scottish census, says guidance

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Answer to sex question can differ from birth certificate, without need for gender recognition certificate, says NRS

People can answer the male or female question in Scotland’s 2022 census based on how they identify themselves rather than according to legal status, according to new guidance from the body responsible for the survey.

Issued by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) on Tuesday, the guidelines tell people to answer the sex question according to how they self-identify, regardless of the details on their birth certificate or whether they have a gender recognition certificate.

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WHO expects 236,000 more Covid deaths in Europe by 1 December – video

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Senior officials at the World Health Organization have cited stagnating vaccination rates and low uptake in poorer countries as reasons so many Covid deaths are predicted.

'Last week, there was an 11% increase in the number of deaths in the region – one reliable projection is expecting 236,000 deaths in Europe, by 1 December,' WHO Europe director Hans Kluge said.

Kluge attributed the higher transmission to the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant, an 'exaggerated easing' of restrictions and measures, and a surge in summer travel.

While about half of people in Europe are fully vaccinated, vaccination uptake in the region has slowed, Kluge said.

Europe has registered about 1.3 million Covid deaths

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MPs trying to rescue more than 7,000 people trapped in Afghanistan

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Figure dwarfs 800 to 1,100 Afghans eligible for resettlement defence secretary said would be left behind

MPs are scrambling to rescue more than 7,000 constituents and family members trapped in Afghanistan, according to figures provided to the Guardian, dwarfing the only estimates provided by the government of the number left behind.

Scores of Labour MPs have been inundated with pleas for help from thousands of constituents whose relatives have been left stranded since the UK’s final emergency airlift left Kabul following the country’s rapid fall to the Taliban. Among them are children, disabled relatives and people who face persecution due to their work, all with potential eligibility to be resettled in Britain.

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Coronavirus live news: WHO expects 236,000 more Covid deaths in Europe by December; Philippines reports record high for new infections

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Europe has registered around 1.3 million Covid deaths to date; Philippines sees 22,366 new cases; New Zealand’s largest city sees curbs extended by two weeks

With the return to school in the UK imminent, the Welsh education ministry said on Monday that all schools, universities and colleges in Wales would be supplied with ozone disinfecting machines.

Once a room has been disinfected, the machine, each the size of a suitcase, converts the ozone back to oxygen. But ozone is so toxic that no one will be allowed inside the room when the machine is operating.

It is like the use of chlorine, you don’t want to be in an environment where chlorine is dispersed at high concentration. Ozone smells but people are not allowed to smell it. That is extremely important from a safety point of view.”

Related: Concerns over plan to disinfect classrooms in Wales with ozone

Britain has reported 26,476 new cases of Covid-19 between 24 August and 30 August, 1.8% increase on the previous seven days.

A further 48 people were reported as having died within 28 days of a positive test for Covid-19, taking the seven-day increase to 14.8%.

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Concerns over plan to disinfect classrooms in Wales with ozone

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Machines to be used to clean up after Covid outbreaks part of £5.9m initiative to improve air quality

A £3.3m scheme to provide schools in Wales with machines that disinfect classrooms after a Covid outbreak has prompted calls for reassurance over their safety.

The Welsh education ministry said on Monday that all schools, universities and colleges in Wales would be supplied with ozone disinfecting machines for cleaning up Covid-hit classrooms.

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West may benefit from pragmatic approach after defeat to Taliban

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Analysis: forging an acceptable agreement with new Afghan regime will require careful diplomacy

The history of war is littered with losing parties struggling to accept the terms or even the fact of their defeat. At the end of the first world war, Germany’s then chancellor Philipp Scheidemann announced: “May the hand wither that binds us in such shackles.”

Some of the demands by the US and its allies on how the Taliban must behave now contain similar self-denial. It is as if the US remains in control of Kabul, as orders are issued on future Taliban actions ranging from the release of refugees to the future makeup of the government, its counter-terrorism policies and the place of women in society.

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International talks aim for consensus on Taliban government

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Western G7 powers are meeting Turkey, Qatar and Nato in Doha to discuss how Kabul airport could be reopened

Talks are due in Doha and New York to try to reach an international consensus on the conditions for recognising the Taliban government in Afghanistan. There are signs of tensions between superpowers after Russia called on the US to release Afghan central bank reserves that Washington blocked after the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul earlier this month.

“If our western colleagues are actually worried about the fate of the Afghan people, then we must not create additional problems for them by freezing gold and foreign exchange reserves,” said the Kremlin’s envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov.

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