Evidence about efficacy of additional dose of vaccine is unclear as some raise moral argument
Many rich countries are considering offering people an additional coronavirus vaccine dose. But are these booster shots necessary?
Continue reading...Category Archives: UK news
UK vaccine watchdog expert sceptical about booster jabs for all adults
Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to decide on Thursday which groups should get third shot
The UK’s vaccine watchdog is to decide on Thursday which vulnerable groups will be given booster shots against coronavirus, but it is expected to rule out a general rollout of third jabs.
Prof Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, confirmed the group would be discussing the issue on Thursday morning.
Continue reading...How the Covid pandemic has led to more Channel crossings – video explainer
A record number of people are expected to cross the Channel to the UK in small boats this year to claim asylum.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, more than 10,000 people have already made the dangerous and potentially fatal 21-mile journey across the busiest shipping lane in the world. On 4 August, 482 migrants crossed the Channel – a record for a single day.
The Guardian journalist Diane Taylor explains what is driving people to take the enormous risk
Continue reading...Meat-rich diet of 14th-century monks caused digestive issues, research finds
Change in papal law in 1336 to allow twice-weekly consumption caused problems at Muchelney Abbey
It may have seemed a good day for medieval monks when a papal decree allowed them to start eating meat including mutton, beef, pork and venison. It was not so good for their bowels.
Research by English Heritage sheds light on the day-to-day lives and digestive troubles of monks at Muchelney Abbey in Somerset – in particular the consequence of a change in papal law, in 1336, which permitted the twice-weekly consumption of meat from four-legged animals.
Continue reading...Jabbed adults infected with Delta ‘can match virus levels of unvaccinated’
Researchers say implications for transmission remain unclear but reaching herd immunity even more challenging
Fully vaccinated adults can harbour virus levels as high as unvaccinated people if infected with the Delta variant, according to a sweeping analysis of UK data, which supports the idea that hitting the threshold for herd immunity is unlikely.
There is abundant evidence that Covid vaccines in the UK continue to offer significant protection against hospitalisations and death. But this new analysis shows that although being fully vaccinated means the risk of getting infected is lower, once infected by Delta a person can carry similar virus levels as unvaccinated people.
Continue reading...The Afghanistan debate showed that Boris Johnson’s flaws lead directly to tragedy | Zoe Williams
For Starmer, the point was ‘what are the human consequences when power is held by someone so unfit?’
The initial shock of a packed House of Commons, recalled in recess for an emergency debate on Afghanistan, was how unfamiliar the packed green benches now look. Even before the pandemic, arguably since the prorogation of parliament, there’s been a question mark over the point of it all; does a debate have to end in a vote, in order to have meaning? Is it otherwise just theatre, and if so, what democratic purpose does it serve?
The answer used to be very simple: it was to test and challenge the policy of the executive. It may have been ritualistic, but the ritual was dense with significance, indicating that no prime minister had the power simply to announce, every one must persuade.
Continue reading...‘A perfect storm’: UK beet growers fear Brexit threatens their future
They produce half the country’s sugar needs, but expect new trade deals to make their tough situation worse
In a field in Norfolk, the sight of lush green leaves sprouting from the soil are giving farmer Ed Lankfer cause for optimism. “I think this is one of the best crops we have ever grown,” he says, surveying one of his fields of sugar beet.
The signs are promising so far for this year’s harvest – known in the trade as a campaign – which takes place later than for other crops, during the autumn and winter. It would mark quite the turnaround from 2020’s terrible harvest, when bad weather and pests caused yields of the white sugar-yielding root to plummet by as much as 60%, leaving Lankfer with a £12,000 loss.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson struggles to justify Afghanistan stance to hostile MPs
Analysis: PM fails to make convincing defence of foreign policy amid criticism from across the Commons
Other leaders have had the luxury of being able to deliver an uninterrupted televised address. But Boris Johnson had to justify the ignominious retreat from Afghanistan in front of a testy, and at times hostile, House of Commons – dominated by critics from his own side asking if Britain could have been better prepared and if the collapse of the Kabul government could have been averted.
It was an occasion the UK prime minister struggled to rise to, not helped by the format that Downing Street had opted for: a general debate, which meant MPs were allowed to rise and seek to intervene as Johnson spoke, generating a crescendo of background noise after he had completed a line or two.
Continue reading...Unholy row erupts over Larry Landtrain taking visitors on Lindisfarne
Council scraps four-week trial of alternative to existing shuttlebus after swift and fierce opposition
For centuries, pilgrims have walked in the footsteps of monks who once inhabited Lindisfarne, connected by a tidal causeway to the ancient kingdom of Northumbria.
They have marvelled at the birthplace of the Lindisfarne gospels, one of the most celebrated illuminated manuscripts in the world, admired the castle that towers over crashing waves and the ruins of the ancient priory, and watched thousands of grey seals basking on the sand banks.
Continue reading...Emotional wounds have been ‘torn open’, says Afghanistan veteran Tom Tugendhat MP – video
In an impassioned Commons speech during the debate on Afghanistan, the Conservative MP speaks about the impact of the Taliban takeover on veterans. He criticises Joe Biden's assertion that the Afghan army did not adequately resist the Taliban
- UK troops could not have remained in Afghanistan, PM tells MPs
- Follow the latest developments on the situation in Afghanistan on our live blog
Prince Andrew a ‘person of interest’ in Epstein investigation
Source says investigators want to speak to Duke of York as part of their inquiry into possible co-conspirators
The Duke of York is considered a “person of interest” in the US investigation into disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, it has been claimed.
An unnamed source, said to be close to the inquiry, told the Reuters news agency that investigators viewed Prince Andrew as a “person of interest” over his friendship with Epstein as part of their investigation into possible co-conspirators.
Continue reading...Daphne Caruana Galizia murder: life term sought for alleged mastermind
Malta’s attorney general formally lays charges against businessman Yorgen Fenech over journalist killing
Malta’s attorney general has called for a life sentence for the businessman Yorgen Fenech for allegedly masterminding the murder of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, which rocked the country four years ago.
The attorney general, Victoria Buttigieg, laid formal charges against Fenech, who was arrested in November 2019 trying to leave Malta on his yacht, accused of complicity in the murder and criminal conspiracy. He has since been undergoing a pre-trial compilation of evidence where he pleaded not guilty.
Continue reading...‘Where is global Britain on streets of Kabul?’: Theresa May blasts UK failure in Afghanistan – video
The former prime minister Theresa May has suggested her successor, Boris Johnson, had hoped 'on a wing and a prayer it’d be all right on the night' once the US and its allies had withdrawn from Afghanistan.
Johnson has faced anger from MPs about the UK’s failure to prepare for the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, as he made the case in parliament that Britain could not have stayed in the country 'without American might'
- UK troops could not have remained in Afghanistan, PM tells MPs
- Follow the latest developments on the situation in Afghanistan on our live blog
Lake District in peril due to climate emergency and influx of pandemic walkers
Paths have eroded and wildlife at risk as crowds jostle for space amid social distancing
It was in the Lake District where William Wordsworth “wander’d lonely as a cloud” and the only crowd he saw was “a host of golden daffodils”.
Two centuries later, the park’s natural beauty is being eroded faster than ever before, ecologists are warning, as a result of the climate emergency and a huge influx of pandemic walkers.
Continue reading...Protesters claim to ‘seize’ Edinburgh Castle citing Magna Carta
Police at scene and public evacuated as about 20 demonstrators enter landmark in bid to ‘take power back’
A group of about 20 protesters entered Edinburgh Castle on Tuesday evening, claiming to have “seized” the landmark under article 61 of Magna Carta.
Members of the public were evacuated as the demonstrators entered the grounds of the castle without a ticket. Police Scotland said that officers were dealing with the protest.
Continue reading...Plymouth shooting: police focus on ‘incel’ links as shop CCTV tape emerges
Exclusive: Jake Davison seen pacing around convenience store for more than five minutes on day before attack
Police increasingly believe that anti-women propaganda may have fuelled anger in the Plymouth gunman before his attack, with his links to the “incel” movement a main strand of their investigation.
Jake Davison, 22, shot dead his mother and four other people on 12 August. It emerged that he had engaged with extremist ideology including the “involuntary celibate” movement, though this is not considered to be enough for security officials to declare the mass shooting as a terrorist attack. Counter-terrorism officers continue to aid the investigation as detectives trawl through the attacker’s electronic devices.
Continue reading...Don’t be lonely: how to make friends if you’re moving house
Yes, the pandemic has made it harder to connect with strangers. But, from fitness classes to social media, there are plenty of ways to meet people in a new area – especially if you assume you’re naturally likable
Freed from the shackles of the office and the misery of the commute, and with a newfound appreciation for space and air, it may suddenly have seemed as if a new kind of life was possible. Last summer, a few months after the first lockdown, data from Rightmove found searches by city residents looking for village properties had risen by 126%. But for those who took the plunge, leaving behind everything and everyone they know in return for a garden and a spare room, the pandemic has not made it easy to meet people in a new area. With this in mind, here’s some expert advice on how to build a new community.
Continue reading...How is UK planning to help resettle Afghan refugees?
Ministers are expected to announce a ‘bespoke’ scheme similar to that put in place for Syrians in 2014
Ministers are expected to announce plans for a new settlement scheme in the UK for Afghan nationals following the Taliban takeover of the country. Similar to a scheme put in place for Syrians in 2014 amid the country’s civil war, this would be in addition to existing structures to assist some Afghan nationals.
Continue reading...How the Taliban took Afghanistan
The departure of US forces was followed by a rout of Afghan government forces. Now, after 20 years of western intervention, Afghanistan is back under the control of the Taliban
It began with a steady trickle of military defeats. First Afghan government control was ceded to the Taliban in provincial towns and cities. Then, as the lack of resistance became apparent, bigger cities and regional capitals began to fall. Finally on Sunday the Taliban entered Kabul as the western-backed government fled the country.
The Guardian’s senior international correspondent, Emma Graham-Harrison, tells Michael Safi that it marks a stunning reversal for the Afghan government, which had begun negotiating a deal with the Taliban in recent months. And as deeply flawed as the government in Kabul has been for the past 20 years, it has created space for the education of girls and a free press. All of that is now in grave doubt as Afghans wait to see whether their new Taliban rulers plan to carry on where they left off in 2001. We hear voices from inside Afghanistan including reporter Zahra Joya, who was a child when US forces invaded in 2001 and drove out the Taliban. She describes her fears for what will come next.
Continue reading...Geronimo the alpaca’s future to be decided at hearing, says vet
Defra agrees to hearing with owner of UK alpaca, which has twice tested positive for bovine tuberculosis
An alpaca that faces being destroyed after testing positive for bovine tuberculosis has been given a temporary reprieve, the animal’s vet has said.
The government had twice turned down requests to save Geronimo, but Dr Iain McGill said the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) had now agreed to a hearing with owner Helen Macdonald.
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