Category Archives: UK news

Team GB chief hails ‘greatest achievement in British Olympic history’

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Mark England says fact team’s competitors delivered 65 medals in Tokyo ‘absolutely extraordinary’

Team GB’s trailblazing performance in Tokyo has been hailed as “the greatest achievement in British Olympic history” after the young team matched the tally of medals from London 2012 on the final day.

With Jason Kenny successfully defending his keirin title to become the first Briton to win seven Olympic gold medals, and boxer Lauren Price also winning middleweight gold, the British team ended fourth in the medal table with 65 overall – 22 of them gold.

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True Stories: Spaces review – impressive short docs from folk horror to a Lebanese marvel

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This short film collection from the True Story platform ranges across continents to look at how we interact with our environments

Deeply psychogeographical, this collection of documentary shorts from the streaming platform True Story roams among spaces old and new, and across continents. Personal and public memories are intertwined, creating portraits of how human beings interact with their environments, and vice versa.

Paul Heintz’s nocturnal Shānzhài Screens is a meditative study of liminal urban spaces, shot in a Chinese district that specialises in fine-art reproductions. Rectangular frames populate the screen, from flickering apartment windows, hurried video calls, to endless replicas of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. Authenticity is elusive, and loneliness reigns.

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UK competition watchdog to look into pricing of Covid tests for travel

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CMA to investigate PCR tests market after concerns about vastly different prices being charged

The competition watchdog is to look into fees for the Covid-19 tests required for international travel after concerns about the vastly different prices being charged for them.

The Competition and Markets Authority will provide advice and intelligence on the market in PCR tests to the health secretary, Sajid Javid, to enable the government to act.

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Britain’s Covid experts Neil Ferguson Sage are under attack, but they are just doing their jobs

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Those who attack Neil Ferguson and Sage’s pandemic predictions only expose their ignorance about science

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It feels like open season on Professor Neil Ferguson right now. Sections of the media and several columnists delight in castigating the epidemiologist, or “Professor Lockdown”, for being “doomster in chief”, constantly predicting catastrophe and then back-pedalling when the worst numbers don’t materialise.

Opponents of Covid restrictions blame Ferguson and his team at Imperial College London for persuading Boris Johnson to shake off his libertarian instincts and take us into lockdown. One presenter on new channel GB News described Ferguson as a “numpty” on air, and the very mention of his name attracts groans in some circles.

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George Eustice defends decision to cull alpaca Geronimo as ‘arduous but necessary’

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Environment secretary says bovine tuberculosis test used on animal ‘over 99% accurate’

Environment secretary George Eustice said it is an “arduous but necessary endeavour” to cull animals that test positive for bovine tuberculosis (bTB), as he defended the decision to put down Geronimo the alpaca.

Helen Macdonald’s animal has been ordered for destruction after twice testing positive for the disease, but she has repeatedly questioned the tests used to condemn him.

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We’re on the brink of catastrophe, warns Tory climate chief

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Cop26 meeting is last chance, says Alok Sharma as he backs UK’s plan for new oil and gas fields

The world will soon face “catastrophe” from climate breakdown if urgent action is not taken, the British president of vital UN climate talks has warned.

Alok Sharma, the UK minister in charge of the Cop26 talks to be held in Glasgow this November, told the Observer that the consequences of failure would be “catastrophic”: “I don’t think there’s any other word for it. You’re seeing on a daily basis what is happening across the world. Last year was the hottest on record, the last decade the hottest decade on record.”

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Met Office issues thunderstorm warning for parts of UK

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Heavy rain could cause travel disruption and flooding in Northern Ireland, north Wales, northern England and Scotland

Thunderstorms could bring lightning, hail and downpours to parts of the UK this weekend, following damp conditions at the start of August.

The Met Officeissued a yellow thunderstorm warning from 4am until midnight on Saturday, covering Northern Ireland, north Wales, northern England and up into central Scotland, with heavy showers potentially causing travel disruption and flooding in a few places.

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Dear Gavin Williamson, if Latin is about levelling up, I have other ideas | Michael Rosen

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Why not emulate private schools with class sizes, playing fields, music facilities and modern languages?

Just as many of us are thinking ahead to winter and a possible next wave of Covid, worrying about whether schools have proper ventilation and what emergency measures you might have up your sleeve if a major outbreak occurs, you choose to put Latin at the top of your agenda. Well, not quite top because you also managed to signal the end of BTecs (a disaster in the making). Perhaps you were using your Latin splash to hide that announcement.

You’re also keeping very quiet about what is happening with the GCSE marking – the results only days away for my offspring. I can’t work out which is going to be more exciting: hearing his results or listening to your convoluted explanations as to why a) this year’s teacher assessment method was perfect and b) why – even though it’s been perfect – we’ll all have to go back next year to the one-off, high-stakes, unnecessary obstacle of GCSEs.

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Covid patients reunited with the medics who saved them

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Four people who were so ill that they barely remember their time in the ICU meet the doctors and nurses who held their hands

In a light-filled studio in east London, a petite woman in scrubs receives a bouquet of flowers from a tall man, dressed smartly, only faintly out of breath.

The room is thick with emotion. They are strangers, but stare at each other with wonder in their eyes. And then Dr Susan Jain, an intensive care consultant at Homerton university hospital, breaks the silence with a laugh.

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Menopause at centre of increasing number of UK employment tribunals

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Rise in women taking employers to court citing event as proof of unfair dismissal and discrimination

Growing numbers of women are taking their employers to court citing the menopause as proof of unfair dismissal and direct sex discrimination, researchers have said.

According to the latest UK data, there were five employment tribunals referencing the claimant’s menopause in 2018, six in 2019 and 16 in 2020. There have been 10 in the first six months of 2021 alone.

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Edinburgh Fringe returns with mix of in-person and online shows

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Festival is part of world’s largest annual arts season which has been forced to curtail events due to Covid

The Edinburgh festival Fringe returns this weekend with a hybrid programme of nearly 800 in-person and online shows after its cancellation last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Fringe makes up part of the world’s largest annual arts season, alongside the Edinburgh international festival and the book and film festivals, which open later this month, and all have been forced to significantly curtail this August’s events for the second year running. One of the most famous, the military tattoo staged at Edinburgh castle, has again been cancelled.

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Coronavirus live news: Gibraltar reports first Covid death since March; England’s proportion of cases decreases

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Gibraltar officials say man who died was in his 60s and unvaccinated; one in 75 had Covid in England last week, down from 1 in 65

Europe’s drugs regulator has said it had so far not found a causal link between Covid-19 vaccines and menstrual disorders and advised three new conditions be added as possible side-effects after vaccination with Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus shot.

Reuters reports that cases of menstrual disorders reported after vaccination were studied by its safety committee, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said, adding that it had requested for more data from vaccine developers to assess the issue.

Sri Lankan authorities have tightened coronavirus restrictions as reports emerged of Covid patients dying while awaiting admission to overcrowded hospitals.

AFP reports that the government said state ceremonies and public gatherings were banned until 1 September because of the growing health crisis. Public servants had previously been asked to return to work from Monday but that order has now been revoked in a significant u-turn and bosses told to decide who should report for duty on-site.

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Streatham attacker’s mother instantly knew son was responsible, inquest told

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Haleema Khan told the inquest into Sudesh Amman’s death she had ‘no idea’ her son was going to strike

The mother of a terrorist killed by police after going on a stabbing rampage in south London described instantly “knowing” her son was responsible when she heard about the attack, shortly after they last spoke.

Haleema Khan said her son Sudesh Amman signed off their phone conversation with “Bye bye, I love you mummy” before going on to steal a kitchen knife from a shop and stabbing two unwitting members of the public on a Sunday afternoon in Streatham in February 2020.

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Six EU states overtake UK Covid vaccination rates as Britain’s rollout slows

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Malta, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Denmark and Ireland overtake UK in fully jabbed percentages

Six EU states have now fully inoculated a larger share of their total populations with a coronavirus vaccine than the UK, after the bloc’s dire initial rollout took off while Britain’s impressive early jab rate has slumped.

According to government and health service figures collated by the online science publication Our World In Data, Malta, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Denmark and Ireland have all overtaken the UK in terms of the percentages of their populations who are fully vaccinated.

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UK agrees to consider providing safe haven for Afghan journalists

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U-turn over those who worked for British media follows outcry from newspapers and broadcasters

The foreign secretary has agreed to consider allowing Afghan journalists who worked for the British to flee to the UK if their lives are endangered by the resurgence of the Taliban, after an outcry from a coalition of British newspapers and broadcasters.

Dominic Raab signalled the policy U-turn on Friday, saying he recognised the bravery of the Afghan journalists. A scheme that was set up to offer a safe haven to Afghans who worked with the British will be expanded to include those who worked as journalists, it was reported.

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Covid discoveries: what we know now that we didn’t know before

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From how coronavirus spreads to its health impact, our understanding of the disease has evolved in some areas

Since the Covid pandemic took off in early 2020, researchers have been studying myriad aspects of the virus, and made some surprising discoveries. Here are four areas where our understanding has changed:

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‘One rule for them’: Alok Sharma criticised over flights to 30 countries

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Cop26 president accused of undermining climate effort after visiting 30 countries in seven months

Alok Sharma, the government minister responsible for vital UN climate talks, has been accused of undermining environmental efforts and failing to set an example after reports that he has flown to 30 countries in the past seven months.

The president of Cop26, which is being hosted in Glasgow in October and November, has visited countries including Brazil, Indonesia and Kenya since February. Despite travelling to six countries on the government’s travel “red list” he was not required to isolate, according to the Daily Mail.

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Cop26 president Alok Sharma flew to 30 countries in 7 months

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Minister responsible for climate conference travelled mainly during winter and spring and did not isolate

The government minister responsible for this year’s UN climate change conference in Glasgow has flown to 30 countries in the past seven months, it has been reported.

Alok Sharma, who was appointed as president of Cop26 in January, has visited countries including Brazil, Indonesia and Kenya since February, according to the Daily Mail.

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Jamaican dub poet Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze dies aged 65

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Influential pioneer touched audiences through performance, books, albums – and even Poems on the Underground

The pioneering Jamaican dub poet Jean “Binta” Breeze has died aged 65, her agents have confirmed.

Breeze, considered one of the most important and influential contemporary poets, was a regular performer at literary festivals in both the UK and across the world.

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Travellers in rush for short breaks as England restrictions are eased

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Eurostar and easyJet report surge in ticket sales while package holiday operators anticipate bumper weekend

Package holiday operators have given a lukewarm response to the government’s latest easing of Covid-19 restrictions on arrivals in England, but travel firms that focus on short breaks have reported an uptick in 11th-hour bookings.

The the 10-day quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated people arriving from France was lifted on Thursday, while seven countries including Germany and Austria were added to the green list, meaning travellers must take only a couple of tests and do not need to quarantine.

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