Category Archives: UK news

Meghan and Harry announce birth of baby daughter Lilibet

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Child named after the family nickname for the Queen, the baby’s great-grandmother

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced the birth of a daughter they have named Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.

Harry and Meghan’s daughter, who was born in hospital in California on Friday, weighed 7lb 11oz and has been named after the family nickname for the Queen, the baby’s great-grandmother. Her middle name was chosen to honour her late grandmother Diana, Princess of Wales, the couple said. The baby is the Queen’s 11th great-grandchild and is eighth in line to the throne.

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Pressure on UK as Germany backs ending free carbon permits for airlines

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Boris Johnson has pledged to give details of how UK will meet its climate targets before Cop26

The German government is backing an extension of EU carbon pricing that will end free carbon permits for airlines, putting pressure on the UK to put in place a similar package to meet climate targets.

The European Commission will propose a dozen climate policies on 14 July, each designed to slash greenhouse gases faster in line with an EU goal to cut net emissions by 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels.

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Covid: more than 200 leaders urge G7 to help vaccinate world’s poorest

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Former PMs, presidents and ministers sign letter saying richest should pay two-thirds of $66bn needed

More than 100 former prime ministers, presidents and foreign ministers are among 230 prominent figures calling on the leaders of the powerful G7 countries to pay two-thirds of the $66bn (£46.6bn) needed to vaccinate low-income countries against Covid.

A letter seen by the Guardian ahead of the G7 summit to be hosted by Boris Johnson in Cornwall warns that the leaders of the UK, US, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada must make 2021 “a turning point in global cooperation”. Fewer than 2% of people in sub-Saharan Africa have been vaccinated against Covid, while the UK has now immunised 70% of its population with at least one dose.

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‘France is for ever grateful’: Normandy memorial for British D-day troops unveiled

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Ceremony takes place at Ver-sur-Mer for 22,442 soldiers under British command who died during D-day and Battle of Normandy

They fought on the beaches of Normandy, they fought on the landing grounds in the fields and streets and hills. As Winston Churchill had promised, they did not surrender.

On Sunday, the names of 22,442 soldiers under British command who died on D-day and the subsequent Battle of Normandy were engraved in stone as a permanent reminder of their sacrifice as a new British Normandy memorial was unveiled.

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Covid Delta variant ‘about 40% more transmissible’, says Matt Hancock

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Under-30s to be offered jabs from next week but variant makes decision on easing rules in England ‘more difficult’

The new Delta variant of coronavirus appears to be about 40% more transmissible than the variant it has largely replaced, Matt Hancock has said, making government decisions about whether to ease restrictions in England on 21 June “more difficult”.

Saying that under-30s in England will be called to begin vaccinations from next week, the health secretary confirmed it was still possible the reopening programme could be delayed or some rules kept in place.

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How a ghostly outline revealed the secret of Modigliani’s lost lover

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The Italian artist may have wanted to brush Beatrice Hastings out of his life, but artifical intelligence has thwarted him by enabling a re-creation of the work

No one wants to be reminded of a failed relationship by having the ex’s portrait hanging around. After Amedeo Modigliani and his lover, Beatrice Hastings, broke up, the Italian artist is thought to have obliterated her memory by painting another woman’s likeness over his portrait of her.

So he might not be too happy to learn that science has now brought back that “lost” portrait, using artificial intelligence, an X-ray and 3D-printing to re-create the painting, with full colour and textured brushstrokes.

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UK foreign aid cuts ‘will leave 100,000 refugees without water’

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Aid agencies write to Foreign Office minister as pressure grows on Boris Johnson ahead of Commons vote

UK aid cuts of 42% will leave about 70,000 people without health services and 100,000 without water in Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee settlement, before the deadly cyclone season, the Foreign Office minister for Asia has been warned.

A private letter sent to him last week by a group of aid agencies working in the area comes before a vote on Monday designed to force ministers to guarantee they will restore UK aid to 0.7% of gross national income next year.

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Data on Delta variant splits scientists on lifting final Covid restrictions

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Sage group advises against easing social distancing on 21 June, but others say it is too early to assess risks

Health experts remain divided over the dangers posed by the new Delta variant of Covid-19 and the risks it poses to the nation as ministers consider whether or not to lift lockdown later this month.

Some argue that the new variant, first identified in India, is a significantly increased threat to the UK and have urged that delays be imposed on the total removal of social restrictions, due on 21 June.

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Tory aid cuts ‘tarnish’ UK reputation, warns UN humanitarian chief

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Mark Lowcock says funds slashed affect key issues on G7 agenda, as party rebels prepare to vote for reversal

A senior UN diplomat has warned Boris Johnson that his decision to slash overseas aid is tarnishing international faith in Britain’s trustworthiness at a crucial moment, as he called on the government to back Tory demands for a swift reversal of the cuts.

With Conservative rebels increasingly confident they have enough votes to inflict a humiliating government defeat before the G7 meeting in Cornwall late this week, the head of the UN’s office for humanitarian affairs said Johnson had demonstrated “a failure of kindness and empathy” that was undermining Britain’s reputation.

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Other countries need Covid vaccine before British teenagers, ministers told

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Teaching leaders call for rollout of vaccination programme for pupils but joint committee says issue needs further debate

The government’s official advisers on vaccines will not be rushed into launching an immunisation programme for teenagers despite demands from teaching leaders to prioritise secondary school pupils.

It is understood that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) regards the ethical issues involved in vaccinating children to be delicately balanced and will require a complicated series of judgments about how to proceed in coming weeks.

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UK beachgoers bask in sunshine but good weather may not last

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Temperatures reach 23C but Met Office warns of risk of showers on Sunday

Crowds have flocked to the beaches to soak up the sunshine as temperatures hit almost 23C across parts of England amid warnings the warm weather is not going to last.

Photographs show hundreds of people packed on to Bournemouth beach in Dorset on Saturday, while in the north kayakers took to Derwentwater in the Lake District.

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Doubts over England’s 21 June lockdown easing as delay plans drawn up

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Lifting of Covid measures reportedly could be put back to 5 July, as adviser says reopening this month ‘foolish’

The planned scrapping of remaining restrictions in England on 21 June has been thrown into doubt with reports that the government is looking at contingency plans including a two-week delay to allow more adults to be fully vaccinated.

The Telegraph and the Financial Times reported on Saturday that civil servants were drawing up contingency plans to delay the easing lockdown restrictions by two weeks, possibly to 5 July.

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‘Historic agreement’: Rishi Sunak announces G7 deal on tax reform – video

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Finance ministers from the world’s richest economies have agreed a deal to tackle tax abuses by some of the world’s biggest multinationals and establish a minimum global corporation tax for the first time. Announcing the deal, the UK chancellor, Rishi Sunak, said it would create ‘a fairer tax system fit for the 21st century’

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Rishi Sunak announces ‘historic agreement’ by G7 on tax reform

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Finance ministers agree deal to force multinationals to pay tax in all countries where they operate

The G7 group of wealthy nations have signed a landmark deal to tackle tax abuses by some of the world’s biggest multinationals and establish a minimum global corporation tax for the first time.

Finance ministers from the group agreed the plan on Saturday as part of talks held in London, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, said.

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‘We have to participate’: what Europe’s Gen Z want from their post-Covid lives – video

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Covid-19 policies risk leaving psychological and socioeconomic scars on millions of young people across Europe, with far-reaching consequences for them and society, a wide-ranging Guardian project has revealed.

Taking a snapshot, the Guardian asked five members of Europe’s Generation Z how the worst global pandemic in a century has affected their lives, what they have learned and how they see their future after the pandemic

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100 richest UK families urged to commit £1bn to tackle climate crisis

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As UK prepares for environment push at G7 summit, letter asks richest to make climate charitable focus

The UK’s 100 richest families are being urged to commit £1bn over the next five years to tackle the climate emergency and halt the destruction of the natural world, as the world prepares for a big push on environmental issues at the G7 summit.

Each of the 100 richest families in the UK, and the 100 biggest charitable foundations, will receive a letter on Saturday asking them to make the climate and biodiversity crises a focus of their philanthropic efforts, in order to stave off pending disasters that would imperil all their other charitable efforts.

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G7 aims to reach historic deal on corporate tax abuse this weekend

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Talks hosted by Rishi Sunak believed to be very close to agreement in principle on global reforms

The G7 group of wealthy nations is close to a historic agreement to radically reshape international tax rules by using a global minimum rate of corporation tax to prevent abuse of the system by multinationals.

Finance ministers from the world’s biggest western economies were negotiating details late on Friday with the aim of reaching a landmark deal early on Saturday as part of talks being held in London.

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Hancock says UK is the ‘vaccine priority’ – video

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Vaccinating children in the UK  against Covid-19 will take priority over donating doses to other countries around the world, Britain's health secretary, Matt Hancock, said on Friday 4 June.

Hancock was speaking after health ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) rich countries met at the University of Oxford, where AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine was invented, and which comes before a leaders' meeting next week

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Police ‘flabbergasted’ London Bridge terrorist survived first few shots, inquest hears

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Usman Khan was shot at 20 times by firearms officers after killing Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones in 2019

Police have told an inquest they were “flabbergasted” when the convicted terrorist Usman Khan, who was shot to death on London Bridge in 2019, survived the first few shots.

Khan killed 25-year-old Jack Merritt and 23-year-old Saskia Jones at a rehabilitation conference in Fishmongers’ Hall on 29 November 2019. He was chased on to London Bridge and shot at 20 times in two spells, eight minutes apart.

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Holidays abroad: many Britons plan to press on despite government advice

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Tui says half of its passengers booked to visit Portugal in June are still planning to travel

As recriminations continue over the UK government’s decision to remove Portugal from the travel green list, many Britons have decided to press ahead with overseas holiday plans, even if that means going against official advice.

At 4.45pm on Sunday 6 June, Pont-Aven, one of Brittany Ferries’ flagship cruise liners, will leave Plymouth for Santander in Spain – the company’s first sailing on that route for eight months. The UK government says people should not travel to amber list locations such as Spain and advises against all but essential travel to the country – but that has not stopped the company, or the more than 800 people making the trip.

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