Category Archives: UK news

Covid cases in England are 26 times higher than a year ago

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Pressure grows to begin booster jabs for the vulnerable and extend vaccinations to younger teenagers

Coronavirus infections in England are now 26 times the levels that were experienced this time last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. Scientists described the figures as “sobering”.

They warned that the reopening of schools in England this week was likely to trigger further rises in Covid cases – with more to follow when students return to universities and colleges. A fresh wave of infections could, in turn, lead to new social restrictions being imposed as winter approaches.

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Beyond normal: new novel brings Sally Rooney mania to bookshops across UK

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Many shops plan to open early for the arrival of Sally Rooney’s latest novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You next month

When they were children they lined the streets in their witch hats and capes, keen to pick up the latest Harry Potter title as bookshops opened their doors at midnight. Now they are a little older, the prospect of a tussle with some millennial emotions could see them queuing around the block again on 7 September, as dozens of bookshops plan to open early for the arrival of Sally Rooney’s latest novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You.

In a nationwide promotional push, prompted by signs of big public demand, freshly printed copies of the Irish author’s third novel are to be served to customers with special commemorative merchandise as they enjoy a coffee and pastry.

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Minister urges firms to invest in UK-based workers in HGV driver shortage

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Business secretary reported as saying foreign labour only offers ‘temporary solution’ as companies face supply chain crisis

Employers have been told to invest in UK-based workers rather than relying on labour from abroad as supermarkets and suppliers struggle to contend with a chronic shortage of lorry drivers caused by the exodus of hauliers from EU countries because of Brexit and Covid.

The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, wrote to business leaders on Friday saying foreign labour only offered “a short-term, temporary solution” after industry groups, Logistics UK and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) called on the department to provide temporary UK visas to EU truck drivers. They said the lack of drivers was “increasingly putting unsustainable pressure on retailers and their supply chains”.

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Scrawny trees, patchy grass, terrible view … why £6m Marble Arch Mound still falls flat

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After a summer of free entry, visitors will now have to pay up to £8 to climb the London project. But will they bother?

It has been called a “BTec Eiffel Tower” and a “slag heap”. It’s been compared to “a car-park Santa’s grotto, with dogs pretending to be reindeer”. The Marble Arch Mound, the temporary artificial hill commissioned by Westminster city council as an “ambitious” visitor attraction, has become, as a representative of the local community put it, “an international laughing stock”.

The council responded to criticism by allowing free entry during August, and a certain number of the curious and the ghoulishly fascinated have turned up. This week it will start charging again. Given fundamental flaws in the project’s conception, the question is whether people will want to pay £8 for a weekend fast-track ticket now, any more than they did when it first opened at the end of July.

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Final UK evacuation flight purely for Afghan nationals has left Kabul airport

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Chaotic airlift ends after taking around 14,000 people out of Taliban-controlled country

The final UK evacuation flight purely for Afghan nationals has left Kabul airport, ending an often chaotic process in which about 14,000 people were airlifted out of Afghanistan by British forces in less than two weeks, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

Any further flights to leave Kabul under the UK’s evacuation operation will also have UK diplomatic and military personnel onboard. It is thought any further flights would be able to transport those still needing evacuation, but would now also include personnel travelling back to the UK.

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‘I feel helpless, useless and hopeless’: diary of an Afghan evacuee

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Student, English teacher and journalist Mursal Rasa Jamili, 23, was evacuated to the UK from Kabul with her two sisters

Mursal Rasa Jamili, a 23-year-old final-year university student, English teacher and journalist in Kabul, was evacuated to the UK with her two sisters. Here she explains what happened during her last days in Afghanistan.

Sunday 22 August

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Delta variant doubles risk of hospitalisation, new study finds

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Outbreak of Delta Covid cases likely to put strain on health services in areas with low vaccination rates, experts say

The Delta variant doubles the risk of Covid hospitalisation compared with the previously dominant Alpha variant, a new study focused largely on unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people has found.

The analysis – based on data collected in England – suggests that outbreaks of the Delta variant are likely to put an additional strain on health services, particularly in places with low rates of vaccination.

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Weight loss via exercise harder for obese people, data suggests

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Research finds that when humans exercise, our bodies limit the energy used on basic metabolic functions

Losing weight through exercise appears to be more difficult for obese people, research suggests.

Initially, researchers thought that the total energy we spend in a day is the sum of energy expended due to activity (ranging from light gardening to running a marathon) and energy used for basic functioning (what keeps us ticking even when we are doing nothing, such as immune function and wound healing).

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Solicitor in court accused of injecting blood into food at London supermarkets

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Leoaai Elghareeb, 37, charged with contaminating or interfering with goods at Tesco, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s stores

A solicitor accused of using syringes to inject blood into food at three west London supermarkets has appeared in court.

Leoaai Elghareeb is charged with contaminating or interfering with goods with intent at three stores – a Tesco Express, Little Waitrose and Sainsbury’s Local – on Fulham Palace Road.

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Tom Cruise’s car stolen while filming in Birmingham

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Mission: Impossible star’s belongings reportedly missing from his BMW X7 when recovered in Smethwick

The Hollywood actor Tom Cruise’s BMW was stolen while he was filming in Birmingham.

The BMW X7 had been used to ferry around the star, who has been in the city filming scenes for the seventh instalment in the Mission: Impossible series.

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Boy, 12, makes £290,000 in non-fungible tokens with digital whale art

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Benyamin Ahmed’s Weird Whales sell in cryptocurrency and ownership is stored on blockchain

A 12-year-old boy had made about £290,000 after creating digital pictures of whales and selling tokens of their ownership which are stored on blockchain.

Benyamin Ahmed’s collection of pixelated artworks called Weird Whales went viral during the school holidays. His success may be a harbinger of the digital business models that could disrupt the banking sector.

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‘Sleep is venture capital’: employers wake up to benefits of a nap

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After lockdown some businesses understand better how flexible working hours enhance productivity

A three-hour break in the middle of the working day for a languorous lunch, followed by a restorative nap sounds like the Mediterranean dream, but employers in Spain are increasingly moving away from this rigid schedule, which for many workers feels more like a nightmare.

The merits of introducing the siesta in the UK have been hotly debated this week after the National Trust unveiled plans to move towards “Mediterranean working hours” at some sites in the south-east, to help cope with rising annual temperatures.

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What will our eco-friendly homes of the future look like?

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The planet-saving innovations available, and which are most likely to be used in UK houses

As we argue over heat pumps and electric car charging sockets here in the UK, it is undeniable that most of our homes have a long way to go to be eco-friendly.

To reach net zero, we are going to have to change how we heat our houses. The way they are built will probably have to change, too. Perhaps the ubiquitous squat brick suburban house will become a thing of the past. Hopefully so will our Victorian pipe system and, for those of us who rent, our ancient boilers which make a disturbing noise.

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Surplus pigs could end up being culled due to staff shortages, meat industry warns

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As many as 70,000 pigs that should have already been taken to slaughter are stranded on UK farms, NPA says

Britain’s pig producers are warning that healthy animals may end up being culled if the government does not take urgent action to deal with shortages of workers at abattoirs and meat-processing plants.

As many as 70,000 pigs that should have already been taken to slaughter are stranded on UK farms, according to the industry trade body the National Pig Association (NPA).

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Andrew Quilty documents 12 days of chaos in Kabul – in pictures

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The Australian photojournalist has been working in the Afghan capital as troops from the US, UK and Australia withdraw. A period culminating in two suicide bombings, which tore through crowds trying to enter Hamid Karzai international airport

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Scottish independence vote depends on sustained support, says UK minister

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Alister Jack says government could allow vote if support for referendum stays above 60% for long period

The UK government could approve a second Scottish independence referendum if support for staging one stays above 60% for a sustained period, Alister Jack, the Scotland secretary, has said.

Jack said consistent support for a fresh vote would confirm to the government that one was justified, as he signalled a further softening of the Conservatives’ previously rigid rejection of Scottish National party demands for a second referendum.

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Bank holiday weekend travel warning as fine weather forecast for UK

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Holidaymakers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland look to take advantage of late summer sun

People seeking a bank holiday getaway in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are being warned to avoid major roads before 7pm as holidaymakers look to take advantage of good late summer weather forecast for much of the UK.

The RAC estimates that 16.7m leisure trips are planned between Friday and Monday, with the south-west predicted to be especially packed.

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Air pollution linked to more severe mental illness – study

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Exclusive: research finds small rise in exposure to air pollution leads to higher risk of needing treatment

Exposure to air pollution is linked to an increased severity of mental illness, according to the most comprehensive study of its kind.

The research, involving 13,000 people in London, found that a relatively small increase in exposure to nitrogen dioxide led to a 32% increase in the risk of needing community-based treatment and an 18% increase in the risk of being admitted to hospital.

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