From a paintbrush to a Stratocaster and a stained glass panel, some unexpected items took on huge new importance in a world of coronavirus restrictions
Continue reading...Category Archives: UK news
Local lockdowns possible in England if Covid rates rise, says minister
George Eustice says ‘intensive surveillance’ taking place in areas to determine if restrictions can be lifted on 21 June
Local lockdowns remain a possibility in some parts of England, as “intensive surveillance” continues in areas with high coronavirus rates, a cabinet minister has said.
The environment secretary, George Eustice, told Times Radio there was a “clear roadmap out of lockdown” with a decision due within weeks on whether the last stage of lifting of restrictions can go ahead on 21 June.
Continue reading...Securing a swift return: how a simple brick can help migratory birds
Many swifts flying back to Britain will find their summer nests lost to building renovations. But bird bricks are offering them an alternative home
Eagerly anticipated by many, it is a thrilling moment when you first hear the distinctive screech or catch sight of the long, tapered wings of the first swifts arriving for the summer. For thousands of years they have looped to the British Isles from Africa to raise the next generation, taking advantage of the long daylight hours in the north and the opportunity to scour the skies for insects from dawn to dusk.
Since they left Britain’s shores in August last year, these remarkable birds will have flown some 14,000 miles without stopping; feeding, sleeping, drinking and preening themselves on the wing. The birds returning now are likely to be at least four years old – the breeders. They head straight back to their nesting holes under eaves or gaps in stone and brickwork that they claimed and defended last summer. Within a few days their mate will arrive and, having spent nine months living independently, they will start to preen each other’s feathers within the nesting hole, crooning softly and bonding once again.
Continue reading...Parent trap: why the cult of the perfect mother has to end
Worldwide, mothers are overworked, underpaid, often lonely and made to feel guilty about everything from epidurals to bottle feeding. Fixing this is the unfinished work of feminism
It’s the middle of a dark, November night, and I’m about to have my first baby. But instead of the joyful experience I’d hoped for, I am being rushed into the operating theatre to have an emergency caesarean under general anaesthetic. I have a dangerous complication and my son’s life is at risk. Four hours earlier, I’d been sent home by a midwife who told me I couldn’t stay in hospital and have an epidural because labour wasn’t properly “established”.
It’s a week later and I’m back home with my son who, thankfully, made it. But I’m struggling. If someone asks me how I am, in a kindly voice, my voice cracks. I’m spending a lot of time sitting on the bed in a milk-stained dressing gown. In a few days, my partner will go back to work.
Continue reading...Long Covid symptoms ease after vaccination, survey finds
Exclusive: Fifty-seven per cent of people with illness say they were better overall after jab
Covid-19 vaccines tend to alleviate the symptoms of long Covid, according to a large survey of more than 800 people that suggests mRNA vaccines, in particular, are beneficial.
Though Covid-19 was initially understood to be a largely respiratory illness from which most would recover within a few weeks, as the pandemic wore on increasing numbers of people reported experiencing symptoms for months on end. There is no consensus definition of the condition of these people who have symptoms ranging from chronic fatigue to organ damage, let alone a standardised treatment plan.
Continue reading...How worrying is the India coronavirus variant for UK plans to unlock this summer?
Monday’s change in the rules was supposed to be a moment of celebration – but the new variant spreading in the UK meant it came with a cautionary note. Can the next stage of the government’s ‘irreversible’ plan go ahead?
This time last week, most of us were feeling optimistic about the next step in the government’s “irreversible” plan to end lockdown. Then scientists started to warn that the accelerating spread of the India variant of coronavirus meant that we should proceed carefully – and even consider slowing down.
While the plans went ahead on Monday, they came with a heavy dose of caution and warnings that the last stage of the relaxation set for 21 June could be delayed. The Guardian’s science correspondent Nicola Davis tells Anushka Asthana about the latest setback in the fight against Covid – and what it means for what happens next.
Continue reading...Fred West: police find ‘possible evidence’ that body of girl is buried in Gloucester cafe
Excavation work will go ahead where missing 15-year-old Mary Bastholm worked, police have said
Excavation work will go ahead in a cafe in Gloucester where missing 15-year-old Mary Bastholm worked and the serial killer Fred West was a customer, after “possible evidence” to suggest a body could be buried there, police have said.
Forensic archaeologists have been undertaking exploratory work at the Clean Plate cafe in Southgate Street in connection with the disappearance of the girl who was last seen alive in January 1968.
Continue reading...India variant will be dominant UK Covid strain ‘in next few days’
Scientists’ warning comes as government comes under pressure to explain border policy
The Covid variant first detected in India is set to be the dominant strain in the UK within days, experts have said, with the government and health teams struggling to contain cases, which have risen by more than 75% since Thursday.
With the rapid spread of the more transmissible B.1.617.2 variant threatening to reverse moves to ease lockdown, the government faced intense pressure to more fully explain the delay in adding India to the so-called red list of countries.
Continue reading...Caution and confusion mark PM’s approach to lifting Covid lockdown
Analysis: loosening of measures in England and Wales hedged with contradictory advice – but Boris Johnson sticks to plans
On what should have been a day of celebration, cabinet ministers have come across distinctly uneasy at the latest phase of the lifting of lockdown in England, Wales and parts of Scotland, which allows the reopening of indoor hospitality, hugging, overnight stays with other households and foreign travel.
Related: 17 May reopening: how Covid measures across Britain are changing
Continue reading...Home Office letter wrongly tells British citizens to apply for settled status
Long-term citizens alarmed at letter saying they risk losing rights to work and healthcare unless they apply for post-Brexit status
A number of long-term British citizens have expressed alarm at receiving letters from the Home Office telling them they risk losing the right to work, benefits and free healthcare unless they apply for UK immigration status in the next six weeks.
Campaigners said they were concerned that the “scattergun” mailshot, which was sent out to thousands of people instructing them to apply for EU settled status before the end of June, revealed weaknesses in the Home Office’s databases, and a lack of bureaucratic clarity about who has the right to live in the UK.
Continue reading...Trailer released for Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey TV series
Footage suggests Harry will revisit trauma of his mother’s death in Apple TV+ series on mental health
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex feature in an emotional trailer for Harry’s mental health documentary series with Oprah Winfrey, and footage hints that he will revisit the trauma he experienced after his mother’s death.
The two-minute trailer includes archive film from the 1997 funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, showing Harry, then 12, standing with his head bowed as his mother’s coffin passes by, alongside the Prince of Wales, who then turns to speak to his son.
Continue reading...UK ‘faces labour shortage’ as Covid and Brexit fuel exodus of overseas workers
Experts say recovery at risk amid sharp fall in EU workers and dwindling interest in UK jobs from abroad
Britain’s employers are struggling to hire staff as lockdown lifts amid an exodus of overseas workers caused by the Covid pandemic and Brexit, industry figures reveal.
According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the recruitment firm Adecco, employers plan to hire at the fastest rate in eight years, led by the reopening of the hospitality and retail sectors as pandemic restrictions are relaxed in England and Wales on Monday.
Continue reading...17 May reopening: how Covid measures across Britain are changing
Coronavirus restrictions are set to be eased in England, Wales and most of Scotland from Monday
Coronavirus restrictions will be eased further on Monday in England, Wales and most of Scotland. Northern Ireland will review its measures on Thursday, with a view to lifting more restrictions on 24 May.
The next phase of relaxation comes despite the spread of the coronavirus variant first detected in India, though Boris Johnson warned on Friday that the variant could make it “more difficult” to achieve the final step in England’s roadmap in June.
Continue reading...Four arrests over video ‘showing antisemitic abuse shouted from cars in London’
Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer condemn ‘utterly disgusting’ footage of convoy in St John’s Wood
Four men have been arrested by officers investigating a video that appeared to show antisemitic abuse being shouted from a car in north London.
Politicians had earlier condemned the footage, which was posted on Twitter and showed the cars travelling through the St John’s Wood area on Sunday afternoon. The cars were covered in Palestinian flags with a speaker blasting out antisemitic slurs and threats against Jews.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer vows all-new Labour manifesto and economic offer
Party leader says new blueprint for power will not draw on those of either Jeremy Corbyn or Tony Blair
Keir Starmer has said Labour will have a completely new blueprint for power not based on previous manifestos, as he told activists he would spend the summer making extended visits to places the party must win.
The Labour leader told a conference hosted by the centre-left thinktank Progressive Britain on Sunday that the party’s policy review would not take previous manifestos as its starting point, despite the close attachment of many members to the radical manifestos drawn up under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
Continue reading...Fake Covid vaccine and test certificate market is growing, researchers say
More than 1,200 vendors operating in the UK and worldwide, offering false documents for as little as £25
- ‘It’s pretty common’: Border Force officer tells of spotting fake Covid documents
- What are the requirements for entry to the UK?
A hidden pandemic market advertising fake vaccine and test certificates for as little as £25 has grown exponentially, with more than 1,200 vendors in the UK and worldwide, researchers have found.
After UK ministers announced the return of overseas holidays – with travellers required to show proof of negative tests, and vaccine passports on the horizon – the Guardian has also learned that anti-vaxxers and people arriving in Britain from poorer nations make up a significant number of those buying forged pandemic paraphernalia.
Continue reading...What threat does Indian Covid variant pose and do vaccines work against it?
The number of identified cases of the B.1.617.2 variant in the UK has more than doubled in a week
The number of identified cases of the Indian variant in the UK has more than doubled in a week, from 520 to 1,313, according to the most recent figures. The areas with the highest numbers so far include Bolton, Blackburn with Darwen, Erewash in Derbyshire and Bedford, all in England, and Moray in Scotland.
Continue reading...Covid live: Matt Hancock says ‘high degree of confidence’ vaccines work against Indian variant, but urges caution
UK health secretary says England will not make decision on further unlocking scheduled for 21 June until a week before
Greece reported 1,262 new coronavirus cases on Sunday alongside 50 deaths.
This is a fall from 1,427 infections recorded a week ago, when 51 deaths were also registered.
More than 20 million adults in the UK have had both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Across the UK a total of 56,677,012 vaccines have been administered between 8 December and 15 May, including 36,573,354 people with their first dose (69.4%) and 20,103,658 with their second (38.2%).
Continue reading...Two-year-old dies in suspected Lancashire gas explosion
Parents pay tribute to George Arthur Hinds as two adults remain critically injured in hospital
A two-year-old boy has died and four other people have been injured in a suspected gas explosion in Heysham, Lancashire that destroyed two homes.
A major incident was declared after the explosion on Mallowdale Avenue at about 2.30am on Sunday that also left a third house badly damaged.
Continue reading...‘I’m filled with hope’: cash-strapped Algarve awaits return of UK tourists
People in Faro are relieved and excited but do not expect a speedy recovery from impact of Covid
Tatiana stands by the counter of the souvenir shop where she works in downtown Faro, with little in the way of company besides the postcard racks, the shelves of trinkets and towels, and an all too familiar silence.
“Only three customers have come into the shop so far today,” says Tatiana, who lost her job at Faro’s airport last October after her contract was not renewed.
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