Category Archives: UK news

What happens when WhatsApp’s new terms start on 15 May?

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Messaging app will begin to turn off features until users agree to Facebook’s updated terms of service

If you have not agreed to WhatsApp’s controversial new terms of service by 15 May, the app will begin to turn off features until you do, Facebook announced in an update to its FAQ page.

At that point, the screen asking users to accept the terms of service set by Facebook, WhatsApp’s parent company, will become permanent, with users needing to click through to directly use WhatsApp at all. Users will still be able to interact with the app in other ways for “a few weeks”, however, such as receiving calls, replying to messages, or responding to missed calls.

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‘It’s terrifying’: the English village overwhelmed by landfill stink

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For miles around Walleys Quarry in Silverdale, people have reported waking up in the night struggling to breathe

It may have been labelled the country’s smelliest village but it is much more than a bad stench making life miserable for the residents of Silverdale in Staffordshire.

For miles around Walleys Quarry landfill near Newcastle-under-Lyme, people have reported waking up in the middle of the night struggling to breathe, with itchy eyes and sore throats. Those with asthma have had their medication increased, and some have reported nosebleeds.

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Nearly 40% of AstraZeneca investors reject boss’s bonus rise

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Covid vaccine maker passes its remuneration policy but suffers sizeable rebellion

AstraZeneca has suffered a substantial shareholder rebellion over proposals to hand its chief executive, Pascal Soriot, bigger bonus awards for the second consecutive year.

Nearly 40% voted against the policy, which could hand him pay and perks of nearly £18m for 2021.

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The Ballymurphy shootings: 36 hours in Belfast that left 10 dead

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Even by the violent standards of Northern Ireland’s Troubles, the events of August 1971 were particularly shocking

Even by the standards of Northern Ireland’s Troubles it was a tumultuous, violent couple of days.

The British army swept into nationalist neighbourhoods across the region on the morning of 9 August 1971 as part of Operation Demetrius, rounding up hundreds of suspects without trial in the hope of snuffing out the IRA’s campaign.

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10 people shot dead in Ballymurphy were innocent, inquest finds

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Report says killings during British army operations in Belfast in 1971 were unjustified

An inquest has found that all 10 people shot dead during operations by the British army in Ballymurphy in 1971 were innocent and that the killings were unjustified, confirming it as one of the bloodiest atrocities of Northern Ireland’s Troubles.

Mrs Justice Keegan delivered her damning findings in a long-awaited coroner’s report on Tuesday. Families of those killed who have campaigned for decades to clear the names of their relatives wept, hugged and applauded.

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Puppet of refugee girl to ‘walk’ across Europe along 12-week arts festival trail

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Three teams of four puppeteers will accompany Little Amal from Turkey to Manchester to celebrate refugees

A giant puppet of a nine-year-old Syrian refugee girl is to “walk” from Turkey to the UK through villages, towns and cities for one of the most ambitious and complex public artworks ever attempted.

The Walk project was meant to have taken place between April and July but was delayed by the pandemic. Now the 5,000 mile (8,000km) journey of Little Amal, from Gaziantep, near the Turkish-Syrian border, to Manchester, will take place over 12 weeks from 27 July.

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Man, 21, charged with murder of PCSO Julia James

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Callum Wheeler charged with murder of woman whose body was found in Kent woodland

A 21-year-old man has been charged with the murder of PCSO Julia James, whose body was found in Akholt Wood near her home in Snowdown, Kent on 27 April.

Callum Wheeler, 21, from Aylesham, has been charged with the murder of Julia James, PCSO, Kent police said on Monday evening.

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Queen’s speech to focus on adult learning and easing planning rules

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Levelling up agenda accompanied by bills bringing in voter ID and banning conversion practices

Ministers are to unveil a legislative programme aimed at its new electoral strongholds in northern England and the Midlands, with a Queen’s speech focused on adult education and homeownership.

It also features proposals to bring in mandatory voter ID, which has been condemned by US civil rights groups as akin to Republican-style voter suppression. Another plan will pave the way to outlaw conversion practices.

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The Hut Group strikes complex joint venture deal with SoftBank

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Deal values ‘yet to be formed’ technology division of THG at $6.3bn

The Hut Group (THG), the online retailer empire run by billionaire Matthew Moulding, has struck a complex joint venture deal with Japanese investment giant SoftBank that values a “yet to be formed” technology division of THG at $6.3bn (£4.5bn).

The deal, announced on Monday, values THG Ingenuity, which Moulding described as a “social media influencer platform” used to promote products, at about the same amount that the whole company floated at last year.

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Boris Johnson confirms further easing of lockdown in England

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PM says social distancing will be left up to ‘personal choice’ as he confirms next phase of roadmap will go ahead as planned

Social distancing and the 1 metre-plus rule could be scrapped next month, the prime minister has suggested, as he confirmed the next step of England’s lockdown easing but said families and friends should think carefully before deciding to hug.

Heralding a “very considerable” easing of measures, the prime minister said that from next Monday pubs and restaurants can open their doors to serve customers inside, and people can gather in groups of 30 outside.

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English pubs and restaurants can open indoors from next Monday, says Johnson – video

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Social distancing between family and friends is to be left up to 'personal choice' from next week and gatherings of six people from different households will be allowed indoors again, Boris Johnson announced, as he laid out the next phase of England's lockdown easing. However, he urged people not to 'throw caution to the wind', and to continue social distancing in public spaces.

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End of England’s hug ‘ban’ highlights confusion over law and guidance

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Analysis: people have had right to hug whoever they want throughout pandemic - they were simply advised not to

Newspapers and news programmes on Monday morning reported that people in England would soon be allowed to hug again.

It was a tremendous feelgood story, one that filled the country with hope that the end of the coronavirus pandemic, and its inhuman restrictions, is in sight.

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Boris Johnson being investigated over Caribbean holiday

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Parliamentary standards watchdog says it is looking into a possible breach of MPs’ code of conduct

Boris Johnson is under investigation over who paid for his Caribbean holiday with his fiancee, Carrie Symonds, during Christmas 2019.

The parliamentary standards commissioner, Kathryn Stone, confirmed on Monday morning that she was investigating a possible breach of the MPs’ code of conduct.

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‘We thank your government for our full pockets’ – Calais smugglers speak

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As the UK pours millions into security measures, migrants say the gangs who control the Channel just get more powerful

“Sorry, my battery’s low because I drained it watching YouTube tutorials on how to assemble dinghies,” Abuzar says. He is speaking on a video call from the abandoned shed in Calais he calls home. “I want to join my brother for asylum in the UK, but I have to work for smugglers because I don’t have enough money to pay for the crossing.

“They hide boat parts on the beaches for me to assemble at night, but I’m so scared– – if I mess it up, children could drown on the boat.”

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Not cricket? Scientists suggest bamboo bats are a match for willow

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Researchers create bat with similar performance from what they say is cheap and sustainable material

Cricket has been bowled a googly by scientists who have suggested the traditional willow used to make bats could be replaced by bamboo to increase their sustainability and boost the sport’s reach.

“Willow has been the principal material for cricket bats for centuries,” said Dr Darshil Shah at the University of Cambridge, who co-authored the study.

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Labour reshuffle: Angela Rayner takes major role after Keir Starmer standoff

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Row between leader and deputy holds up reshuffle while Rachel Reeves’ promotion looks set to inflame tensions with party’s left

Keir Starmer handed his deputy, Angela Rayner, a major promotion on Sunday night after a day of fraught negotiations and power battles. He also sacked his shadow chancellor and promoted his close ally, Rachel Reeves, to the role in a move likely to further inflame tensions with the party’s left.

The reshuffle of Starmer’s shadow cabinet was derailed by a prolonged standoff with Rayner, who was locked in talks with the party leader’s team for hours on Sunday. It came after leaked plans to sack her as party chair and national campaigns coordinator triggered an outcry.

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Police commissioner candidate withdraws over drink-driving conviction

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Tory Jonathon Seed, who was running in Wiltshire, was told 30-year-old offence debarred him, contradicting earlier assurances

A Tory candidate to be a police and crime commissioner (PCC) has withdrawn on the eve of counting after it emerged he had a 30-year-old conviction for drink-driving.

Jonathon Seed has been debarred from becoming a PCC due to a historical driving offence that had come to light, the Conservative party said in a statement.

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Covid live news: EU not renewing orders for AstraZeneca jabs after June; third of UK adults fully vaccinated

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Latest updates: pressure builds on Indian government to announce national lockdown; third of UK adults now fully vaccinated against Covid-19; Laos records first Covid death

The number of Covid-19 patients in French intensive care units fell below 5,000 for the first time since late March on Sunday, Reuters is reporting that health ministry data showed.

The number was down for a sixth day in a row at 4,971, against 5,005 the previous day, the ministry said.

The United States is closer to getting the coronavirus pandemic under control and health officials are focused on the next challenge: getting more Americans vaccinated, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said on Sunday, Reuters reports.

“I would say we are turning the corner,” Zients said in an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union.”

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Nicola Sturgeon says it would be ‘outrageous’ to block second indy ref

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Hostilities intensify between Holyrood and Westminster as SNP secures historic fourth term

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Nicola Sturgeon has told Boris Johnson that a second independence referendum is “a matter of when, not if”, after the Scottish National party secured a historic forth term at Holyrood on Saturday with a pro-independence majority of MSPs returned despite tactical voting by pro-union supporters.

Scotland’s first minister made the assertion in a telephone call with the prime minister on Sunday evening, despite senior Conservative figures questioning her mandate.

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Prince Michael of Kent’s army role questioned after claims he sold access to Kremlin

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Honorary position challenged by Labour after Queen’s cousin allegedly told reporters he could be hired for £10,000 a day to contact Putin’s team

Claims that the Queen’s cousin was willing to use his royal status to sell privileged access to Vladimir Putin’s regime have raised questions over whether he should keep his honorary position in the British army, according to Labour.

Prince Michael of Kent allegedly told undercover reporters posing as investors from South Korea that he could be hired for £10,000 a day to make “confidential” representations to the Russian president’s team.

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