Category Archives: UK news

Liverpool to pioneer UK’s first attempt at mass Covid testing

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Up to 500,000 people in city will be tested in bid to measure feasibility of mass population screening

Up to half a million people in Liverpool are set to be tested for Covid-19 under the UK government’s first attempt to embark on city-wide mass testing and track down every case of the virus.

The Guardian also understands that the self-isolation period for those who test positive for coronavirus, and their contacts, could be cut from the current 14-day period to seven days as early as this week.

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Johnny Depp’s defeat in libel case hailed by domestic violence charities

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The trial highlighted tactics used to silence and discredit victims, say campaigners

Johnny Depp’s defeat in the London libel courts has been hailed by domestic violence charities as a victory that should encourage other victims to come forward and seek justice.

The judgment on Monday by the high court that the Sun was justified in describing the Pirates of the Caribbean star as a “wife beater” was welcomed by lawyers and campaign groups who support those who have experienced domestic abuse.

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UK coronavirus live: Starmer accuses Johnson of ‘catastrophic failure of leadership’ over England lockdown

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Latest updates: PM tells MPs he makes no apology for trying to avoid a nationwide lockdown

Ruth Davidson, the former Scottish Conservative leader, and current Tory leader in the Scottish parliament, is confident that Boris Johnson was making a concession to Scotland (and the other devolved administrations too, presumably) on furlough. See 5.34pm.

Under questioning from @Douglas4Moray, PM gives reassurance that furlough is available to devolved administrations now and in the future https://t.co/2aE8rEtEDj

In the Commons Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, asked if Scotland could access the furlough scheme beyond November.

Johnson said the furlough scheme was a UK-wide scheme.

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Lone child migrants cannot be put in adult hotels, high court rules

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More under-18s seeking asylum likely to be affected by ruling against Hillingdon council

The high court has ruled that unaccompanied child migrants cannot be placed in adult hotel accommodation after three young asylum seekers won the right to be placed in the care of social services in the first case of its kind.

The three, who cannot be identified, say they are 17 years old. They arrived in the UK in July and August 2020.

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The lockdown rebels preparing to defy No 10 on Covid restrictions

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From former Tory ministers to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, the key figures standing against a second lockdown

As England braces for a second national lockdown, Downing Street once more faces a rebellion over tougher restrictions. Ahead of a Commons vote on Wednesday, several Conservative MPs are weighing up their options. Here are some key figures who may line up against the government and the broad camps they sit in, alongside Nigel Farage and his plan for a new anti-lockdown party.

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What is the science behind England’s second national lockdown?

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PM was presented with some alarming data – with one model forecasting up to 4,000 Covid deaths a day next month

England is preparing to enter a second national lockdown after scientific advisers warned that coronavirus infections and the numbers of people in hospital are rising steeply in many areas of the country. But what is the science behind the decision?

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Why is Europe yet again at the centre of the coronavirus pandemic? | Laura Spinney

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Strategies for exiting spring lockdowns did not work, and goodwill leached away, allowing infection rates to rise

Last week Europe registered 1.5m new cases of Covid-19 – a record – making it once again the centre of the pandemic. The UK is not exempt, and England will enter a new lockdown from Thursday 5 November. From the outside, it might seem the continent is in the grip of a second wave that is ramping rapidly towards its peak. But it is not one wave, it’s many local waves, and that is crucial in understanding how to rein it in and prevent the same thing happening again.

Though there is some tentative evidence that the virus itself has undergone a change since the summer, there is none to suggest that this change has affected either the transmissibility or the severity of the disease. Nor can the change explain the synchronous surges in all parts of the continent.

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Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe avoids being returned to jail

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British-Iranian dual national in court to hear fresh charges of undermining Iranian state

The detained British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has avoided being sent back to jail after after appearing in court to hear fresh charges of undermining the Iranian state.

There had been fears that she would be sent back to Evin prison in Tehran but the hearing was adjourned before she could present her defence, her British-based family told her local MP, Tulip Siddiq.

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Sean Connery had dementia, his wife reveals

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Micheline Roquebrune says the late James Bond actor’s dementia ‘took its toll on him’

Sean Connery had dementia in his final months, his wife, Micheline Roquebrune, has revealed.

Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Roquebrune said: “He had dementia and it took its toll on him. He got his final wish to slip away without any fuss.”

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Johnny Depp loses libel case against Sun over claims he beat ex-wife Amber Heard

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Pirates of Caribbean actor had sued newspaper publisher for damage to his reputation

The Hollywood actor Johnny Depp has lost his high-stakes libel action in the London courts against the Sun after the newspaper described him as a “wife beater”.

The high court dismissed the claim by the Pirates of the Caribbean star for compensation at the end of one of the most widely followed libel trials of the century. His lawyers said he would most likely appeal against the “perverse and bewildering decision”.

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Nollywood’s new generation in the spotlight at Film Africa in London

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Gender equality, postnatal depression and transatlantic migration are all tackled in quest for international audiences

Once Nollywood might have meant films that were low budget and high drama and aimed mostly at a west African audience. But Nigerian cinema has evolved and this year a slew of new film-makers are tackling grittier subjects – and winning international acclaim.

A roster of screenings at autumn’s Film Africa festival in London reveal directors unafraid to look at issues such as gender equality, postnatal depression and transatlantic migration.

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Coronavirus live news: WHO chief Tedros in quarantine as global deaths near 1.2m

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Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus a contact of confirmed Covid case; Brexit party to rebrand as ‘anti-lockdown’ party; Prince William tested positive in April – reports. Follow the latest updates

US president Donald Trump is currently speaking past a coronavirus curfew intended to mitigate infections in Florida, as he hosts a rally in Miami-Dade county.

The county has a nightly curfew that comes into effect at midnight. But Trump’s rally is still going on past the witching hour, with thousands of supporters in attendance.

With 25 mins left til Miami-Dade’s midnight curfew goes into effect, Pres. Trump has landed in Opa-Locka. pic.twitter.com/mZtoX6LcwO

“Is there any place you would rather be than a Trump rally? We got a lot of rich people here, lotta money,” says Trump at his rally that is now breaking Miami-Dade curfew.

In Serbia, huge crowds have attended the funeral for the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro in violation of coronavirus-fighting restrictions.

Associated Press report that thousands gathered outside the main temple in the capital, Podgorica, for the liturgy and the burial of Bishop Amfilohije. Authorities said the bishop died Friday after contracting the virus weeks ago.

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Coronavirus live news: Germany goes into ‘lockdown light’ mode; global deaths pass 1.2m

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Germans told to prepare for ‘months of restrictions and abstinence’; South Korea to fine people without masks; global coronavirus deaths pass 1.2m

Governments in Europe face a “very, very difficult situation” in controlling rising numbers of Covid-19 cases as their citizens grow weary with renewed restrictions on daily life, the World Health Organization’s top emergencies expert said.

“Clearly people are frustrated, and have every right to be frustrated, and they are fatigued,” Mike Ryan told a regular WHO news briefing in Geneva.

Footage of a pianist in Barcelona playing a rendition of the Bangles’ hit Eternal Flame amid the sound of explosions, wailing sirens and protesters has gone viral on social media.

Peter William Geddes, who was playing in Plaça Nova on 31 October, said as the violence escalated in the background he felt peaceful: “When I play I am very calm. No nerves.”

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Prince William ‘tested positive for coronavirus’ in April

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Duke of Cambridge reportedly kept result secret as he ‘didn’t want to worry anyone’

The Duke of Cambridge tested positive for coronavirus in April, according to reports.

The BBC said it had been told by Buckingham palace sources that Prince William had contracted Covid-19 that month.

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‘This is revolutionary’: new online bookshop unites indies to rival Amazon

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Bookshop.org, which launched in the US earlier this year, has accelerated UK plans and goes online this week in partnership with more than 130 shops

It is being described as a “revolutionary moment in the history of bookselling”: a socially conscious alternative to Amazon that allows readers to buy books online while supporting their local independent bookseller. And after a hugely successful launch in the US, it is open in the UK from today.

Bookshop was dreamed up by the writer and co-founder of Literary Hub, Andy Hunter. It allows independent bookshops to create their own virtual shopfront on the site, with the stores receiving the full profit margin – 30% of the cover price – from each sale. All customer service and shipping are handled by Bookshop and its distributor partners, with titles offered at a small discount and delivered within two to three days.

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Boris Johnson faces Tory fury amid hints of further lockdown

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‘No alternative’ to measures given threat from Covid second wave, PM will tell Commons

Boris Johnson will insist there is “no alternative” to a nationwide lockdown as he addresses the House of Commons on Monday amid mounting fury among Tory MPs, after ministers conceded the new “stay at home” order could be extended beyond 2 December.

The prime minister will tell parliament that without the draconian new measures, which will come into force across England on Thursday, deaths from coronavirus over the winter could be “twice as bad or even worse” than in the first wave.

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Positively shocking: Trump’s boasts of help from Sean Connery fall apart

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President claimed Bond actor helped him get planning permission for Scottish resort

It was less licence to kill and more dramatic licence. Donald Trump’s claim that the late Sean Connery assisted him in getting planning applications passed in Scotland fell apart quickly on Sunday when the chair of the planning committee said the James Bond star was not involved.

In a series of tweets, two days prior to the US election, Trump paid tribute to Connery, saying he was “highly regarded and respected in Scotland and beyond”. It was announced on Saturday the James Bond actor had died aged 90.

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Starmer: most Labour members would not support Corbyn’s EHRC response

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Labour leader says his predecessor should ‘reflect’ on comments about antisemitism

The “vast majority” of Labour members would not have approved of Jeremy Corbyn’s response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s report on antisemitism in the party, Sir Keir Starmer said on Sunday.

The new leader also said his predecessor should “reflect” on what he said following the publication of the findings of the EHRC inquiry which found the party responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination.

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Covid: how chilling projections prompted Johnson to lockdown

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Opposition of Sunak melted away during quad meeting and PM sided with Gove and Hancock

Morgues in converted ice rinks, security guards outside overwhelmed hospitals to turn patients away, even municipal mass graves.

When Boris Johnson’s “quad” of senior ministers met on Friday, they were presented with a chilling prognosis of what would happen if they failed to take draconian action.

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What you can and can’t do in England’s new Covid lockdown

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Which businesses will have to close, how many people can meet and more key questions answered

Boris Johnson has announced a four-week lockdown in England, following weeks of pressure from his own scientific advisers and opposition parties to introduce tougher measures to tackle coronavirus. The full details of the restrictions will be published early this week before a vote in parliament on Wednesday.

This is what we know so far.

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