Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
Greater Manchester is set to run out of beds to treat people left seriously ill by Covid-19, and some of the region’s 12 hospitals are already full, a leaked NHS document has revealed.
It showed that by last Friday the resurgence of the disease had left hospitals in Salford, Stockport and Bolton at maximum capacity, with no spare beds to help with the growing influx. The picture it paints ratchets up the pressure on ministers to reach a deal with local leaders over the region’s planned move to the top level of coronavirus restrictions.
Suspect believed to be civil servant at UK’s Department for International Trade
A man has been arrested in connection with the leak of highly sensitive cables sent to London by the UK ambassador to Washington savaging Donald Trump’s character and leadership skills.
The man, believed to be a civil servant at the Department for International Trade, was arrested on Tuesday after a 15-month inquiry appeared to have gone cold.
The dispute between the UK government and Greater Manchester continued on Sunday after the Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove, said its mayor, Andy Burnham, was risking lives by opting for 'press conferences and posturing' rather than agreeing to new coronavirus rules. Burnham has accused Boris Johnson of exaggerating the severity of the Covid-19 situation in Greater Manchester
Documents reveal UAE president owns multibillion-pound property portfolio spanning London’s most expensive neighbourhoods
The row of 1960s-built houses with untidy gardens on a quiet cul-de-sac near Richmond upon Thames appears to have little in common with Ecuador’s red-brick embassy in Knightsbridge, where Julian Assange spent seven years in hiding, just across the road from Harrods.
The Australian state of Victoria has reported four new coronavirus cases and one further death, taking the state’s toll 817 and the national figure to 905.
Yesterday there were 4 new cases & sadly the loss of 1 life reported. Condolences to all those affected. Cases with unknown source & average in Regional are stable, Metro average decreased slightly. More info available later today. https://t.co/eTputEZdhs#COVID19VicDatapic.twitter.com/hJpnTBpQ76
Steven Gallant has sentence reduced as a result of ‘exceptionally brave actions’
The Queen has granted a pardon to the murderer who helped disrupt the London Bridge terror attack by confronting Usman Khan with a narwhal tusk while on day release.
Steven Gallant, who was praised for risking his life to stop the attack, has been granted the royal prerogative of mercy, an extremely rare case of absolution for a convicted murderer.
From food banks to youth clubs, the C of E hosts 35,000 projects. Now a price has been put on its contribution
Sixteen years ago, St Stephen’s church in Bradford was on the verge of closure. Its congregation had dwindled to half a dozen, and the building – a “big old barn of a place”, in a predominantly Muslim area – was in poor repair. “People thought it had had its day,” said the Rev Jimmy Hinton.
Now, St Stephen’s is a vital hub, providing support and activities in an area of acute deprivation. The nave has been cleared of its pews, and heating has been installed. On a typical day, you might find an exercise class, a support group for asylum seekers and refugees, community meals being cooked and served, singing and stories for infants, mosaic-making, and people hunting for jobs or claiming benefits online.
In March, Boris Johnson said we would turn the tide in 12 weeks and “send the coronavirus packing” and by May ministers were boasting of having a vaccine by September. Last week the prime minister sounded far less confident, telling MPs that there was still no vaccine for SARS, 18 years after it emerged. A vaccine may not be far away though.
Police use of water cannon fires up more demonstrators on streets of capital and other cities
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Bangkok and other Thai cities on Saturday, defying a crackdown against a pro-democracy movement that has challenged both the king and the prime minister.
Youth-led rallies have spread across Thailand over recent months, with protesters making public demands for reform of the country’s monarchy, which is protected by a harsh lese-majesty law and which, until recently, was considered untouchable. They have also called for changes to the constitution, and the resignation of the prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who first came to power during the 2014 coup.
A new digital “health passport” is to be piloted by a small number of passengers flying from the UK to the US for the first time next week under plans for a global framework for Covid-safe air travel.
The CommonPass system, backed by the World Economic Forum (WEF), is designed to create a common international standard for passengers to demonstrate they do not have coronavirus.
DS Nick Bailey says he ‘can no longer do the job’ despite trying hard to ‘make it work’
The police officer who almost died after he was exposed to novichok during the Salisbury poisonings in 2018 has announced he is quitting the force.
DS Nick Bailey, who came into contact with the nerve agent when he and two colleagues searched the Salisbury home of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, said he was leaving Wiltshire police after 18 years because he “can no longer do the job”.
Austria has joined the likes of the Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine and Malaysia in reporting a record daily number of coronavirus infections. It said today there have been 1,747 coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours.
The daily count has this month repeatedly exceeded the peak of 1,050 reached in March during the first wave of infections.
The mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, has said his brother has died after being admitted to intensive care with Covid-19.
Despite the efforts of all the staff @LivHospitals ICU my brother sadly died at 10.45 last night We want to thank the dedicated staff risking their lives for us.Thank you all for your messages of love and support Let’s stick together and support each other and win this battle❤️
10 mins ago my sister-in-law a Nursing Sister has told me my eldest brother her husband has got Covid-19 he is in the Royal @LivHospitals in the ICU in a very serious condition. Please watch the video, follow the rules & understand why we all need to fight the enemy #Covidhttps://t.co/pwlVALVuBF
New data reveals significant number of young vulnerable people put at risk of deportation by the Home Office
Kobe was in his final year at primary school when a drug gang recruited him. By then he’d been passed around seven different foster placements and met so many social workers he’d lost track of their names. Aged 17, Kobe was identified by the UK government as a child victim of trafficking.
When Theresa May became prime minister she attempted to make tackling modern slavery a legacy of her premiership. The current government has also been keen to flag its credentials. Earlier this year, the Home Office minister Victoria Atkins stated she was committed to “safeguarding victims of this horrific crime”.
Downing Street must urgently strike a deal with Greater Manchester leaders to introduce tougher Covid restrictions before hospitals are overwhelmed, the shadow education secretary, Kate Green, has said.
Deputy mayors and other civic leaders in the metropolitan region said in a joint statement on Friday they were “ready to meet at any time” with the prime minister to agree a way forward over the introduction of a tier 3 lockdown. They say the government’s initial proposals did not provide adequate financial support.
Government science advisers have warned that reinfections with Covid-19 are “to be expected” as the virus spreads, based on what is known about people’s immunity to other coronaviruses that cause the common cold.
Researchers on the Covid-19 Genomics UK Consortium said it was unclear at what point people who had recovered from the virus became vulnerable to reinfection, but cited emerging reports of second infections that suggested the timeframe was “relatively short”.
Government updates law to ban drivers from using phone in any way, not just calling and texting
Drivers who use hand-held phones in any way behind the wheel will face £200 fines and possible bans when changes in the law take account of smartphones.
While making calls or texting on a hand-held mobile while driving is already illegal, taking photos, scrolling through a playlist or even playing games on phones has not been outlawed until now – allowing drivers to escape charges when spotted with a phone.
Responding to a question at a televised Downing Street press conference, the prime minister wrongly suggested that new coronavirus restrictions meant separated parents might not be able to see their children. This is not only incorrect, but has been so throughout Covid restrictions, with children allowed to move between the homes of separated parents even during the peak of lockdown in March
From my colleagues Pamela Duncan and Niamh McIntyre
From tonight over half the population of England will be living in areas classed as “high risk” or “very high risk” under the government’s three-tier system, equivalent to 28.4m people.
All of Lancashire county (Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool council areas) are to move from tier 2 to the higher tier 3 category from midnight, meaning more than 3m people are now living in the highest-risk areas.
Trade negotiations often involve threats to walk away, and dire forecasts, before both side agree to compromise, and Brexit-watchers have been waiting for the UK-EU trade talks to this moment. It came this morning, when Boris Johnson used a TV statement (see 12.29pm) to say that there would no deal without a “fundamental change” in the EU’s approach.
But threats only work if people take them seriously and Johnson’s comments do not seem to have been taken as a sincere statement of intent to talk away. It was telling that, despite being asked twice if he was saying the talks were over, he would not use those words. (See 12.41pm.) If the foreign exchange markets thought Johnson was abandoning hopes of a deal, the pound would have fallen (as it has repeatedly in key moments in the Brexit drama since 2016). But it didn’t. “Market participants see comments from Boris Johnson as mainly political posturing at this stage,” an analyst told Bloomberg.
There’s no point in trade talks if the EU doesn’t change its position. The EU effectively ended the trade talks yesterday.
Only if the EU fundamentally changes its position will it be worth talking.
What I would say to that is there is only any point in Michel Barnier coming to London next week if he’s prepared to discuss all of the issues on the basis of legal text in an accelerated way without the UK being required to make all of the moves, or if he’s willing to discuss practicalities of areas such as travel and haulage which the PM mentioned in his statement.
Our position is a clear one. Only if the EU fundamentally changes position will it be worthwhile talking.
Wales is facing a “circuit breaker” lockdown of two or three weeks to stop hospitals being overwhelmed, as the country reaches what the government described as a “critical point”.
Ministers will spend the weekend coming to a final decision on their next steps, but the Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, said on Friday a “fire-break” or circuit breaker for the whole country was the option most actively being considered.
People of black and South Asian ethnic background have a greater risk of death from Covid than white people, figures have confirmed, revealing such differences are not driven by pre-existing health conditions, but largely down to factors such as living arrangements and jobs.