Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
The UK music industry is set to halve in size this year as issues including an effective shutdown of concerts, gigs and festivals strip £3bn from its contribution to the economy.
UK Music, the umbrella organisation representing the commercial music industry from artists and record labels to the live music sector, has revealed that the industry grew by 11% last year to be worth £5.8bn to the UK economy.
Accountancy firm warns of stalled economic recovery without EU trade agreement
Failure to strike a post-Brexit trade deal would cut the UK’s economic growth rate by more than half next year, delaying a full recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report.
The accountancy firm KPMG said the economy would suffer heavily should the UK fail to secure a trade deal with the EU before the end of the Brexit transition period at the end of December, just as the country attempts to escape the deepest recession since records began.
Airlines have piled more pressure on the UK government to open up transatlantic air corridors after the first confirmed “Covid-free flight” arrived at Heathrow and the launch of a pre-departure testing trial by British Airways.
A United Airlines flight from Newark arrived at London Heathrow on Tuesday morning having tested all of the passengers onboard to certify them free from coronavirus before departure.
More than 2.7 million Scots will face near-lockdown restrictions for three weeks after Nicola Sturgeon imposed the country’s highest level of Covid restrictions across the west of Scotland.
Following a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning, Scotland’s first minister told MSPs that 11 local authority areas would enter level 4 – the highest of Scotland’s five-tier system of virus controls – from 6pm this Friday for a limited period.
EasyJet has slumped to a £1.3bn full-year loss, the first in its 25-year history, but said bookings had been boosted by positive news on Covid-19 vaccines.
Johan Lundgren, the chief executive, said bookings had surged by 50% last week after the US drugmaker Pfizer and the German biotech firm BioNTech announced that their coronavirus vaccine was more than 90% effective. “Momentum has continued this week, as people have more confidence making travel plans going forward,” he said.
Suspect, who is serving time for drug conviction, sustains two broken ribs in incident
A suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the British toddler who vanished from a Portuguese resort 13 years ago, sustained two broken ribs in an incident in a German court, authorities have said.
The incident occurred after Christian Brückner, who is serving time for a drug conviction, was taken to Braunschweig state court on Monday for a routine hearing on that case.
Treasury seeking to slash target for aid spending from 0.7% of gross national income to 0.5%
The Treasury is planning to slash billions from the overseas aid budget despite the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, praising the government’s 0.7% aid target on Monday as representing UK values in front of aides to Joe Biden.
The Treasury wants to cut the aid budget from 0.7% of gross national income to 0.5% next year and plans to make the announcement as part of next Monday’s one-year spending review.
Hamilton has just equalled the record of seven F1 world championships – many believe he is the greatest driver of all time. And this year, more than ever, he has been leading the fight against racism
At the end of 2019, Lewis Hamilton had a realisation about Formula One. “I was looking at pictures of all the teams – they do these team photos in front of the garage or on the track – and they’ve posted all these pictures and I’m like, there are no people of colour in any of these teams.”
Hamilton says he had always thought that his presence and his incredible success would “spark change”. Somewhat naively, he now acknowledges he thought his career as the world’s most successful racing driver – along with the presence of his dad, Anthony, and his racing driver brother, Nicolas – would be enough to “open up doorways” for others. The realisation that after all these years it wasn’t happening led him to rethink.
British Transport Police assistant chief constable says officers should have been patrolling site of attack
A senior police chief has admitted that officers who failed to patrol the site of the Manchester Arena bomb “let the public down”.
An inquiry into the terrorist attack heard that two British Transport Police (BTP) officers left the area to take a meal break of more than two hours, involving a five-mile trip to buy kebabs.
Hopes are rising for the Covid jab being developed by Oxford University, after Moderna became the second company to reveal impressive results from its vaccine trials.
Countries reject package over attempts to link funding to respect for rule of law
The EU is facing a crisis after Hungary and Poland vetoed the bloc’s historic €1.8tn (£1.6tn) budget and coronavirus recovery plan over attempts to link funding to respect for democratic norms.
The move unravels months of negotiations over the scale and terms of the EU’s spending and sets the stage for a stormy videoconference meeting of the bloc’s leaders on Thursday.
The four other Conservative MPs present at the meeting last week with Boris Johnson and Lee Anderson, the Tory who has subsequently tested positive, are also self-isolating.
According to the BBC, they are: Katherine Fletcher, Andy Carter, Lia Nici and Brendan Clarke-Smith.
I have been contacted by NHS Test and Trace following a work meeting last week with Lee Anderson MP and the Prime Minister.
As a result I will be self-isolating in line with the rules. I currently have no symptoms and will be working from home
Yes, I had a call from test and trace yesterday following a work meeting at 10 Downing Street last Thursday. In line with the rules I am self isolating. https://t.co/IZLWwqBytO
Residents in a dozen Scottish council areas, including Glasgow, Stirling and Inverclyde, face a two-week lockdown from later this week after the failure of Scottish government efforts to suppress Covid-19 across the country.
Business leaders were warned on Friday the 12 highly-populated areas were likely to be put at the highest level, tier 4 of the Scottish government’s Covid restrictions, from 6am on Friday morning.
Glasgow has 90 out of the top 100 Covid infection hot spots. So in schools in those catchment areas, we think you have to look seriously at closing them as part of the community mitigation to drive down infection levels.
Our default position is we should be looking at remote learning at level 4, but given the Scottish parliament has voted against that, we want at the very least to look at individual schools to see what action should be taken.
Use the COVID Alert SA app to protect yourself, your loved ones and your community. Start using this privacy preserving app today. Add your phone to the fight! Download the Covid Alert SA app now! https://t.co/8YKEqaiiRFpic.twitter.com/MwMJovMXA9
The Australian state of Victoria has recorded its 18th day without a new coronavirus case or death.
We have more from Reuters on the tough new measures expected to be agreed in Germany, in a meeting between state leaders and the chancellor, Angela Merkel, later on Monday.
Earlier we reported how they would include compulsory mask-wearing at schools and drastic restrictions on household gatherings. A draft document of the measures, seen by Reuters, also said people would be urged to avoid private parties completely in coming weeks.
Hullo! This is Damien Gayle taking the reins on the live blog now for the rest of the working day here in the UK.
If you have any interesting coronavirus-related news, suggestions or comments from your part of the world, that you think is worth our including on the blog, please drop me a line, either via email to damien.gayle@theguardian.com, or via Twitter DM to @damiengayle.
A string of Conservative MPs are self-isolating following a meeting inside Downing Street that has forced Boris Johnson to spend a potentially crucial political week holed up inside No 10.
The prime minister, who was seriously ill with coronavirus in April, has insisted he is fine and that his body “is bursting with antibodies” after being ordered to self-isolate following a meeting with northern Tory MPs on Thursday.
The team behind Eden Project North hopes it can be a major new attraction in Morecambe that will re-imagine the British seaside for the 21st century – and regenerate a coastal community.
Simon Coveney warns talks may collapse amid fishing rights impasse
Brexit negotiations on a trade deal resume in a crucial week, as it emerged talks on the issue of EU access to British fishing waters have not progressed since the summer.
As the two sides re-engaged in the troubled discussions, with less than seven weeks to go before the end of the transition period, Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, said the negotiations were “not in a good place” on fishing rights.
MEPs might not be able to seal any agreement until three days before transition period ends
A European parliament vote to seal a Brexit trade deal could be delayed until 28 December, three days before the end of the transition period, under an emergency EU plan.
With less than seven weeks to go before the UK leaves the single market and customs union, the negotiations remain troubled, with the talks on fishing rights in UK waters not progressing significantly since the summer.
Research based on playing time data showed gamers reported greater wellbeing
Playing video games can be good for your mental health, a study from Oxford University has suggested, following a breakthrough collaboration in which academics at the university worked with actual gameplay data for the first time.
The study, which focused on players of Nintendo’s springtime craze Animal Crossing, as well as EA’s shooter Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, found that people who played more games tended to report greater “wellbeing”, casting further doubt on reports that video gaming can harm mental health.