News- UK

Wuhan facing 'wartime conditions' as global coronavirus deaths reach 719 With businesses around the world suffering, Beijing tightens controlsIncreasingly desperate officials in the quarantined centre of the coronavirus outbreak have tightened controls on an already frightened population, likening the growing crisis to “wartime conditions”. Related: The Guardian view on tackling the new coronavirus: handle with care | Editorial Continue reading... Go to Source

Sanders and Buttigieg to go head to head in first debate since Iowa tie Debate will also be a key test for Warren and Biden, who trail the dual frontrunners ahead of New Hampshire primary on TuesdayDemocratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg are set to go head to head with five fellow contenders in a live televised debate in Manchester, New Hampshire, after the chaotic Iowa caucuses saw both men declare victory in a contest that was too close to call.Ahead of the New Hampshire primary vote next week, there is still no clear frontrunner in the race to become the Democratic presidential nominee who will take on Donald Trump in November’s election, though recent polling has shown both Sanders and Buttigieg leading days ahead of the New Hampshire primary. Cont...

Alexander Vindman: witness who spoke out against Trump fired from job Vindman escorted out of White House on Friday afternoonTrump ‘decided to exact revenge’, says Vindman’s lawyerIn an accelerating assault on Donald Trump’s critics in the days since his impeachment acquittal, Lt Col Alexander Vindman, who defied Trump to deliver public testimony during the impeachment inquiry, was removed from his White House post on Friday afternoon. Related: Trump impeachment witness Alexander Vindman fired from White House job – live Continue reading... Go to Source

UK unprepared for COP 26 conference, warn climate leaders Former UN climate envoy joins list of experts frustrated at Britain’s lack of leadershipThe UK is showing a “lack of coherence” in its leadership of vital UN climate crisis talks this year and giving the damaging impression that the talks are not a high priority, one of the world’s leading voices on the climate crisis has said.Mary Robinson, a former UN climate envoy and Ireland’s first female president, also said the perception that major British politicians, including the ex-prime minister David Cameron and former foreign secretary William Hague, were unwilling to take on the role of leading the COP 26 summit was damaging. Continue reading... Go to Source

Tory candidate jailed for violent threats against Yvette Cooper Joshua Spencer, 25, attended Cooper’s election count after arrest and received character reference from Tory MPA Conservative activist who sent messages claiming to have paid “crackheads” £100 to beat up the Labour MP Yvette Cooper and warned that “if you make peaceful revolution difficult you make a violent one inevitable” has been jailed for nine weeks.Joshua Spencer, who received a character reference from the Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns, attended Cooper’s general election count in December as a representative of the Conservative party despite being under investigation by West Yorkshire police after his arrest. Continue reading... Go to Source

China trials anti-HIV drug on coronavirus patients News of Kaletra being tested as a possible treatment for the disease sparks panic buying Coronavirus – latest newsA drug used to treat people with HIV, the virus that causes Aids, is being trialled in patients in China as a possible therapy against the coronavirus.News that HIV drugs are being deployed in hospitals, however, has led to panic buying on the black market by people who fear they are ill or are going to get sick. They have been obtaining the drug, Kaletra, from generics companies in India and even from people with HIV in China willing to sell or donate their own stocks. Continue reading... Go to Source

Armed ecoguards funded by WWF 'beat up Congo tribespeople' Exclusive: Inquiry into $21.4m conservation project reports ‘credible’ evidence of abuseArmed ecoguards partly funded by the conservation group WWF to protect wildlife in the Republic of Congo beat up and intimidated hundreds of Baka pygmies living deep in the rainforests, an investigation into a landmark global conservation project has heard.A team of investigators sent to northern Congo by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to assess allegations of human rights abuses gathered “credible” evidence from different sources that hunter-gatherer Baka tribespeople living close to a proposed national park had been subjected to violence and physical abuse from the guards over years, according to a leaked draft ...

Watchdog warns true number of cases where claimants took own lives as a result of DWP actions could be far higher The Department of Work and Pensions has investigated 69 suicides of benefit claimants in the past six years and said this could be a small fraction of the total number of such deaths, a government watchdog has said.The National Audit Office (NAO) said it is unlikely this figure represents the true number of benefit-related suicides, in part because the DWP did not until recently actively seek information from coroners and other sources about such cases. Continue reading...

Shamima Begum loses first stage of appeal against citizenship removal Former schoolgirl who went to Syria to join Islamic State had citizenship revoked a year agoShamima Begum, the woman who left Britain as a schoolgirl to join Islamic State in Syria, has lost the initial stage of her appeal against the Home Office’s move to revoke her citizenship and prevent her from returning to London.A judgment by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) found against Begum, now 20, on three grounds, including that she had not been improperly deprived of her citizenship. Continue reading... Go to Source

Phillip Schofield, ITV presenter, comes out as gay ITV show host appeals for kindness, particularly to wife and daughters who support himPhillip Schofield, the co-presenter of ITV’s This Morning, has announced he is gay.In a statement released on the programme’s Twitter account, the presenter, who has been married to his wife for almost 27 years, paid tribute to his family. Continue reading... Go to Source

Coronavirus: 41 more people, including British honeymooner, test positive on cruise ship – latest news Total infections pass 30,000 as Wuhan whistleblower doctor dies and North Korea confirms first case of virusDoctor who blew whistle over virus diesProfile of whistleblower doctorFirst British national to get virus had been in SingaporeShare your stories 11.44am GMTThe world is running out of masks and other gear to protect against the new coronavirus, the World Health Organization has warned.The WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told the organisation’s executive board in Geneva:The world is facing a chronic shortage of personal protective equipment. 11.31am GMTA woman from China has taken ill at Copenhagen airport, prompting a small area to be cordoned off.The Copenhagen a...

Give people right to ignore work emails at home, says Long-Bailey Labour leadership contender says she wants to end ‘24/7 work culture’Rebecca Long-Bailey has called for workers to be given the right to ignore work emails and messages outside working hours to end the “24/7 work culture” and protect mental health.The Labour leadership candidate said she would bring new ideas to the party, having worked on her policy positions for four years. Continue reading... Go to Source

Jamaica deportations 'must be halted until Windrush report published' Home Office warned against forced removal of about 50 people until report is released The advisory panel of a review into the Windrush scandal, including a former senior immigration judge, has warned against the resumption of mass deportation flights to Jamaica until after its report is published.Up to 50 people are due to be deported on Tuesday in what will be the second immigration removal charter flight to Jamaica since the Guardian exposed the scandal of the wrongful deportation of Commonwealth citizens from the Caribbean in 2018. Continue reading... Go to Source

'Hero who told the truth': Chinese rage over coronavirus death of whistleblower doctor Demands for freedom of speech in the wake of Li Wenliang’s death have been censored by the authorities amid widespread outpouring of anger Coronavirus outbreak – latest updatesThe death of a whistleblowing Chinese doctor who was punished for trying to raise the alarm about coronavirus has sparked an explosion of anger, grief and demands for freedom of speech among ordinary Chinese.Li Wenliang, 34, died in the early hours of Friday local time after he was infected during the fight against the outbreak, said Wuhan central hospital, where he worked, in a statement. Continue reading... Go to Source

Doctor who blew whistle over coronavirus has died, hospital says Early reports of death of Li Wenliang were retracted, only for doctor to succumb to disease later in dayCoronavirus – latest developmentsA whistleblowing Chinese doctor who tried to raise the alarm about the coronavirus outbreak has died, a Communist party-controlled newspaper has confirmed.Li Wenliang, 34, was declared dead at 2.58am local time on Friday morning after “emergency treatment” at a hospital in Wuhan, the Global Times reported, following hours of confusion over his fate. Continue reading... Go to Source

Terror police's Extinction Rebellion 'risk report' sent out a year ago Police say Rising Up report was commissioned as group had a ‘large following’ and concluded XR was not a threatCounter-terrorism chiefs ordered a formal assessment of whether Extinction Rebellion was a national security threat one year ago and then sent a secret report about the group to police forces, the Guardian has learned.The revelation shows that counter-terrorism police’s interest in the non-violent climate emergency group began earlier and was more extensive than previously thought. Continue reading... Go to Source

‘It was all bullshit’: Trump delivers mocking, vitriolic speech after acquittal President turned speech into a screed against investigations into his administration and railed against DemocratsDonald Trump delivered a triumphalist, mocking, vitriolic and vulgar speech in the White House on Thursday afternoon in celebration of the acquittal at his impeachment trial the night before in the US Senate.In ebullient mood, the US president held up the front page of the Washington Post with the headline “Trump acquitted” and said: “I went through hell, unfairly, I did nothing wrong.” Then he asked for the newspaper to be framed. Continue reading... Go to Source

Christina Koch returns to Earth after record-breaking space mission Koch lands in Kazakhstan after 328 days in space, the longest continuous spaceflight by a female astronaut She would miss the friendship of her crewmates, she said, and of course the spectacular views.But after 328 days on the International Space Station – the longest continuous spaceflight ever undertaken by a female astronaut – Christina Koch could not deny last week that she was looking forward to experiencing some very simple pleasures back on Earth, including “the feeling of wind on my face”. Continue reading... Go to Source

Third person in UK confirmed as having coronavirus Patient diagnosed in Brighton and taken to London did not catch virus in UK or ChinaCoronavirus – latest updatesThe UK has a third case of coronavirus infection, England’s chief medical officer has confirmed.The patient, who it is understood was diagnosed in Brighton but is being transferred to a London hospital, did not contract the disease in the UK or mainland China but another country in Asia. Continue reading... Go to Source

UK to host spyware firm accused of aiding human rights abuses Exclusive: NSO Group technology is allegedly used by autocratic regimes to spy on journalists and activistsThe British government is helping a controversial Israeli spyware company to market its surveillance technologies at a secretive trade fair visited by repressive regimes, the Guardian can reveal.The government will host the NSO Group, which sells technology that has allegedly been used by autocratic regimes to spy on the private messages of journalists and human rights activists, at the closed Security and Policing trade fair in Hampshire next month. Continue reading... Go to Source

Trump celebrates impeachment acquittal by lashing out at 'evil' opponents – live Trump speaks at White House for first time since acquittalReport shows Iowa caucus results ‘riddled with inconsistencies’Buttigieg lead over Sanders narrowing in Iowa resultsHelp us cover the critical issues of 2020. Consider making a contribution 5.46pm GMTTrump took a shot at Mitt Romney after the Republican senator voted to convict the president on the first article of impeachment, abuse of power.The Utah Republican said of his decision yesterday, “As a senator-juror, I swore an oath before God to exercise impartial justice. I am profoundly religious. My faith is at the heart of who I am. I take an oath before God as enormously consequential.” 5.39pm GMTTrump addressed his contr...

Push for bathing water quality hailed as 'game changer' for UK rivers Environment Agency boss calls for more funding to help public embrace wild swimmingGrowing pressure to clean up Britain’s rivers to meet bathing water quality is a “game changer” that will require more government funding as the public embrace the outdoors, the head of the Environment Agency has said.A growing number of river users are calling for action to tackle the routine and legal discharge of untreated sewage into Britain’s waterways, which they say amounts to treating them like an open sewer. Continue reading... Go to Source

Dissident republicans suspected of Brexit day plot to blow up ferry Northern Irish police say bomb was found on lorry after tip-off about device at Belfast docksDissident republicans in Northern Ireland are suspected of trying to blow up an Irish Sea ferry on Brexit day last week, after a bomb was found on a lorry following two tip-offs.The discovery of the device came after the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) was told of a possible bomb on a lorry in Belfast docks bound for Scotland last Friday and another report on Monday naming a haulage company the lorry belonged to. Continue reading... Go to Source

Scottish finance secretary quits over messages to boy, 16 Derek Mackay reportedly sent hundreds of messages to teenager on social mediaAll the day’s politics news – liveScotland’s finance secretary, Derek Mackay, has resigned hours before he was due to deliver next year’s budget after it emerged he had been sending messages to a 16-year-old boy.The Scottish Sun published hundreds of messages that Mackay, 42, had sent the teenager, including calling him “cute”, discussing the boy’s new haircut, and inviting him to dinner and to a parliamentary event as his guest. Continue reading... Go to Source

Coronavirus: China deaths pass 560 as 10 more cruise passengers test positive – latest news Wuhan authorities warn of lack of ‘equipment and materials’ and consider converting hotels and schools into treatment centresDeaths reach 563, with fresh cases on stricken cruise ship off JapanHong Kong faces ‘double devastation’ of coronavirus and civil unrestTokyo Olympics chief says coronavirus could disrupt GamesShare your stories 11.35am GMTThe Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, warned against “rumours and panic” and called on the UK government to support to support China in its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. It is of hope that governments of all countries, including the UK, should understand and support China’s efforts, avoid overr...

Fishing: EU countries seek tough stance on access to UK waters Coastal states with strong fishing interest want EU negotiators to be clearer on desire to maintain accessEuropean countries that fish in British waters are pushing for a tougher stance to protect their fishing crews before trade talks with the UK.Western coastal states made the call at a meeting of European Union ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday evening, the first high-level diplomatic talks on chief negotiator Michel Barnier’s draft negotiating mandate since its publication on Monday. Continue reading... Go to Source

Trump impeachment: president acquitted on both articles President becomes third in US history to be impeached by the House and acquitted in Senate trialDonald Trump has been acquitted in his Senate trial on both of the articles of impeachment he faced, ending the threat that he would be removed from office and concluding the impeachment process.Voting largely along party lines, the senators found Trump not guilty of the first article of impeachment, abuse of power, by a 52-48 tally, and not guilty of the second article of impeachment, obstruction of Congress, by a 53-47 tally. Continue reading... Go to Source

Council chiefs deserve role in Labour shadow cabinet, says Nandy Leadership contender believes move would strengthen party’s work to regain ‘red wall’ seatsLabour should invite council leaders to attend its shadow cabinet as it tries to rebuild the party following the general election, leadership contender Lisa Nandy has said.The former shadow energy secretary, who is hoping to replace Jeremy Corbyn as party leader in April, announced that she would give the party’s grassroots a significant boost. She also suggested a change in its policies on local government. Continue reading... Go to Source

Experts sound alarm over PM's pledge to 'level up' UK economy Boris Johnson would need two full terms as PM to fulfil election vow, says thinktankIt would take Boris Johnson two full terms as prime minister to fulfil his pledge to “level up” the British economy, according to one of the UK’s leading economic thinktanks.The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said Johnson’s plans would probably take more than a decade to raise the level of economic output across the country, due to capacity constraints. Continue reading... Go to Source

Donald Trump acquitted on both articles in Senate impeachment trial President becomes third in US history to be impeached by the House and acquitted in Senate trialDonald Trump has been acquitted in his Senate trial on both of the articles of impeachment he faced, ending the threat that he would be removed from office and concluding the impeachment process.Voting largely along party lines, the senators found Trump not guilty of the first article of impeachment, abuse of power, by a 52-48 tally, and not guilty of the second article of impeachment, obstruction of Congress, by a 53-47 tally. Continue reading... Go to Source