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Coronavirus: number of confirmed UK cases rises from four to eight News comes after UK declared outbreak was ‘serious threat’ to healthCoronavirus - latest updatesThe number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK has doubled from four to eight after four more people in Brighton were diagnosed with the infection over the weekend.The four – three men and one woman – were transferred from Brighton to London over the weekend in order to receive specialist care. Continue reading... Go to Source

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to quit as CDU leader amid far-right 'firewall' row Successor to Angela Merkel also says she won’t run for chancellorship of GermanyAngela Merkel’s designated successor has announced she is not planning to run for the German chancellorship at the next federal election and plans to step down as leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), German media reported on Monday morning.The surprise announcement comes in the middle of a major row over the centre-right party’s “firewall” against the far-right, after CDU delegates in eastern Germany defied the party headquarter’s ban on cooperating with the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). Continue reading... Go to Source

Parasite makes Oscars history as first foreign language winner of best picture Bong Joon-ho’s South Korean satire wins the top prize after sweeping up best director, international film and original screenplayNine things we learned at the OscarsPeter Bradshaw: Parasite’s brilliant win is a portent of changePhil Hoad: 2020 Oscars could kickstart era of internationalismAfter an awards season marked by its predictability, the Oscars delivered a spectacular final-reel twist on Sunday evening, naming capitalist satire Parasite best picture.Bong Joon-ho’s comedy-drama about an impoverished family who infiltrate the household of a wealthier one is the first film not in the English language to take the top prize. It also took best director, best original screenplay and best int...

Government officials working on plans for bridge linking Scotland to Ireland, No 10 confirms – live news Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen 11.30am GMTAsked about the Daily Mail story about a rift between Dominic Cummings and Carrie Symonds (see 10.43am), the spokesman says he does not recognise the thrust of what the story is saying.And that’s it. The briefing is over. 11.28am GMTQ: Is levelling up about spreading opportunity, or making the country more equal?The spokesman says the PM’s agenda is about both opportunity and outcome. Continue reading... Go to Source

Storm Ciara: man dies after tree falls on to car Man pronounced dead at scene near Hampshire as 97mph gusts, snow and ice lash BritainA man has been killed after a tree fell on to his car during Storm Ciara. The 58-year-old was travelling on the A33 between Winchester in Hampshire and Micheldever village seven miles north of the city when the tree struck his Mercedes on Sunday afternoon.Police closed the road for several hours while emergency services attended. The man, who has not been named, was pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading... Go to Source

Sinn Féin to try to form ruling coalition after Irish election success Party disrupts Ireland’s centrist tradition by taking almost a quarter of votesSinn Féin will try to form a government in Ireland after apparently winning more votes than any other party in Saturday’s general election – a historic result that upended the political system.The party leader, Mary Lou McDonald, told cheering supporters on Sunday that a “revolution” had occurred and she would try to form a ruling coalition with other parties. “This is no longer a two-party system,” she said. Continue reading... Go to Source

Storm Ciara hammers UK with hurricane-force winds and floods Northern English towns inundated again as transport systems struggle to cope, but snow expected on Monday as temperatures dropHurricane-force winds and flooding have caused severe disruption across much of Britain, including damage to hundreds of properties and the cancellation of trains, flights and ferries.Storm Ciara brought heavy rain and winds of more than 90mph, knocking out power to homes in some areas. The upheaval is likely to last into the start of the working week and there is more bad weather to come. Continue reading... Go to Source

Parasite makes Oscars history as first foreign language film to win best picture South Korean satire directed by Bong Joon-ho sweeps top prize after also winning best director, international film and original screenplay Oscars 2020– live!Oscar winners 2020: full listAfter an awards season marked by its predictability, the Oscars delivered a spectacular final-reel twist on Sunday evening, naming capitalist satire Parasite best picture.Bong Joon-ho’s comedy-drama about an impoverished family who infiltrate the household of a wealthier one is the first film not in the English language to take the top prize. It also took best director, best original screenplay and best international film. Continue reading... Go to Source

Coronavirus live updates: 60 more cruise liner passengers diagnosed with virus – latest news Cases on Diamond Princess docked in Japan rise to 130 as death toll inside China jumps to 908 with more then 40,000 infections. Follow updates 5.34am GMTSixty more cases of coronavirus have been confirmed on the Diamond princess cruise ship, domestic broadcaster TBS TV said via Twitter. NHK Japan is also saying around 60 new cases have been identified, quoting the health ministry.That brings total cases on the ship docked in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, to 130, according to TBS. 5.15am GMTThe Mobile World Congress – the largest exhibition for the mobile phone industry – being held in Barcelona this month, has announced travellers from Hubei province will not be admitted. In addition, or...

'Make-or-break time' on antisemitism in Labour, says Lisa Nandy Leadership contender sets out her plan to tackle ‘crisis in the soul of our party’Lisa Nandy has launched a detailed plan for how she would tackle antisemitism in Labour if she becomes party leader, saying it is approaching “make-or-break time” for many Jewish members as to whether they remain in the party.The Wigan MP, who has been a consistent critic of how the issue has been dealt with under Jeremy Corbyn, said she hoped to rebuild trust and demonstrate that the party would fundamentally change if she takes over. Continue reading... Go to Source

Storm Ciara: travel chaos and floods amid warning of 'danger to life' – live updates Hurricane-force winds and rain rock transport network and engulf defences to bring fresh misery to flood-hit communities 5.34pm GMTA train has been sent to rescue stranded passengers in south-east England.Southeastern have just tweeted that “the rescue train will be alongside in the next few minutes and passengers will be able to transfer across, and the train will return to Rochester and Faversham.We're sending another train to this one - which will attach to the back and passengers can transfer to it, it will then go back too Rochester and Faversham. ETA for the rescue train is 30 minutes. ^JT https://t.co/9plR8dqHbq 5.32pm GMTShadow environment secretary Luke Pollard has thanked emergency servi...

Keir Starmer campaign denies hacking claim in Labour leadership row Team say inquiry only began after it raised concerns about data use of rival Rebecca Long-BaileyThe Labour leadership contest has erupted into a bitter row after the frontrunner’s campaign team were forced to vehemently deny claims they had hacked into party membership data.Keir Starmer’s team called the allegation, made in official letters from Labour, “utter, utter nonsense”, saying the inquiry only began after they raised concerns about the data use of another candidate, Rebecca Long-Bailey. Continue reading... Go to Source

Chinese in UK report 'shocking' levels of racism after coronavirus outbreak Asian community faces verbal and physical abuse in aftermath of first recorded cases of virus in Britain“We’ll be in trouble if these guys sneeze on us,” Jason Ngan overheard as he and his brother got into a lift in Manchester’s Piccadilly station. Born and bred in Manchester, home to more than 7,000 Chinese people, the legal adviser said the level of anti-Asian racism the coronavirus had unearthed was “shocking”.“People seem to have put a whole race behind it and it’s exposing all these underlying prejudices towards Chinese people, or at least anyone who looks Chinese. It’s shocking in this day and age. It was so blatant,” Ngan said. Continue reading.....

Survivors of Thai mall shooting speak of their ordeal City in state of shock after rogue soldier kills 26 and injures many moreJirattikarn Nobthai was riding his bike to the Terminal 21 shopping mall when the shooting began. He got down and tried to help others, said his mother, Sasithorn Suthisook, and he was hit once in the arm and in his side.“He was conscious even though he was shot. He called and told us ‘I was shot’ and then my husband rushed to the scene to take him to hospital,” she said. “Part of the area was declared off-limits, with traffic closed, but he couldn’t care less. It was a matter of life and death.” Continue reading... Go to Source

Boris Johnson to lower £30,000 wage threshold for immigrants PM and home secretary expected to outline changes to rules at Friday cabinet meetingBoris Johnson and Priti Patel are expected to outline immigration changes at a cabinet meeting on Friday.The prime minister and home secretary’s measures will include a drop in the salary threshold for some migrants, the BBC reported. Continue reading... Go to Source