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Sajid Javid expected to back HS2 despite spiralling costs Chancellor’s decision comes amid calls from new Tory MPs for project to be scrappedSajid Javid is expected to throw his weight behind the controversial HS2 rail project at a key meeting on Thursday, after the Treasury concluded it will still deliver economic benefits despite spiralling costs.The chancellor is poised to tell Boris Johnson and Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, that he believes the sums still add up despite the price tag having risen to an estimated £88bn. Continue reading... Go to Source

Brexit: MEPs ratify UK withdrawal agreement Politicians join in rendition of Auld Lang Syne after vote confirming UK departure from EU on FridayThe highs and lows of Britain’s 47 years in the EEC and EUBritain’s departure from the EU on 31 January was set in stone in a historic moment for the nation as MEPs in Brussels ratified the withdrawal agreement before breaking out in a rendition of Auld Lang Syne.As the president of the European parliament, David Sassoli, announced the result of the vote, with 621 in favour to 49 against with 13 abstentions, MEPs stood almost as one to sing the Scottish song. Continue reading... Go to Source

Telescope captures most detailed pictures yet of the sun First observations from Inouye telescope bring previously hazy star into sharp focusThe sun’s turbulent surface has been revealed in unprecedented detail in the first observations by the Inouye solar telescope in Hawaii.The striking images reveal a surprising level of structure hidden within the churning plasma exterior, bringing a previously hazy impression of the sun’s patchwork surface sharply into focus for the first time. Continue reading... Go to Source

Trump impeachment: White House claims John Bolton book contains top secret information – live White House sends letter saying book cannot be publishedToday is first of two days of question-and-answer sessions at trialTrump allies seem confident they will be able to block witnessesHelp us cover the critical issues of 2020. Consider making a contribution 11.40pm GMTSenator Joe Manchin posed a question pointed toward Alan Dershowitz, noting that “high crimes and misdemeanors” clearly doesn’t refer to a statutory crime. “What has happened in the past 22 years to change the original intent of the framers?” he asked. Dershowitz’s response: “What happened was that the current president was impeached.” 11.17pm GMTAs senators mull the merits of c...

UK presses China to let dual nationals join coronavirus exodus China does not recognise dual nationality and is not letting Chinese passport holders leaveThe British government is urgently pressing Beijing to allow dual nationals to leave China after public outcry over families being split up during the coronavirus evacuations.Only British passport holders who do not also hold Chinese nationality are being allowed to leave. The British embassy in Beijing is urging the Chinese to let dependents of British nationals and British-Chinese dual nationals leave too. Continue reading... Go to Source

Brexit: MEPs approve withdrawal agreement after emotional debate and claims UK will return - live news Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happenPM tells Corbyn: don’t be so negative about Middle East peace planPMQs - Snap verdictTwitter has created ‘real problems’ for left, says Lisa Nandy 5.50pm GMTFrom the BBC’s Scotland editor, Sarah SmithScottish Parliament has voted in favour of holding another independence referendum. But this does not mean it will happen. Still needs agreement from Westminster. They've also voted to keep the EU flag flying outside Holyrood after Brexit. This will happen. 5.47pm GMTFrom Jaume Duch, spokesperson for the European parliamentThe European Parliament gives its consent to the Withdrawal Agreement ...

'We will never be Jerusalem': Abu Dis pours scorn on Trump plan Mayor of Palestinian town cut off from Jerusalem by Israeli wall says it has no aspiration to be capital of future ‘state’It seems nobody thinks much of the hillside Palestinian town of Abu Dis, not even its mayor, who finds it hard to answer why he took the job. “For real, I don’t know,” he said. “There’s a lot of crime and drugs.”When they still lived in a village with stunning views of the golden Dome of the Rock and the Mount of Olives, families from Abu Dis would walk across the valleys into Jerusalem to sell sheep, goats and cheese. Continue reading... Go to Source

Trump rages at John Bolton amid signs former adviser could be called to testify President complains of Bolton’s ‘nasty and untrue’ bookBook alleges Trump did link Ukraine aid delay to Biden inquiryDonald Trump launched a direct attack on his former national security adviser John Bolton on Wednesday amid signs that the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, does not have Republican votes locked down to block Democrats’ efforts to call Bolton as a witness in the president’s impeachment trial. Related: 'Danger! Danger! Danger!' Is Trump's team alarmed about their own case? Continue reading... Go to Source

Alastair Stewart quits as ITV presenter over 'errors of judgment' Stewart was one of ITV’s flagship newsreaders for more than three decadesThe ITV newsreader Alastair Stewart is stepping down from his presenting duties following “errors of judgment in Alastair’s use of social media”, ITN has said.There was no immediate indication of the nature of Stewart’s actions. Continue reading... Go to Source

Britons evacuated due to coronavirus to be quarantined for 14 days People returning from China could be placed at a military base, says health departmentCoronavirus: BA suspends China flights – live updatesBritons returning from coronavirus-hit Wuhan will be placed in quarantine for 14 days.Officials are considering taking passengers to a military base once they arrive home, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said. Continue reading... Go to Source

Grenfell witnesses' legal move throws inquiry into confusion People involved in cladding likely to claim privilege to allow them not to answer questionsThe Grenfell Tower public inquiry has been thrown into confusion after witnesses involved in the design and choice of materials used in the combustible facade said they were likely to claim privilege against self-incrimination as a reason for not answering questions.There were groans from the bereaved and survivors when the inquiry chairman, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, announced that Harley Facades, which erected the cladding, some employees and former employees of Rydon, the main contractor, and witnesses for the Kensington and Chelsea Tenants Management Organisation (KCTMO) were likely to claim the long-established right when cross-examin...

EU vessels will no longer have automatic access to UK fishing waters Fisheries bill to also ensure sustainable and ‘climate smart’ fishing The automatic right of EU vessels to fish in British waters, in accordance with the EU’s common fisheries policy, is to be ended under the fisheries bill introduced to parliament today.There will also be measures to ensure sustainable fishing and “climate-smart” fishing in UK waters, added since the last version of the bill which had to be abandoned. This is in line with the government’s environmental commitments, and provisions to provide financial support to fishing communities. Continue reading... Go to Source

Coronavirus evacuations begin as China cases outstrip Sars Japan and US airlift hundreds out of Wuhan as death toll rises to 132 with almost 6,000 confirmed cases inside ChinaAustralia to fly out 600 citizens – latest updatesJapan and the US have airlifted hundreds of their citizens from Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, as officials in China said the death toll from the disease had risen sharply overnight to 132, with nearly 1,500 new cases in the country.A government-chartered plane carrying 206 Japanese nationals arrived in Tokyo from Wuhan on Wednesday morning. Officials said four of the passengers – a woman and three men – had coughs and fevers and had been taken to a hospital in separate ambulances for treatment and further tests. Continue readi...

Private schools criticise plans to get more poor students into university Regulator’s pledge to boost university access in England ‘may discriminate based on class’Leading private schools have challenged plans to widen access to the most selective universities in England, warning they could lead to discrimination against young people “on the basis of the class they were born into”.The intervention by the Headmasters’ & Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC), which represents many of the country’s most expensive independent schools, reflects members’ concerns that new measures to improve access for the most disadvantaged students could lead to discrimination against students from elite private schools. Continue reading... Go to Sourc...