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Brexit: No 10 does not rule out using fishing as bargaining chip in UK-EU trade talks – live news Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happenVaradkar: EU will have upper hand in trade talksImmigration: fast-track ‘global talent visa’ to be launched days after Brexit Auf Wiedersehen, adieu: UK MEPs face final week 11.37am GMTHere is the Times’s Steven Swinford on the significance of the PMOS’s comments on fishing.No 10 spokesman suggests access to Britain’s waters for EU fishing boats *will* be the subject of negotiations over future trade deal‘We are taking back control of our waters‘It will be for the UK to determine for the best interests of the UK who fishes in those waters’ 11.31am GMTThe PMOS is not tal...

Kobe Bryant: NBA legend dies in helicopter crash at age of 41 Star’s daughter, Gianna, also among victims of crashBasketball star dead in crash – follow latestKobe Bryant: a life in picturesKobe Bryant, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, has died in a helicopter crash. He was 41.Bryant was on board the helicopter along with eight others when it crashed at 10am local time near Calabasas, 30 miles north-west of downtown Los Angeles, in foggy weather. The crash ignited brushfires, making it hard for rescue crews to get close to the site. There were no reported survivors, and although authorities did not confirm the identity of any of the victims, Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, is also believed to have died in the crash. Bryant had lived in the a...

Keir Starmer: only a federal UK 'can repair shattered trust in politics' Labour leadership frontrunner calls for new powers for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland after BrexitKeir Starmer, the Labour leadership frontrunner, has called for a fully federal UK, devolving power to the nations and regions of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland after Brexit.The shadow Brexit secretary said only a new federal structure for the UK could “repair the shattered trust in politics”, amid growing clamour in Scotland for another independence referendum. Continue reading... Go to Source

Coronavirus: 100,000 may already be infected, experts warn UK government urged to reassure public that NHS is ready for cases within daysAbout 100,000 people could be infected with the new coronavirus around the world, experts have warned, as the UK government faced calls to reassure people that the NHS is ready to deal with any British cases within days.Prof Neil Ferguson, a public health expert at Imperial College, said his “best guess” was that there were 100,000 affected by the virus even though there are only 2,000 confirmed cases so far, mostly in the city of Wuhan in China where the virus first appeared. Continue reading... Go to Source

UK's smart motorways to be reviewed after huge rise in near-misses BBC Panorama study shows increase on M25 from 72 to 1,485 in five years since conversionBritain’s network of smart motorways – where drivers can use the hard shoulder – is being urgently reviewed by the government after it was discovered that it resulted in 20 times more near-misses on the M25 London ring road alone. The death toll on stretches of smart or managed motorways has reached 38 in the last five years, including many in accidents that motoring organisations believe were avoidable after breakdowns. Continue reading... Go to Source

Fast-track 'global talent visa' to be launched days after Brexit Boris Johnson’s scheme to attract scientists dismissed by Lib Dems as ‘gimmick’The government has announced it will launch a “global talent visa” on 20 February to encourage scientists, researchers and mathematicians to come to the UK, with no limit on how many people can be accepted.In addition, Boris Johnson said he was making available a £300m package for research into advanced mathematics. It will double funding for new PhDs and boost the number of maths fellowships and research projects. Continue reading... Go to Source

Coronavirus's ability to spread getting stronger, China suggests Officials announce new measures to contain disease, including wildlife trade ban and bus suspensionsCoronavirus latest news – liveRestrictions to halt the outbreak of the new coronavirus in China will be intensified, the country’s health commission minister has said, warning that the virus’s ability to spread appeared to be getting stronger.“The transmissibility shows signs of increasing and the ‘walking source of infection’ [where patients have few signs of disease] has made it difficult to control and prevent the disease,” said Ma Xiaowei. Continue reading... Go to Source

Corbyn allies ‘line up top jobs before new Labour leader is elected’ Party HQ, under its general secretary, Jenny Formby, has rejected criticism for advertising senior posts in emails to staffAllies of Jeremy Corbyn have been accused of trying to cement their power at the top of the party after they announced plans to appoint new staff to senior posts before the next leader is elected.The party sent an email to staff last week advertising posts of head of press and broadcasting, head of policy development, and deputy regional director in London. The applications have to be made by early February. Continue reading... Go to Source

Farewell Europe: the long road to Brexit The Observer’s political editor has reported on Britain’s place in the EU for more than 30 years. Here he charts the key moments in a stormy relationship and the missed chances to save it from destructionLast week, with the end of the UK’s 47-year membership of the club of European nations just days away, I looked back at some newspaper cuttings from my time as a Brussels correspondent. A picture of worried-looking farmers eyeing up their cattle at a market in Banbury stared out alongside banner headlines. “British beef banned in Europe. Cattle prices fall. School meals hit. EU ‘rules’ broken.” Among the many crises in British relations with the EU down the years – from Margaret Thatcher’s b...

Coronavirus outbreak: death toll rises to 56 as US plans to evacuate citizens – updates Authorities in China say infections have risen to more than 1,600 while the US and Australia are pulling people out of stricken city of Wuhan. Follow all the latest developments here Scientists race to discover how Wuhan victims were infected 5.14am GMTWe have a interesting insight into how the outbreak first affected people in Wuhan as a local woman tells us how she contracted the virus after eating near the now infamous market in the city. Related: Coronavirus: from one food market to global panic 5.03am GMTThis liveblog is now moving from Australia (where it’s Australia Day, somewhat controversially) to India, where it’s Republic Day.My colleague in New Delhi, Hannah Ellis-Petersen...

Revealed: the £12bn bill for scrapping high-speed rail link As Boris Johnson assesses project, Tory mayor for West Midlands warns of political cost of scrapping itScrapping the HS2 rail project will cost at least £12 billion in write-offs and compensation and plunge major construction companies into financial peril, ministers are being warned.Sources close to the beleaguered scheme told the Observer that extra costs of £3bn-£4bn would be incurred even if it were scrapped immediately. £9bn has been spent already. With the issue causing tension inside the Conservative party, Whitehall insiders said that Boris Johnson could decide on the fate of the project as soon as this week as concerns grow that costs are spiralling out of control. Billions have already been s...

Grenfell inquiry panellist steps down over cladding company links Benita Mehra had been the target of fury from survivors and bereaved of 2017 tragedyA key member of the Grenfell Tower public inquiry has resigned after fury among survivors and the bereaved at her links to the company that made the combustible cladding.Less than 48 hours before the inquiry is due to start hearing evidence about “decisions which led to the installation of a highly combustible cladding system”, Boris Johnson announced Benita Mehra was standing down from a panel advising the chairman of the inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-Bick. It followed 10 days of rising pressure on the prime minister from the community devastated by the fire on 14 June 2017 – which claimed 72 lives – to reverse her a...