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Coronavirus: UK Cobra committee to meet as China death toll rises to 26 – live news UK emergency committee to discuss outbreak as more than 33 million people affected by lockdown measures in ChinaUK universities issue quarantine warning to Chinese students China: hospitals in chaos as lockdown spreads to affect 33m peopleWhat is the Wuhan coronavirus and how worried should we be?What we know so far 11.52am GMTChina will take stricter and more targeted measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, Chinese state television has reported, citing a state council meeting on virus control on Friday.“The spread of the virus has not been cut off...Local authorities should take more responsibility and have a stronger sense of urgency,” according to state media, Reuters reporte...

Essex lorry deaths: man can be extradited to UK, Irish judge rules Eamonn Harrison, from County Down, is wanted in connection with 39 container deathsA man who is wanted in connection with the discovery of 39 bodies in a refrigerated container in Essex can be extradited from Ireland to the UK, a judge in Dublin has ruled.British authorities are seeking Eamonn Harrison, 23, from Mayobridge in Newry, County Down, on charges of human trafficking and immigration offences, as well as 39 offences of manslaughter, in relation to the discovery of the bodies in October last year. Continue reading... Go to Source

Sombre EU leaders sign Brexit withdrawal agreement Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel sign document seven days before exit dayA sombre Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, the leaders of the European commission and council, have formally signed the withdrawal agreement as Brussels prepares for the UK’s exit from the EU in seven days’ time.In photographs issued of the signing ceremony in the EU’s Europa building on Friday morning, the bloc’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, can be seen standing behind the two presidents. Continue reading... Go to Source

Taylor Swift discloses fight with eating disorder in new documentary ‘There’s always some standard of beauty that you’re not meeting,’ she tells Miss Americana director Lana WilsonTaylor Swift has disclosed her experiences with an eating disorder in a new documentary. In Taylor Swift: Miss Americana, which received its premiere at the Sundance film festival last night, Swift says that she would starve herself to the extent that she felt as if she might pass out during live performances.The 30-year-old star said she would make a list of everything she ate, exercised constantly and shrank to a UK size two; she is now a size 10. “I would have defended it to anybody who said ‘I’m concerned about you,’” she tells the film’s direct...

‘Hypocrisy’: 90% of UK-Africa summit’s energy deals were in fossil fuels Exclusive: Almost £2bn went to oil and gas despite a UK pledge to support cleaner energy in African countries More than 90% of the £2bn in energy deals struck at this week’s UK-Africa investment summit were for fossil fuels, despite a government commitment to “support African countries in their transition to cleaner energy”.Prime Minister Boris Johnson opened the summit on Monday, citing the climate emergency: “We all breathe the same air, we live beneath the same sky, and we all suffer when carbon emissions rise and the planet warms.” Continue reading... Go to Source

HS2 late and billions over budget due to Tory failures, report finds Government failed to understand risks of the project, NAO concludes The planned construction of HS2 is billions of pounds over budget and years behind schedule because of the failure across government to understand the risks involved, according to a damning independent report.In the first official indication that spending on the controversial rail project could escalate beyond £100bn, the National Audit Office has raised the possibility of a further increase by admitting that it is “impossible to estimate with certainty” how much it will eventually cost. Continue reading... Go to Source

Australian bushfires will cause jump in CO2 in atmosphere, say scientists Fires released vast amounts of carbon dioxide and reduced vegetation, pushing planet closer to point of no returnThe devastating bushfires in Australia are likely to cause a jump in carbon concentrations in the atmosphere this year, a forecast suggests, bringing the world closer to 1.5C of global heating.The fires have not only released vast amounts of carbon dioxide and soot, but the unusual extent of the blazes means regrowth is likely to be slower than in previous years. That will reduce the amount of vegetation available to act as a carbon sink, meaning less carbon dioxide is removed from the air. Continue reading... Go to Source

Fourteen people in UK tested for coronavirus Public Health England says five cases confirmed negative with nine awaiting resultsCoronavirus latest - live More than a dozen people in the UK have been tested for coronavirus, as the health secretary warned there is an “increased likelihood” of cases occurring.Fourteen people were tested for the virus, with five confirmed negative and nine still awaiting results, Public Health England (PHE) said on Thursday night. Continue reading... Go to Source

Harry Dunn: UK says US denying Anne Sacoolas extradition request is a 'denial of justice' Home office says it is ‘urgently considering options’ after decision by US secretary of state, Mike PompeoAn extradition request for the US woman charged with causing the death of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn has been turned down by secretary of state Mike Pompeo, the family spokesman has said.The 19-year-old’s parents were informed of Pompeo’s decision in a phone call with their constituency MP Andrea Leadsom on Thursday. Continue reading... Go to Source

Impeachment: Democrats say conduct is 'not America first, but Trump first' House managers make case for president’s removal from office So far, all the signs are that Republicans are unmovedIn a stirring oration to conclude the third full day of Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, the lead prosecutor Adam Schiff told senators that in the United States, “right matters” and “you know that what he did was not right”.After about nine hours of argumentation in which Democrats methodically presented evidence that Trump had committed an abuse of power by pressuring Ukraine for his personal political benefit, Schiff urged the Senate to remove Trump from office. Continue reading... Go to Source

China coronavirus: US investigates suspected case as first death confirmed outside Hubei province – live news Patient in Hebei has died; possible cases in Scotland and Belfast come as World Health Organisation committee says ‘too early’ to declare emergencyFive people tested in Scotland amid reports of possible Belfast case China: five cities in lockdown as lunar new year festivities scrappedWhat is the Wuhan coronavirus and how worried should we be? 11.25pm GMTJapan’s health ministry said it had confirmed the country’s second case of a novel coronavirus strain in a man who travelled from Wuhan.In a statement, the ministry said the man in his 40s was a resident of the Chinese city where the outbreak began and arrived in Japan on January 19. 10.58pm GMTFourteen ...

Harry Dunn: US rejects extradition request for Anne Sacoolas Home Office ‘urgently considering options’ after decision by secretary of state Mike PompeoAn extradition request for the US woman charged with causing the death of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn has been turned down by secretary of state Mike Pompeo, the family spokesman has said.The 19-year-old’s parents were informed of Pompeo’s decision in a phone call with their constituency MP Andrea Leadsom on Thursday. Continue reading... Go to Source

Three people in Scotland 'being tested for coronavirus' Health secretary tells MPs authorities are well-prepared to deal with any potential casesCoronavirus latest - live Three people in Scotland are being tested for suspected coronavirus after travelling to the country from Wuhan in China.A statement from the Scottish government said there were three suspect cases. Continue reading... Go to Source

Boris Johnson's Brexit bill becomes law Withdrawal agreement bill receives royal assent, leaving Tories cheering and SNP angryFollow all the latest political news on our live blogBoris Johnson’s Brexit deal has become law after it received royal assent from the Queen, having cleared all its stages in parliament.Tory MPs cheered the deputy speaker Nigel Evans as he confirmed in the House of Commons on Thursday that there was now a European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act. Continue reading... Go to Source

Davos 2020: Greta Thunberg hits back at US treasury secretary - live updates Rolling coverage of the third day of the World Economic Forum in DavosLatest: Greta responds to MnuchinWEF warned: Wuhan Coronavirus is global issueMnuchin, Nadella and Cook quiet over Bezos hackCBI says Boris win has boosted confidenceMnuchin dismisses Thunberg over climate 4.54pm GMTHere’s a summary of the key points from another busy day here in Davos.Greta Thunberg has hit back at criticism from US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, as the climate emergency continues to dominate the World Economic Forum.So either you tell us how to achieve this mitigation or explain to future generations and those already affected by the climate emergency why we should abandon our climate commitments. 2/3We won&rsqu...

Victoria Derbyshire says she was not told BBC was axing her show Presenter ‘devastated’ by move, which is part of wider changes to be unveiled next weekVictoria Derbyshire only found out about the axing of her award-winning BBC show via media reports, she has revealed in a series of tweets in which she also said she was “absolutely devastated” by news of its demise.As the broadcaster faced a backlash on Thursday over the closure of the BBC Two current affairs and investigative show, staff were informed that the move was part of a wider series of changes to be unveiled next week. Continue reading... Go to Source

Trump's impeachment lawyers 'tending toward conspiracy theories' says Schumer – live trial updates Democrats to continue prosecution on third day of trialRepublican senators unmoved after managers open caseHelp us cover the critical issues of 2020. Consider making a contribution 5.37pm GMTThe House impeachment managers are scheduled to pick up their opening arguments in about a half an hour.Here’s where the day stands so far: 5.29pm GMTThe White House has confirmed that it intends to stop issuing temporary visas to pregnant women traveling to the US to give birth, a practice known as “birth tourism.”Starting Jan 24, State Dept won’t issue temporary visitor visas to people seeking to enter “for ‘birth tourism’—the practice of traveling to...