News

Alarm at number of London Ambulance medics still to get Covid vaccine

Concerns have been raised about the “worrying” number of London ambulance medics who have yet to receive a Covid jab, the Standard can reveal. Just over half of the 3,800 frontline staff at London Ambulance Service (LAS) have been vaccinated but 20 per cent have yet to book a jab and more than 50 have refused. BAME heritage staff, who make up a sixth of the LAS workforce, are the most reluctant to receive the vaccine, the LAS board was told...

Police raid Russian opposition leader's apartment, offices

MOSCOW (AP) — Police are searching the Moscow apartment of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, another apartment where his wife is living and two offices of his anti-corruption organization. Navalny's aides reported the Wednesday raids on social media. It was not immediately clear whether anyone had been arrested. The searches come amid rising international tensions over Navalny. He was arrested Jan. 17 upon returning to Russia from...

HS2 protesters hope to occupy Euston tunnel for weeks

The activists who secretly built a tunnel under a busy London square by Euston station have said they believe they can withstand eviction attempts and occupy it for weeks. Despite a number of police evictions from the protest site, at least at least four protesters remain inside the long tunnel which was constructed in order to try to prevent the next phase of work on the HS2 high speed rail link from taking place. Digging activities mostly took...

Schools to reopen on 8 March in England - what Boris Johnson said

Marjorie Taylor Greene: GOP leader McCarthy to take action on conspiracy comments

Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy will speak with Marjorie Taylor Greene about the series of inflammatory social media posts from before she took office that came to light this week. CNN found comments and likes made from the Georgia representative’s Facebook account that included endorsements of disturbing conspiracy theories and apparent calls for the execution of senior Democrats. A member of the GOP leader’s office told Axios that Mr...

People to light candles as royals and footballers among those marking Holocaust

Holocaust Memorial Day will feature an online-only ceremony, while national landmarks will be bathed in light from 8pm.

US could make Covid tests mandatory for domestic air travel

The Biden administration is “actively looking” at making Covid-19 testing mandatory for US domestic flights, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Dr Marty Cetron, director for the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was asked by reporters on Tuesday if new domestic travel requirements would be implemented under President Joe Biden’s administration. He replied that there are...

Covid-19 vaccine myths debunked

As countries around the world continue the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, misinformation about the jab continues to spread. The PA news agency has debunked some of the top circulating myths about the Covid-19 vaccine.

Boeing 737 Max given green light to fly in the EU

The Boeing 737 Max can safely return to service, the boss of the EU’s air safety regulator has said. Patrick Ky, executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), said: “We have reached a significant milestone on a long road. “Following extensive analysis by EASA, we have determined that the 737 Max can safely return to service.” The latest version of the world’s biggest-selling aircraft was involved in two fatal crashes...

UAE human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor kept in 2m x 2m cell for 4 years

A prominent Emirati rights activist has been held for four years in a tiny solitary confinement cell with no bed or mattress in the United Arab Emirates, according to Human Rights Watch. The global rights group said that Ahmed Mansoor, a 51-year-old engineer, has been forced to sleep on the floor with no bed or pillow in a cell measuring just two metres by two metres since December 2017. He has spent that time entirely alone in his cell in a...

Boris Johnson: Schools will not reopen after February half term

A Place In The Sun's Laura Hamilton fumes as 'picky' couple reject every property

Laura found herself frustrated after the holiday-makers shared their distaste for a string of gorgeous homes

India farmer leaders condemn violent scenes in capital but refuse to end protests

The leaders of a farmers’ collective in India on Wednesday denounced the violent scenes that rocked the capital during a “tractor rally” on the country’s annual Republic Day but refused to end their months-long protest. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, the umbrella group spearheading the protests against controversial government reforms of the agriculture sector, blamed the violence on “anti-social elements” who infiltrated an otherwise peaceful march...

Prime Minister’s visit to Scotland not essential – Sturgeon

The First Minister said politicians must follow the rules regarding travel within the UK.

Dozens injured in Covid-19 lockdown protests in Lebanon's Tripoli

Overnight clashes in northern Lebanon between security forces and demonstrators angered by a coronavirus lockdown injured at least 45 people, the Lebanese Red Cross said on Wednesday. At least nine of the injured were treated in hospital following rolling scuffles in the main northern city of Tripoli, the Red Cross said.

The Lamb & Flag: Oxford pub popular with JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis to ‘close indefinitely’, college says

The pub's owner, St John's College, is worth more than £500m according to recent accounts

UK introduces mandatory hotel quarantine for travellers back from 'red list' countries

UK nationals and residents returning from "red list" countries will be placed in quarantine in government-provided accommodation.

US to indict Capitol rioters this week as FBI tracks down 400 suspects

The federal prosecutor investigating the riot at the Capitol said indictments could be issued this week. The FBI is working to find more than 400 suspects in the investigation. Acting US Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin said during a briefing Tuesday that more than 135 people have been arrested so far in connection to the violent overthrow of the Capitol building on 6 January. The Department of Justice expects the number of...

Best iPhone tripods 2021: Give your smartphone a platform to stand and deliver expert shots

Best iPhone tripods 2021: Give your smartphone a platform to stand and deliver expert shots

Josh Hawley ridiculed for claiming he is being silenced while on country’s most-watched cable news channel

Senator Josh Hawley is facing ridicule online for claiming he is being silenced by the “left wing mob” while appearing in an interview broadcast to millions on Fox News Primetime. Sen Hawley, who gained notoriety after he took part in an Electoral College challenge that became the focus of a violent siege of the Capitol on 6 January, made the comments in an appearance on Tuesday. Host Maria Bartiromo introduced the controversial senator as a...

Labour leader questions Prime Minister over UK Covid-19 death rate

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer asks Prime Minister Boris Johnson why the UK had one of the highest death rates in the world after the UK's death toll from the virus reached 100,000.

Yemen uprising, 10 years on: Taking stock of a country in crisis and what went wrong

January 27 sees Yemen mark the 10th anniversary of an uprising that called for change; for an end to inequality, poverty and corruption. But today, up to 16 million people in Yemen are on the brink of famine. The economy is destroyed, as are schools and hospitals across the country. What went wrong? Elisabeth Kendall, Research Fellow in Arabic and Islamic Studies at Pembroke College, Oxford University, gives us her perspective.

Why Are Nurseries Still Open? Will They Close Again?

The question you're all asking, answered...

‘Dead on arrival’: Trump supporting senators celebrate vote that sets course for impeachment to fail

Republicans appeared to celebrate after a last ditch attempt to dismiss Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial attracted strong support, and diminished chances of a conviction. As many as 45 Republicans backed a motion brought by Senator Rand Paul on Tuesday, who argued that a second impeachment trial would be “unconstitutional” because Mr Trump was no longer president. His motion stated that “as of noon last Wednesday, Donald Trump holds none...

Boris' blueprint: PM keeps schools closed until at least March 8

Boris Johnson has given a statement on the future of schools. Boris Johnson insisted 'perpetual lockdown is no answer' today as he revealed he will unveil a road map out of curbs over the coming weeks. The PM promised a blueprint is coming.

'Palestine on a Plate': Cooking up a storm with chef Joudie Kalla

The global health crisis has triggered a major shift away from restaurant dining, leaving many in the culinary sector out of work. But one chef, Joudie Kalla, has pressed on and transformed her career into something entirely new. The author of "Palestine on a Plate" and "Baladi" joins us from London to talk about cooking as therapy.

WHO scientists to conclude quarantine in Wuhan hotel

An international team of 13 experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) is to start on Thursday in Wuhan its mission on the ground to investigate the origin of the coronavirus after the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

Nora Roberts speaks out after attacks on casting of Alyssa Milano in adaptation

Bestselling novelist Nora Roberts has said she is “simply and sincerely appalled” after hundreds of her fans posted threats and abuse online in response to the casting of actor Alyssa Milano in an adaptation of one of her novels. Milano is to play mystery writer Grace in a forthcoming Netflix adaptation of Brazen Virtue, the 1988 thriller by Roberts, who has written more than 200 books that have sold more than 500m copies around the world....

Boris Johnson: I hope to set out details of how this country can exit now from the pandemic.

Duchess of Cambridge moved by Auschwitz stories as she listens to Holocaust survivors

Watch: Royal Family mark Holocaust Memorial Day The Duchess of Cambridge has caught up with two Holocaust survivors whose stories she first heard in 2017, as the Royal Family marks Holocaust Memorial Day. Kate, 39, held a video call with Zigi Shipper and Manfred Goldberg, who both survived Nazi concentration camps in the 1940s, reflecting on what they went through and hearing about their lives since they were released. Shipper, who turned 91...

Dani Dyer reveals she has named her baby boy Santiago

Dani Dyer has revealed she has named her baby boy Santiago. The 24-year-old TV star – daughter of EastEnders actor Danny Dyer – announced the news on Sorted With The Dyers, the unscripted Spotify podcast she and her dad host together. She and Sammy Kimmence had announced the birth on Instagram, saying their little boy had arrived on January 23 “after a very long day and night”. In a pre-recorded voice note played on the latest episode of their...

Jim Allister: Northern Ireland should freeze co-operation with Republic

The DUP should stop officials operating Irish Sea port checks on goods from the rest of the UK, the Traditional Unionist Voice leader added.

Prime Minister targets March 8 as earliest date for reopening England's schools

Lockdown measures will remain in place until at least March 8, Boris Johnson indicated as he earmarked that date for the reopening of England’s schools.

Nicola Sturgeon slams Boris Johnson's hotel quarantine plan before it's announced

The Prime Minister is expected to imminently announce a plan for people travelling from Covid 'red zones' to quarantine in hotels - but Scotland's FM thinks it doesn't go far enough

Does Boris Johnson really ‘take responsibility’ for his mistakes? It doesn’t look like it

Quarantine hotels for arrivals in England from high risk countries are being announced today by Priti Patel, the home secretary. In keeping with the government’s actions throughout the coronavirus pandemic, it’s a case of better (very) late than never. With hindsight, it should have happened almost a year ago, when an estimated 1,000 people imported the virus from France, Italy and Spain after the February school half-term. Again, Patel’s...

Biden speaks to Putin for first time since taking power

US President Joe Biden spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday for the first time since taking office and raised concerns about Russian activities including the treatment of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the White House said. FRANCE 24's Chief Foreign Editor Rob Parsons tells us more.

Sentencing of Irish teenager who racially abused Ian Wright pushed back

Patrick O’Brien was due to be sentenced at Tralee District Court in Co Kerry.

Spain ‘to make it illegal’ for drivers not to slow down when overtaking cyclists

Spain is reportedly planning to introduce a new law that will make it illegal for drivers not to slow down when overtaking cyclists. Current safety laws in the country already require motorists to leave a gap of 1.5 metres when trying to pass bikers on the road, even if this means crossing the unbroken white line in the middle of the road. But the new amendment to Spain’s traffic regulations mean that drivers must slow down to below 20km the...

London Covid deaths: 12,600 die in London — so just what went wrong?

For London it began on March 6. The first confirmed death in the capital from the Coronavirus virus that has wreaked such havoc over the past year was an elderly man admitted to the Royal London in Whitechapel with breathing difficulties. Our city has been on the frontline in the monumental struggle against the pandemic ever since with both the first and second wave ripping through homes, hospitals and the care sector earlier and faster than the...

Bangladesh to move 2,000-3,000 more Rohingya Muslims to remote island despite criticism

Bangladesh to move 2,000-3,000 more Rohingya Muslims to remote island despite criticism

Man sought over abusive comments to hospital staff

Police want to trace Toby Hayden-Leigh, from Maidstone, Kent, in connection with an incident at the East Surrey Hospital in Redhill on January 21.

New coronavirus cases rise in France, third national lockdown feared

The daily number of new coronavirus infections in France stayed above 20,000 on average for the fourth straight day on Tuesday while hospitalisations reached an eight-week high of 27,041, increasing fears of a third national lockdown.

Oxford vaccine factory evacuated after 'suspicious package' was sent to site

Oxford vaccine factory evacuated after 'suspicious package' was sent to site

'Why has the UK the highest number of deaths?'

Sir Keir Starmer asks Boris Johnson for an explanation of the 100,000 plus death toll from COVID-19.

Biden news – live: President unveils climate crisis executive orders as GOP mocks Trump impeachment

Joe Biden is signing three executive actions on Wednesday designed to tackle the climate crisis, including one order pausing new oil and gas leases being granted on federal lands, another directing the government to acquire electric vehicles and a third formally establishing an office of domestic climate policy under John Kerry and Gina McCarthy. A new Morning Consult poll has meanwhile found that Mr Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, remains...

Brexit news – live: Starmer blasts Johnson for ‘slow, slow, slow’ Covid response as Amazon halts more NI sales

Labour leader Keir Starmer has blasted Boris Johnson for his “slow, slow, slow” response to the pandemic and demanded the PM provides answers as to why the UK has the highest Covid death rate in Europe. Mr Johnson admitted it would not be possible to reopen schools in February – but said he “hoped” pupils would be able to return by 8 March. It comes as Amazon halts sales of wines, beers and spirits in Northern Ireland due to complex new excise...

Amanda Gorman, Biden inaugural poet, is headed to the Super Bowl

Amanda Gorman is set to ride the wave of enthusiasm generated by her inauguration performance all the way to the Super Bowl. Gorman, the first National Youth Poet Laureate, will take part in the upcoming Super Bowl LV pregame show, Good Morning America revealed on Wednesday. During President Biden's inauguration last week, Gorman drew widespread acclaim after reading her poem "The Hill We Climb," which she finished in the wake of the deadly...

Friends star Courteney Cox turns rapper for Idris Elba’s latest track

Courteney Cox makes a surprise appearance in Idris Elba’s latest music video – but appears to have no idea who he is. The Friends star, 56, wrote and recorded a tongue-in-cheek rap for the actor and musician’s latest song, a collaboration with Canadian rapper Connor Price. Titled Courteney Cox, the track is Price’s homage to his favourite actress and childhood crush. The collaboration came about after Elba, 48, posted a rap online and left the...

More than 50 passengers killed in Cameroon bus blaze

Fifty-three people died on Wednesday when a bus collided with a fuel-laden van in western Cameroon, causing a blaze that engulfed both vehicles, the local governor said. "The dead have all been burned beyond identification," said Awa Fonka Augustine, the governor of West Region. Twenty-nine other people suffered severe burns. The 70-seat bus collided head-on with the van at around 3.30am at a location called the Cliff of Dschang, in western...

Sturgeon questions whether Johnson's trip to Scotland 'essential'

Nicola Sturgeon has questioned whether Boris Johnson’s planned trip from London to Scotland on Thursday is “genuinely essential”, suggesting his visit makes it harder to convince the public to stick to travel restrictions. At her daily briefing, when she also warned that the UK government’s hotel quarantine plan for travellers “does not go far enough”, Scotland’s first minister said that while she was sure the prime minister and his advisors...