News

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....

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...

Young Rock trailer teases Dwayne Johnson's fictional 2032 run for president

Dwayne Johnson has jumped into the presidential race. Well, sort of. The actor and wrestling star is playing himself in an upcoming NBC sitcom called Young Rock, which both shows his upbringing and also follows his fictional run for president in 2032. As the title suggests, Young Rock flashes back to show Johnson when he was growing up, with different actors playing him in 1982, 1987, and 1999. But not only does Johnson narrate, but he'll also...

Trump impeachment: Senators seek support for resolution censoring former president as Senate looks unlikely to convict

Senators Tim Kaine and Susan Collins are reportedly seeking cross-party support for a resolution censuring Donald Trump, according to reports. Mr Kaine, a Democrat who wants to see the former president barred from holding future office, has spoken with Ms Collins and others about censorship in recent days, which could see the Senate condemn Mr Trump on record. As Axios reported, such a measure could act as replacement punishment for Mr Trump,...

Vaccine shortage disrupts Spanish regions as Madrid suspends first dose campaign

Vaccine shortage disrupts Spanish regions as Madrid suspends first dose campaign

YouTube has removed more than half a million videos spreading Covid-19 misinformation

YouTube has removed more than half a million videos spreading misinformation about Covid-19, it has said. Technology platforms from YouTube to Facebook have struggled with keeping public health misinformation in check as the pandemic has spread across the world. False information posted on the site includes information suggesting the virus is not real to discouraging vaccines that can prevent disease. YouTube boss Susan Wojcicki that such videos...

Elon Musk says Starship is ready for its next major test

SpaceX is targeting Wednesday for the latest high-altitude flight test of its Mars-bound Starship craft, CEO Elon Musk has said. The Starship SN9 prototype will attempt to launch 12.5 km into the air from SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility in Texas, before landing on a nearby launchpad. A similar flight test of the SN8 prototype in December resulted in a fiery explosion after a failed landing attempt. Responding to messages on Twitter, Mr Musk said...

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.

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

Badger cull to be effectively banned in 2022, Environment Secretary announces

Badger cull to be effectively banned in 2022, Environment Secretary announces

UK coronavirus LIVE: Boris Johnson gives Covid update on deaths, lockdown and ‘red list’ quarantine countries

Lockdown will remain in place until at least March 8, Boris Johnson has suggested as he earmarked the date for the reopening of England’s schools. In a Commons statement after the UK’s death toll passed 100,000, he said he would set out a road map for the “gradual and phased” easing of restrictions in the week beginning February 22. The Prime Minister also confirmed that arrivals from “red list” countries will be sent to quarantine hotels for 10...

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

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.

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...

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.

Plan To Lift Lockdown Will Be Revealed In Week Beginning February 22

Boris Johnson has said he will reveal his plan to lift England’s third coronavirus lockdown in the week beginning February 22. The prime minister said he would be in a position to review the success of the restrictions and the vaccination programme in the week beginning February 15, when the most vulnerable people should have been offered their first jab. The following week he will set out his roadmap for taking the country out of lockdown....

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...

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...

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.

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.

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.

Killed paramedic’s family urge Government to secure return of Turkish suspect

Vicky Lovelace-Collins was killed in a road crash in Stevenage in September 2018.

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

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.

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.

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...

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...

Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer reveal they were once threatened at gunpoint while travelling in the US

Bob Mortimer and Vic Reeves were accosted at gunpoint during a trip to California in 1992, the comedy duo have revealed. The pair had planned to traverse the US on motorcycles, but bad weather forced them to abandon the plan and turn back. Speaking on the new podcast Joyride with Jools Holland and Jim Moir, Reeves (real name Jim Moir), recounted the incident, describing the trip as “doomed”. “We went on a doomed motorcycle trip in California in...

Moment Amazon driver 'tries to steal' family's 'expensive' Siamese cat

CCTV footage shows the Amazon courier drop a package on a customer's doorstep in Chingford, Essex before picking up the man's 13-year-old pet and walking off.

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.

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...

Not in short supply: Blame for EU's rusty vaccine rollout

APELDOORN, Netherlands (AP) — Jos Bieleveldt had a spring in his step when the 91-year-old Dutchman got a coronavirus vaccine this week. But many think that was way too long in coming. Almost two months before, Britain's Margaret Keenan, who is also 91 now, received her shot to kick off the U.K.'s vaccination campaign that has, so far, outstripped the efforts in many nations in the European Union. “We are dependent on what the European...

Boris Johnson: Schools will not reopen after February half term

'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.

19 burned bodies found at Mexico border may include Guatemalan migrants

The bodies of 19 people shot and burned in a Mexican town close to the US border might include migrants heading to the US from Guatemala. They were found by the authorities on Monday on a dirt road close to the town of Camargo, which is across the US border from Rio Grande, Texas. The Tamaulipas state prosecutor's office said they were found after local residents complained about burning vehicles. Responding officers found two burning vehicles...

Alister Jack: Independent Scotland would have largest deficit in EU

The Scottish Secretary faced down SNP questions over the granting of a second independence referendum.

Labour calls for all teachers and school staff to be vaccinated during February half-term

Labour is calling for all teachers and school staff to be vaccinated during the February half-term, in a bid to get children back in classrooms.

Tech & Science Daily| Covid-19: Another Disease X ‘could be around the corner’

Another pandemic-causing ‘Disease X’ could be around the corner, a leading scientist has warned. Mark Woolhouse, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh says this pandemic might be a virus they don’t even know about yet and it's a matter of when it happens, not if. Even before the end of January last year when public announcements were made of the first cases of Covid-19 in Europe, signals that something...

Coronavirus pandemic: Confusion over AstraZeneca-EU talks on vaccine delay

The European Union is asking AstraZeneca to publish the contract it signed with the bloc on Covid-19 vaccine supplies, an EU official said on Wednesday, in an escalation of the row over delivery delays. The company pulled out of a meeting with the European Union scheduled for Wednesday, the official said. FRANCE 24's Dave Keating tells us more.

Facebook apologises for flagging Plymouth Hoe as offensive term

A well-known place in the UK’s seafaring history has been mistaken by Facebook for a misogynist term, leaving some social media users furious. Plymouth Hoe, the region where Sir Francis Drake finished a game of bowls before heading out to fight the Spanish Armada, is one of the most popular beauty spots in the country. Seated at the eastern end is the Royal Citadel, the most impressive 17th-century fortress in Britain and for many years...

China miners rescued after knocking on pipe

It was neither shouting nor any electronic communication but daily knocks on a drill pipe that helped the miners, trapped hundreds of metres underground in China, tell rescuers that they were still alive. On 10 January, following an unexplained explosion in a mine in Qixia in Shandong province in eastern China, 22 workers were trapped at a depth of about 600 metres. Two weeks later, on 24 January, 11 of them were brought back to surface after...

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.

Covid news – live: Schools to remain closed until 8 March in England as hotel quarantine plan unveiled

Schools won’t reopen in England until at least 8 March — and only then if the UK vaccination programme is on track, Boris Johnson told the House of Commons. The prime minister also finally unveiled the first details of a 10-day mandatory hotel quarantine scheme that will cost travellers thousands of pounds. It will apply to 22 ‘red list’ countries where there are fears over the spread of virus variants. The announcement came after Robert Jenrick...

AstraZeneca denies pulling out of Covid-19 vaccine talks with EU amid row over doses shortfall

AstraZeneca has denied pulling out of vaccine talks with the European Union amid a row over a shortfall of doses for EU member states. The pharmaceutical company says it plans to meet with EU officials in Brussels later on Wednesday. The latest disagreement between the two sides came after AstraZeneca rejected the EU’s accusation that the company had failed to honour its commitments for the delivery of the coronavirus vaccine. The company says...

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