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BBC hit with more than 100 complaints after Mrs Brown's Boys dropped from schedule

The BBC has told that complaints flooded in after a late-running football match forced a schedule re-work, resulting in a Mrs Brown's Boys episode being dropped

Ministers rule out rethink to rescue visa-free tours by musicians, insisting ‘control of borders’ must come first

Ministers have rejected calls for a rethink to rescue visa-free tours by musicians of the EU – insisting “taking back control” of borders must come first. Answering an urgent question in the Commons, Caroline Dinenage insisted talks would resume only if Brussels “changes its mind” about how to resolve the stalemate The culture minister admitted – as The Independent revealed – that the EU’s proposal was thrown out because of a fear it clashed...

A turbulent chapter: Looking back on Donald Trump’s presidential term

Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday marks the start of a new era for the United States and the end of Donald Trump’s presidency after four tumultuous years. Mr Trump’s presidential term has been characterised by chaos and political turbulence. This reached its nadir on January 6, when a violent mob of Trump supporters and extremists stormed the US Capitol as members of congress gathered to certify Mr Biden’s election victory. A week later Mr...

UK coronavirus LIVE: Covid vaccine ‘could jeopardise lockdown gains’ as cases plunge in east London

Britons should not rely on coronavirus vaccines “coming to our rescue”, health leaders have warned, as it remains “absolutely critical” that lockdown rules continue to be observed. NHS England’s medical director Stephen Powis told Monday’s Downing Street press briefing that it will be “some time" before the vaccine roll-out has an impact on the pressure facing hospitals, adding: "We all have a role to play in reducing the risk of transmission.”...

Panto king Andy Gray was one of Edinburgh's most revered revellers

It was 2010 and the world of Scottish theatre was reeling from the sudden death of Gerard Kelly, one of the great panto stars. I called a grieving Andy Gray, who had first worked with Kelly on John Byrne’s Still Life in 1982, to get his reaction. “He did it with such gusto, such conviction,” Gray said of his friend. “A lot of performers say, ‘Oh, I’ve got to do pantomime again,’ and it’s looked down upon, but if you approach it with any cynicism...

Nicola Sturgeon faces embarrassing questions after emails leaked in Alex Salmond enquiry

NICOLA Sturgeon is facing further questions over her knowledge of bullying allegations over Alex Salmond, it has emerged today.

Who is Joe Biden’s wife Jill? Teacher and campaigner who will be US First Lady and keep her day job

Jill Biden has always felt most comfortable first-and-foremost as a teacher

Trump ‘furious’ so many celebrities performing for Biden inauguration

Donald Trump is reportedly furious that so many top celebrities, including Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Tom Hanks, are going to feature at president-elect Joe Biden’s inaugural celebrations on Wednesday, in stark contrast to his own event four years ago. Since 6 January, when rioters pumped up by the president breached the Capitol building, Mr Trump has been limping towards the end of his single term presidency, prevented from using his...

Unleashing nationalism has made the future of the UK the central issue

The worst evening I spent in Downing Street? Easy: September 18, 2014, sitting in the small wood-panelled dining room in Number 11 with David Cameron; eating a tepid curry; waiting for the results of the Scottish referendum. We thought: are we the people who have lost Scotland? History allows for no recovery from a disaster like that. Ask Lord North, the prime minister condemned for all time for the loss of America. The mistake he made — and...

My niece Kamala Harris will unite America with the values her mother instilled in her

Every four years, under normal circumstances, 20 January is a day of celebration in the US, a day when the new president is sworn in with pomp and pageantry, while hundreds of thousands of people, tourists and residents alike, swarm the streets of Washington DC in a joyous mood. This year will be starkly different, those same streets mostly empty save for a few invitees to the drastically restricted inauguration event – vastly outnumbered by...

Biden presidency is ‘good news’ for climate, Cop26 talks president says

Alok Sharma, who is heading up the crucial climate summit in Glasgow, welcomes Joe Biden’s moves on tackling global warming.

Father murdered five-month-old baby when she kept crying, court hears

Philip Peace, 42, is accused of killing his five-month-old daughter Summer at their family home in Dudley, West Midlands, in September 2017.

US’ dreamers more hopeful as Biden administration promises to reform immigration

As the US prepares for Inauguration Day, the incoming Biden administration has pledged swift and sweeping reforms. Joe Biden has promised to address the issue of the ‘Dreamers’, bringing hope to the estimated 700,000 undocumented immigrants who arrived illegally in the US as children but who still don’t have official paperwork and are prevented of working. FRANCE 24’s Antoni Balchi and Andrew Hilliar report from the US.

Exclusive: India to start COVID-19 vaccine exports as soon as Wednesday - sources

Exclusive: India to start COVID-19 vaccine exports as soon as Wednesday - sources

Covid vaccines will be sent to areas falling behind rather than going to over-70s

Arrest warrant for Petra Ecclestone’s ex-husband James Stunt as he faces charges of abusing police officer

An arrest warrant has been issued for the ex-husband of Formula One heiress Petra Ecclestone after he failed to attend court. Gold dealer James Stunt did not appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday morning where he was due to face charges of abusive and threatening behaviour towards a police officer. He did not give reasons for his absence or attempt to arrange to attend the hearing remotely. The businessman, 38, faces one charge of...

Fire Station siren to sound for one minute as mark of respect for popular firefighter

Members of the public are asked not to be alarmed today when the siren sounds for one minute today in Holywood.

Tuesday afternoon forecast 19/01/21

19 January - National weather forecast presented by Aidan McGivern

China races to build giant 'quarantine village' for thousands after localised COVID outbreaks

China is building a massive "quarantine village" capable of holding several thousand people as the country battles with a new surge in COVID-19 infections. Pictures show crews levelling earth, pouring concrete and assembling prefabricated rooms in farmland in an outlying part of Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of Hebei province, which has seen the bulk of the new cases. The complex, called the Huangzhuang apartment COVID-19 quarantine...

Brexit news – live: Chaos spreads to meat industry as government blames empty shelves on Covid

Boris Johnson’s government has been warned that meat worth hundreds of thousands of pounds is going to waste at EU ports, as British exporters continue to get caught up in post-Brexit red tape problems. The British Meat Processors Association said new customs systems remain “convoluted” and “badly implemented”. It comes as Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis claimed that empty shelves in Northern Ireland were due to coronavirus “challenges”...

'Tension' in government over go-ahead for new UK coal mine

Britain’s business minister has admitted there are “tensions” between a government decision to wave through a new coal mine in Cumbria and Downing Street’s commitment to reducing Britain’s emissions. Kwasi Kwarteng told the Business, Energy, and Industrial Select Committee there had been a debate in cabinet about whether to challenge the new deep coal mine project, the first of its kind to be opened in Britain in 30 years. READ MORE: BlackRock...

Police left speechless by party-goers claiming to be ‘unaware of the global pandemic’

British party-goers stunned police by claiming to be “unaware of the global pandemic” going on. Hampshire police were called to an address in Basingstoke earlier this month after receiving multiple reports that an illegal party was taking place inside. According to the Hampshire police’s verified Twitter account: “The occupants were spoken to and claimed to be unaware of the global pandemic, as they never watch the news!" They added the hashtag...

Downing Street denies that Boris Johnson takes ‘power naps’ during working day

Downing Street has denied that Boris Johnson takes “power naps” during the working day. The firm rebuttal came after a report in The Times that it was not uncommon for the prime minister to “shut the door and have a kip”. The report sparked speculation over whether Mr Johnson was suffering from broken sleep at night since the birth of his youngest child Wilfred last April. But the PM’s press secretary Allegra Stratton said that the claim was...

Melania Trump Releases 'Farewell' Video As She Prepares To Leave The White House

The First Lady has reportedly broken with tradition and not invited Dr Jill Biden for a tour of the White House

Schools might not all reopen at the same time, deputy chief medic suggests

Schools might not all reopen at the same time across England as lockdown restrictions are eased, MPs have been told.

Boris Johnson 'Does Not Nap' During The Day, Says No.10

Boris Johnson “does not have a nap” during the day, Downing Street has said. The prime minister’s press secretary, Allegra Stratton, categorically denied reports that Johnson was taking inspiration from Sir Winston Churchill by taking power naps. On Tuesday The Times quoted a “Downing Street insider” who said it was not “entirely uncommon for him to shut the door and have a kip for half an hour or so”. But Stratton told reporters: “The prime...

Joe Biden’s children: What you need to know about his sons Beau and Hunter, and daughters Ashley and Naomi

Mr Biden is known for his long political career, but his family life is less well known, particularly on UK shores

Ruth Dudley Edwards: After TG4 sanitised Martin McGuinness, now comes a proper biography of the ruthless IRA liar

Last week, after having writing about the dreadful naïve, ill-informed and biased TG4 documentary sanitising Martin McGuinness, I was cheered by a reminder that in the long term history will show him for what he was, writes RUTH DUDLEY EDWARDS:

Study suggesting UK has highest Covid-19 death rate is ‘not accurate’ Cabinet minister insists

A study suggesting the UK now has the highest Covid-19 death rate in the world has been dismissed as “not accurate” by a Cabinet minister. Brandon Lewis faced tough questions about the research – after an average of 935 daily deaths over the last week – but insisted it was “too early to make international comparisons”. “We can’t answer that question at the moment, because we are not at the other side of the virus,” the Northern Ireland Secretary...

COVID situation in UK is serious despite falling infections, PM tells ministers

COVID situation in UK is serious despite falling infections, PM tells ministers

NHS staff ‘have been forgotten this time round’

Crowdfunded appeals have been launched to provide food and toiletries to “forgotten” NHS staff working round the clock on the frontline in London. A Hoxton catering company has already raised £15,000 towards a £50,000 target to feed staff at the Royal London hospital. At the same time, a nurse who worked on the frontline in the capital during the first wave is assembling hundreds of food parcels and toiletry supplies for former colleagues. Rosie...

104-year-old who raised £50,000-plus for charity receives coronavirus vaccine

Joan Willett, who raised thousands for the British Heart Foundation, said she is ‘grateful and privileged’ to have received the jab.

Building materials watchdog launched after ‘deeply disturbing’ Grenfell evidence

The inquiry has been examining the blaze that killed 72 people in 2017.

Bullies send cruel messages to boy every morning before his online lessons

Cassie Woods fears that when her son Breadon Davis returns to school, that the bullying will not only continue, but will get worse after she saw the threatening messages he was receiving

Statue of fossil hunter Mary Anning to be erected after campaign

A statue to Mary Anning, a fossil hunter and palaeontologist once “lost to history” but now considered a significant female force in science, is finally to be erected after a crowdfunding campaign by a teenage schoolgirl. Evie Swire, 13, was nine years old when she first heard of Anning, who was born into a humble family in 1799 near Swine’s Lyme Regis home in Dorset, and outraged to discover there was no statue. Now, despite setbacks due to the...

AP-NORC poll: Virus, economy swamp other priorities for US

WASHINGTON (AP) — Containing the coronavirus outbreak and repairing the economic damage it has inflicted are the top priorities for Americans as Joe Biden prepares to become the 46th president of the United States, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Overall, 53% of Americans name COVID-19 as one of the top five issues they want the government to tackle this year, and 68% mention in some way...

16 of the fastest trains around: The nippiest trains to grace the tracks

16 of the fastest trains around: The nippiest trains to grace the tracks

One in eight had coronavirus in England by December last year, ONS estimates

At least one in eight people in England had had COVID-19 by December last year, new survey data estimates.

What happens at the presidential inauguration? OLD

Following his 2020 election victory over Donald Trump, Joe Biden is scheduled to be sworn in as president next year. His inauguration is set to take place despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, although it will be scaled down to help limit the spread of the infection. Officials organising the inauguration have warned people to stay away from this year’s event and remain at home. Those who wish to watch the ceremony will be able to do so on...

Melania’s snub to Jill Biden is the final nail in the coffin

In WHAT would be yet another departure from the traditional transfer of presidential power, it has been reported that Melania Trump will break with over 100 years of tradition and not give incoming First Lady Jill Biden a tour of the White House’s family wing. It has further been reported that Mrs Trump has had no contact with Dr Biden since the November election. Rather than the typical meeting of the first families on inauguration day, the...

Meghan Markle argues 'quintessentially private letter' was 'triple barrelled' breach of her rights, High Court hears

Meghan has insisted that the letter was a 'heartfelt plea from an anguished daughter' published only for commercial gain.

Coronavirus news – live: One in eight people in England have had Covid as intensive care units ‘overwhelmed’

One in eight people in England are estimated to have had Covid-19 by December last year, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics. Figures estimating a total of 5.4 million people, or 12.1 per cent of the population, would have tested positive for coronavirus antibodies by last month were released as a health boss warned many intensive care units are “already overwhelmed”. Alison Pittard, who heads the Faculty of...

Solicitor who stole £136,000 from elderly client with dementia jailed

A woman who stole more than £136,000 from a dementia patient to spend on a lavish wedding has been jailed. Solicitor Sarah Aikenhead, 37, abused her position at her own law firm to take money from the bank account of Pamela Sread, an elderly client who lived in a care home. Mum-of-one Aikenhead then spent the cash on holidays, designer shopping, her wedding, and gave £30,000 to her brother, Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court heard....

When is Inauguration Day 2021?

US Congress has confirmed Democrat Joe Biden as the presidential election winner. President Donald Trump, who had repeatedly refused to concede the election, said in a statement immediately after the vote that there will be a smooth transition of power on Inauguration Day. However, Inauguration Day is set to look a little different this year amid the coronavirus pandemic. Indeed, many of the event's usual features have already been changed....

Alexei Navalny calls for UK sanctions against Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich

Detained Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has called for the UK to sanction Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and former Arsenal The post Alexei Navalny calls for UK sanctions against Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich appeared first on CityAM.

US chief justice to swear in another president who opposed him

Joe Biden and Barack Obama voted against John Roberts’ confirmation to the US Supreme Court and Donald Trump has been highly critical of him.

Trump news – live: President ‘desperate’ for goodbye event numbers boost as he wakes up to last day in office

President Donald Trump is ‘desperate’ to pull in more numbers for his farewell event, CNN’s White House correspondent has reported, as he faces his final full day in the White House. Trump will host the goodbye ceremony just hours before President-elect Biden’s inauguration and is reportedly looking for a boost in numbers after a low level of confirmed attendees. Despite being only a day away from the end of his term Mr Trump has reportedly...

Police chief complaints referred to IOPC after Harry Dunn emails

The Dunn family urged Northamptonshire Police Chief Constable Nick Adderley to resign in October 2019.

End of transition period a ‘difficult adjustment’ – retailers

The Northern Ireland Secretary has argued that the shortages have nothing to do with the special EU divorce deal.

Schoolboy, 13, charged with murder after man shot dead in west London

Shakur Hassan, 23, was shot in Hayes, London, in October and died at the scene. Four people have since been charged with murder in connection with his death including a 13-year-old boy