Backstage with Salma Hayek: 'People have created their own Bliss worlds as a coping mechanism'

In Salma Hayek's new film Bliss, it's not clear to the viewer whether her character Isabel is a deluded drug addict or an innovative scientist.

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  • Gordon Ramsay criticised for commenting on woman's teeth during 'Saturday Night Takeaway' game

    The celebrity chef is under fire on Twitter after making a 'humiliating' remark about a woman's teeth.

  • Nearly a quarter of NHS staff in London are refusing Covid vaccines

    Almost a quarter of NHS staff in some parts of the country are refusing Covid jabs, with official statistics showing more than 200,000 health and care workers putting patients at risk. NHS figures show that 91 percent of front line healthcare staff across the country have taken up the offer of a vaccine, but that dips to 76 per cent in London – the worst refusal rate. In total, more than 41,000 front line healthcare workers in the capital, including medics, hospital porters, cleaners and laboratory staff, have not had the jab. The national picture among care home staff is even worse, with uptake of less than 73 percent. The statistics show that around 106,000 front line healthcare staff and more than 121,000 care workers have yet to take up the vaccine. Last week, Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, said NHS and care home staff had a "professional responsibility" to get vaccinated, while the Queen said those who refuse the vaccine "ought to think about other people rather than themselves".

  • Rishi Sunak plots tax raid on parcels and freelance workers

    Rishi Sunak is plotting a new tax on online deliveries next month and a raid on the self-employed later this year, The Telegraph can reveal. The Chancellor will use Wednesday's Budget to announce a £5 billion fund to help high street pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops that have remained closed as a result of the Covid lockdown. On March 23 – dubbed "tax day" in Whitehall – he will then unveil a series of consultations on further tax increases to start paying for the £300 billion cost of dealing with the virus crisis. The Telegraph has learnt that this will include options to tax online retail more heavily, including the possibility of a new green tax on every internet delivery, alongside other online tax ideas. However, it is understood that he has turned his back on a mooted windfall tax on the "excess profits" of internet companies. Mr Sunak is also planning to use a Budget in the autumn to increase National Insurance Contributions paid by Britain's 4.5 million self-employed, arguing that they too benefited from state support in the pandemic. A Treasury source said: "The idea of an online sales tax is being looked at as part of the business rates review. "Responses to the consultation are being considered in the round, but the Chancellor is cognisant of the need to level up the playing field between the high street and online taxation."

  • People flock to parks and beaches to enjoy sunshine despite COVID warning

    People across the country enjoyed temperatures of up to 15C on Saturday.

  • Home Office denies Farage claim group of asylum seekers who arrived in Dover ‘all had Covid’

    ‘This is incorrect. None of these 12 people tested positive for Covid-19,’ says government

  • Ant and Dec forced to apologise after Gordon Ramsay ‘swears’ on Saturday Night Takeaway

    Ant and Dec joked they had installed a ‘bleeper machine’ for the notoriously sweary chef

  • Debbie McGee says she and Paul Daniels' son have mended their relationship after estate dispute

    Paul Daniels Jr. previously referred to his late father's wife as a 'witch'.

  • Astronauts spacewalk outside the International Space Station

    Spacewalking astronauts venture out of the International Space Station to install support frames for new, high-efficiency solar panels arriving later this year. Nasa’s Kate Rubins and Victor Glover were carrying out the work.

  • Budget 2021: Sunak’s £5bn plan to rescue high streets from collapse

    Budget 2021: Sunak’s £5bn plan to rescue high streets from collapse. Grants will be offered to stricken shops and pubs but NHS fears its pleas for cash will be ignored

  • Republican predicts Trump won’t be party’s presidential nominee in 2024

    Republican predicts Trump won’t be party’s presidential nominee in 2024. Senator Bill Cassidy points to seats lost in House and Senate during Trump presidency and says ‘if we idolize one person, we will lose’

  • Germany urged to follow Britain’s vaccine strategy as regulators look set to approve AstraZeneca for over 65s

    German scientists have urged Berlin to speed up vaccinations by following the UK’s example in delaying the second dose as German regulators look set to make a U-turn by approving the AstraZeneca jab for over 65s. A team of pandemic researchers believe delaying the second dose of the BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna vaccines beyond the current 28 days would speed up the process, provide greater protection for the population and result in “up to 10,000 or 15,000 fewer deaths” in Germany. The authors of the study, prepared by a team of pandemic researchers from Berlin’s Humbolt University and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, say delaying the second dose would also prevent vaccine mutations from continuing to gain traction. Berlin-based pandemic researcher Dirk Brockmann told Germany’s Deutsche Welle news service on Sunday that a change in strategy would boost the country’s lagging vaccination rollout. Delaying the second dose would double the speed of ongoing vaccinations as “you no longer just put the second dose back in the fridge and wait." “According to that data, there is complete protection against death from Covid in the risk groups after the first dose. That's a huge success,” said Prof Brockmann.

  • Johnny Briggs death: Coronation Street star who played Mike Baldwin dies aged 85

    Actor’s most famous character, Mike Baldwin, enjoyed a years-long feud with Ken Barlow

  • Exclusive: Single-shot Covid vaccine could be weeks away as regulators start approval process

    A single-shot vaccine to combat Covid in Britain could be just weeks away, with regulators set to begin the approval process this week. Ministers are expecting the Johnson & Johnson jab – which has been authorised in the US for emergency use – to start formal regulatory approval in the coming days. The UK has ordered 30 million doses, the US 100 million and Canada 38 million. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which must carry out the checks for the UK, did not respond to a request for a comment. The development came as reports emerged that just one shot of the Pfizer or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine reduced the risk of being admitted to hospital by more than 90 per cent. Public health officials have briefed ministers on the new results, according to a report in The Mail on Sunday. Health sources said the jab, developed by Johnson & Johnson's vaccines division Janssen, was not yet being considered by the MHRA for formal approval – a process that normally takes less than two weeks, based on the timelines for Pfizer and Astra Zeneca's jabs. A senior Government source said the MHRA formal process was "very likely" to start this week. The Department of Health and Social Care declined to comment. A department source said: "We are working with them to complete the rolling review process and we look forward to receiving more data from them as soon as possible."

  • With 511,000 Americans dead from coronavirus, Republicans are outraged at Amazon pulling an anti-trans book

    With more than 511,000 Americans dead from coronavirus, a group of Republicans have vowed to take action.

  • Britain has a moral and legal obligation to Shamima Begum

    Britain has a moral and legal obligation to Shamima BegumHowever monstrous her actions in joining Isis, her citizenship isn’t conditional because her parents were born abroad Shamima Begum: deprived of British citizenship. Photograph: PA

  • Nearly two million people age 60 to 63 to be offered Covid vaccine

    Nearly two million people aged 60 to 63 in England are being invited to book a coronavirus jab as part of the continued expansion of the vaccine programme. NHS England said that the letters will start landing on doormats from Monday, explaining how people can make an appointment to get jabbed through the national booking service. They have been sent out after more than three in four people aged 65 to 70 took up the offer of a vaccination, it added. It comes as leaders from 60 of the UK's black majority churches joined forces on Sunday to show their support for the Covid-19 vaccine to their congregations. They will say they support the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine programme, and urge their congregations to seek out the facts about the vaccine from trusted sources. They will also say that they have either already been vaccinated or that they will get the vaccine when it is their turn. The alliance of Christian leaders, which includes Bishop of Dover the Rt Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, said they felt compelled to act after data suggested black people are among those most likely to be hesitant about receiving the Covid-19 vaccine. Bishop Hudson-Wilkin said: "When you are offered the Covid vaccine, please take it. "This is our chance to show we care for ourselves and our neighbours. "Don't let misinformation rob you of your opportunity to protect yourself and others." This initiative has been organised by Christian umbrella organisations Churches Together in England, Evangelical Alliance and YourNeighbour.

  • Le Creuset vs Aldi cast iron cookware: Can the 11 times cheaper casserole dish beat the market leader?

    Not all cooking pots are made equal. Or are they? We put them to the test

  • Court papers reveal reason for Kim Kardashian and Kanye West divorce

    Kim Kardashian West has cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason she is divorcing rapper Kanye West. The reality TV star filed divorce papers with an LA court that also confirmed she is seeking joint custody of their four children - North, seven, Saint, five, Chicago, three, and Psalm, one. The businesswoman has enlisted the services of lawyer Laura Wasser, who earned the title “disso queen” thanks to her work sorting out the divorces of high-profile celebrities.

  • Police set up COVID checkpoints to catch lockdown flouters looking to bask in sun

    Crowds have been pictured enjoying the sunshine despite warnings from the deputy chief medical officer the pandemic isn’t over.

  • Conservatives push through 1,000 tax rises in past 10 years

    Conservative Prime Ministers have pushed through more than 1,000 tax rises at a rate of roughly one every three days over the past decade, according to new research. The TaxPayers’ Alliance found that the Government has made 1,651 tax changes since 2010, 63 per cent of which - 1,034 - were tax rises. VAT, vehicle excise duty and income tax saw the most changes under a succession of Conservative Chancellors going back to George Osborne. The research will be seen as a surprise to some Tory voters who will have supported the party at general elections on its promise of keeping taxes down. However former Tory Cabinet minister John Redwood said: “I am not surprised. When I have voted for Budgets, I often have had to do so through gritted teeth.” He added: “The way to get more revenues is to have realistic and lower tax rates.” The total amount collected in tax will increase by £172 billion in real terms between 2009-10 and 2021-22, according to figures from the Office of Budget Responsibility. Since 2010, the most net tax rises happened during David Cameron’s leadership, with both the greatest number of tax changes and tax rises in a single year in 2012/13. Mr Cameron also oversaw the biggest number of tax cuts in a single year, cutting 83 taxes in the last full year before the 2015 election. Under Theresa May, there were over twice as many tax rises as there were cuts. Boris Johnson is so far the only leader since 2010 to introduce more tax cuts than rises. This is largely due to the temporary tax cuts and new reliefs to tackle the economic effects of covid-19. Indeed the only year since 2010 with more tax cuts than rises was 2020-21, with 78 of the 151 tax changes being cuts. Britain already has the highest sustained tax burden in 70 years and hiking taxes now would mean further austerity for taxpayers. In all Income Tax was the most fiddled with tax, being changed 180 times over the past 10 years. It went up 61 times, and was cut 119 times. National Insurance was changed 130 times - increasing 64 times and being cut 66 times, while alcohol duty was altered 125 times, the overwhelming majority - 114 - were increases in the tax. The Alliance is calling for a recovery budget on Wednesday, giving taxpayers a respite from rises, rescuing struggling sectors and reviving the economy. Labour has also called for Mr Sunak to avoid increasing personal taxes during the pandemic. John O’Connell, chief executive of the Alliance, said: “The tax burden is at a 70-year high, and it's not hard to see why after a decade of tax increases. “All too often we've seen Conservative chancellors give with one hand but take back a good deal more with the other, meaning every aspect of everyday life comes with a sizeable tax bill. “This Budget offers the government an opportunity to break with their predecessors from the last decade by giving taxpayers a respite from tax rises.” A Conservative source said: "Over the last year the government has stepped in to protect jobs and support people through this unprecedented crisis to the tune of almost £300billion. "We went big and we went early to help those hit hardest and there's more to come next week. "But the Chancellor is also going to level with people about what this crisis has meant for the public finances. The British people elect Conservatives because we have a track record of managing the public finances responsibly, and that's not going to change now."