Brexit: Boris Johnson says UK's destiny is 'in our hands' as trade deal enters law
Boris Johnson has said the UK's destiny "now resides firmly in our hands" as his Brexit trade deal cleared Parliament and entered into law.
COVID-19 cases are going up in areas like Preston, Redditch, West Devon and Coventry, according to the latest data.
Professor Susan Michie said current lockdown measures are ‘the problem’ and not people who aren’t sticking to the rules.
The political editor was discussing the departure of No10 press chief Lee Cain
‘I work for the people of Pueblo, not the people of Paris,’ Rep Boebert tweeted. The climate agreement was so named because it was signed in the French capital - and not because it solely benefits the city’s residents
AstraZeneca is to cut deliveries of its Covid-19 vaccine to the European Union by 60 per cent in the first quarter of the year due to production problems, in a blow to the bloc’s efforts to push back against the virus. The British firm was expected to deliver about 80 million doses to the 27 EU countries by the end of March, but now only 31 million will be delivered. The decrease will further hamper Europe's Covid-19 vaccination drive after Pfizer and partner BioNTech slowed supplies of their vaccine this week, saying the move was needed because of work to ramp up production. The UK will not be affected by the shortfall, insiders stressed, because the majority of doses, produced in conjunction with the University of Oxford, are manufactured in this country. A spokesman for AstraZeneca, said: “While there is no scheduled delay to the start of shipments of our vaccine should we receive approval in Europe, initial volumes will be lower than originally anticipated due to reduced yields at a manufacturing site within our European supply chain. “We will be supplying tens of millions of doses in February and March to the European Union, as we continue to ramp up production volumes.”
*Spoilers for the latest episode of The Masked Singer below*
Further heavy rainfall, which caused flooding in the wake of Storm Christoph, is not forecast until next Wednesday but low temperatures are expected.
British ministers are to discuss on Monday further tightening travel restrictions, the BBC reported on Saturday, adding that people arriving in the country could be required to quarantine in hotels. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a news conference on Friday that the UK may need to implement further measures to protect its borders from new variants of COVID-19. Britain's current restrictions ban most international travel while new rules introduced earlier in January require a negative coronavirus test before departure for most people arriving, as well as a period of quarantine.
The Biden administration has already set itself on a collision course with Saudi Arabia after its director of National Intelligence vowed to declassify a report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. The push to release the intelligence community’s assessment of the murder of the dissident journalist, which is believed to implicate Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has the potential to trigger a major fallout with the kingdom. Avril Haines, who was confirmed in her new role on Thursday, told Congress “we will follow the law” regarding the report, referring to the Trump administration’s refusal to release the full version for US House representatives. The CIA is said to have concluded with a high degree of confidence that Prince Mohammed, or MBS - a close ally of the previous government - ordered the Washington Post columnist’s assassination at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. However, its contents have not been made public. MBS, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, has denied he ordered the murder and the Trump administration publicly stood by him despite international condemnation.
The actor's character is alive and living in a care home in the soap.
Two serving police constables have died after testing positive for Covid-19, as the Police Federation pleads for officers to be vaccinated. Pc Michael Warren, a 37-year-old father-of-two who joined the Met in 2005, was classed as “vulnerable” and had been shielding at home, working remotely to help his team. He died on Tuesday after a positive Covid-19 test. Police Constable Abbasuddin Ahmed, 40, joined Greater Manchester Police in March 2017 and leaves behind his wife and two young children who are receiving Force support. PC Ahmed, who passed away on Thursday, has been described by his colleagues on the Stretford Response Team as 'the greatest brother in and out of work' and 'such a lovely man who was never seen without a smile on his face.' Officers also paid tribute to Abs' 'pride of being a police officer' adding: "Abs lived up his name meaning 'lion' - brave, loyal, a fighter, protective, and completely fearless. Abs will live in our hearts forever."
Warning over ‘realistic possibility’ of resistant strains of the virus emerging
Between 21 December and 22 January, total of 28,580 deaths reported by government
Mr Johnson said Democrats have to choose between 'being vindictive or staffing administration to keep nation safe’
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrived at the Pentagon for his first day of work on Friday, January 22, shortly after the Senate approved his nomination by President Joe Biden, making Austin the first black person to ever hold the office.Austin was greeted by General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The pair, both wearing masks, exchanged an “elbow bump.”Austin told members of the press he “looked forward to working” with them. “See you around campus,” he said, as he stepped up toward a doorway. Credit: US Dept of Defense via Storyful
Any money made from parking activities must be spent on local transport projects.
They call him the "Yorkshire Maharajah", the king of all he surveys. And certainly, for a Chancellor in a Government presiding over the deepest recession in three centuries, Rishi Sunak is a remarkably popular politician. The cynical explanation is that he is spending money like nobody before him. After all, the forecasts suggest he will soon become the first Chancellor to spend a trillion pounds in a single year. Yet the truth is something different. "He has something lacking in other politicians," says James Johnson, a pollster. "If I had to make a comparison, it would be with Tony Blair. Sunak has an extraordinary ability to connect with people." Conservative MPs are already speculating that Mr Sunak, still only 40 and Chancellor for less than a year, will become Britain's first Asian prime minister. "The relationship between Rishi and Boris is very good,” says an MP. "There's no question of a saga between them. But when Boris moves on, Rishi will become leader. The party will demand it." First impressions and first Budget On March 11, just 27 days after he became Chancellor, Mr Sunak rose to deliver his first Budget. It was to be one of the most remarkable fiscal statements made by a Chancellor in decades. Mr Sunak was already the fastest minister to reach a great office of state since the war. He was the first politician from a minority background to deliver a Budget. He would announce a fiscal expansion to meet the Prime Minister's promises. He would make an open-ended commitment to do "whatever it takes" to get the economy and NHS through the pandemic. And he would, in effect, rewrite the whole package just days later.
UK only country to have flouted World Health Organisation recommendation of 6 weeks maximum, BMA says
Cold air from Iceland and the Arctic is bringing ‘a mix of wintry hazards across the UK’
‘Did we predict the future again?’ asks animator David Silverman