Group leaders have paused the ratification process amid the latest row
In response to their upcoming interview with Oprah Winfrey, headlines are blaring, Twitter trolls are seething and Piers Morgan is frothing at the mouth. As the self-appointed chairwoman of the Meghan fan club, I always have and always will be rooting for her and Prince Harry. Marrying into the royal family has been tough for Meghan; she’s been criticised for everything from what colour she paints her nails to how often she rubs her pregnancy bump.
It is time to stop this nonsense – the best vaccine you can get is the one you’re offered on the day
Richard Barnett, 60, of Arkansas faces federal charges including disorderly conduct in a capitol building
The UK-wide figure has risen slightly to between 0.7 and 0.9.
Boris Johnson has challenged the EU's decision to approve the blockade of 250,000 AstraZeneca vaccines destined for Australia, warning that the restrictions "endanger" global efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. On Friday, Downing Street questioned the European Commission over its acceptance of the Italian government's decision to use EU-wide export controls to prevent the shipment from going ahead. Asked about the controversy, Mr Johnson's spokesman pointed out that Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, had previously assured the Prime Minister that the controls would not be used in this way. Speaking at the Number 10 daily lobby briefing, the spokesman said: "We're not privy to the specific agreements between other countries and vaccine manufacturers. "However, the PM spoke to President von der Leyen earlier this year, and she confirmed that the focus of their mechanism was on transparency and not intended to restrict exports by companies where they are fulfilling contractual responsibilities. "We would expect the EU to continue to stand by its commitments. The global recovery from Covid relies on international collaboration. We are all dependent on global supply chains, and putting in place restrictions endangers global efforts to fight the virus."
Cameras have captured the moment a car crashed through a supermarket window and knocked over shoppers. It happened at an Aldi store in Chelmsford, Essex, just before 12:00 GMT on Wednesday.
The Duchess of Sussex is a woman who fell in love with a man. That’s it. Unfortunately for her, this man happened to be a British prince
Police seized a £170,000 Lamborghini from Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucouré after he was caught driving the car through north London without insurance, a court heard. Doucouré was “shocked” when shown the speed gun reading, Bromley magistrates heard, suggesting he may have been confused because the speedometer on his French car is in km. On July 2, he was then pulled over in his wife’s Lamborghini Urus in Dartmouth Park Hill when driving without insurance.
Tourists would be required to have had their second dose at the latest seven days before travel.
The documents related to the botched investigation into allegations of sexual harassment by the former First Minister.
France has threatened to block exports of AstraZeneca vaccines from the European Union after Italy used EU rules to stop 250,000 doses of the Oxford jab being sent to Australia. The threat was made as the European Commission, which approved the bloc's first vaccine export ban, said the decision by Rome and Brussels was designed to "send a message" to AstraZeneca. "The message is very clearly [...] that we expect companies with which the European Union has signed advanced purchasing agreements to do their utmost to comply with the contracts," the commission’s chief spokesman said. A "frustrated" and "disappointed" Australia demanded assurances from Brussels that future vaccine shipments will go ahead and asked the commission to review the decision. Dan Tehan, the trade minister, spoke to the EU's trade commissioner on Friday morning and was told there will be no problems with shipments from companies that honour their contracts with the EU. British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has been embroiled in a rumbling row with the EU over supply shortfalls since January. Brussels says it is in breach of contractual obligations, which it denies. AstraZeneca cut its supplies to the EU in the first quarter to 40 million doses from 90 million foreseen in the contract, and later said it would cut deliveries by another 50 percent in the second quarter. European leaders increasingly see the Oxford jab as pivotal in their efforts to kickstart the EU's vaccination programme, which lags far behind those of the UK, US and Israel.
Police were braced for more violence at the Capitol on Thursday
Nicola Sturgeon has expressed optimism that rules on outdoor meetings will soon be relaxed and Scottish football fans will be allowed into Hampden to watch the national team play in this summer's European Championships. Speaking as the number of daily Covid cases dropped to their lowest levels since September, the First Minister said she was keen "to get more potential to see loved ones" and would set out more details at Holyrood on Tuesday next week. Praising Scotland’s progress in driving down the spread of the virus, Ms Sturgeon announced 498 cases in the past 24 hours - the lowest daily total since September 27. She said there could be an announcement on "relatively minor, but important changes to the rules around our ability to meet people outdoors, and also on how young people are able to interact with friends outdoors". The Scottish Government's updated plan for moving out of lockdown says that a plan to allow four people from two households to meet outdoors is unlikely to begin before March 15, with the same date given for the resumption for non-contact, outdoor group sports for 12-17 year olds. Ms Sturgeon also said she was hopeful that she will be at Hampden to cheer on Scotland in Euro 2020, the team's first international tournament in 22 years. “I certainly hope so and nobody wants Scotland to lose the Euros and I don’t think we should be in the position right now of thinking that’s the case,” she said.
Just 13 out of 315 local areas are currently recording a week-on-week rise in rates.
From ex-Sussex squad members citing bullying allegations to the Hollywood dream team fighting the Duke and Duchess’ PR battle from LA, Katie Strick has a who’s-who of this week’s royal drama
Boris Johnson still has full confidence in his top civil servant after it was claimed he knew about Meghan Markle’s alleged bullying of royal staff, Downing Street said, insisting there is “no place” for bullying in Government. Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, was reportedly aware of allegations that the Duchess of Sussex had bullied Buckingham Palace staff in his capacity as the Duke of Cambridge’s private secretary in 2018. Boris Johnson’s spokesman yesterday said he had “full confidence” in Mr Case in his new role as head of the Civil Service, but would not comment on the allegations about the Duchess or that the Cabinet Secretary knew about them. The spokesman repeatedly said the controversy was a “matter for the Palace”. Allegra Stratton, Mr Johnson’s press secretary, reminded reporters that the Prime Minister wrote to ministers last year to tell them there was no place for bullying in Government. Bullying allegations are something both men “take seriously”, she said, adding: “The pair of them wrote to all government ministers last year underlining that commitment and making clear that in government we expect a culture which is respectful, professional and focussed on ambitious change, but in which there is no place for bullying.”
More than two dozen scientists have called for a new investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, amid concerns it was “all but impossible” for a World Health Organization-led team to operate free of political influence. In an open letter, published on Thursday, a group of 26 experts claimed the probe did not “constitute a thorough, credible and transparent investigation”. “We believe it essential that all hypotheses about the origins of the pandemic be thoroughly examined and full access to all necessary resources be provided without regard to political or other sensitivities,” the letter added. During a highly anticipated trip earlier this year, a WHO-convened team spent four weeks in Wuhan - where the first Covid-19 cases were detected in late 2019 - to investigate how the virus first emerged. The scientists suggested that while “all hypotheses remain open”, it is highly unlikely that the virus emerged as a leak from a laboratory. Instead, they said, Sars-Cov-2 most likely jumped from bats to humans via an as-yet-unknown intermediary host. While most experts expected inconclusive findings - establishing the origins of diseases usually takes years, if not decades - the lack of a “smoking gun” has only heightened geopolitical squabbles and already intense scrutiny around the probe.
Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster said the UK had to take action.
Infection rates also continuing to fall across all regions and in every age group, Public Health England says
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