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COVID-19: Coronavirus variant confirmed in Norway on island of Madeira after Canada also declares cases

The new variant of coronavirus that is spreading through Britain has been detected in Norway and on the Portuguese island of Madeira.

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  • Government 'looking very carefully' at Pfizer vaccine after 'real world effectiveness' claims

    Israel has warned that the vaccine could drop to 33% effectiveness after the first dose, while the UK continues to wait weeks before providing the booster jab.

  • Meghan Markle says reports of what Harry told her moments before their wedding are false

    Meghan's lawyers have said papers got the words Harry told her at the altar on their wedding day wrong.

  • Biden seen for first time on inauguration day, after letting Trump finish his goodbye

    President-elect will be inaugurated at noon on Wednesday

  • Woman alerted to self-isolate by NHS app 179 minutes before 10-day isolation period ended

    The app is a key part of the £22bn NHS Test and Trace system, and is billed as 'the fastest way to see if you're at risk from coronavirus'.

  • Jailed Alexei Navalny releases investigation into Vladimir Putin's '£1bn palace'

    He may be behind bars, but the Kremlin has not succeeded in silencing Alexei Navalny.

  • Talking can spread Covid as much as coughing, says research

    Talking can spread Covid as much as coughing, says research. Tiny aerosols of the virus emitted when speaking linger in air for longer than larger droplets from a cough

  • Storm Christoph: Major incident declared in Greater Manchester as torrential rain threatens flooding

    Weather system expected to bring deluge to northern and central England

  • 'Palace Four' to reveal whether Meghan Markle gave private information to the authors of Finding Freedom

    The “Palace Four” will reveal whether the Duchess of Sussex gave private information to the authors of Finding Freedom, indirectly or otherwise, they have confirmed. The four, who were among the Duchess’s closest and most senior aides, insisted they would remain “strictly neutral” and had no interest in helping either side in her legal action against the Mail on Sunday. In a letter lodged with the High Court on their behalf, Samantha Cohen, her former private secretary, Christian Jones, former deputy communications secretary, Jason Knauf, former Kensington Palace communications secretary and Sara Latham, former communications director, said they would also provide evidence about the creation of the letter Meghan sent to her father, as well as the draft, and whether she anticipated that it might be made public. Antony White QC, for Associated Newspapers, owner of the Mail on Sunday, said the group could clearly “shed light” on the issues at stake, noting that the case “cried out” for further investigation at trial. The Duchess is suing Associated for breach of privacy and copyright relating to the publication of five articles, three in the MailOnline and two in the Mail on Sunday, in February 2019. She has applied for summary judgment, a legal step that would negate the need for a trial.

  • Ivanka praises her own work in farewell message as bitter Don Jr compares Biden to The Lion King’s Uncle Scar

    Members of the Trump family signed off after four tumultuous years in the White House

  • Israeli Covid tsar says first Pfizer jab not as effective as hoped and blames spike in cases on British strain

    Israel’s coronavirus tsar has warned that the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine offers less protection than expected, as he blamed the country’s surge in Covid cases partly on the new British variant. Nachman Ash said many Israelis had caught Covid in between their first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine, suggesting that the first jab is “less effective than we thought,” according to Army Radio. His remarks underline the importance of receiving a second vaccine dose, which according to recent studies is more than 90 per cent effective in protecting against coronavirus. Israel has already given the first of two jabs to nearly 30 per cent of the population and on Tuesday announced it would extend eligibility to those aged 40 and over. But Mr Ash is said to have warned at a cabinet meeting that a new strain of Covid originating in Britain was hampering efforts to tackle the pandemic, as it was responsible for nearly 40 per cent of new cases. It comes after two studies by Israeli healthcare providers found that the first dose of the vaccine reduced the risk of infection by between 30 and 60 per cent. And according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, a survey by the health ministry found that around six per cent of 189,000 citizens who had received the first jab tested positive for Covid within two weeks. It also stated that 69 people from the sample had tested positive for coronavirus after receiving their second dose of the vaccine. Another study of a hundred people in Israel found that 98 per cent were protected from the disease once the second dose was administered. That research, carried out by the Sheba Medical Center, also said that a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine significantly refused the risk of spreading the virus to others.

  • Inauguration Day: Election deniers including Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz arrive for Biden ceremonies

    Several Republicans in attendance at President-elect Joe Biden’s swearing-in ceremonies refused to admit he won the election

  • Scottish GPs 'cancelling vaccine appointments' in supply hold-up despite 400,000 'unused' doses

    Frustrated GPs are being forced to cancel patients' Covid vaccination appointments thanks to lack of supply despite hundreds of thousands of doses lying unused, Nicola Sturgeon has been warned. Declaring the roll-out was going to plan, the First Minister said around 100,000 people per week were now being vaccinated in Scotland and all over-80s would be reached by the start of February. Between 15 and 20 per cent of Scots aged over 80 have been vaccinated so far, compared to more than half in England, but Ms Sturgeon said care homes had nearly been completed and the roll-out would now accelerate. But she was forced to deny her government is failing to distribute the vaccine to GPs quickly enough after it emerged only 284,582 doses out of Scotland's allocation of 717,000 had been administered. Challenged repeatedly to explain why GPs were running out when more than 400,000 doses were unused, she hit out at the UK Government for leaking the figure and accused it of having a "hissy fit" over her administration publishing confidential supply statistics last week. However, Dr Andrew Buist, who chairs the British Medical Association's Scottish GP committee, said family doctors were frustrated by the "bumpy" supply and they were being kept in the dark over why they had not received shipments. He said: "The workforce is there and that's why it's so incredibly frustrating when the patients want the vaccine, we're very keen to give it to our patients but we just don't have the vaccine in our fridge." Willie Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, said GPs in his Fife constituency had been forced to cancel vaccination appointments because they had not been provided with the necessary supply.

  • Thai govt files royal insult complaint after criticism of its vaccine strategy

    Thailand's government on Wednesday filed a criminal complaint of defaming the monarchy against a banned opposition politician after he criticised the country's COVID-19 vaccine strategy. The move could mark the highest-profile lese majeste case since a wave of anti-government protests emerged last year and extended to criticism of King Maha Vajiralongkorn over accusations of meddling in politics and taking too much power. The complaint against Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit under Article 112 of the criminal code came two days after he said the government was too reliant on a company owned by the Crown Property Bureau, which is under the king's personal control, to produce vaccines for Thais.

  • ‘It’s unfortunate’: Ashley Biden confirms first lady snubbed her mother on traditional White House handover

    "I think we’re all OK with it,' says incoming first daughter in first ever TV interview

  • Exclusive: Prince William's closest aide quits

    The Duke of Cambridge is set to lose a second key aide in a year. Christian Jones, who replaced Simon Case as William’s private secretary last March after he was poached by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is leaving the royal household to join the private equity group Bridgepoint as a partner. The 31-year-old, who was previously William and Kate’s communications secretary, will head up corporate affairs for the £18 billion company. It is understood he will remain an advisor to the royal couple, whom he is credited with protecting from the fallout from “Megxit”, helping them to maintain a visible presence throughout the coronavirus crisis. A royal source said: “Whereas Simon was credited with making the Duke a statesman - Christian has really helped them to steer them through their public-facing role during the pandemic. He’s helped them to grow in confidence by gently pushing them out of their comfort zone.”

  • MPs try to block Priti Patel’s pick to scrutinise immigration plans, fearing nominee won’t stand up to her

    Home Affairs Committee also worried that David Neal will not push for changes following the Windrush scandal

  • UK to 'look carefully' at claims vaccine efficacy in Israel has dropped to 33 per cent with one dose

    Britain will "look carefully" at claims that the Pfizer vaccine fails to protect as well as expected following research into the first 200,000 people given the jab in Israel, Sir Patrick Vallance has said. The first real-world data showed the first dose led to a 33 per cent reduction in cases of coronavirus among people who were vaccinated between 14 and 21 days afterwards. But that figure is far lower than that predicted by the joint committee on vaccines and immunisation (JCVI), which suggested a single dose would prevent 89 per cent of recipients from getting Covid-19 symptoms. In a radio interview, Nachman Ash, Israel's vaccine tsar, said a single dose appeared "less effective than we had thought" and also lower than Pfizer had suggested, raising fears that giving only one dose will not be as protective as hoped.

  • In pictures: Storm Christoph causes flooding chaos across UK

    The UK is bracing itself as Storm Christoph continues to cause chaos across large parts of the country.Major incidents have already been declared in Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire amid amber and yellow weather warnings for the storm, which could also bring snow to northern areas.More than 120mm of rain has already fallen in parts of the country, with 123.4mm at Honister Pass in Cumbria in the 24 hours up to 6am on Wednesday.Nearby Seathwaite saw the second-highest total, with 107.2mm, and some isolated spots could see up to 200mm, the Met Office said.Almost the whole of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are subject to yellow weather warnings for rain until midday on Thursday, with a more serious amber warning stretching from the East Midlands to the Lake District.The amber alert warns of the risk of flooding and deep floodwaters which could pose a risk to life, and there are further yellow warnings for snow and ice in Scotland.Met Office forecaster Grahame Madge described Christoph as “quite a slow-moving system” which is bringing “a variety of weather” to the UK.Fifty flood warnings have been issued across England, with 175 less severe flood alerts.

  • Coronavirus deaths hit grim new daily high, as expert warns it will be weeks before they fall significantly

    UK has ‘one of the worst coronavirus problems in the world at the moment’, warns scientist

  • The 'coincidence' moments where passers-by create perfect pictures

    These incredible photos may look too good to not be staged but they all happened by sheer coincidence.Photographer Ishay 'Jesse' Lindenberg specialises in capturing 'The Art of Coincidence' – waiting for unsuspecting passers-by to wander into a scene or frame that they happen to match perfectly.Whether it is woman whose outfit matches a billboard she is walking past, or a man sat on the edge of a pavement, perfectly aligned with the tip of a 'laser beam' on graffiti behind him, Jesse's compositions are all the real deal.The photographer, from Berlin, Germany, says he only ever has a minute at most to make sure he captures the perfectly-framed photograph – and describes his work as depicting "everyday miracles".Lindenberg, 40, said: "This art of coincidence is a kind of silent dialogue between elements that come together for only an instance in time, before the image dissolves in a heartbeat."People and objects talk to each other, a passerby gets a superhero cloak, shapes and patterns form a unit never seen before…"It is like for a brief time, reality rearranges itself in a surprising way, opening the door to new possibilities.”