DHS asks tech giants to ensure social media platforms aren't used as a tool to promote riots

Lauren Claffey, former deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, weighs in.

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  • French authorities ban Jersey fishermen from landing catch at three ports

    French authorities have announced that Jersey fishermen will be banned from landing their catch at three ports in response to the row over post-Brexit fishing rights. In a tit-for-tat retaliation, local leaders in La Manche, Normandy, said that boats from the Channel island would be suspended from entering the ports of Granville, Barneville-Carteret and Dielette until further notice. It came as Jersey fishermen on Friday told The Telegraph they had been unable to land their hauls since Monday, with one fisherman actively prevented from landing in Carteret on Thursday afternoon. Responding on Friday night, Ian Gorst, Jersey’s minister for external relations, said that it regretted the decision and believed it fell foul of the Brexit trade deal. “For that reason we are referring the notice of this decision immediately to the European Commission,” he said in a statement. It follows Jersey’s decision last week to impose new restrictions on fishing licences granted to French vessels in its waters, in a move which has provoked outcry in Paris. Brussels has also intervened, claiming that the move is discriminatory and in breach of the Brexit trade deal agreed with the UK last year. After the French government threatened to cut off electricity supplies to the island, a flotilla of 60 fishing boats blockaded its main port of St Helier on Thursday, in an escalation which prompted Boris Johnson to dispatch two Royal Navy vessels. The fishermen have threatened to return unless Jersey backs down, but Downing Street has insisted that the Crown Dependency commands its full support and has complied with the trade agreement. Read more: Calm after the storm as Jersey's fishermen head back out to sea

  • London mayoral and UK local election results 2021 LIVE: Sadiq Khan back on top after Shaun Bailey opened up shock early lead in race to be mayor

    Reaction and results after Thursday’s elections in England, Scotland and Wales

  • Coronation Street star discusses aftermath of heartbreaking death

    "She has got all this anger, grief and heartbreak."

  • AstraZeneca vaccine guidance could change again if wider UK situation changes, says JCVI member

    People under 40 are to be offered an alternative to the vaccine

  • Police appeal for information after man stabbed in east London

    Police have appealed for information following a violent stabbing in east London. On Tuesday, police were called to reports of a stabbing at Thurlestone Avenue at around 8.25pm. Officers and London Ambulance Service (LAS) attended the scene where they found a man in his 30s had been attacked by a group of men.

  • COVID-19: 'Britain will be free of the coronavirus by August', says outgoing vaccine taskforce chief

    The coronavirus will no longer be circulating in Britain by midsummer, according to the government's departing vaccine taskforce chief, Clive Dix. Mr Dix, who was appointed as interim leader of the taskforce in December and stepped down last week, said it was his belief there would be no circulating virus "sometime in August". On Friday, there were 2,490 new cases reported in the latest 24-hour period, according to government figures.

  • Boris Johnson ‘planning to rent out London home’ amid flat refurbishment row

    Boris Johnson is planning to rent out his £1.2million south London home following backlash over the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat, according to reports. It is understood the Prime Minister has remortgaged the townhouse he purchased with his fiancée Carrie Symonds in Camberwell, south London. According to The Times, Mr Johnson has taken out a buy to let mortgage on the property and could rent it out for between £3,300 and £4,000 a month.

  • Woman grabbed from behind and attacked by three men while out jogging

    Cait Smith, 23, was pinned to the floor in Colchester, Essex.

  • Coronation Street star reacts to tragic exit scenes

    The departing cast member speaks out.

  • Saudi and UAE condemn Israel over Palestinian clashes at Al-Aqsa

    DUBAI (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Saturday condemned Israel's plans to evict Palestinians from homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers, following a night of violence in Jerusalem. Israeli police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades towards rock-hurling Palestinian youth at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque late on Friday. The clashes at Islam's third holiest site and around East Jerusalem, which injured 205 Palestinians and 17 police officers, came amid mounting anger over the planned evictions.

  • More than 130 injured as Palestinian worshippers clash with Israeli police at Al-Aqsa mosque

    At least 136 people have been injured during clashes between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound.

  • Quiz! As Twister turns 25... are you an expert on disaster films?

    As 'Twister' turns 25 years old, we want to know - are you a disaster movie expert?

  • Alba’s performance in Scottish election ‘credible’, Alex Salmond insists

    The former first minister’s new party are likely to see no MSPs returned.

  • Army to receive 148 of ‘most lethal’ battle tanks in Europe

    The contract will see 200 jobs created in Shropshire and a further 450 roles elsewhere in the country.

  • 6 new Coronation Street spoilers for death aftermath

    What happens next?

  • Friday evening UK news briefing: Keir Starmer admits Labour 'lost connection' with voters after Hartlepool defeat

    Sir Keir Starmer is facing an onslaught from both sides of Labour over its devastating by-election defeat, as the Left mocked his "flag waving and suit wearing" and moderates demanded he talk more about aspiration. Heavy criticism was heaped on the Labour leader after the party ceded Hartlepool to the Conservatives for the first time since the seat's creation in 1974. Sir Keir said the party must stop "quarrelling among ourselves" and he is expected to reshuffle his front bench next month. Political Editor Ben Riley-Smith outlines seven uncomfortable questions Labour must answer. Joe Shute found out why the people of Hartlepool decided to vote Tory, with the town's new MP saying today that Labour "took Hartlepool for granted" for 47 years. Yet Tony Diver details how Jill Mortimer, pictured below left alongside Boris Johnson and a giant blow up version of the PM, could prove to be a thorn in the side for the Tories. Sherelle Jacobs writes the revolt against Labour is bigger than Brexit.

  • NHS digital vaccine passport app will be ready for summer holidays

    The NHS app will be ready to be used as a digital vaccine passport in time for passengers to go on their summer holidays from May 17, Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, announced Friday night. NHSX, the digital arm of the service, is racing to enable the app to be used by holidaymakers to prove that they are fully vaccinated when they arrive at their destination once the ban on travel is lifted from May 17. There have been fears of delays as sources have reported difficulties over verifying the identity of the app’s user and the need to create a separate secure database of people’s vaccination data. Its operation is vital because it means British holidaymakers will be able to sidestep expensive PCR tests on arrival in most countries.

  • Huge SNP drive to get supporters to polls cancels out unionist tactical voting

    A huge SNP effort to get their supporters to polling stations cancelled out a rise in unionist tactical voting in key constituencies as the first tranche of results in the Holyrood elections were announced. Turnout surged across the country despite the pandemic – rising by more than 10 percentage points in some seats compared to 2016 – with a record number expected to have participated in a Scottish Parliament vote. The nationalists were determined to avoid a repeat of the 2017 general election, when SNP voters staying at home was seen to have contributed to surprise gains for Labour in urban areas and Tories toppling nationalists in parts of rural Scotland. The SNP bombarded its supporters with texts and emails addressed from Nicola Sturgeon on election day, urging them to vote and also to ensure that at least five friends or family members also made it to polling stations. On Friday, Scottish Tory strategists admitted that the success of the SNP drive to get out the vote had neutered their attempts to gain seats by encouraging widespread tactical voting among unionist voters determined to stop a second independence referendum.

  • UK still on track to ease pandemic restrictions – Government advisers

    Advisers are not expecting people to go back to pre-pandemic levels of contact with others as restrictions ease in May.

  • Australian Zoo Announces Birth of Rare Echidna Puggle

    Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, unveiled a rare short-beaked echidna puggle on Friday, May 7, born at its breeding facility around seven months ago.Video shared by the zoo shows “keeper-cam” footage of the puggle when it was just over one month old, as well as further footage of keepers weighing a fully grown echidna.The puggle was born to mother Gunyi and is estimated to now be about seven months old. Its sex is yet to be identified and a name has not yet been chosen, Taronga Zoo Sydney said in a news release.Echidnas are only one of two egg-laying mammals and are hard to breed in captivity as they have complex courtship rituals with males only needed at very specific times, the zoo said.“The little puggle is still quite shy and is spending most of its time learning natural echidna behaviors like digging and foraging,” the zoo added. Credit: Taronga Zoo Sydney via Storyful