Germany scraps strict Easter shutdown as EU limits vaccine exports

A man walks in London, which is embroiled in a vaccine row with the EU

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  • Liam Williams vs Demetrius Andrade ring walks: What time will fight start in the UK?

    Everything you need to know ahead of tonight’s WBO world title bout

  • Who is Penny Knatchbull? Countess Mountbatten who is only friend at Prince Philip's funeral

    The countess developed a close friendship through a shared love of carriage driving.

  • 'This is a disaster': Boris Johnson urged to act after cases of Indian 'double mutant' variant found in UK

    Experts have called for the government to take action after it emerged that a concerning COVID variant first found in India has already been detected in the UK.

  • John Cleese pokes fun at Hank Azaria's apology for Apu on 'The Simpsons'

    Cleese said he was sorry for 'any distress' caused.

  • Scottish Tories propose reopening of decades-old train lines to boost economy

    Rail routes that have been closed for decades would be resurrected under Tory proposals to boost Scotland’s transport network. Under the plan, set to be included in the party manifesto, reviews would be launched into lines that were shut under the Beeching cuts of the 1960s and reopened if it was found doing so would make economic sense. The line between Perth and Edinburgh would be one of those that could be rejuvenated under the plan with the Buchan to Formartine line, in the north east, another contender. It follows the reopening of the Borders railway, which closed in 1969 and reopened in 2015, and has been widely seen as a success. The infrastructure plan would also see upgrades to Scotland’s road network, including the dualling of the A1 and expansion of the M8. "We would review closed rail lines and stations and reopen those which would support local growth,” Mr Ross said. “"Many iconic railways were shut down during the Beeching cuts of the 1960s - we would review which should be reopened.

  • Priti Patel approves extradition of world’s most wanted billionaire

    The world’s most wanted billionaire Nirav Modi has had his extradition to India approved by Priti Patel. The Home Secretary ordered the extradition of the diamond tycoon after a British judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to send him back to India for trial. He has been accused of money laundering and fraud over allegations that he embezzled more than $1 billion (£700 million) from the Punjab National Bank (PNB). Mr Modi was tracked down by The Telegraph after he went on the run. He was found living in a luxury apartment in a high rise block in London’s West End in March 2019.

  • Teenage Queen and Prince Philip pictured together in rare images from 1939

    The pictures were unearthed from a private collection and show Philip looking after a 13-year-old Elizabeth.

  • Helen McCrory championed charity with Damian Lewis in one of last public appearances, weeks before her death

    ‘Very few people had any idea what she was clearly going through,’ tweets GB News presenter Dan Wootton

  • 10 best electric bikes: Hybrid, folding and affordable models

    Get from A to B more easily with a bicycle that will help you pedal

  • Primary school places to be announced as families wait anxiously

    Parents need more support due to pandemic, say school leaders

  • Democrats unveil bid to expand Supreme Court from nine to 13

    Congressional Democrats introduce legislation to expand the US Supreme Court from nine to 13 justices, arguing it is necessary after the Senate confirmed former president Donald Trump's nominee just eight days before the 2020 election to give the bench a firm conservative majority. The move has drawn angry protests from Republicans accusing their rivals of attempting a power grab to enact President Joe Biden's agenda.

  • China asks Japan deputy PM to drink Fukushima water he said was safe

    Chinese foreign ministry spokeperson says ‘Japan should not forget the historical tragedy’

  • Prince Philip apologised to Richard Nixon for faux pas with 'lame' toast during White House visit

    Throughout his decades in public life, Prince Philip was known for putting his royal foot in his mouth with occasional off-the-cuff remarks that could be embarrassing. But his faux pas at a White House dinner with President Richard Nixon in 1969 was enough for Philip to actually lose sleep. In a handwritten note to the president uncovered by archivists at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, the Duke of Edinburgh wrote to "humbly apologise" for failing to toast the president's health as dictated by protocol during a "stag" dinner in his honor. "After the brilliance of the other speakers and yourself, I am afraid my contribution was very lame," Philip wrote to Nixon from Greenland on Nov 7 after his solo US trip had concluded. He added: "That night I woke up in a cold sweat when I realised I had forgotten to propose your health!" Philip died last week at age 99, and his funeral is Saturday. He was married to Queen Elizabeth for 73 years. "I think the letter itself shows the character of Prince Philip that so much of the public in the U.K. and across the Commonwealth, and really across the world, have come to admire," said Jim Byron, executive vice president of the Nixon Foundation. He said the letter was discovered before the coronavirus pandemic but made public this week, as a way of marking Philip's death. "It expresses some private feelings of a moment in time that the public really doesn't always get a chance to see," Mr Byron added.

  • Colin the Caterpillar vs Cuthbert, Curly and Wiggles: we decide which tastes best

    In the tale of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, along with an ice-cream cone, a pickle, a slice each of Swiss cheese and salami, a lollipop, a wedge of cherry pie, a sausage, cupcake and a slice of watermelon, our ravenous protagonist devours a piece of chocolate cake. It is perhaps no coincidence that the latter has become synonymous with the insect (and visa versa), and subsequently that a caterpillar-shaped sponge is often the most familiar guest at birthday parties and office celebrations across the land. Nor is it surprising that the news of Marks & Spencer taking Aldi to court in a bid to protect its Colin the Caterpillar cake has provoked such an uproar. The retailer has accused the discounter chain of riding on its reputational coat-tails after Aldi began selling its own Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake, which looks very similar. But since M&S launched Colin (a chocolate-coated sponge cake bearing buttercream, topped with sweets and fronted by a smiling white-chocolate face) some 30 years ago, similar critters have emerged, and not only from the German discount store. From Cuthbert and Wiggles to Curly and Carl the free-from caterpillar, there are cute-faced chocolate Swiss rolls in almost every supermarket – and each has a band of fervently loyal supporters. But how do they compare to each other? Does Colin hold the gold standard when it comes to softness of sponge and flavour of edible boot? Are the sprinkles on Curly superior to those adorning Morris? While Aldi has not stocked its Cuthbert cake since mid-February and so was sadly unavailable for review, we netted the best of the rest and put them to the test.

  • Here's What The Coronavirus R Rate Is Near You

    R measures the number of people, on average, that each sick person will infect.

  • Quiz: Are you an expert on superstitions?

    If you think you’re a master of British superstitions, try your luck with our multiple choice quiz.

  • Michel Barnier warns that Frexit remains a risk ahead of presidential elections

    Michel Barnier has warned that France could follow the UK out of the EU, as polls show growing support for the Eurosceptic Marine Le Pen. He said there was “social unrest and anger” over immigration and Europe’s failure to defend its borders and for the “red tape and complexity” of the EU. “We could draw some lessons from Brexit for ourselves. It's now too late for the UK but not for us," the former EU chief negotiator said. “We can find, not just in the UK, but here in France, in the northern regions […] citizens who want to leave the EU,” Mr Barnier, who has returned to domestic politics, said. He added, “It is our responsibility to understand why the British left [...] it's important for us to listen to the anger that was expressed in the UK, and to implement the kind of changes that are necessary to better understand and reassure the European citizens that remain.” Latest IFOP polling shows that Ms Le Pen, who leads the National Rally party, would beat the pro-EU Emmanuel Macron by two percentage points in the first round of next year’s presidential elections. Mr Macron is predicted to win in the second round by 54 percent to 46 percent but that is narrower than the 66.1 percent to 34.6 percent defeat she suffered four years ago. Ms Le Pen called for Frexit in that election but has since stopped campaigning for France to leave the bloc. Instead she wants to create a “Europe of nations”. Mr Barnier hopes to rebuild support for the centre-Right Républicains party ahead of the elections. He was speaking at an event on Brexit in Northern France, where fishermen are complaining they have not yet got fishing licences from the UK since Brexit. Clément Beaune, France’s Europe Minister, said the EU was accused of “being weak and slow”. He said that the bloc should take heart from its robust approach to the Brexit negotiations. “Back in 2016 people thought that this was the beginning of the end for Europe, but we have been able to show that we can be agile, that we can react, that we can be consistent in defending our interests in a firm way to defend the greatest European assets – the Single Market and our political unity.” He added: “These are lessons that we must all keep in mind as Europe is facing more difficulties.” The European Commission warned Britain that any further unilateral action over the Northern Ireland Protocol was unacceptable at a meeting on Thursday night. Maros Sefcovic, the commission vice-president, told Lord Frost that “solutions can only be found through joint actions and through joint bodies”. Britain insists that its unilateral actions in extending the grace periods on food products and parcels is lawful and made in good faith. The meeting over the implementation of new post-Brexit customs arrangements in Northern Ireland was said to be “constructive” by both sides.

  • Princes William and Harry to be reunited before Prince Philip's funeral

    The Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex will be reunited behind closed doors at Windsor Castle on Saturday before laying their beloved grandfather to rest. Members of the Royal family including Prince William and Prince Harry will gather in the State Entrance Hall before the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin emerges from the State Entrance at 2.41pm. Assuming the brothers have not arranged a private meeting earlier on Saturday morning, it is the first time they will see each other in the flesh in over a year. It will also mark their first face-to-face meeting since Harry and his wife Meghan gave an interview to the US chat show host Oprah Winfrey last month, suggesting an unnamed royal had queried Archie's skin tone as well as describing William as "trapped" in the monarchy. In an apparent sign of ongoing tensions between the brothers, they will not walk shoulder to shoulder in the funeral procession but will be separated by their cousin Peter Phillips, the Queen's eldest grandchild.

  • How Thomas Tuchel has prepared Chelsea FC for Man City test... beer included

    If Chelsea are still in the game by half-time on Saturday, Hakim Ziyech will consider it a significant improvement on the last time he faced Manchester City. “We played them in January here and I think it was in the first half after 15 minutes the game was already over,” he says ahead of the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. “They’ve been leading since the beginning of this season,” said Ziyech.

  • North Carolina teacher killed in shoot-out after trying to rob Mexican drug cartel

    Barney Harris shot and killed despite wearing bulletproof vest to rob drugs and cash