Police arrest anti-lockdown protesters

Police in central London have arrested anti-lockdown protesters in Parliament Square for breaking coronavirus restrictions that require the public to stay at home.

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  • UK to quarantine visitors from nations with high COVID-19 risk, Daily Mail says

    Travelers from Brazil and South Africa, and neighbouring countries, will be met on arrival and escorted to hotels to quarantine, under plans being discussed by UK ministers, the Daily Mail said. Johnson favoured a more targeted approach than making all air passengers go into quarantine, said the report, which added that the quarantine decision would be taken on Monday.

  • Sturgeon refuses to say if she would quit if it is found she lied over Salmond

    Nicola Sturgeon has refused to confirm that she would quit as First Minister if it is found that she deliberately lied to Holyrood over the Alex Salmond affair, as she accused her predecessor of spreading “false conspiracy theories” about her. The First Minister insisted she had not misled the Scottish Parliament about her handling of sexual harassment complaints against Mr Salmond, as two inquiries examining her conduct, which her opponents believe could see her forced from office, gather pace. In a submission to an investigation into whether Ms Sturgeon broke the ministerial code, Mr Salmond said statements which Ms Sturgeon made to Holyrood about when she first became aware of complaints against him were “simply untrue”.

  • Republican split widens as Donald Trump intervenes in party elections in Arizona

    The acrimonious split within Republican ranks widened over the weekend as Donald Trump made his foray back into politics, backing the re-election of a hard-line supporter as chair of the party in Arizona. His wholehearted support for Kelli Ward was seen by allies as the former president firing a warning shot across the bows of any Republican senators considering backing his impeachment.

  • Nearly a million jabs administered over two days in the UK as vaccine minister says there is ‘much more to do’

    Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has said there is still “much more to do” as he welcomed the latest figures showing more than 6.3 million people have had a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine in the UK. Saturday was a record day for the country’s vaccination rollout as Government figures showed 491,970 people across the UK received their first dose on Saturday, taking the total to more than 6.3 million on Sunday. Mr Zahawi urged people to continue to follow the lockdown guidance on Twitter.

  • Duke and Duchess of Cambridge 'besotted' with new puppy that has helped them get over death of Lupo

    When their beloved cocker spaniel, Lupo, died last month, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were heartbroken. But their grief was tempered by the arrival of a new puppy, with whom the whole family is said to be “besotted.” The new cocker spaniel, whose name has not yet been revealed, was given to the family by the Duchess’s brother, James Middleton, before Lupo died. And ensuring it remains a family affair, the puppy is Lupo’s niece. Mr Middleton, 33, bred his first litter of puppies from his dog Ella in 2011. He kept one, called Luna, but gave her brother Lupo to the Duchess in early 2012 after the Duke deployed for six weeks to the Falkland Islands while serving as an RAF search and rescue pilot. Last summer, Mr Middleton, who at the time was staying with his parents at their Berkshire home, bred another litter of six puppies with Luna as their mother. The Cambridges, along with their children Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two, are said to have had the pick of the litter.

  • Britain faces three-month 'halfway house' lockdown after Easter as over-50s wait for second vaccine

    Britain faces a three-month lockdown "halfway house" after Easter, with a full reopening delayed until all over-50s have had their second dose of the vaccine, The Telegraph understands. Ministers are considering proposals to begin reopening swathes of the economy in April under similar restrictions to those in place over the summer, with “rule of six” and social distancing measures in force in pubs and restaurants. A return to full normality will be delayed for at least 12 to 14 weeks to allow for all over-50s to have their second dose of the vaccine, according to a source familiar with the discussions. Ministers are keen to reopen hospitality venues in some capacity before the G7 summit in the second week of June, when the UK will host world leaders in Carbis Bay, Cornwall. National measures will be eased in advance of the summit, allowing pubs, restaurants and tourism to begin to trade again. Boris Johnson has previously suggested that England will return to the geographic tier system after the lockdown ends, but sources suggested the tiers may apply to the whole country rather than to specific areas. “The appetite for regional tiers will only come if you have large swathes of the country that are significantly lower in case numbers and new variant case numbers and hospitalisations,” a source said. Officials are understood to be planning the reopening of schools first, followed by an increase in personal freedoms, allowing meetings of friends and family outdoors, before hospitality opens with social distancing measures in place. The plans could see a full reopening of the economy under “normal” rules by the first week of July, after the over-50s have had a second dose of the vaccine. Downing Street distanced itself from the proposals on Sunday night. A No10 spokesman said: "It's not a timetable under discussion". News of the strategy came as Matt Hancock warned it would be a “long, long, long” time before cases numbers are low enough for the lockdown to be fully relaxed. Speaking on Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme, the Health Secretary said there was “early evidence that the lockdown is starting to bring cases down”, but cautioned that any further new variants could throw the timetable for the easing of restrictions. "The new variant I really worry about is the one that is out there that hasn't been spotted," he said. Yesterday’s statistics reported 30,004 new coronavirus infections in the UK. The seven-day rolling total fell by 22 per cent compared to last week. The Health Secretary’s refusal to commit publicly to a strategy for easing lockdown added to the frustration of Tory backbenchers, who are calling for measures to be loosened as the vaccination programme protects those most vulnerable to the disease. Steve Baker, deputy chair of the Coronavirus Recovery Group, said the lockdown was causing “untold damage to people’s health, livelihoods and prospects”. “It’s not enough to expect public compliance with prolonged severe measures, without giving some hope, and showing some optimism and light at the end of this very dark tunnel,” he said. Another MP bemoaned the pessimistic tone of the Prime Minister during Friday’s press conference, where he announced that the Kent strain was more deadly than the original form of Covid. “Where was Mr Optimism on Friday?” the MP asked. “He looked gutted. It was like a hostage situation.” Yesterday Mr Hancock said scientists are still unsure exactly how much more deadly the Kent variant is. Sir Patrick Vallance has indicated it may kill 30 per cent more people, but stressed that the data currently available is patchy at best. Hospitality bosses cautiously welcomed the prospect of reopening under “halfway house” restrictions from April. Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of UK Hospitality, said: “We understand that restrictions might need to be in place for quite a period of time after we reopen. “In that case, given that would have a significant impact on business viability and jobs within the sector, we would want to work with the Government to support us through that reopening and recovery period as we transition out of restrictions. “Key to that would be extending the business rates holiday and the VAT cut.”

  • Asian 'El Chapo' Tse Chi Lop arrested in the Netherlands

    The alleged ringleader of Asia’s biggest crime syndicate and one of the world’s most wanted men has been arrested in the Netherlands, with Australian authorities pushing for his extradition to face trial. Police had been chasing alleged drug kingpin Tse Chi Lop, 57, for years until his arrest by Dutch police on Friday acting on a request from Australia’s federal police. In a statement on Sunday, Australian authorities said a man "of significant interest" to law enforcement agencies had been detained. A police spokeswoman confirmed his name as Tse Chi Lop. Tse is expected to be extradited after appearing before a judge, Dutch police spokesman Thomas Aling said, adding that his arrest by national police took place without incident at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. "He was already on the most-wanted list and he was detained based on intelligence we received," Aling said. The Chinese-born Canadian citizen has been compared to Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. He has been named by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as the suspected leader of the Asian mega-cartel known as "Sam Gor", a major producer and supplier of methamphetamines globally. Sam Gor is believed to launder its billions in drug money through businesses springing up in Southeast Asia’s Mekong region – including casinos, hotels and real estate. Australia’s federal police said Friday’s arrest followed an operation that in 2012-2013 nabbed 27 people linked to a crime syndicate spanning five countries. The group were accused of importing "substantial quantities of heroin and methamphetamine" into Australia, long a lucrative market for drug traffickers. "The syndicate targeted Australia over a number of years, importing and distributing large amounts of illicit narcotics, laundering the profits overseas and living off the wealth obtained from crime," the Australian police said. As part of the 2012-2013 raids across Melbourne, police seized AUS$9 million (US$7 million) worth of assets, including cash, designer handbags, casino chips and jewellery. The arrest of Tse Chi Lop almost a decade after that operation’s launch is a major breakthrough for Australian authorities. The country’s attorney-general will now begin preparing a formal extradition request for the alleged drug lord to face trial. Most of Asia’s meth comes from "Golden Triangle" border areas between Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and southwest China which are pumping unprecedented quantities of synthetic drugs into global markets. A study by the UNODC says Southeast Asia’s crime groups are netting more than $60 billion a year. The production of methamphetamine – either in tablet "yaba" form or the highly potent crystallised "ice" version – as well as ketamine and fentanyl, take place primarily in Myanmar’s eastern Shan state, but much of the precursor chemicals needed to cook them flows across the border from China. Thailand in 2018 netted more than 515 million yaba tablets, 17 times the amount for the entire Mekong region a decade ago, said the UNODC. Drug hauls feature near daily in headlines across the region, with traffickers finding more creative ways to ship out their illicit products.

  • Biden news: Experts find major ‘gaps’ in Trump pardons as White House scrambles to rollout vaccine plan

    Latest developments from Washington DC and beyond

  • Covid news - live: Tories revolt over potential post-Easter schools return

    Follow for the latest developments

  • Tougher travel restrictions on the way, Matt Hancock warns

    ‘The new variant I really worry about is the one that’s out there but hasn’t been spotted’

  • Nicola Sturgeon taunts Boris Johnson as row blows up over SNP ‘roadmap’ to new Scottish independence vote

    A new poll says 49 per cent of people in Scotland back independence compared with 44 per cent against

  • Vaccinated people could still spread virus, warns Van-Tam

    The number receiving the first dose of the vaccine across the UK has passed 5.8 million.

  • Jaguar driver underestimates deep water

    An unfortunate motorist had an embarrassing fail moment as he attempted to charge through a ford in his Jaguar F-Pace. Despite appearances, the large SUV was outmatched by the deep water.

  • Rudy Giuliani ‘admits his associate sought to bill Trump campaign $20,000 per day to overturn election result’

    Former NYC mayor laments being ‘portrayed as some kind of money-grubbing ambulance chaser’

  • Australia’s state by state Covid restrictions and coronavirus lockdown rules explained

    Australia’s state by state Covid restrictions and coronavirus lockdown rules explainedThe number of new coronavirus cases in Australia has been dropping, but states remain on high alert for the UK variant of Covid-19, so what restrictions are still in place? Do I have to wear a mask and where can and can’t I go in Australia? Untangle Australia’s Covid-19 laws and guidelines with our guide * NSW hotspots list; QLD hotspots list; NSW Covid cases map * Download the free Guardian app

  • UAE cabinet approves establishment of embassy in Tel Aviv in further sting to Palestinians

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced the establishment of its embassy in Tel Aviv as the US national security advisor announced that America hopes to build “on the success of Israel’s normalisation agreements” under the Biden administration. The UAE cabinet decision to approve establishing the embassy comes after they signed the Abraham Accords in September, becoming the first Gulf state to establish a full diplomatic relationship with Israel. No further details about the embassy were given in UAE media. While Israel’s government recognises Jerusalem as its capital, the international community does not, with Palestinians claiming East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Most countries base their embassies in Tel Aviv. Before the deal, Israel only had peace deals with only two Arab countries, Egypt and Jordan - where it has fortified embassies. Most Arab countries had previously refrained from recognising Israel, believing that recognition should only be granted if serious concessions are made in the Palestinian peace process. Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco later agreed to follow in the UAE’s footsteps and normalise ties with Israel under US-brokered deals.

  • Dustin Poirier stuns Conor McGregor with emphatic UFC 257 stoppage win

    ‘The Diamond’ gained revenge for his brutal defeat by the same opponent in 2014, producing a barrage of heavy punches to force a surprise stoppage in round two of the eagerly-anticipated rematch on the UFC’s Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. With nearly 2,000 socially-distanced fans watching on at the brand new Etihad Arena, Poirier wore down McGregor with some painful calf kicks and absorbed everything the powerful Irishman had to throw at him before unleashing a volley of thundering strikes. McGregor was initially disorientated by a stunning right hook from his lightweight rival, who did not let up as he forced ‘The Notorious’ - fighting for the first time since destroying veteran Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone inside 40 seconds 12 months ago - to the mat and the referee rightly intervened with just over two-and-a-half minutes on the clock in round two.

  • Global report: France warned of third lockdown, as Dutch protests turn violent

    Global report: France warned of third lockdown, as Dutch protests turn violent. Italy threatens legal action against Pfizer over vaccine supply; Israel to close all airports to most flights

  • Trump spent his first weekend in office lying about crowd sizes. Biden used it to quietly enact major reforms

    On this day four years ago, the former president was engaged in a burgeoning feud with the media about the size of his inauguration crowd

  • Matt Hancock says 'we're a long, long, long way' from lockdown measures easing

    The health secretary warned the NHS is still under pressure from high COVID infection rates.