Storm Elsa leaves cars in Ireland swimming through flooded streets

Storm Elsa continues to pound the British Isles on Wednesday evening (December 18), as cars in Galway, Ireland are left swimming through flooded streets.

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  • Bidens left stuck outside White House on Inauguration Day after ‘petty’ final Trump act

    ‘There was a protocol breach when the front doors were not held open’

  • Scientist advising Government urges tougher lockdown

    Professor Susan Michie said current lockdown measures are ‘the problem’ and not people who aren’t sticking to the rules.

  • AstraZeneca to cut Covid-19 vaccine delivery to EU by 60 per cent, in fresh blow to bloc

    AstraZeneca is to cut deliveries of its Covid-19 vaccine to the European Union by 60 per cent in the first quarter of the year due to production problems, in a blow to the bloc’s efforts to push back against the virus. The British firm was expected to deliver about 80 million doses to the 27 EU countries by the end of March, but now only 31 million will be delivered. The decrease will further hamper Europe's Covid-19 vaccination drive after Pfizer and partner BioNTech slowed supplies of their vaccine this week, saying the move was needed because of work to ramp up production. The UK will not be affected by the shortfall, insiders stressed, because the majority of doses, produced in conjunction with the University of Oxford, are manufactured in this country. A spokesman for AstraZeneca, said: “While there is no scheduled delay to the start of shipments of our vaccine should we receive approval in Europe, initial volumes will be lower than originally anticipated due to reduced yields at a manufacturing site within our European supply chain. “We will be supplying tens of millions of doses in February and March to the European Union, as we continue to ramp up production volumes.”

  • The 32 areas of England where new COVID cases are still increasing

    COVID-19 cases are going up in areas like Preston, Redditch, West Devon and Coventry, according to the latest data.

  • UK vaccine roll-out speeds up but doctors want quicker second dose

    Britain's COVID-19 vaccination push gathered pace on Saturday, with 5.9 million people now having had a first dose, but doctors challenged the government over its policy of delaying a second shot of the Pfizer vaccine for up to 12 weeks. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Friday that the new UK variant of COVID-19 may be associated with a higher level of mortality as the country's death tally from COVID-19 nears the 100,000 mark - hitting 97,329 on Saturday. But in a letter to Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for England Chris Whitty, the British Medical Association said leaving the 12-week interval for the Pfizer vaccine went against World Health Organization guidance.

  • Congresswoman Lauren Boebert introduces bill to block Biden rejoining Paris Agreement

    ‘I work for the people of Pueblo, not the people of Paris,’ Rep Boebert tweeted. The climate agreement was so named because it was signed in the French capital - and not because it solely benefits the city’s residents

  • Coronavirus news - live: Experts cast doubt over claim variant is ‘more deadly’, as UK sees 1,300 more deaths

    Follow for the latest developments

  • Two serving police constables die with coronavirus, as federation calls for officers to be vaccinated

    Two serving police constables have died after testing positive for Covid-19, as the Police Federation pleads for officers to be vaccinated. Pc Michael Warren, a 37-year-old father-of-two who joined the Met in 2005, was classed as “vulnerable” and had been shielding at home, working remotely to help his team. He died on Tuesday after a positive Covid-19 test. Police Constable Abbasuddin Ahmed, 40, joined Greater Manchester Police in March 2017 and leaves behind his wife and two young children who are receiving Force support. PC Ahmed, who passed away on Thursday, has been described by his colleagues on the Stretford Response Team as 'the greatest brother in and out of work' and 'such a lovely man who was never seen without a smile on his face.' Officers also paid tribute to Abs' 'pride of being a police officer' adding: "Abs lived up his name meaning 'lion' - brave, loyal, a fighter, protective, and completely fearless. Abs will live in our hearts forever."

  • Covid: Delaying second dose of vaccine increases risk of new resistant strain, Sage papers reveal

    Warning over ‘realistic possibility’ of resistant strains of the virus emerging

  • Britain to discuss tighter travel restrictions - BBC

    British ministers are to discuss on Monday further tightening travel restrictions, the BBC reported on Saturday, adding that people arriving in the country could be required to quarantine in hotels. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a news conference on Friday that the UK may need to implement further measures to protect its borders from new variants of COVID-19. Britain's current restrictions ban most international travel while new rules introduced earlier in January require a negative coronavirus test before departure for most people arriving, as well as a period of quarantine.

  • Chaos of Trump's last days in office reverberates with fresh 'plot' report

    Chaos of Trump's last days in office reverberates with fresh 'plot' reportEx-president, whose Senate trial will start in two weeks, reportedly planned to oust acting attorney general in bid to overturn election * Courtrooms and creditors loom large for Trump

  • EU vaccine rollout thrown into further disarray as AstraZeneca announces delay

    Member states warn ‘delays cost lives’ amid threats of legal action and calls to cut bureaucracy, while Hungary turns to Russia

  • Sir Patrick Vallance says 'Kent' variant may be more deadly because it sticks to cells more easily

    When news emerged last month of a new, far more contagious mutation of coronavirus spreading across Britain there was only one positive straw at which to clutch. There was no evidence, said scientists, that the “Kent” variant was more deadly than the original strain. On Thursday morning, the Prime Minister was shown a paper by the Government’s Nervtag [New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Group] which appeared to destroy even that shred of hope. It considered three studies, which suggest that as well as being remarkably contagious, it is also significantly more fatal - between 30 and 90 per cent more so. Scientists don’t know why. But they think it may be that some of the behaviours which make the variant more easy to transmit, may also make it more lethal. Key among them is the stickiness of the mutation, and the way it gets into cells, and replicates.

  • New Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Arrives at Pentagon

    US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrived at the Pentagon for his first day of work on Friday, January 22, shortly after the Senate approved his nomination by President Joe Biden, making Austin the first black person to ever hold the office.Austin was greeted by General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The pair, both wearing masks, exchanged an “elbow bump.”Austin told members of the press he “looked forward to working” with them. “See you around campus,” he said, as he stepped up toward a doorway. Credit: US Dept of Defense via Storyful

  • Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway return confirmed

    Last year’s series of the variety show was disrupted by coronavirus.

  • Snow forecast for London tomorrow as Met Office issues yellow weather warning

    Cold air from Iceland and the Arctic is bringing ‘a mix of wintry hazards across the UK’

  • GOP Senator threatens to block Biden cabinet confirmations if Democrats push ahead with impeachment

    Mr Johnson said Democrats have to choose between 'being vindictive or staffing administration to keep nation safe’

  • Taiwan denounces incursion of air defence zone by Chinese fighter jets, bombers

    Eight Chinese bomber planes and four fighter jets entered the southwestern corner of Taiwan's air defence identification zone on Saturday, and Taiwan's air force deployed missiles to "monitor" the incursion, the island's Defence Ministry said. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has conducted almost daily flights over the waters between the southern part of Taiwan and the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the South China Sea in recent months.However, they have generally consisted of just one or two reconnaissance aircraft.The presence of so many Chinese combat aircraft on this mission - Taiwan said it was made up of eight nuclear-capable H-6K bombers and four J-16 fighter jets - is unusual.A map provided by Taiwan's Defence Ministry showed that the Chinese aircraft, which also included a Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, flew over the same waters where the most recent Chinese missions have been taking place near the Pratas Islands, though still well away from mainland Taiwan.Taiwan's air force warned away the Chinese aircraft and deployed missiles to monitor them, the ministry added, using standard wording for how it responds to such activities."Airborne alert sorties had been tasked, radio warnings issued and air defence missile systems deployed to monitor the activity," it said in a brief statement.There was no immediate comment from China. In the past China has said it has been carrying out exercises to defend the country's sovereignty and security.US commitment to Taiwan 'rock-solid'Beijing has watched with growing concern increasing U.S. support for democratic Taiwan, especially during Donald Trump's administration which left office on Wednesday.Last year during visits by senior U.S. officials to Taipei Chinese aircraft briefly crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which normally serves as an unofficial buffer.The flight by the Chinese bombers and fighters on Saturday came just days after Joe Biden assumed the U.S. presidency.Emily Horne, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, said the U.S. commitment to Taiwan was "rock-solid" after the island's de facto ambassador in Washington, Hsiao Bi-khim, attended Biden's swearing-in on Wednesday.(REUTERS)

  • Coronavirus: New variant up to 30% more deadly, Johnson warns as tighter border rules loom

    Between 21 December and 22 January, total of 28,580 deaths reported by government

  • How Rishi Sunak, the 'Yorkshire Maharajah', can rejuvenate the UK after coronavirus

    They call him the "Yorkshire Maharajah", the king of all he surveys. And certainly, for a Chancellor in a Government presiding over the deepest recession in three centuries, Rishi Sunak is a remarkably popular politician. The cynical explanation is that he is spending money like nobody before him. After all, the forecasts suggest he will soon become the first Chancellor to spend a trillion pounds in a single year. Yet the truth is something different. "He has something lacking in other politicians," says James Johnson, a pollster. "If I had to make a comparison, it would be with Tony Blair. Sunak has an extraordinary ability to connect with people." Conservative MPs are already speculating that Mr Sunak, still only 40 and Chancellor for less than a year, will become Britain's first Asian prime minister. "The relationship between Rishi and Boris is very good,” says an MP. "There's no question of a saga between them. But when Boris moves on, Rishi will become leader. The party will demand it." First impressions and first Budget On March 11, just 27 days after he became Chancellor, Mr Sunak rose to deliver his first Budget. It was to be one of the most remarkable fiscal statements made by a Chancellor in decades. Mr Sunak was already the fastest minister to reach a great office of state since the war. He was the first politician from a minority background to deliver a Budget. He would announce a fiscal expansion to meet the Prime Minister's promises. He would make an open-ended commitment to do "whatever it takes" to get the economy and NHS through the pandemic. And he would, in effect, rewrite the whole package just days later.