Taiwan mourns after deadliest train disaster in decades
The train was packed with hundreds of people when it crashed
Tony Blair has said the information would help allay concerns about the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Australian Government insiders have hit back at Britain over "sledging" by Liz Truss’s allies ahead of trade talks this week. The Telegraph revealed on Tuesday that sources close to the International Trade Secretary were briefing that Dan Tehan, the Australian trade minister, was "inexperienced" in comparison. Allies of Ms Truss complained of "glacially slow" progress over a UK-Australian trade agreement, and warned that Mr Tehan "needs to show that he can play at this level" when the pair meet for negotiations on Thursday. They also claimed that the British cabinet minister was plotting to sit Mr Tehan "in the Locarno Room [in the Foreign Office] in an uncomfortable chair, so he has to deal with her directly for nine hours". An Australian minister told this newspaper that the remarks were "full of hubris" and hit back that Mr Tehan is "from the land" and "has the stamina" to see off Ms Truss’s tactics. Unimpressed, the frontbencher commented ironically: "I love it when Brits underestimate us." The minister, speaking on condition of anonymity, continued: "Sledging is a fine art, which we have mastered on the pitch. This is just the Brits gobbing off." Australian officials also weighed in to counter the UK Government briefing. An official at the country’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said: "If this was briefed by a member of Truss’s staff, that is very disrespectful." The official told the Sydney Morning Herald: "It’s also a very bad tactic. It won’t work." In response to the claim that Mr Tehan was "inexperienced" in trade talks, it was pointed out that while Mr Tehan only took on the post of trade minister in December, he first joined DFAT in 1995. He served as a diplomat between 1999 and 2001, and between 2002 and 2005 worked as a trade adviser to the minister, helping to negotiate Australia’s free trade deal with the US administration under George W Bush. Ms Truss is said to have texted Mr Tehan on Tuesday night to say she was looking forward to seeing him and hoped for a productive two-day dialogue in London. The UK High Commissioner Vicki Treadall faced questions over the UK briefing. She defended the sources close to Ms Truss, insisting that Australia is one of "our closest friends and allies", but that "this is a trade negotiation so there will be tactics on both sides". Some British politicians also took a dim view of the briefing. Alistair Carmichael, Lib Dem MP and home affairs spokesman, branded it "embarrassing" and tweeted: "It's also a reminder that the Government has chosen to turn trade negotiations with a supposed ally into another avenue for domestic politics, on the bet that no one will notice the long-term negative side effects."
The next set of restrictions are due to be eased on 17 May.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warns foreign rivals against "crossing the red line" with Moscow, as he gives a state of the nation address amid deep tensions with the West.
Vladimir Putin threatened the West with a “swift and tough” response for crossing unspecified “red lines” in an address on Wednesday, while supporters of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny protested across the country, demanding his release. Mr Putin’s speech comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and the West and a massive Russian military build-up on the border with Ukraine, which has sparked fears of a new war in eastern Ukraine. He was expected to make a major foreign policy announcement but instead issued a stark warning to the West against encroaching on its interests. “Anyone who threatens the core interests of our security will come to regret it like they never regretted anything,” President Putin said at the end of his 90-minute speech in Moscow. “I hope no one decides to cross the red lines in relations with Russia - and we will decide what these red lines are in each case.” President Putin sought to portray Russia as a victim, arguing that Russia-bashing “has become a sport of sorts" in the West, adding that the Kremlin “has behaved with restraint and moderation.”
Police culture is steeped in racism, authoritarianism and the belief that officers can do anything they want because they live in constant danger
Anas Sarwar says he ‘understands’ why PM is not campaigning north of border
Cabinet Office minister also discusses possibility of travel corridor between two countries
Mike and Zara Tindall were able to attend the funeral of her grandfather Philip at the weekend.
Surge testing is being deployed in parts of Birmingham after a case of the South African variant was discovered. Areas of Alum Rock and Glebe Farm & Tile Cross have been targeted for testing and all those in the affected places are being told to come forward for a test. The person who tested positive for the variant has gone into self-isolation and their contacts have been identified, according to the Department of Health.
India has recorded over a million cases of Covid-19 in the last four days
A High Court judge quoted Tolstoy on Wednesday as she said the Russian family at the centre of a £450 million divorce was “the unhappiest to ever appear in my courtroom”. Mrs Justice Knowles referenced a passage from the Russian writer’s 19th century epic, Anna Karenina, as she allowed a legal challenge brought by the ex-wife of a Russian billionaire against her son. Tatiana Akhmedova had sued Temur Akhmedov for allegedly helping his father, Farkhad Akhmedov, hide assets following the breakdown of their marriage. The 48-year-old was awarded a 41.5 per cent share of her ex-husband’s fortune, which exceeds £1 billion, in 2016, but has since got her hands on only £5 million. The £453 million divorce settlement was the biggest made by a British court, but Ms Akhmedova had since been the “victim of a series of schemes designed to put every penny of the husband’s wealth beyond her reach”, the ruling concluded. The judge agreed with Ms Akhmedova’s characterisation of her son as his father’s “lieutenant” and said the schemes had been carried out with his “knowledge and active assistance”. The court found that very large sums had been transferred to Temur, 27, and concluded he must pay his mother, who is from Russia but lives in London, around £75 million. In the opening words of the ruling, which spanned 128 pages, the judge wrote: “All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. “With apologies to Tolstoy, the Akhmedov family is one of the unhappiest ever to have appeared in my courtroom. “Though this case concerns wealth of which most can only dream, it is - at its core - a straightforward case in which, following their divorce, a wife seeks to recover that which is owed to her from a husband and his proxies who, it is alleged, have done all they can to put monies beyond her reach. “Nevertheless, it is a case not without legal and factual complexity though much of that stems from the details of dishonest schemes instigated by Farkhad Akhmedov and put into effect by his advisors and his eldest son, Temur Akhmedov.”
Australia said Wednesday it would revoke a state government's deal to join China's Belt and Road Initiative because it was inconsistent with the nation's foreign policy -- prompting an angry response from Beijing.
Banning smart motorways would "kill drivers" by forcing them onto unsafe roads, a government minister has said. Baroness Vere, the roads minister, told MPs that the stretches of motorways that used the hard shoulder as an extra lane were safer than conventional roads and motorways as they eased congestion. She also defended the Government’s decision to keep the system in place despite recent warnings from coroners over the deaths of drivers left stranded on smart motorways, saying a number of safety improvements have been made to them. Her comments come after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced recently that no new smart motorways will be created unless they have the technology in place to spot when a broken-down motorists is unable to reach the sporadic safety bays that replace the hard shoulder. A number of smart motorways were previously launched by Highways England without the monitoring system in place and the Government has given the organisation until March 2023 to ensure all have coverage. Highways England has previously insisted smart motorways are the “safest roads in the country”. However, figures show there were 15 deaths on them in 2019, up from 11 in 2018. Appearing in front of the transport select committee, Baroness Vere said she was “astonished” and “disappointed” by the way Highways England had handled the rollout of smart motorways. However, she said smart motorways were safer than conventional roads as they gave drivers more space. Baroness Vere said: “One of the things that makes all drivers more safe is to provide more capacity on our safest roads and that is what all-lane running motorways do. “If you increase capacity on those roads they are our safest roads in terms of fatalities, as you take traffic off less safe roads.”
League said it will consider “the most appropriate steps to reshape the project”.
Greek, Spanish and Portuguese islands could be opened up early for summer holidays as part of the Government’s “traffic light” plans for resuming international travel, Grant Shapps has indicated. The Transport Secretary said islands with lower Covid rates than the mainland could be granted “green list” status for holidaymakers to travel to them without facing quarantine on their return. Greece has mounted a major campaign to fully vaccinate people living on 85 islands with more than 10,000 inhabitants by May so that they are Covid-free when the UK Government is due to lift its ban on non-essential foreign travel. Other islands such as the Canaries, Madeira and the Azores have lower Covid rates than Spain and Portugal, which could mean they are granted green list status before their mainland counterparts. Asked whether he would incorporate the “islands policy” into his traffic light system at a webinar organised on Tuesday night by Airlines UK, Mr Shapps said: “The simple answer is yes. I want to do that again. That’s why I have introduced a green watch list.” The green watchlist is designed to give holidaymakers early notice of a green list country which may be about to turn “amber,” requiring anyone returning to the UK to quarantine for 10 days. The islands policy was introduced last summer, which allowed ministers to maintain quarantine free travel corridors to Greek and Portuguese islands while travellers to the mainland were subject to self-isolation on their return to the UK. Greece aims to reopen to UK tourists who are either vaccinated, have proof of a negative Covid test or immunity through having contracted the disease from May 17. Mr Shapps on Tuesday said the UK’s roadmap plan for reopening foreign travel on May 17 was on course but he said people would have to wait until the beginning of May to discover which destinations would be on the “green” list.
Clean air for children is ‘social justice’ issue says Labour candidate ahead of report on pollution death
India has recorded over 15.3 million cases of Covid-19, second only to the US with over 31 million cases
Darnella Frazier receives widespread praise, including from Joe Biden
Richard and Judy presenter is one of the show’s substitute hosts