UK court rejects Julian Assange's extradition to US

A British judge on Monday blocked WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's extradition to the United States to face espionage charges, finding he was at serious risk of suicide.

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  • Politics latest news: Boris Johnson set for 'mother of all arguments' over lockdown exit strategy

    Boris Johnson to give press conference at 5pm - watch live Ministers consider £500 payment for positive Covid test Boris Johnson suggests lockdown could last until summer Fraser Nelson: Vaccines may usher in Fortress Britain Coronavirus latest news: R-rate falls below 1 across the UK Subscribe to The Telegraph for a month-long free trial Boris Johnson is in for the "mother of all arguments" with his backbenchers now the R rate has dropped below 1 and the UK case rate will begin to fall, a top Government scientific adviser has said. Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter, a Sage academic, said pressure on the Prime Minister would grow as deaths and case numbers fall, while hospitals will remain under significant pressure. The UK's reproduction rate is now estimated to be 0.8-1.0, suggesting a decline in the number of new infections. Last week, it was between 1.2 and 1.3. The rates are lowest in London and the East of England, although still thought to be above one in parts of the North. Tory MPs have already begun calling for lockdown to ease. Sir Desmond Swayne told the Telegraph: “Given that the Government itself has selected and put so much store on the R rate, you would expect there to be some reaction, a payback, a recompense in terms of the lifting or the promise of lifting of restrictions.” He added: “That is why we need some sort of urgency and plan from the Government as to when and how they’ll start restricting decisions.” Some Conservative colleagues suggested that while the R-rate might not be the trigger point, the Prime Minister would be under pressure to give a clear exit plan as cases continue to fall. One former minister said it would be “difficult to justify” lifting restrictions until the pressure on the NHS started to ease. “But we need a plan for getting out,” the senior Tory added. “He needs to show some ankle.” Follow the latest updates below.

  • Lindsey Graham refuses to apologise for peddling Trump election lies

    Senator says he wants to 'look forward’ and work on common goals for nation

  • The Chase's Anne Hegerty has on-air tiff with Bradley Walsh over cheating

    Are you Team Anne or Team Bradley?

  • 'Despicable in a pandemic': fury as 10 UK universities plan job cuts

    'Despicable in a pandemic': fury as 10 UK universities plan job cutsStaff prepare to strike over redundancies at institutions including Goldsmiths, Liverpool and UEL

  • Coronavirus R Rate Drops Below 1 For First Time Since Early December

    It comes almost three weeks after Boris Johnson ordered lockdown.

  • Lockdown could last until summer, No 10 warns as experts warn relaxation of rules could trigger new Covid wave

    Scientists call for gradual and prolonged transition out of lockdown, arguing rules should not be eased until May at earliest

  • Lincoln Project co-founder says committee will go after Cruz now Trump has left office

    ‘You either hate him or you hate him,’ says Rick Wilson

  • EU leaders consider banning travellers from UK to control new coronavirus variant

    UK travellers could be locked out of continent

  • Ministers could pay £500 to everyone with Covid in England

    Ministers could pay £500 to everyone with Covid in EnglandExclusive: universal payment is ‘preferred position’ of DHSC in effort to help people self-isolate * Coronavirus – latest updates * See all our coronavirus coverage

  • Barnier warns government to be ‘very careful’ amid row over EU’s diplomatic status in UK

    Former head of the diplomatic service describes move as ‘wholly unnecessary’

  • Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene files articles of impeachment against Joe Biden

    Lawmaker’s stunt destined to go nowhere with Democratic controlled House and Senate

  • Thousands demand prominent evangelist Franklin Graham’s sacking over Trump support after riots

    The former president and the Graham family have a long history

  • Boris Johnson to hold Downing Street press conference at 5pm as vaccine roll-out gathers pace

    Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold a Downing Street briefing later this afternoon as the UK continues its battle with the Covid-19 pandemic. Number 10 said the PM will appear alongside England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific officer Sir Patrick Vallance at 5pm. Mr Johnson this week refused to rule out even tougher lockdown restrictions as hospitals come under growing strain from rising Covid-19 cases.

  • WandaVision episode 3 ending lines up new Avengers film

    Seeds have been sown for future team-up

  • Capitol rioter who allegedly stole Pelosi’s laptop to sell to Russia released from jail

    She’ll be back in (virtual) court on Monday

  • Germany coronavirus death toll tops 50,000 despite decrease in infections

    Germany passed the grim milestone of 50,000 coronavirus on Friday, days after Angela Merkel confirmed an extension of the county’s lockdown despite a recent drop in infections. The  Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the government agency tasked with disease control,  said 859 more people had died from the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 50,642. The RKI figures are based on people who died directly as a result of the illness caused by the virus and those who contracted Covid-19 but whose exact cause of death could not be confirmed.

  • Joe Biden's call for unity is being undermined by the rush to erase Donald Trump from history

    So much for the grand promise of unity. Joe Biden's rush to erase Donald Trump from history delivered a forceful poke in the eye - some would say worse - to the 74 million people who voted for the other guy. Ironically, while the US Capitol riots were a disaster for Mr Trump and his legacy, they have also undermined Mr Biden's chances of bringing the country together in a post-Trump world. Cheered on by an increasingly noisy left wing of the Democrat party, demanding that all things Trump be cancelled, the new president spent his first hours in office doing just that. He is using everything available to him under his executive powers - what he can do without the approval of Congress - to wipe clean the last four years. But in doing so there has been no attempt to offer an olive branch to Republican voters, or their representatives in Congress. Senior Republicans have been taken aback by the extent of Mr Biden's opening measures, especially on immigration and climate change. Some took it as confirmation of their fears that the new president, a moderate Democrat, would end up a passenger in a party careering left. Mr Biden promised Mr Trump's voters he would work for them too. But so for there is little sign of it. And Republicans in Congress are nervous.

  • Patient dog waits for days outside hospital for owner

    A devoted dog has spent days outside a hospital where her beloved owner was being treated. Boncuk has returned every day to a hospital in the Turkish city of Trabzon, to wait for her owner, Cemal Senturk. Senturk’s daughter, Aynur Egeli, said she would take Boncuk home but the dog would repeatedly run off and return to the hospital to continue her vigil. Watch the touching moment where an excited Boncuk and Cemal are reunited.

  • Schools could open before Easter, says Gavin Williamson

    Schools could open before Easter, Gavin Williamson has suggested, saying he will give a two-week warning to headteachers. The Education Secretary said he "would certainly hope" that children would be back in the classroom by early April, adding that he wants this to happen at the "earliest possible opportunity". It is the first time Mr Williamson has hinted at a possible timeline for the reopening of schools, and comes after Dr Jenny Harries, the deputy chief medical officer, suggested schools in some parts of the country will reopen sooner than those in others. Primary and secondary schools were ordered to close at the start of the month to all but the children of key workers and the most vulnerable youngsters. Announcing the latest national lockdown on January 4, Boris Johnson said schools would need to remain shut until the February half-term at the earliest. On Thursday, Mr Williamson said a key factor in determining when schools could reopen would be whether pressures on the NHS had eased sufficiently. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that headteachers will be given "absolutely proper notice" about when they need to prepare to reopen, adding that a "clear two-week notice period" will be factored in so schools have time to prepare for pupils' return. "Schools were the last to close, schools will be the first to open," the Education Secretary said. "I want to see that as soon as the scientific and health advice is there to open at the earliest possible stage, and I would certainly hope that that would be before Easter. "Any decision to reopen schools to all children – as all decisions in terms of schools – will be based on the best health advice and the best scientific advice."

  • 13 best fitness apps and online training programmes

    We sweated our way through a lot of workouts to bring you the programmes that really deliver results