Author: Sumon Admin

    Around 4.5 million people could be told to self-isolate due to a surge in Coronavirus cases, according to a new report. For the second day in a row, confirmed Covid-19 cases rose above 3,000 yesterday with the Government confirming that children will not be exempt from the "rule of six" restriction measures starting on Monday. A Whitehall source told the Sunday Telegraph that millions of the people including those with underlying health conditions, the old and the overweight could be contacted after a "risk model' was discussed at a virus meeting. It comes as the Government sent an alert to care providers urging them to “take the necessary action to prevent and limit outbreaks” after an increase in infections.

    Michael Gove has defended the government’s plan to override parts of its own Brexit deal with the EU, claiming the internal market bill was necessary to protect the territorial integrity of the UK. He also insisted that the government is acting within the rule of law and was behaving in a constructive and pragmatic way, despite the Northern Ireland secretary admitting the new legislation would breach international law. The Cabinet Office minister, who was doing the rounds of TV and radio programmes on Saturday morning, told BBC Breakfast the EU could put the integrity of the UK at threat without the controversial legislation the government is trying to push through in the face of outrage even within the Tory party. We’re doing our part generously to help protect th...

    Birmingham is being put in a local lockdown with a ban on households mixing after a worrying spike in coronavirus cases. New restrictions will come into effect on Tuesday in Birmingham and the neighbouring boroughs of Sandwell and Solihull, affecting more than 1.5 million people. They were confirmed after UK Government and regional health and council leaders held discussions over two days. The Health Secretary has said guidance that residents cannot socialise outside of their households in the city will become law. Birmingham's local lockdown restrictions were announced on Friday as new figures revealed the city has the highest rate of Covid-19 infection in England behind Bolton. According to the latest data, the city seven-day infection rate was 85.4 cases per 10...

    Boris Johnson is to plead with fractious Tory MPs to back him in his bust-up with Brussels, amid Downing Street fears of a backbench rebellion against measures which ministers admit break international law. In a Friday evening video conference call, the prime minister will try to answer deep anxieties over provisions in his UK Internal Market Bill which have been condemned by three former prime ministers and provoked Brussels to threaten legal action. Senior and normally loyal Tories have vowed to vote against the government when the bill is rushed through the Commons next week, and while privately some were doubtful of mustering the 40 or more rebels needed to block the legislation it then faces likely defeat in the House of Lords. Mr Johnson decision to give UK m...

    Ambitious mass coronavirus testing plans which could keep hopes of Christmas parties alive would cost as much as £100 billion, according to reports. Leaked documents seen by the BMJ suggest that the "Operation Moonshot" project, which would see millions of UK-wide tests carried out daily, could have a price tag close to that of the £114 billion budget given to NHS England in 2018. It comes as the plans were also criticised by top doctors. Boris Johnson believes the scheme could help sport and entertainment venues reopen fully and allow people to socially mix in large groups again with on-the-day tests. The Department of Health said it was investing £500 million in "next generation tests like saliva tests and rapid turnaround tests that can deliver results in just 20...

    Three people have died in California as a wildfire spreads, causing thousands to evacuate. Thousands of buildings have been damaged by the blaze northeast of San Francisco, fire officials said. One victim was found in a car after attempting to flee the fires, California Highway Patrol Officer Ben Draper told reporters. Since the middle of August, fires in California have killed 11 people, The US Forest Service, has ordered all 18 of its forests in the state to close on Wednesday for public safety. The fire has also threatened Paradise, a town devastated just two years ago by the deadliest blaze in state history that prompted a traffic jam as panicked residents tried to escape. Other wildfires charred huge areas of the west of the US amid gusty, dry conditions, with...

    Pizza Hut has announced plans to close more than one in 10 of its restaurants in Britain, putting around 450 jobs at risk. The pizza chain confirmed 29 branches will shut across the UK as part of a restructuring deal, in the latest in a wave of closures and job losses to hit UK high streets since the coronavirus struck. The company said it is negotiating with lenders over a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), an insolvency procedure often used to avoid putting a company into full administration and re-negotiate debt repayments. The Pizza Huts Restaurant Group said COVID-19 had caused “significant disruption,” and that sales were not expected to “fully bounce back” until next year despite re-opening branches. But the company said in a statement the measures could ...

    Talks on a free trade deal between the UK and the EU have resumed in London this week with state aid emerging as a key sticking point. What is state aid? Margaret Thatcher thought Europe allowed too much of it, Jeremy Corbyn believed there was not enough: but what exactly is state aid? Since the European project was launched in 1957, member states have been banned from giving companies or industries special help that would distort competition. Governments cannot hand out subsidies, tax rebates or take stakes in companies “unless it is justified by reasons of general economic development”. But there are many exemptions. In recent years the EU has relaxed state aid thresholds for “innovation clusters”, broadband, culture and heritage, small and medium-sized compan...

    Nine people have been arrested after anti-migrant protesters clashed with police and blocked a dual carriageway into Dover. Rival groups assembled in the coastal town in Kent to demonstrate over the arrival of thousands of migrants in small boats. Kent Police said the arrests were for alleged offences including racially aggravated public order, violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker. Many protesters wore Union flag face masks and carried banners, while some shouted "England til I die" and sang Rule, Britannia. At one point, several officers were seen restraining a person on the ground. There have been other sporadic clashes, with at least 100 police officers at the scene by the A20. Earlier, a group of around 60 people shouting anti-migrant slogans w...