United Kingdom

More than 20 million people in the UK are now fully vaccinated after receiving two doses of a coronavirus vaccine, official data shows. India is currently being devastated by a deadly second wave of Covid. You can support Oxfam's Covid relief efforts in India, including reaching out to the most affected and vulnerable communities, distributing and installing medical equipment and accessories, and supporting the most marginalised households. The incredible landmark figure comes as the government moves to speed up second doses for over-50s and the vulnerable amid the spread of the Indian variant of coronavirus. More than 1,300 people in the UK have been infected with the new variant, which experts have warned could be 50 per cent more transmissible than the Kent variant. New data also...

India is currently being devastated by a deadly second wave of Covid. You can support Oxfam's Covid relief efforts in India, including reaching out to the most affected and vulnerable communities, distributing and installing medical equipment and accessories, and supporting the most marginalised households. You can donate here. Boris Johnson was under mounting pressure on Saturday to reconsider Monday’s relaxation of Covid rules in England because of the threat posed by the India variant. His own advisers and independent health experts raised fears that it could lead to a surge in hospital admissions, especially among young adults. From Monday people will be able to meet in groups of up to 30 outdoors, while six people or two households will be permitted to meet indoors. Pubs, bars, ca...

Cases of the new Indian variant have more than doubled for the second week in a row with 1,313 cases confirmed – and some scientists fearing the B.1.617.2 variant will become dominant in the UK. The clusters remain predominantly located in the North West and London, but health officials in Bedford have also raised alarm at an apparent spike. In Blackburn, where multi-age surge vaccination will take place from Monday, as well as Bolton, the B.1.617.2 variant is thought to have driven a doubling of infections over the past seven days. It has spread three times faster than previous variants of concern, such as that from South Africa, according to analysis by the Telegraph. Experts are now urgently trying to establish to what extent the new Indian variant is more transmissible than the d...

Lockdown saw violence plunge by a third as the country enjoyed 'the safest year on record' in 2020, a study has shown. Covid-19 restrictions meant 56,653 fewer people were treated in hospitals in England and Wales for violence-related injuries in 2020 compared to the previous year. Emergency hospital treatment for violence injury among men fell by 33 per cent, with a drop of 28 per cent for women, according to a Cardiff University study. Professor Jonathan Shepherd, co-author of Violence in England and Wales in 2020, said: From a violence perspective, 2020 was the safest year on record. Data gathered from 133 NHS hospital emergency units showed 119,111 people attended for treatment of violence-related injuries in 2020, down from 175,764 in 2019. The figures showed the biggest falls si...

The government has promised to tackle obesity and improve mental health support, but there is no sign of long-promised legislation to reform adult social care. Boris Johnson has set out his legislative agenda for the new parliamentary session in the Queen's Speech for unleashing our nation's full potential as the UK emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. 'We have been given an historic opportunity to change things for the better, level up opportunities across the whole of the United Kingdom, and address the problems that have constrained us far too often before,' he said. Proposals on social care will be brought forward, but there is no specific bill mentioned to tackle an issue that has bedevilled successive governments. Upon becoming PM in 2019, Mr Johnson said he had a clear plan to ...

Labour's Sadiq Khan has won a second term as London's mayor, beating Conservative rival Shaun Bailey. He won 55.2% of the popular vote, after entering a run-off with Mr Bailey when neither managed to secure a majority in the first round of voting. The former MP became the first Muslim mayor of an EU capital city when he was first elected to the role in 2016. Mr Khan's closest rival was Mr Bailey, who received 44.8% of the first and second-round votes. Mr Bailey increased the Conservative vote share by 1.6%. He said he had been written off by pollsters, journalists and other politicians, adding: But Londoners didn't write me off. The Green Party's Sian Berry came third, while the Liberal Democrats' Luisa Porritt was fourth. The Lib Dems lost their deposit, as Ms Porritt failed to win ...

Worshippers were pelted with eggs outside an east London mosque in a truly appalling attack, police said. The attack comes as worshippers mark Ramadan. Police are investigating the incident, the Met said. Five people were hit with eggs outside the Ilford Islamic Centre in Albert Road, Ilford, around 23:00 BST on Tuesday. MP for Ilford South Sam Tarry tweeted he was shocked and saddened by the Islamophobic attack. Ilford Islamic Centre director and secretary Ahmad Nawaz said nobody was injured in the unnerving attack on the worshippers who were leaving prayers at the mosque. He said: It came as a bit of a surprise. We didn't expect this during Covid. We take it on the chin. We are always fearful of something like this. This sentiment exists. He added: I'm very mindful of the potential...

A fire that badly damaged the middle floors of a 19-storey London tower block has left two men in hospital. Four children and 38 adults were evacuated from the building in Poplar, London Fire Brigade (LFB) said. More than 120 firefighters spent about three hours tackling the blaze at the New Providence Wharf estate. About 20% of the façade of the affected section, Block D, features ACM PE cladding panels - found to be a key factor in the Grenfell Tower fire. In a statement, LFB said that parts of the eighth, ninth and 10th floors of the east London tower block caught fire. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus have carried out multiple rescues. Two men have been taken to hospital suffering [from the effects of] smoke inhalation. A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said they were...

Murdered Londoner Mayra Zulfiqar had reportedly warned police her life was in danger less than two weeks before she was shot in Lahore. The 24-year-old law graduate was found in a pool of blood in her rented flat in the Pakistani city on Monday. Four men including the two chief suspects were believed to have broken in that morning. Police said Ms Zulfiquar had two bullet wounds - one to her neck and another to her arm and had bled to death. Bruises were found on her right hand and left foot. Thirteen days earlier, she had reportedly asked police for protection after accusing a man of abducting her at gunpoint. Ms Zulfiquar had been threatened by two men who both wanted to marry her, according to legal documents seen by the BBC. It reported details of a police report filed o...

A fleet of French fishing boats descended on Jersey after threatening to blockade the island's main port over a post-Brexit fishing rights row. The UK has sent two Royal Navy ships to Jersey as a precaution HMS Severn and HMS Tamar are patrolling the waters around Jersey. And French authorities have confirmed to Sky News that a vessel, the Military Ops ship Athos, will be arriving imminently to carry out a patrol mission while local reports suggest another is also en route. The deployment, France says, is to guarantee the safety of people at sea and accompany the flotilla of around 50 French fishing vessels that had been protesting off St Helier over a lack of access to waters around the Channel island. Downing Street confirmed Boris Johnson spoke to the chief minister of Jersey, Sen...