Parties lead Germany to biggest spike in coronavirus cases in three months August 12, 2020 Germany today reported its largest daily spike in new cases of coronavirus in more than three months, as authorities blamed people returning from holiday and boozy parties across the country. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany rose by 1,226 to 218,519 today, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) showed — marking the [...]
Brand Veep: Kamala Harris could be exactly what Biden needs to secure the White House August 12, 2020 Joe Biden has pulled away from Donald Trump and is now the favourite to win the US presidential election in November, leading nationally by around eight percentage points in most polls. While we are still almost three months away from polling day in possibly the most unpredictable of election years (and we should all remember [...]
France on the verge of being added to UK quarantine list August 12, 2020 High-ranking members of the government will today discuss whether to add France to the UK’s travel quarantine list as soon as next week. France has seen increasing rates of coronavirus in recent weeks, prompting speculation that it could join Belgium and Spain on the quarantine list. Recently published figures show that France had 4,854 new [...]
An obesity strategy that stigmatises patients won’t work August 12, 2020 At the end of last month, the government revealed an array of measures as part of its new obesity strategy to “protect against coronavirus and safeguard the NHS”. Unveiling a 12-week plan to get the nation fit and healthy, the Prime Minister spoke openly about his own brush with death, and the part his excess [...]
Making it work: Why we need to start talking about who gets access to a coronavirus vaccine August 12, 2020 There is an unprecedented international scientific effort underway to develop an effective vaccine for SARS CoV-2 — the cause of Covid-19 — and we are all desperate for some good news. I have spent my life fighting infectious diseases around the world, from HIV to SARS to Ebola. Unfortunately, our collective track record for speedy [...]
Government to crack down on online political campaigns August 12, 2020 The government has today outlined proposals for new laws designed to improve the transparency of political advertising on social media. The new measures would require political parties and campaigners to clearly state who they are when promoting campaign content online. Under the plans, all campaigners would be required to include a digital imprint containing their [...]
Democratic presidential candidate Biden selects Kamala Harris as running mate August 11, 2020 Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate for the upcoming US presidential election, has chosen US senator Kamala Harris as his running mate for the ballot. Harris will be Biden’s pick for vice president at the 3 November election. Earlier today Biden informed his close advisers of his decision, and began telling other contenders they had not [...]
UK and France working ‘at pace’ to block Channel asylum seekers August 11, 2020 The UK and France are working “at pace” to stop asylum seekers from illegally entering the UK by boat, according to immigration minister Chris Philp. Philp was in Paris today to meet his French counterparts, telling reporters afterward that Emmanuel Macron agreed that something had to be done to stop migrants crossing the English Channel [...]
Could London be put into a second coronavirus lockdown? August 11, 2020 As London residents make use of the summer sunshine, the question of whether there will be a second coronavirus lockdown is never far out of mind for locals. The number of English towns and cities that have been plunged into local lockdown has grown steadily over the past two months, while the capital has begun [...]
Russia names new vaccine after iconic satellite Sputnik August 11, 2020 Russia has named its first approved coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, in reference to the world’s first satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. The choice in name was selected as a way of comparing the vaccine to what Russia views as its success in becoming the first country to approve a treatment, according to [...]