Russia becomes first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine August 11, 2020 Russia has become the first country to deem a coronavirus vaccine as safe for widespread use after less than two months of human testing , according to President Vladimir Putin. Putin said the vaccine has “passed all the needed checks” and that he had even given the vaccine to one of his daughters. The vaccine [...]
UK-Japan trade deal talks stall over Stilton cheese August 11, 2020 Trade deal talks between the UK and Japan have been held up, after trade secretary Liz Truss tried to sneak Stilton cheese into negotiations. It was reported just two weeks ago that a trade deal between the two nations was on the verge of being completed, however Truss has reportedly held things up by looking [...]
We should never have to choose between pubs and schools — but if we do, schools must come first August 11, 2020 It is a “moral duty: and a “national priority” to return all children to the classroom in September. So wrote the Prime Minister in an op-ed at the weekend, in which he pinned his colours to the mast of the schools debate in no uncertain terms. Boris Johnson’s intervention comes in response to mounting concerns [...]
Trump escorted from briefing after shooting near White House August 11, 2020 Secret Service officers abruptly escorted President Donald Trump out of a live press briefing after a shooting occurred outside the White House yesterday. The President had started a statement to the media when the Secret Service rushed him from the room and into the Oval Office before the White House entered lockdown. When Trump returned [...]
London to receive £50m of extra winter NHS funding August 10, 2020 Boris Johnson has confirmed £300m in extra winter NHS funding for England, with London hospitals in line for £49.6m, as the government prepares for a potential second coronavirus wave. The extra funding was announced last month for hospitals to prepare for a potential second wave and the government has today how it has allocated the [...]
NHS Test and Trace to cut 6,000 staff August 10, 2020 The government plans to cut 6,000 staff from the NHS Test and Trace scheme by the end of August, it said today. Those who are left — approximately 12,000 employees — will work alongside local public health teams to reach more people who could be infected and increase their contacts in communities. The tactic is [...]
Lebanon PM Hassan Diab and his government resign after Beirut explosion August 10, 2020 Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his entire government have resigned, after a massive explosion in Beirut last week destroyed much of the city, killing more than 200 people and wounding 7,000. The Prime Minister addressed the nation at 6.30pm local time, telling the nation that endemic corruption caused the blast, which left 300,000 people [...]
UK records another 816 positive coronavirus cases August 10, 2020 Health authorities today recorded 816 confirmed cases of coronavirus, falling back from the previous day’s total which had been the highest daily rise in infections since late June. A total of 311,641 people have now tested positive for coronavirus, official data on cases showed. The daily rate is unusually high for a starting week figure, [...]
Lebanon’s government expected to step down after Beirut explosion August 10, 2020 Lebanon’s government is expected to step down today, less than a week after a huge explosion destroyed large parts of Beirut and killed more than 220 people and wounded more than 7,000. Sources have told CNN that Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government will quit by tonight and will be reduced to caretaker status. Diab is [...]
Boris Johnson ‘deeply concerned’ by Jimmy Lai arrest August 10, 2020 The government has accused China of using its new security law to “silence opposition” in Hong Kong after media tycoon Jimmy Lai was arrested today. Lai, 71, is one of the most prominent democracy activists in the Chinese-ruled city and an ardent critic of Beijing. He has become the most high-profile victim of a Beijing-backed [...]