More than 3m older people can’t downsize due to lack of suitable housing August 13, 2020 More than 3m people in the UK over the age of 65 want to downsize to a smaller home but can’t due to a lack of suitable housing and a competitive market. Ahead of the Autumn Budget, a report by Homes for Later Living called for ministers to set a goal of building 30,000 retirement [...]
With five months to prepare, the A-level results fiasco is a scandal of the government’s own making August 12, 2020 A-level results day is always fraught with drama. Whether its moral panic of grade inflation, handwringing about the relative value of a university degree, or outrage over news stories being illustrated by delighted blonde girls jumping into the air with joy, results day “scandal” it’s a staple of the August news calendar. This year is [...]
UK coronavirus death toll lowered after methodology change August 12, 2020 The official death toll from coronavirus in the UK was lowered by over 5,000 today after the government adopted a new way of counting fatalities. Concerns had been raised that the old method overstated the number of deaths, as it counted every death after someone had been diagnosed with coronavirus with no cut-off point. From [...]
Three dead after Scotland train incident August 12, 2020 Three people have died and one person is said to be missing, after a train in Scotland was derailed by a landslip this morning. The British Transport Police said three people had died at the scene, including the driver of the train. Six others were taken to hospital but their injuries were not thought to [...]
Major incident declared over Scotland train derailment August 12, 2020 A number of people were seriously injured in a passenger train derailment this morning in Scotland, first minister Nicola Sturgeon said, as she declared a major incident. A Scotrail train derailed near Stonehaven in Scotland, just south of Aberdeen, following heavy rain overnight. Twelve people — six passengers and six staff — were on board the four-carriage train. PA [...]
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 [...]