In his cricketing heyday, when the larger-than-life all-rounder Ian “Beefy” Botham came out to bat at Lord’s, he emptied the bars. But in his debut at another Lords, for his maiden speech in parliament’s upper house, the newly-ennobled Baron Botham had to make do with a video-link. And to make matters worse for a cricketing
Politics
Nicola Sturgeon has called for clarity over whether the furlough scheme will be extended beyond 2 December in Scotland if needed. Scotland’s first minister made the call after Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky News’ Kay Burley it would be a decision for the chancellor to take after the nationwide lockdown in England ends at
Threat levels are designed to give a broad indication of the likelihood of a terrorist attack. There are five different threat levels, with the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) responsible for deciding at which level the UK should sit. Image: JTAC is based at MI5’s headquarters in London The five terror threat levels are: Low
Boris Johnson is facing the wrath of religious leaders of all faiths over his decision to ban church services and other forms of worship during the national lockdown. In an angry and emotional letter to the prime minister and all MPs, nearly 1,200 church ministers of all Christian denominations say they are “baffled”, “dismayed” and
Senior cabinet ministers have sown confusion over the new lockdown rules for England, which are due to come into force on Thursday. Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, issued an apology for wrongly suggesting people in England might be able to continue playing tennis or golf. Downing Street has also been forced
The foreign secretary has told Sky News the UK’s relationship with the United States will go from “strength to strength” whatever the outcome of the election. Dominic Raab said the election is still “too close to call” but that he is totally confident the American system “will give us a definitive result”. US election 2020
The UK’s terror threat level has been raised from “substantial” to “severe”, meaning an attack is now judged to be “highly likely”. The move follows Monday night’s attack in Austrian capital Vienna, in which four people were killed. Last week, three people died after a knife attack in Nice, France, while teacher Samuel Paty was
Boris Johnson will today urge MPs to approve England’s new lockdown – but the prime minister is continuing to face a backlash from his own Conservative MPs over the fresh shutdown. Following a 90-minute debate on the new national measures, the House of Commons will on Wednesday afternoon vote on whether to give a second
Boris Johnson has warned of deaths “on a grievous scale” without further action to stem the spread of coronavirus infections. As he opened a House of Commons debate on England’s new lockdown, the prime minister urged MPs to vote in favour of a second national shutdown later on Wednesday. Mr Johnson said he was “not
The race for a COVID-19 vaccine is edging towards the finishing line, but we still don’t know how far off a winner is. Kate Bingham, the head of the UK Vaccines Taskforce told MPs on the Science and Technology Committee that – if she put on her rose-tinted specs – she can see the first
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dealt President Donald Trump a major setback on his hardline immigration policies, blocking his bid to end a program that protects from deportation hundreds of thousands of immigrants – often called “Dreamers” – who entered the United States illegally as children. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department proposed on Wednesday that Congress take up legislation to curb protections big tech platforms like Alphabet’s Google and Facebook have had for decades, a senior official said, following through on President Donald Trump’s bid to crack down on tech giants. FILE PHOTO: Facebook, Google and Twitter logos are
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Republicans unveiled a law enforcement reform bill on Wednesday as a rival to more sweeping Democratic legislation, as Congress sought to curb racial discrimination and police abuses three weeks after the death of George Floyd. Crafted by Senator Tim Scott, the chamber’s only black Republican, the bill would use federal
FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed Facebook logo is seen placed on a keyboard in this illustration taken March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook Inc said on Tuesday it would affix labels to political ads shared by users on their own feeds, closing what critics have said for years was a glaring loophole
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks prior to signing an executive order on police reform at a ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 16, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he met with the relatives of victims of recent police and other
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday his former national security adviser John Bolton will have broken the law and face criminal liability if a book he has written about his time in the White House is published. Trump told reporters that Bolton knows he has classified information in his book, and