United Kingdom
Diplomatic tensions between China and the United Kingdom continue to rise. After the expulsion of three Chinese diplomats and the revocation of the broadcasting license for the news station CGTN, China is now reacting in turn by banning the international service of the British BBC, the station BBC World News.
The station was banned for "illegal content" because it violated reporting guidelines in the country, the China Broadcasting Regulatory Commission announced. BBC World News will no longer be allowed to broadcast in mainland China, according to the statement. It said it "does not accept the new annual broadcasting application."
Those who disregard the Covid-19 regulations for returning travelers must expect severe consequences in the future, the British Health Minister Matt Hancock announced. Fines of up to 2,000 pounds (about 2,280 euros) are threatened if tests are not taken. Up to 10,000 pounds must be paid if the prescribed hotel quarantine is not adhered to. Those who conceal stays in risk areas when entering the country must even expect up to ten years in prison, according to the minister.
As part of the Brexit agreement, Northern Ireland ports connected to Great Britain had started checks, which have now been halted due to signs of tension in the area.
Officials pulled a dozen staff members from duty at Larne Port after an "upsurge in sinister and menacing behavior," Mid and East Antrim Borough Council said.
Three Chinese citizens - suspected to be spies posing as journalists - must leave Great Britain. This was reported by the Daily Telegraph with reference to a high-ranking government source in London.
The MI5 intelligence service uncovered the true identities of the three spies; the report continues. They had been working for the Chinese Ministry of State Security. According to the report, all three individuals claimed to "work for three different Chinese media agencies" and had entered the country in the past 12 months.
RB Leipzig will not host Liverpool in the Champions League later this month after authorities ruled the English club cannot enter Germany because of coronavirus mutations in the UK, the Interior Ministry said Thursday. The match was set to take place in Leipzig on February 16, but the German federal police responsible for border control (the Bundespolizei) rejected RB's application for a special permit that would have allowed Jürgen Klopp's Premier League outfit to enter the country.
"The Coronavirus Protection Order agreed by the federal government last Friday envisions only a few exceptions and no special arrangements for professional athletes," the German Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The communications watchdog, Ofcom, said it revoked the U.K. license for China Global Television Network, or CGTN, an international English language satellite news channel. Losing its British broadcasting license is a major setback for CGTN, which has been a key element of the Chinese government's push to expand its soft power and burnish its image abroad.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded with renewed criticism of the BBC., specifically a January 29th report on Covid-19 in China, calling it "typical fake news" and demanding a public apology.
Captain Tom Moore, the British WWII veteran who raised £33 million for health care workers by walking laps in his garden, has been admitted to Bedford Hospital after being infected with Covid-19. His daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore said in a statement on Twitter that her father had been treated for pneumonia "over the last few weeks" and "last week tested positive for Covid-19."
A well-preserved dinosaur footprint has been discovered on a beach near Barry in south Wales and could help scientists establish more about how dinosaurs walked.
Four-year-old Lily Wilder and her family made the discovery whilst out on a walk in their local area in January.
Lily was the first to spot the new footprint on a loose block near the sea at Bendricks Bay - a well-known beach for its dinosaur footprints, preserved for 220 million years in desert muds.
Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum of Wales Palaeontology curator Cindy Howells was notified of the find and has described it as the best specimen ever found on this beach. The specimen is a type of footprint called Grallator, although it is impossible to identify which dinosaur made the print 220 million years ago.
A trial conducted in the United Kingdom showed that Novavax's Covid-19 vaccine was 95.6% effective against the original Covid-19 strain and 85.6% effective against the new mutation B.1.1.7 that first was discovered in the UK. The vaccine however only showed a 60% efficacy against the mutation first identified in South Africa.
The company's vaccine, known as NVX-CoV2373, "is the first vaccine to demonstrate not only high clinical efficacy against COVID-19 but also significant clinical efficacy against both the rapidly emerging UK and South Africa variants," Stanley Erck, Novavax president and CEO, said in an announcement. "NVX-CoV2373 has the potential to play an important role in solving this global public health crisis," he said.
Germany is set to impose an entry ban for travellers from Portugal, Brazil, South Africa and the United Kingdom in an effort to curb the spread of more potent Covid-19 variants.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) said before a video meeting with his European counterparts that coordination with the EU had been unsuccessful because some member states remained too lax. "We cannot count on a European solution. That is why we are now preparing this nationally," Seehofer said.
According to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, there is "some evidence" that the variant of the coronavirus first discovered in the UK may be more deadly than the previously prevalent one. Johnson made the announcement at a press conference at Downing Street, the seat of government in London.
Johnson's chief scientific adviser said this was indicated by data from people who tested positive and were not treated in hospital. According to the data, 10 out of 1000 people over the age of 60 die from the old variant and 13 out of 1000 from the new variant. This has not been found in hospital patients. However, the data situation is still uncertain at the moment, the consultant explained.
As a study from London's Imperial College revealed that Covid-19 cases in England are "not falling," despite a third lockdown, the Glastonbury music festival has been cancelled once again, festival organizers announced on Thursday.
2021 will mark the second summer in a row where the international festival was not held after the 2020 event was cancelled last March.
"In spite of our efforts to move Heaven & Earth, it has become clear that we simply will not be able to make the Festival happen this year," organizers Michael and Emily Eavis said in a joint statement on Thursday.
Glastonbury has been headlined by a glittering array of British and global stars since its first date in 1970, including David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Oasis, U2 and Beyoncé.
Up to 5.4 million people in Hong Kong could apply to the new visa and relocate to the UK. The government estimates 300,000 might apply in the next five years.
The UK has banned people who are from or have travelled through Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela in the last 10 days. The ban will come into force from Friday and is due to a new variant identified in Brazil. British, Irish and foreign nations may enter the country but must isolate for 10 days.
1,564 deaths were recorded across the United Kingdom on Wednesday 13th January - a record high bringing the total to 101,160.
The ham sandwiches of British truck drivers are also affected by the new Brexit trade rules. The BBC on Tuesday showed Dutch TV footage of customs also checking drivers' provisions. Customs officials in Hoek van Holland explain to the drivers in the report of the channel NPO1 that they are no longer allowed to export animal food from the UK.
In Germany and the U.K., public TV stations now broadcast educational shows for schoolchildren.
German education channel ARD-alpha, as well as children's channel KiKa and broadcaster BR, are expanding their learning and school shows.
In the UK, too, the public broadcaster BBC will be broadcasting several hours of lessons every day from the start of next week. Starting this Monday, the children's channel CBBC and the BBC Two channel are to focus on content for schoolgirls. The initiative is intended to support both schools and families during the new lockdown.
Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip have received their first dose of vaccine against the new coronavirus, Buckingham Palace announced. A second source told the British news agency PA that the Queen and her husband had been vaccinated by the royal family's doctor at Windsor Castle, where they spend the confinement period. Usually quite discreet about her state of health, "the Queen has decided to make this information public to avoid inaccuracies and possible rumours," added PA.
According to a study by In Berlin, the new variant of the coronavirus from Great Britain has been detected for the first time. This was announced by the Senate Health Administration on Friday. The affected person and other ill contact persons his recovered in the meantime. Possible further contact persons are still being searched for. from German A few days ago, Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) said that the new virus variant was not very widespread in Germany so far. At least according to current knowledge, it looks like the measures taken have prevented the new form from spreading, Spahn said in Berlin on Wednesday.
Due to new lockdowns in Ireland, the United Kingdom and some other EU countries, the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair is drastically cutting its flight offerings starting January 21, the company announced Thursday.
From January 21, Ryanair plans to operate "few, if any" flights to and from British and Irish airports. This will apply until the severe travel restrictions are lifted.