Health Secretary Matt Hancock has faced a backlash after claiming Brexit helped the UK become the first country in the world to have a clinically authorised coronavirus vaccine. The Pfizer/ BioNTech jab has been approved by Britain’s medicines regulator – but the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has yet to do the same for the EU.
Month: December 2020
This is an historic moment. The beginning of the end of the pandemic. And it starts here in the UK, the first country to licence a COVID-19 vaccine. The Pfizer/BioNTech jab was shown in clinical trials to prevent 95% of COVID cases. And it works just as well in the elderly, who are most at
Fashion retailer Bonmarche has tumbled into administration again, little over a year since its last collapse and just months after it was bought up. The failure represents the third major high street brand to throw in the towel in as many days – with Debenhams being wound down and Sir Philip Green’s Topshop empire calling
A deportation flight has left the UK for Jamaica carrying a quarter of the passengers who were due to leave the country. The Home Office said 13 people were on the scheduled flight which was originally due to carry 50 passengers. The 13 had combined jail terms of more than 100 years, including three convicted of
A captain of a scuba diving boat that caught fire and sank off the coast of California last year has been charged with 34 counts of manslaughter. All the passengers on board and one crew member – a total of 21 women and 13 men ranging in age from 16 to 62 years old –
The UK’s independent healthcare regulator has approved the Pfizer/BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine for use. It will be rolled out for use next week. “The government has today accepted the recommendation from the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to approve Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for use,” the government said. “The vaccine will be made available
Donald Trump is said to be considering running for the White House again in 2024, with a campaign launch on the day Joe Biden in sworn in as the 46th US president. NBC claims that people familiar with the discussions say there is “preliminary planning” underway for a 20 January 2021 event and President Trump
Officials looking for a British hiker who went missing while walking in the Pyrenees are investigating “other options beyond a mountain accident”, her partner has said. Esther Dingley had been travelling through Europe since 2014 with her partner, Dan Colegate, and had been expected to return from a solo trek last Wednesday. Local police say
One of the world’s largest radio telescopes, used to monitor the stars for more than half a century, has collapsed. The 57-year-old telescope at Puerto Rico‘s Arecibo Observatory also featured in the James Bond film GoldenEye, when Pierce Brosnan’s 007 famously scaled the structure while grappling with Sean Bean’s traitorous 006. Unfortunately, the telescope sustained
Attorney General William Barr has said federal prosecutors have found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 US presidential election. Mr Barr told the Associated Press on Tuesday: “To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election.” Last month, he instructed the
Actor Ellen Page has announced that he is transgender and now goes by the name of Elliot. The star, known for starring in hit films Juno and Inception, posted a lengthy statement on Twitter. It said: “I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they and my name is Elliot.”
COVID-19 has proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Debenhams. But the seeds of destruction of this much-loved business were sowed many years ago. Debs, which traces its origins back to a draper’s shop that opened in London’s West End in 1778 and which was subsequently rechristened following an investment from William
England’s new tiered system of coronavirus restrictions has been approved by MPs, although a sizable number of Conservatives appear to have rebelled against the measures. The system was approved by 291 votes to 78, a majority of 213. A full breakdown of the vote has not yet been released, but the figures suggest that there
A struggling cryptocurrency backed by Facebook has changed its name, in a bid to get it off the ground and approved by regulators. Libra was launched in June 2019, backed by the social media giant back, to deliver an “inclusive and open” financial ecosystem. However, after a number of backers pulled out of the scheme,
At least two people have been killed and several are injured after a car drove into pedestrians in the German city of Trier, police say. Public broadcaster SWR reported that the driver had been detained by police, adding that details of the incident were unclear. Police said rescue crews were on the scene. Advertisement
Government officials have drawn up a detailed dossier looking at the impact of coronavirus on every economic sector which it is refusing to publish. The Business Department has drawn up a spreadsheet looking at the size of each sector, the concerns of each sector, its financial stability and whether there will be job losses. Officials