Rio 2016: Zika virus concern for British Olympians
British Olympians have warned against feeding the “fear factor” but admit the rapid spread of the Zika virus is “scary”, “daunting” and “worrying”. Brazilian authorities say there will be no risk to athletes and spectators, except pregnant women, when the Rio Games take place in August. Modern pentathlete Samantha Murray, 26, said the virus was […]
Robot ‘Amanda’ powers on in Peterborough pharmacy despite outage
One new recruit kept calm and carried on as IT outages caused chaos around the world on Friday. GPs in Peterborough were forced to switch to old technology when one of their systems went down. They wrote out prescriptions with a pen and asked patients to take paper slips to the Graham Young Pharmacy in […]
Essex dancer hopes new Wicked movie inspires pupils at her studio
Lily Field Lily Field said she hoped her time on Wicked “inspires all of my students” A dance teacher who has a part in the new Wicked movie says she hopes her experience will inspire her students. The film version of the Wizard of Oz-related musical has its UK premiere this Friday. Lily Field, who […]
Last decade ‘on course’ to be warmest
Getty Images The warming experienced over the past decade is taking its toll on the natural world Scientists say that average temperatures from 2010-2019 look set to make it the warmest decade on record. Provisional figures released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) suggest this year is on course to be the second or third […]
John Swinney to cover Kate Forbes’ maternity leave
PA Media Kate Forbes’ maternity leave is expected to begin on 16 July Kate Forbes’s role as finance secretary is to be covered by John Swinney while she is on maternity leave, the Scottish government has confirmed. The job will be in addition to Mr Swinney’s usual portfolio of deputy first minister and cabinet secretary […]
Bedfordshire Police criticised for facial recognition at festival
June Essex More than 250,000 visitors are expected at Bedford’s River Festival this weekend A police force has been criticised for introducing facial recognition technology for the first time in its county at a riverside festival. Bedfordshire Police said the technology would be used “in a bid to locate the county’s most wanted offenders and […]
Ancient House Museum’s centenary exhibition told in 100 objects
Ancient House Museum The death mask of writer Thomas Paine, born near the Ancient House Museum in 1737. He was one of the first people to call for the abolition of slavery An exhibition charting a museum’s history in 100 objects to mark its forthcoming centenary will open on Saturday. A History of Ancient House […]
Central Beirut hit by massive Israeli air strikes
Israel has carried out massive air strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese media say, and there are reports of several deaths. An eight-storey residential building was completely destroyed with five missiles in the capital’s Basta district, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA). Hezbollah’s al-Manar media outlet quoted the Lebanese health ministry as saying four people […]
UK deaths double in 24 hours
Getty Images Ten more people in the UK have died in the last 24 hours after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths to 21. The UK government’s chief medical adviser said the patients were all in “at-risk” groups from across England. The total number of confirmed cases in the UK has […]
Lewis Hamilton: World champion’s refusal to conform is to be praised
Fellow Englishman and F1 world champion James Hunt was celebrated for his outrageous public statements and love of fast women and booze in the 1970s. But Hunt was the last flowering of a less professional age. F1 today is a multi-billion pound, global industry – some would say only masquerading as a sport – meaning […]