Babak Belurs

Selasa, 23 Maret 2021

River Thames seal nicknamed Freddie Mercury put down after dog attack - Sky News

A seal who had been delighting Londoners with its appearances on the banks of the River Thames has been euthanised after a dog attack.

The young common seal, dubbed Freddie Mercury in honour of the late Queen singer, and for his crowd-pleasing antics, was injured by a dog on Sunday.

Freddie was sunbathing on a stretch of river near Barnes, west London, when he was mauled by a dog.

The seal was rescued by passers-by including a veterinarian, who kept him on shore while help arrived.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said in a statement Freddie was taken to South Essex Wildlife Hospital for treatment which included pain relief and scans.

He was found to have a fractured flipper and a dislocated joint, with the hospital saying that consultations with specialist marine and orthopaedic veterinarians revealed Freddie's prognosis to be "extremely poor".

"At this stage we believe the only ethical and fair option we have is to end his suffering," the hospital said in a Facebook post.

The course of action was confirmed by BDMLR, which said: "We are all absolutely gutted to hear about the extent of the injuries Freddie suffered, and highlights yet again the serious problems that can arise when humans and dogs encounter wild animals.

"We hope that his story will go a long way to helping educate people to look up and follow the appropriate guidelines for how to behave respectfully around wild animals and not cause disturbance or worse to them."

The hospital said "sadly" Freddie was not the only seal it had treated, adding: "Please folks do not go near seals and always, always, keep dogs on leads and under control."

Common or harbour seals can often be seen in and along the river Thames, with the Zoological Society of London's Thames Marine Mammal Survey reporting 117 sightings of the mammal this year.

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2021-03-23 05:32:52Z
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Senin, 22 Maret 2021

Police warn Bristol rioters: 'Expect a knock at your door - it may come sooner than you think' - Sky News

Protesters who engaged in "wanton disorder" in Bristol on Sunday have been warned by police to "expect a knock at your door in the days or weeks to come".

More than 100 officers and staff from Avon and Somerset Police are working on identifying those involved after a protest in the city turned violent, with police being attacked and threatened, and property being extensively damaged.

Some 21 officers were injured - two of them seriously - when they were confronted by people outside Bridewell Police Station.

Eight people have been arrested so far - six on suspicion of violent disorder and two on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon.

Det Chief Supt Belafonte said the investigation could result in police releasing the largest number of suspect images in the force's history in an effort to track down those responsible.

She said: "What happened on the streets of Bristol on Sunday was nothing short of disgraceful and it's provoked widespread condemnation over the past 24 hours.

"We've been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and kindness that we've received from the public, as well as from organisations and agencies across the city.

"It's greatly appreciated and means a lot to all the officers and staff who work day in, day out to keep the public safe.

"We have an enormous amount of digital evidence to go through including CCTV footage, body-worn video, social media coverage and footage/photos provided by people at the scene."

A large amount of digital footage has also been received from the public and a form has been set up on the force's website for people to send video and photos.

Photos of suspects are likely to be released after this material has been collated, she said, adding: "From what we've already collated, we're confident more arrests are imminent".

"This will be a lengthy investigation but we're wholly committed to tracking down all those who engaged in the wanton disorder yesterday. To those who took part in this spree of offending, you can expect a knock at your door in the days or weeks to come - it may come sooner than you think."

The protest had been organised to protest against the government's Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which would increase police powers to deal with non-violent demonstrations, including those deemed too noisy or a nuisance.

It would affect England and Wales and would see those convicted facing possible fines or jail time.

However, what started out peacefully on Sunday afternoon turned ugly after hundreds of protesters marched from College Green to the New Bridewell police station.

On Monday, Andy Marsh, of Avon and Somerset Police, told Sky News that a number of those protesting "came for a fight with the police".

"It really was a disgraceful scene committed by criminals. I don't believe this was a protest.

"It wasn't people frustrated with the lack of ability to protest - this was people intent on causing serious disorder, violence and damage, people with a grudge against policing."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was among those who criticised the violence, describing it as "unacceptable".

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2021-03-22 21:58:14Z
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Where is the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine made? - BBC News

European Commission President von der Leyen

The European Union has warned it could ban exports of vaccines produced there, as it struggles to speed up its vaccination rollout.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told AstraZeneca: "You fulfil your part of the deal towards Europe, before you start to deliver to other countries."

Why is the EU having vaccine problems?

Where is the AstraZeneca vaccine made?

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is made in the UK at two sites: in Oxford and Keele. A third plant in Wrexham puts the vaccine into vials and packages it up for distribution.

The UK has ordered 100 million doses. Almost all will come from within the UK, but 10 million doses are being made by the Serum Institute in India.

Half of these have already been received, with half held up by delays.

Why is India struggling to meet global vaccine demand?

Map showing where the vaccines are made: Oxford in the UK and Pfizer in Belgium

The EU has ordered 400 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

The company says supplies are coming mainly from the US and a site in Seneffe in Belgium. AstraZeneca is working with suppliers in 15 countries to make the vaccine.

A site in Leiden in the Netherlands is also producing some vaccine, although the pharmaceutical company said it was not significant.

AstraZeneca confirmed that the UK has not received any vaccines or components from the EU - apart from one "tiny" batch from the Leiden plant.

Who funded the AstraZeneca vaccine?

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was, as the name implies, chiefly funded by the university and the pharmaceutical company.

The research also received £65.5m in funding from the UK government.

There was some other investment, but a University of Oxford spokesperson said it was difficult to untangle, because of the way research is funded.

Why is the EU unhappy with AstraZeneca?

In January, AstraZeneca said it would have to cut the number of doses it could deliver to the EU. It blamed production delays in Belgium and the Netherlands.

This prompted criticism from the EU.

AstraZeneca said its agreement with the EU allowed the option of supplying Europe from UK sites, but only once the UK had sufficient supplies.

Reuters

The full details of the company's deals with the UK and the EU have not been made public. But analysis by the Politico website points to a clause in the UK's contract which says the government "may terminate the deal and invoke what appear to be punishment clauses" if there is a delay in supply.

According to Politico, the EU waived its right to sue the company in the event of delivery delays. The European Commission says it is now involved in a "dispute mechanism" with the company.

Is the EU running out of AstraZeneca doses?

No - in fact, EU countries have been reporting hundreds of thousands of unused doses because of a drop in public confidence in the jab.

France and Germany have used only about half of the AstraZeneca jabs they have received, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Chart showing the number of doses administered in the UK, US, EU, China and Russia

As of 22 March, France has distributed 1.4 million out of 2.7 million doses available, while Germany received 3.4 million but has used only 1.8 million. The Netherlands has used only 38% of its supply.

In most other EU countries, the proportion of the unused AstraZeneca vaccines is much higher than the proportion of unused Pfizer jabs.

What about other vaccines?

The Pfizer jab is mostly made in Puurs in Belgium, and a manufacturing site has also been set up in the German town of Marburg.

The UK has ordered 40 million doses. The company says these deliveries are on track, but did not comment on whether they could be affected by an EU export ban.

In Europe, the Moderna vaccine is produced in Switzerland and put into vials in Spain - the UK has ordered 17 million doses.

The Janssen jab is made in the Netherlands - the UK has ordered 30 million doses.

Vaccines may be produced in one place but "filled and finished" - put into vials and prepared for export - in another.

And some components used in making the vaccine may be made at yet another location. For example, a UK company called Croda is supplying a component to Pfizer to make its vaccine.

The lipid components - fat molecules used to encase the virus's fragile genetic material and transport it into the body - are in relatively short supply, according to science data company Airfinity.

Can the EU ban vaccine exports?

The EU imposed export controls on coronavirus vaccines at the end of January. The measures will be in place until the end of June.

They were used for the first time in March, to stop a shipment of 250,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, from Italy to Australia.

Ms von der Leyen has pointed out that more than 10 million doses of vaccine (Pfizer) produced in the EU have been exported to the UK.

The UK government has not been able to confirm whether any vaccines have gone the other way but insists a ban is not in place.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said: "I am reassured by talking to EU partners over the last few months that they don't want to see blockades."

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2021-03-22 19:46:34Z
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What are the details of the new defence plans? - Sky News

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2021-03-22 21:45:08Z
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Nicola Sturgeon cleared of breaching ministerial code over Alex Salmond saga - BBC News

Nicola Sturgeon has been cleared of breaching the ministerial code over her involvement in the Alex Salmond saga.

An independent inquiry by senior Irish lawyer James Hamilton had been examining whether the first minister misled the Scottish Parliament over what she knew and when.

His report said Ms Sturgeon had given an "incomplete narrative of events" to MSPs.

But he said this was a "genuine failure of recollection" and not deliberate.

Mr Hamilton said he was therefore of the opinion that Ms Sturgeon had not breached any of the provisions of the code.

The code sets out the standards expected of Scottish government ministers, and states that anyone who deliberately misleads Holyrood would be expected to resign.

Mr Hamilton concluded in his report, some parts of which were heavily redacted, that Ms Sturgeon did not breach the ministerial code in respect of any of the four issues he considered.

These included allegations that Ms Sturgeon had failed to record a series of meetings and telephone discussions with Mr Salmond and others in 2018.

Mr Hamilton concluded that the meetings were government business - contrary to Ms Sturgeon's claims that they were a party matter - but accepted her reasoning that "it would have been impossible to record such meetings or discussions without a risk of prejudicing the proceedings or interfering with their confidentiality".

He also looked at whether the first minister "may have attempted to influence the conduct of the investigation" into the harassment complaints made against Mr Salmond, her predecessor as first minister and SNP leader.

The lawyer said the key point was that Ms Sturgeon had not intervened, and said that had Mr Salmond really believed she had agreed to it during a meeting on 2 April 2018 then, "one might have expected him to follow it up and to press home his advantage" - but that no further contact was made for three weeks.

The third issue centred on whether Ms Sturgeon misled the Scottish Parliament in relation to the meetings in 2018.

The first minister insisted she had first learned of the complaints from Mr Salmond at her home on 2 April, but later said she had had "forgotten" about a meeting with his former chief of staff four days earlier, on 29 March.

Mr Hamilton said it was "regrettable" that Ms Sturgeon had not told MSPs about this meeting, but that he found it "difficult to think of any convincing reason" for her to deliberately conceal it.

He said she had given parliament "an incomplete narrative of events", but added: "I accept that this omission was the result of a genuine failure of recollection and was not deliberate."

The fourth ground of investigation alleged that Ms Sturgeon was in breach of her duty to comply with the law in relation to Mr Salmond's successful legal challenge against the Scottish government.

Key dates of the Sturgeon and Salmond saga

Mr Salmond has pointed to external legal advice warning that the government may be at risk of losing the case as early as October 2018, but ministers decided to fight on until January 2019 - and ultimately had to pay Mr Salmond more than £500,000 in legal costs.

Mr Salmond was later cleared of 13 charges of sexual assault against nine women after a separate High Court trial in March of last year.

Mr Hamilton said Ms Sturgeon had relied on advice from the law officers, as she was "fully entitled" to do, and said Mr Salmond "appears to be under the misapprehension that the government is under a duty to withdraw a case if advised that there is less than an evens chance of winning".

The lawyer's 61-page report concluded: "I am of the opinion that the first minister did not breach the provisions of the ministerial code in respect of any of these matters."

Ms Sturgeon welcomed the findings, and said she had "sought at every stage in this issue to act with integrity and in the public interest".

She added: "As I have previously made clear, I did not consider that I had broken the code, but these findings are official, definitive and independent adjudication of that."

Ms Sturgeon again apologised to the women who made the complaints, saying they had been let down by the government.

But she said: "I was determined at the time these complaints emerged that they should not be swept under the carpet, and that I would not intervene in the process."

The first minister also called on opposition parties to respect the outcome of Mr Hamilton's inquiry, and said she would continue to devote "all of my time and energy to leading Scotland and to helping the country through the pandemic".

Analysis box by Nick Eardley, political correspondent

James Hamilton's conclusions are undoubtedly a significant boost for the first minister and her party.

In two days, the starting gun will be fired on the Scottish election campaign.

Ms Sturgeon will go into it saying her independent advisor cleared her. Her team see it as "complete vindication".

Remember there is another report to be published tomorrow morning, by the Holyrood committee.

We know a majority of the committee believe Ms Sturgeon misled them in her evidence - so the issue of trust will no doubt continue to be part of the election campaign.

But Team Sturgeon is very happy tonight - going into an election campaign which could prove very important in determining whether there is another independence referendum.

The Scottish Conservatives plan to hold a vote of no confidence in the first minister on Tuesday afternoon.

But it looks doomed to fail after the Scottish Greens said they would not support it on the basis that "the Tories have shown that they have no interest in establishing the truth."

Conservative leader Douglas Ross said the first minister had been "given a pass" by Mr Hamilton because he had judged that her failure of recollection was not deliberate.

Mr Ross said: "I respect Mr Hamilton and his judgement but we cannot agree with that assessment. Nicola Sturgeon did not suddenly turn forgetful.

"She is not free and clear. The first minister promised to respect the decisions of both inquiry reports, not to pick and choose which one suits her and try to discredit the other.

"This report does not change the overwhelming evidence that Nicola Sturgeon misled parliament, her government badly let women down and wasted more than £500,000 of taxpayers' money."

A separate report by a cross-party committee of MSPs that has been examining the government's botched handling of the complaints against Mr Salmond is expected to be published on Tuesday morning.

Details of the report that were leaked last week said that members voted by five to four that Ms Sturgeon had misled its inquiry during a marathon evidence session earlier this month.

It is also expected to be critical of the government's handling of the complaints against Mr Salmond.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said his party had been clear that it would not prejudge the outcome of the inquiry, and would now await the findings of the parliamentary committee.

Mr Sarwar said it was clear that the saga had deeply damaged public trust in politics at a time of national crisis, and that there were "absolutely no winners today"

He added: "At the heart of this are two women who have been badly let down by the government, and it remains the case that nobody has taken responsibility."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said Ms Sturgeon's "errors of judgement still make resignation a live consideration".

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2021-03-22 18:17:36Z
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Britain's Covid deaths plunge by 75% to 17 in lowest daily figure since SEPTEMBER - Daily Mail

Britain's Covid deaths plunge to almost nothing: Daily fatalities drop by 75% in a week to 17 in lowest figure since SEPTEMBER while cases rise by 5% to 5,342 (but TWICE as many tests were carried out yesterday compared to last Sunday)

Department of Health data showed deaths were last at this level in September before cases spiralled
A further 5,342 infections were also recorded, which was a five per cent rise on the same time last week
It comes as Boris Johnson reportedly agrees to offer the EU a share of 'millions of doses' of AstraZeneca jab

By Luke Andrews Health Reporter For Mailonline

Published: 16:19 GMT, 22 March 2021 | Updated: 17:44 GMT, 22 March 2021

Britain's coronavirus death toll has plunged by three-quarters in a week to the lowest daily figure since before the second wave spiralled out of control six months ago.

Department of Health bosses posted another 17 Covid fatalities today, below the 64 recorded last Monday. It was the smallest daily death toll since September 28, when 13 victims were added to the official tally.

Another 5,342 positive tests were also registered in the last 24 hours — up five per cent in a week.

But swabbing figures have ramped up drastically since March 8, when schools in England were allowed to reopen with students and teachers asked to take two tests a week. Almost 1.9million coronavirus swabs were conducted yesterday, compared to 965,000 last Sunday.

The positivity rate — one of the most accurate ways of measuring the true scale of an outbreak when more swabs are done — is still dropping across all regions.

And Britain's vaccine roll-out — which must go smoothly for No10 to relax lockdown restrictions over the coming months — had its best ever Sunday performance yesterday, dishing out 420,000 jabs. It means almost 28million Britons have now had their first dose.

It comes after Boris Johnson warned today a third wave of Covid that is currently battering Europe could 'wash up on our shores'. Infection numbers are surging again in France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

And in an attempt to defuse tensions with the EU, which is threatening to push ahead with an extraordinary export ban that could hamper Britain's vaccine roll-out, it was claimed that the Prime Minister was prepared to offer the bloc a 'share' of millions of doses of the AstraZeneca jab made at a Dutch factory.

Boris 'will offer to SHARE millions of doses of AstraZeneca's jab made at Dutch factory with the EU'

Britain will offer to share millions of doses of AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine made at a factory in the Netherlands in a desperate peace offering to the European Union, it was claimed today.

Boris Johnson is trying to defuse a vaccine stand-off with EU chiefs, who are facing a third wave of coronavirus on the continent.

The Prime Minister warned today that 'previous experience has taught us that when a wave hits our friends, it washes up on our shores as well' and said the UK's best defence was to keep vaccinating at full speed. Infection numbers are surging again in major countries across the channel, including France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands but, for now, they remain flat and low in the UK, which has a far better vaccine programme.

Mr Johnson's comments come amid growing fears the EU will push ahead with an extraordinary export ban on Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs made on the continent, in a move which could delay the UK's rollout by months.

The row appears to be centred around a factory run by the firm Halix in Leiden, Netherlands, which has promised supplies of the AstraZeneca jab to both the UK and Europe but is not yet an approved supplier to either so none of its goods can be used. Halix has already shipped a batch of unknown size to Britain, MailOnline understands, and is reported to be in possession of five to 10million more doses that the EU and UK are now wrangling over.

European chiefs are threatening to shut down exports if they don't get priority access to vaccines made on their turf, regardless of companies' agreements with the UK, so Downing Street is considering offering some of the supplies as a compromise, The Times reports.

Rows over vaccine supply have erupted after Britain set up side deals with factories abroad to boost supplies and the PM must now appeal to other leaders to resolve the crisis. He spoke with EU heavyweights Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron last night to try and persuade them to soften their stance and has also sent Lord Lister, a government ally, to India to ease tensions over the delay to a batch of five million UK-bound doses of the vaccine.

Britain's bargaining chip is its ability to cut off supplies of a crucial ingredient for Pfizer's vaccine – the fat blobs that are used to carry the vaccine material are made in a factory in North Yorkshire, and ministers have privately admitted the UK could stop these being shipped if left with 'no choice'.

But rifts are already emerging within Europe and leaders already disagree on what to do. Irish PM Michael Martin said blocking vaccine supplies would be 'a very retrograde step' and added 'I'm very much against it'.

Discussing the third wave of coronavirus that Europe is currently facing, the PM said that 'previous experience has taught us that when a wave hits our friends, it washes up on our shores as well'.

He said the UK's best defence was to keep vaccinating at full speed.

Halix has already shipped a batch of unknown size to Britain, MailOnline understands, and is reported to be in possession of five to 10million more doses that the EU and UK are now wrangling over.

Rows over vaccine supply have erupted after Britain set up side deals with factories abroad to boost supplies and the PM must now appeal to other leaders to resolve the crisis.

He spoke with EU heavyweights Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron last night to try and persuade them to soften their stance and has also sent Lord Lister, a government ally, to India to ease tensions over the delay to a batch of five million UK-bound doses of the vaccine.

It was also revealed today that Germany looks set to tighten lockdown measures and extend them into April, as Europe's Covid third wave bites amid the bloc's shambolic jab roll-out.

Angela Merkel is meeting with Germany's regional leaders today for a summit that was supposed to be about easing restrictions.

But as Covid cases spike, leaked documents suggest the leaders will actually move to tighten a partial lockdown that has been in place since last year.

Meanwhile, ministers in the Netherlands and Belgium have also warned that measures may have to get stricter as cases spike.

And in France thousands of fed-up people took to the streets of Marseilles on Sunday to flout lockdown rules - with protests also taking place in Germany, Holland, Austria, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Serbia and Poland.

The streets of Paris were also packed with spring sun-seekers despite the city going back into lockdown last week.

Europe's third wave of Covid infections is gathering pace amid a woefully slow vaccine roll-out that has seen just eight per cent of its population given at least one dose - leaving the rest vulnerable to infection.

The fixer: Prime Minister Boris Johnson (pictured today) has sent one of his closest allies to India this week in hope of resolving the diplomatic stand-off which could see Britain miss out on 5m doses of AZ vaccine made at the nation's Serum Institute

Germany is one of several European countries heading for tough new lockdown measures as cases spike amid a stalled vaccine roll-out that has left people unprotected

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2021-03-22 16:19:15Z
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Nicola Sturgeon cleared of breaching ministerial code over Alex Salmond saga - BBC News

Nicola Sturgeon has been cleared of breaching the ministerial code over her involvement in the Alex Salmond saga.

An independent inquiry by senior Irish lawyer James Hamilton had been examining whether the first minister misled the Scottish Parliament over what she knew and when.

His report said Ms Sturgeon had given an "incomplete narrative of events" to MSPs.

But he said this was a "genuine failure of recollection" and not deliberate.

Mr Hamilton said he was therefore of the opinion that Ms Sturgeon had not breached any of the provisions of the code.

The code sets out the standards expected of Scottish government ministers, and states that anyone who deliberately misleads Holyrood would be expected to resign.

Mr Hamilton concluded in his report that Ms Sturgeon did not breach the ministerial code in respect of any of the four issues he considered.

These included allegations that Ms Sturgeon had failed to record a series of meetings and telephone discussions with Mr Salmond and others in 2018.

The third issue centred on whether Ms Sturgeon misled the Scottish Parliament in relation to the meetings in 2018.

Mr Hamilton said it was "regrettable" that Ms Sturgeon had not told MSPs about this meeting, but that he found it "difficult to think of any convincing reason" for her to deliberately conceal it.

He said she had given parliament "an incomplete narrative of events", but added: "I accept that this omission was the result of a genuine failure of recollection and was not deliberate."

The fourth ground of investigation alleged that Ms Sturgeon was in breach of her duty to comply with the law in relation to Mr Salmond's successful legal challenge against the Scottish government.

Key dates of the Sturgeon and Salmond saga