Budget 2021: Fears rising Rishi Sunak will betray people struggling in Covid crisis

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - A juror in the Scott Peterson trial has been offered immunity before testifying at a hearing that could determine whether a new trial is granted, authorities said.Richelle Nice was Juror 7 in the trial that ended with Peterson's conviction for killing his pregnant wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son. However, Peterson's attorney said Nice was guilty of juror misconduct because she failed to reveal during the jury selection that she had been beaten by a boyfriend while she was pregnant. He said Peterson deserves a new trial.The offer to Nice will come before she testifies at a Feb.

Convicted rapist and murderer Wayne Couzens has been placed in isolation after catching coronavirus in prison with reports suggesting he is "suffering badly".

Train services are set to increase again as ScotRail recovers from staff shortages following a Covid surge over the festive period.

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WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 1: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks during a news conference after a lunch meeting with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill February 1, 2022 in Washington, DC. McConnell told reporters he disagrees with fo WASHINGTON - Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is going against the Republican National Committee calling the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka’s Deputy Director-General of Public Health Services, Dr. Hemanth Herath has slammed the organizing of mass gatherings in the wake of the COVID-19 spread in the island.‘This is not something that needs to be said over again.

Truckers paralysing the Canadian capital in anger at Covid rules show no sign of backing down, as several of the nation's provinces announced it was time to roll back restrictions that count among the world's toughest.

First nasal spray for covid-19 treatment in India: For the treatment of adult patients suffering from Covid-19, pharma company Glenmark has launched Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (FabiSpray) in India. The nasal spray was launched by the pharma company in partnership with SaNOtize. "Phase 3 trial in India met the key endpoints and demonstrated reduction of viral load of 94 per cent in 24 hours and 99 per cent in 48 hours. Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS) was safe and well-tolerated in COVID-19 patients. Glenmark to market NONS under the brand name FabiSpray," the company said in a statement.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!!

ladies tights such as pantyhose on your face could reduce the risk of getting Covid, more so than masks.A major risk identified with commonly worn face masks is that they do not fit tightly enough to block viral particles from being inhaled or exhaled significantly.Cambridge University researchers have tested seven hacks to improve the fit of masks.Their new study outlined DIY hacks people have used to make masks fit better, including using rubber bands or tape.They found the most effective tactic was to wrap pantyhose around the bottom half of the face or on top of a mask.Researchers have said that this could reduce the number of viral particles by up to seven times more than a loose mask on its own by sealing the gaps around the nose and mouth.They raised that the social and physical impact of wearing tights on your face in public was "unlikely to be tolerated for an extended period of time".Tight-fitting medical masks are great at blocking out the virus, but many describe them as uncomfortable.The study raised that the most common surgical or cloth masks are far less resistant to Covid.Cambridge researchers recruited four volunteers to try seven different mask hacks - the study looked at both surgical and KN95 masks.Other methods included tying the ear bands to make the masks fit more tightly or stuffing the gaps with bandages.Participants did seven minutes of various exercises designed to mimic real-world interactions such as talking, smiling, nodding and eating.The researchers measured how well the masks fit by monitoring the filtration efficiency and calculating a 'fit factor' score.Pantyhose and cloth tape were most effective, increasing the fit factor by 27.7 and 14.7.Surgical masks performed better if worn in

Epik High frontman Tablo has tested positive for COVID-19.OURS, Epik High’s management agency, confirmed the news through a press statement released earlier today (February 9).“Tablo experienced minor symptoms on February 3 and underwent PCR testing, and his results came back negative the next day (January 4),” the agency said, as translated by Soompi. “However, he voluntarily got tested again on February 8, and his results came back positive this morning.”The statement also noted that the rest of Epik High and staff members who were recently in contact with Tablo underwent rapid antigen testing following the hip-hop artist’s diagnosis.

New Zealand anti-vaccine mandate protesters faced off with police outside parliament today, as demonstrators camped inside the Wellington legislature's grounds vowed to stay "as long as it takes".

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has announced the province’s public health restrictions will now be lifting, while a blockade of protesters demanding an end to mandates resumes at the U.S.-Canada border crossing near Coutts. Heather Yourex-West looks at the province’s plan, and whether it will be enough to satiate demonstrators.

Director Kamika Bianca Guerra-Walker joins Global News’ Linda Olsen to discuss how she is using her experiences growing up Black in Calgary and how that has inspired her art.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues to press hard on the importance of COVID-19 vaccines. But Quebec Liberal MP Joël Lightbound is challenging his own government’s strategy, demanding Trudeau to stop driving up divisions and deliver a roadmap to end public health mandates.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Thousands of Sri Lankan health workers are on strike for the third consecutive day, citing several demands.The trade unions demand that the authorities eliminate existing salary disparities in the sector just as they eliminated the teacher and principal salary anomalies.Health workers across Sri Lanka including nurses, and Public Health Inspectors are on strike citing multiple demands.They resorted to the indefinite trade union action from Monday (7).As a result of the strike activities at the Colombo General Hospital, Kandy General Hospital, 24 Teaching Hospitals, 26 General Hospitals, 46 Base Hospitals, 410 District Hospitals, and 293 MOH Officers came to a complete standstill.

PHILADELPHIA - Investigators with the Philadelphia Police Department are searching for two men wanted in connection with an armed robbery at a Domino’s Pizza in North Philadelphia. According to police, the robbery took place on Monday around 1:00 a.m. at the location on 2628 N.

China enacted a similar traffic light change after one case was detected in November, only to repeal it amid outcry on social media. 

Freedom Convoy” trucks and say their presence “complicates” efforts to end the demonstration.More than 100 of the trucks remaining as part of the nearly two-week-long protest in downtown Ottawa are estimated to have kids living in them, OPS Deputy Chief Steve Bell told media in a briefing Tuesday afternoon.“Almost 25 per cent of the 418 trucks have children living in them — children who could be at risk during a police operation,” Bell said.“There’s a multitude of concerns” he said, citing effects from carbon monoxide, diesel fumes, cold, noise and a lack of access to sanitation on kids. Trucker convoy — Here’s what the 10-day injunction against horns includes Ottawa police have tapped the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) for advice on how to proceed with enforcement operations in the downtown core.They’re not seeking to take the kids out of the trucks or away from their parents at this stage, Bell said, but will follow the recommendations of CAS.“We’re not at the stage of looking to do any sort of enforcement activity around that,” he said.“We just think it’s an important factor that complicates and makes this an even more challenging operation.”To date, police and bylaw officers have issued more than 1,300 tickets for traffic violations, made 23 arrests and have 85 active criminal investigations related to the protest, which began as a response to vaccination mandates but has expanded to include a wide umbrella of anti-government sentiment.OPS are also liaising with U.S.

COVID-19: Kenney announces Alberta vaccine passport program ending at midnight In a letter to school authorities, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange outlined the impact that relaxing COVID-19 restrictions will have on schools and students.“I have been encouraged to see a downward trend in the number of Alberta schools shifted to at-home learning over the last few weeks,” she said.“At the peak of the fifth wave, there were 29 schools that were shifted to at-home learning, and today, only seven of the over 2,500-plus schools in our province remain learning at home.”Please see my letter to school authorities below: pic.twitter.com/Z3sph78dDv— Adriana LaGrange (@AdrianaLaGrange) February 9, 2022LaGrange said the masking requirement that will be removed effective Feb. 14 will apply to any students in schools or on school buses.

Winter Olympics since 1998 in Nagano, Japan.She has a decade’s worth of knitted red mittens, purchased every year since their debut as part of the Canadian Olympic uniform in 2010.But this year Reid says she won’t be buying anything, because after the merchandising partnership changed hands from Hudson’s Bay to Lululemon, she considers the prices too steep to justify.“They were a great, affordable way to show Canadian Olympic pride and some of the money goes to support our national team,” Reid says of her iconic mittens.“I looked at the Lululemon site and I was pretty surprised to see the prices. I was OK with The Bay’s mittens going up to $20, but $68 for a pair is too much for me.”Reid isn’t alone.

coronavirus strain.Domestic trips were expected to resume from April 12 following the launch of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's roadmap to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions last week, with a date for foreign holidays yet to be announced.But plans could be ditched after a new Covid variant has arrived in Britain from Brazil, with one of six people to test positive on Friday and Saturday going missing as tracers try to track them down.Surge testing for the new mutation is being launched in South Gloucestershire after two people at a home in South Gloucestershire were found to be infected.Labour MP Yvette Cooper warned against booking summer holidays abroad, adding that border controls may need to get stricter."There is a concern about

urgent alert has been issued to find the other case after the test came back positive on February 14.The Brazilian strain has been designated “of concern” as it shares key mutations with the variant detected in South Africa, which is more transmissible than the original strain.Concerns have been raised vaccines may not be as effective against the variant.But Professor Stephen Powis, the national medical director of NHS England, said jabs could be rapidly adapted.And Boris Johnson said: "We don't have any reason at the present time to think that our vaccines are ineffective against these new variants of all types."Public Health England "don't think that there is a threat to the wider public", he added.The Prime Minister said a "massive

The emergence of the Brazil Covid variant in the UK could lead to the end of lockdown being delayed or even reversed, a top scientist has suggested.

Rishi Sunak today confirmed coronavirus support for firms and workers is set to be extended in Wednesday's Budget.

Crowds have flocked to beaches and parks in the sunshine today - despite a top scientist warning the fight against coronavirus is not over.

It's Kenneth Branagh as you've never seen him before. For an actor who has donned insane mustaches (as detective Hercule Poirot) and a wide array of Shakespearean costumes, the first still of him as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Michael Winterbottom's TV drama This Sceptred Isle is perhaps Branagh at his most unrecognizable.

coronavirus infections are still high.It follows the announcement by Boris Johnson on Monday which outlined his four-stage roadmap to end lockdown.The statement said: "Following advice from the Joint Biosecurity Centre and in the light of the most recent data, the four UK chief medical officers and NHS England national medical director agree that the UK alert level should move from level five to level four in all four nations."The health services across the four nations remain under significant pressure with a high number of patients in hospital, however thanks to the efforts of public we are now seeing numbers consistently declining, and the threat of the NHS and other health services being overwhelmed within 21 days has receded."We should

60-year-old actor will play the British Prime Minister in the new Sky Atlantic drama.The five-part series will chart the events surrounding the Prime Minister, the government, and the country in the face of the first wave of the global pandemic.Kenneth’s casting as Bojo was first announced last month, and now the first look image of him as the PM shows his utter transformation into the 56-year-old politician.Kenneth has swapped his neatly trimmed brown hair for Boris’ trademark wild blonde locks and prosthetics appear to have been used to give him more of Bojo’s facial features.The series will be directed by Michael Winterbottom, who will also co-write, while Tim Shipman, the political editor of The Sunday Times, will act as a consultant.

Confirmed cases of coronavirus have plunged by more than 78% since the start of England's lockdown, new figures show today.

BOARDMASTERS Festival looks set to finally go-ahead this summer as its organisers say there is "light at the end of the tunnel".

direct to your inboxHundreds of fines have been handed out for Covid breaches in Greater Manchester in the last week - including at weddings, house parties and Manchester Airport.Illegal barber shops in garden sheds, unlicensed backroom bars and crowded premises with no social distancing have been discovered during enforcement visits.The number of Covid-related incidents reported to police rose by almost a quarter in the last week as the half-term and a change in weather has seen more people gathering in parks.Greater Manchester’s deputy mayor Baroness Beverley Hughes said people are ‘filled with hopefulness’ after Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled his roadmap out of lockdown.But with infection rates in the region still above the

JAMES Bond film No Time To Die's release date has reportedly been brought forward again after Boris Johnson revealed when lockdown will end. After the announcement that Covid restrictions will lift on June 21, it has been reported that the latest 007 film will be released in UK cinemas on September 30.

READING AND Leeds Festival will go ahead this summer after the coronavirus lockdown is lifted, it's been confirmed.

Dr Alex George appeared on Lorraine on Wednesday to discuss his HEADucation initiative, which works to ensure children have support with the transition back into the classroom after being homeschooled since January.

Phillip Schofield has written an emotional message on his kitchen chalkboard about his plans for the coming months once the country comes out of lockdown.And This Morning presenter Phillip is sure to strike a chord with everyone else who has delayed plans to do the simple things in life as a result of Covid restrictions.The dad of two wrote down his own roadmap out of Covid following the release of Boris Johnson's four-step plan for easing coronavirus restrictions and plan to see lockdown restrictions lifted by June 21 in England.The Scottish government's approach is more cautious with Nicola Sturgeon saying restrictions across Scotland should be "significantly eased" by late April with non-essential shops, gyms, hospitality businesses and

vaccination campaign finally ramps up, the federal government says it has no intention to set an “official date” for when all pandemic-related restrictions could be lifted.“We recognize the understandable sentiment of Canadians… there is a huge desire to return to some semblance of pre-COVID normalcy, but we’ve also said from the beginning that it has to be based on public health advice,” Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc told reporters Tuesday.Across the pond, there are signs that a return to normal life is on the horizon.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Monday his plan to move the country “cautiously but irreversibly” out of lockdown.

We’re all looking forward to a summer of love after Boris Johnson unveiled his “crocus of hope” roadmap.

Major summer racing fixtures like Royal Ascot and the Epsom Derby could have up to 10,000 fans on-course.

couples have been left worrying about face masks rather than what time the DJ should start. Even so, everything is pointing towards 2021 being a bumper year for tying the knot: wedding planning app Bridebook reported a 50 per cent increase in planning activity in November and estimates that 400,000 couples will be getting married in 2021.And now, following the reveal of Boris Johnson's roadmap to end lockdown, the prospect of celebrating nuptials is looking up, with intimate six-guest gatherings allowed from April 12 and weddings with unlimited guest lists expected to return from June 21.But with so many weddings scheduled and uncertainty over restrictions, it might look like a daunting task but with some careful considerations, there’s no

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan has begun administering a COVID-19 vaccine with a ceremony at the presidential palace.

LONDON – The U.K. unemployment rate rose for a six straight month in December as renewed coronavirus restrictions shut down most businesses across the country.

direct to your inboxBoris Johnson has expressed confidence that city centres such as Manchester will 'bounce back' from the coronavirus pandemic.At a Downing Street press conference tonight, the Prime Minister was asked about fears that cities are 'staring disaster in the face' due to restrictions that are likely to last until mid-summer and perhaps drive a more fundamental shift in living and working trends."I think there will be changes as a result of the pandemic, I think it will accelerate some trends," Mr Johnson said."It may be that there's more opportunity for accommodation in town centres, in high streets, which have been changing the way they work for a long time anyway."But I don't believe this is going to mean a fundamental

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday announced his plan to begin easing COVID-19 restrictions beginning March 8, with the planned reopening of schools and colleges.

Boris Johnson confirmed a study will be carried out into introducing "Covid status certification" as he unveiled his roadmap out of lockdown. It would involve using testing or vaccination data to confirm people have a lower risk of spreading coronavirus.

Boris Johnson has today boldly claimed that all adults in the UK will receive their first Covid vaccine jab by July.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to set out his government's roadmap for cautiously easing lockdown restrictions in England.