Latest updates: UK reports 65 further deaths; US chief medical adviser says US won’t return to lockdowns despite rising Delta threatNHS in England urged to redistribute near-expiry vaccines as take-up slows among youngUber and Deliveroo discounts to lu…
Doggerland: Lost ‘Atlantis’ of the North Sea gives up its ancient secrets
The land mass that linked Britain to continental Europe was rich in early human life until it floodedThe idea of a “lost Atlantis” under the North Sea connecting Britain by land to continental Europe had been imagined by HG Wells in the late 19th centu…
Daily cases can be falling while the number of people infected still rises | David Spiegelhalter and Anthony Masters
Just think of filling a bath when you forgot to put the plug inAt present, confirmed cases in the UK are declining; by specimen date in England, they fell by 29% in the week up to 24 July. In contrast, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates…
Births, marriages and deaths left unregistered after systems failure
Computer outage, staff shortages and pandemic disruption causing turmoil for families and businesses in England and WalesThe Home Office was accused last night of causing “turmoil for families” after a failure in its online system for registering birth…
Hay festival in disarray as director quits after bullying claim upheld
Exit of Peter Florence adds to list of woes that include two years of Covid cancellations and a sex assault claim against a Gulf royalThe future of the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts, one of Britain’s oldest and most esteemed annual cultural landm…
When moral pieties get in the way of doing the right thing, children suffer | Sonia Sodha
The 1980s child abuse scandal reminds us that now, as then, being ‘on the side of the angels’ has to be backed with actionA council’s most important job is not emptying the bins or filling in potholes, the stuff most people see day to day. It has by fa…
Converted offices pose ‘deadly risk’ in heatwaves, experts warn
Weakened planning rules has resulted in fewer checks on post-Covid urban redevelopment, despite worsening climate crisisThe conversion of offices into flats in urban centres poses a “potentially deadly risk” to occupants as the intensity of heatwaves r…
Professional dog walkers in London sound alarm over curbs on numbers of pets
Four-dog limit on Hampstead Heath means up to 700 animals could miss daily exerciseWhen drizzle engulfs the northern edge of Hampstead Heath, the only people to be seen are dog walkers.Alex Marchant prefers it this way. On sunny weekends, he and most o…
Nurseries in England feeling the pressure as ‘pingdemic’ hits children and staff
Calls to extend exemptions to self-isolation in support of critical workers’ childrenMore than half the nurseries in the north-west of England have been forced into a partial or full closure since the start of the summer, according to figures that high…
Police review teen killings in search of catalyst for spike in murders
Pilot scheme hopes to discover patterns that will help prevent more deathsMeasures are being introduced to try to identify what is driving rising murder rates in the wake of a spike in teenage deaths in some of the UK’s homicide hotspots.All homicides …