Author: LoveWorld UK

The Delta COVID-19 variant can easily transmit from vaccinated people to their household members, said a recent UK study, although its researchers concluded that vaccinations and boosters are the way forward. A year-long study from the Imperial College London published in The Lancet on Thursday found that the Delta variant is still highly transmissible within a vaccinated population. “By carrying out repeated and frequent sampling from contacts of COVID-19 cases, we found that vaccinated people can contract and pass on infection within households, including to vaccinated household members,” Dr. Anika Singanayagam, co-lead author of the study, said in a statement. The findings, Singanayagam added, provide some insight…

Britain is planning to remove restrictions such as the travel ‘red list’ of seven countries and hotel quarantine due to a declining COVID-19 threat from abroad, according to reports. UK ministers will meet on Thursday to consider removing the final seven countries, including Colombia and Venezuela, from the red list, The Daily Telegraph reported. The potential move – which is understood to be backed by the Department of Health – would effectively end the need for hotel quarantine due to the measure only applying to travellers arriving to the UK from counties on the red list. As of Wednesday, there were only seven…

Boris Johnson’s government has set a course for a “high-tax, big-state economy” with a budget that will raise household tax bills by £3,000 on average by 2027, according to an analysis by an independent thinktank. The Resolution Foundation said that despite a spending spree, real wages would fall again next year. The UK is “still in the midst of its weakest decade for pay growth since the 1930s,” it said. Sunak portrayed the budget as preparing the “high-wage” economy for the “post-Covid” era, as stronger economic forecasts gave him room to increase spending on government departments by £150bn. However, the Resolution Foundation said real…

The governor of Texas on Monday signed a law that bars student athletes from playing on sports teams that do not match the sex listed on their birth certificate. The bill is aimed at restoring rights granted to women under Title IX, its authors say. Texas House Bill 25 (pdf) requires most interscholastic athletic teams from letting students compete in competitions “that is designated for the biological sex opposite to the student ’s biological sex as correctly stated on” their official birth certificate. The bill “protects girls’ safety and their right to equal access to athletic opportunities,” state Rep. Valoree Swanson, one…

Ronald Koeman’s underwhelming spell as the Barcelona manager came to an abrupt end on Wednesday night after he was sacked following a 1-0 defeat at Rayo Vallecano. His departure ends an unhappy chapter for the former player who won them their first European Cup in 1992 and leaves the club in turmoil on and off the field. The defeat left Barcelona ninth in La Liga on 15 points, six behind a quartet of clubs led by Real Madrid. Barça are third in their Champions League group having lost their opening two matches in Group E 3-0, at home to Bayern Munich and…

Items from popular fast-food chains contain small amounts of certain chemicals in plastics that are believed to disrupt human hormones and possibly cause other serious health problems, a new study suggests. Researchers from George Washington University purchased 64 fast food items from outlets including McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Taco Bell, and Chipotle, and found 10 of 11 potentially harmful chemicals in the samples, including phthalates, and other plasticizers. Phthalates make plastics like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) more flexible and are used in vinyl flooring, adhesives, detergents, lubricating oils, and automotive plastics. People can be exposed by eating and drinking foods and beverages that have been in contact with plastic containers,…

The US communications regulator has voted to revoke China Telecom’s licence in America over national security concerns in the latest pushback by Washington against what it deems possible infiltration of key networks by Chinese companies. The decision by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) means China Telecom Americas must now discontinue US services within 60 days. China Telecom, the largest Chinese telecommunications company, has had authorisation to provide telecommunications services for nearly 20 years in the United States. The news sent stocks in US-listed Chinese tech firms down sharply and their stocks in Hong Kong also suffered hefty selling, pulling the Hang…

When Mikel Arteta scanned a well-stocked substitutes’ bench for potential matchwinners, Calum Chambers’ face would not have leapt out. So it was a turnup for the books that his defender, who had not kicked a competitive ball in anger for two months and has barely appeared in a matchday squad since, breached Leeds within seconds of coming on and sparked an ultimately straightforward win. Chambers just about beat Illan Meslier with his first touch and Arsenal’s progression to the quarter-finals was in little doubt thereafter. Chambers had only been deployed because Ben White felt unable to continue after feeling unwell.…

Priti Patel is under pressure to disclose whether the UK’s most sensitive national security secrets could be at risk after the disclosure that its spy agencies signed a cloud contract with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Labour is demanding that the home secretary explain why GCHQ, MI5 and MI6 will use a high-security system provided by the US-based firm, and whether any risk assessment was undertaken before the deal was signed. The agreement, estimated by industry experts to be worth £500m to £1bn over the next decade, was signed this year, the Financial Times first reported, citing people familiar with the discussions. Other government departments such…

High-level discussions have been held in Whitehall over controversial proposals to cut university tuition fees from £9,250 to £8,500, sources have told the Guardian. Officials from No 10, the Treasury and the Department for Education (DfE) are said to have been engaged in “lively” talks about a possible cut to fees but have struggled to thrash out an agreement in time for the chancellor’s spending review. An announcement on changes to higher education is long overdue following the 2019 Augar review of post-18 education, which recommended tuition fees were cut from £9,250 to £7,500 as part of a radical overhaul of…