Monday Briefing: “Eliminate the Bill” Protests Flare into Violence |

Main article: ‘Freedom to protest is fundamental to democracy’

Hello and welcome to your first dose of informational news of the week, with me, Alison Rourke.

Demonstrations against Plans to give the police greater powers to stop peaceful protests turned violent in Bristol last night, when police vans caught fire, a police station was attacked and several officers were injured. What had started as a protest outside a police station turned into violence, with riot police, dogs and horses deployed as the police station windows were smashed. Priti Patel described the scenes as “violence and disorder by a minority” that would not be tolerated. Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees criticized the violence as counterproductive, saying that instead of stopping the government’s plans to increase police powers, the “anarchy on display” will be used as evidence and further the need for the bill. The scenes follow a week of demonstrations in response to the Metropolitan Police crackdown on a vigil for Sarah Everard, who was allegedly killed by a serving police officer. The bill, if passed, would give England and Wales police more power to impose conditions on non-violent protests, including those deemed too loud or annoying, and protesters could face fines or prison terms.

EU vaccine export banThe UK launch of Covid Jab faces a two-month delay if the EU imposes an export ban, which could derail the government’s plans to reopen the economy this summer. On Thursday, all 27 member states will debate the matter, which would likely force an extension of Covid’s restrictions here. But according to analysis by data analytics firm Airfinity, any EU ban would not provide a huge boost to the launch of the block jab. The analysis estimated that it could only speed up vaccination time for EU adults by “just over a week”. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to speak with his European counterparts before Thursday’s meeting. Some of the most clinically vulnerable have yet to be vaccinated, according to the Guardian analysis. The TUC has urged the government to pressure employers who it claims are hampering the launch of the vaccine in the UK by refusing to give staff paid time off to receive and recover from their Covid hits. And the prime minister was warned that lifting the ban on overseas holidays in the coming months could risk another lockdown next winter, as concerns mount about a third wave of infections in Europe. Stay up to date on all Covid developments on our live blog.

Australia floods Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes as floods devastate much of the country’s most populous state, New South Wales. In western Sydney, rising waters threatened several suburbs and the prime minister warned that damage across the state could be significant. “We are grateful at this time that no lives have been lost thus far,” said Scott Morrison. Three weather systems collided together to create the worst flooding seen in 50 years in many areas. Over the weekend, Sydney’s main dam, Warragamba, released 500 gigaliters, the equivalent of the total volume of Sydney Harbor, in 24 hours. The ongoing deluge has caused swarms of “hideous” spiders to escape the rain into houses and climb their legs. You can see photos of the floods here.

Multiple sclerosis – UK doctors will launch a world-first clinical trial to assess whether drugs already on the market can prevent MS from getting worse over time and even reverse the disabilities it causes. The groundbreaking Octopus trial, named for its various branches, will allow researchers to investigate the potential benefits of multiple drugs at once, in hopes of identifying effective new treatments three times faster than if the drugs were tested separately. “It is the first multi-arm, multi-stage trial for progressive MS in the world,” said Professor Jeremy Chataway, one of the co-directors of the trial.

‘Fertile ground of recruitment ‘ – Instagram has become a hub for neo-Nazi youth to recruit youth for far-right groups, a report from an anti-racist group warned. Hope Not Hate (HNH) identified two far-right groups active in the UK, The British Hand and the National Partisan Movement, that have used the Facebook-owned platform to recruit members. HNH found that the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the movement of the British far right from the streets to the networks.

Writer’s Block – Douglas Adams was one of the most wildly imaginative writers of any generation, but even for him, writing could be a torturous process, requiring a “general note to myself” that he would finally get pleasure from it. The never-before-seen note will appear in a crowdfunded book that sheds light on Adams’ best-known work, including Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Dirk Gently. “Writing isn’t so bad when you get over worry,” he wrote to himself. “Forget about worrying, just keep going. Don’t be ashamed of bad things. Don’t force them. “

Podcast Today in Focus: Professor Neil Ferguson talks about a year of Covid

When the UK government announced a full national lockdown a year ago, it pointed to a devastating report based on modeling data from one of Britain’s most influential epidemiologists – Professor Neil Ferguson. It showed that unless the government changed course, it was heading for a disaster that could result in the death of 250,000 people and the NHS would be overwhelmed in a few weeks. Talk to Anushka Asthana about the year that changed our lives.

Lunchtime reading: ‘I need to express myself’

In 1985, actor Christopher Lloyd was shooting himself through time in a DeLorean with a Michael J. Fox on a skateboard. Not long ago he had played a Klingon commander in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Fast forward to today, and he’s friends with William Shatner in the romantic comedy Senior Moment. Soon he will be King Lear. In an interview about fame, friendship, and marriage, Toby Moses asks if there is logic to his seemingly chaotic career.

Sport

Eddie Jones is facing tough talks with Rugby Football Union CEO Bill Sweeney as part of a review of England’s poor campaign in the Six Nations, and the head coach’s contract is understood to contain a break clause. . Rugby bosses have condemned the online abuse targeting Welsh players after their Six Nations Grand Slam dreams ended.

Manchester United midfielder Fred was subjected to racist abuse following his team’s 3-1 FA Cup quarter-final loss to Leicester on Sunday. Tottenham’s Premier League victory at Aston Villa showed that some of José Mourinho’s players are willing to play for their coach, but whether they will do so consistently remains to be seen. Alexandre Lacazette scored the equalizer as Arsenal defeated by three goals against to salvage a 3-3 draw at West Ham, while Bristol City held Tottenham to a 1-1 draw at The Hive to climb the bottom of the Women’s Super League . For at least 15 minutes, Gavin Henson’s rugby league debut seemed to go according to plan, but his West Wales Raiders debut was a pretty brutal demonstration of just how difficult this surprise transition between codes can be. And Katherine Díaz, El Salvador’s top surfer who had been preparing for the sport’s Olympic debut this summer, was struck by lightning during a training session.

Deal

A year of Covid-19 lockdowns has cost the UK economy £ 251 billion, the equivalent of the total annual production of south-east England or nearly double that of Scotland, according to a report released today. The analysis carried out by the Center for Economic and Business Research found that, although the entire country had suffered enormous damage from restrictions on activity since the first national closure began, some poorer regions suffered the most. The consultancy said the north-south gap would widen unless the government took steps to ensure that less-favored parts of the UK do not disproportionately bear the economic losses caused by the pandemic. Meanwhile, at least 40% of households in four London boroughs have to claim help paying for a place to live, as the economic impact of Covid-19 exacerbates the housing crisis in urban areas. In Newham, Haringey, Barnet and Hackney, 40% or more of households now rely on benefits, such as the housing element of universal credit, to cover part of their housing costs, according to conservative thinktank Bright Blue.

The pound is buying € 1,163 and $ 1,384.

The papers

The EU ban on vaccine exports is the most prominent in various newspapers. “The EU ban on exports could delay the UK vaccine campaign by two months,” says the guardian, adding that holidays abroad “run the risk of a new lockdown.” the Telegraph splashes with the EU move to block AstraZeneca’s jab exports, and the Times has “Don’t start the vaccine war, Britain tells EU leaders.” the Fast tests the launch of the vaccine in Europe, highlighting the speed of the United Kingdom: “844,285 injections in one day! This is how it is done, UE ”. the Mail He leads with the “devastating price of the lockdown”, reporting its “enormous impact on health and the economy” as the EU vaccine bloc “threatens to affect Britain’s launch for MONTHS”. the I has “Taxpayers got the bill for test and trace waste,” and the FOOT gives maximum turnover to “The wave of viruses and the new blockades cast a shadow over the European economy.”

Finally, the Mirror Splashes with ITV’s Kate Garraway about her husband’s battle with the long-running Covid: “Kate: Derek told me ‘I can’t go on.

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