Britain's chances of recording the driest April on record have been brought to an end as a month's worth of rain is set to fall over the next 24 hours.

Spending on home deliveries of food and drink by "vulnerable" elderly shoppers almost doubled this month as overall grocery sales surged by more than £500 million.

Bosses at John Lewis have started talks on which department stores should keep their doors permanently closed once the coronavirus lockdown ends, according to sources.

A couple spending their diamond wedding anniversary apart because of the coronavirus pandemic each got a special treat to make their celebrations a little sweeter thanks to their local supermarket.

Thundery showers are set to move in over almost the entire UK over the final days of April, bringing the nation's near record-breaking dry spell to an end.

Tributes have been paid to Ken and Betty Hill, who were together for more than 40 years

Captain Tom Moore has sent a message to the nation saying he is "completely overwhelmed" by the love he has received ahead of his 100th birthday.

The coronavirus pandemic is wreaking more havoc across the world than any terrorist attack, the World Health Organisation's director general has said.

Two "lucky" men with beer on tap said they can't complain after going into coronavirus lockdown in a London pub.

Not for one Spanish TV anchor, whose video-chat blunder might have cost him his relationship.

Rain will batter all four corners of the country for periods on both Saturday and Sunday and temperatures will plummet following the sunniest ever April.

Armed protesters descended on Michigan's state capitol building last night as they called for an end to the state's coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

Hundreds of protestors have swarmed the streets in Huntington Beach in California to demand an end to coronavirus lockdown rules.

The UK is braced for a wet weekend with sunny spells as temperatures drop ahead of the May Bank Holiday.

Boris Johnson is set to allow Brits to spend more time outdoors in the first phase of rolling back the coronavirus lockdown, it has been reported.

The NHS coronavirus contact tracing app will be trialled in the Isle of Wight this week before being rolled out more widely later this month, the Transport Secretary said.

The Budd family hopes to raise £20,000 for charities including The Felix Project You can donate at virginmoneygiving.com/fund/FoodforLondonNOW

The number of daily coronavirus tests being carried has fallen to below 80,000 despite the Government saying that it hit the 100,000 a day target by the end of April.

Donald Trump has claimed a coronavirus vaccine will be developed "by the end of this year".

The Government has published a list of the experts helping shape the response to the coronavirus pandemic as part of the scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage).

A huge underground car park in the heart of the West End is to be converted into a £150 million subterranean healthcare and entertainment complex.

Updated figures for England come as authorities in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland all announce additional Covid-19 deaths

Britons will enjoy another mini heatwave as temperatures soar to an unseasonably high 25C just in time for the Bank Holiday weekend.

A key figure of Columbia Road flower market and a campaigning businessman dubbed "Mr Highbury" are among the latest victims whose deaths show how coronavirus is tearing through London's communities.

Felix Project volunteer Lauren Graham shares her story You can donate at virginmoneygiving.com/fund/FoodforLondonNOW

An NHS worker was fatally stabbed outside his home while on the phone to his girlfriend, a court has been told.

The coronavirus pandemic is transforming the funeral industry and leading people to seek alternatives to traditions dating back hundreds of years, experts say.

Brits are set to bask in two days of glorious sunshine over the May Bank Holiday weekend, with temperatures creeping up to 26C.

Nicola Sturgeon has extended the coronavirus lockdown in Scotland by three weeks, insisting that any easing of restrictions could be "very risky".

Most parents don't want to send their children back to school as soon as the coronavirus lockdown is lifted, a new study has found.

Mayor Sadiq Khan today made an urgent appeal to Londoners not to relax their "monumental effort" to beat coronavirus as the death toll in the capital's hospitals rose to 5,414.

An infamous sex predator dubbed "the Notting Hill rapist" has been recommended for transfer to an open prison.

Brits have been urged to stick to the coronavirus lockdown rules over the Bank Holiday weekend as temperatures are set to soar.

Second World War veteran and NHS fundraising champion Captain Tom Moore has recalled the day the "fearsome war in Europe" ended 75 years ago.

Boris Johnson has issued a stirring statement as the UK comes together to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, calling for Brits to show the "same spirit of national endeavor" during the coronavirus pandemic.

Cabinet Secretary Oliver Dowden admitted on Friday morning that the lockdown is facing a major test from the sunny weekend ahead.

British YouTube star KSI joined the Evening Standard's campaign to feed London during the coronavirus crisis, hailing it as "amazing".

We're used to thinking of DNA as a rigid blueprint. Karissa Sanbonmatsu researches how our environment affects the way DNA expresses itself—especially when it comes to sex and gender.

The tech giant announces it is extending its previous work-from-home plans for most of its staff and will begin reopening offices this summer.

Our project to document communities undergoing irreversible change took us to the frozen Zanskar river, which connects Ladakh and Zanskar in northern India.

Michał and I began our Before its Gone project at the start of 2017, with the aim of identifying, visiting and documenting locations and communities that are experiencing rapid (and irreversible) changes. The idea is to notice these changes so they can be remembered – and learned from.

Our first expedition was along the frozen Zanskar river that links Ladakh and Zanskar in the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. When the temperature drops to -30C and mountain passes get covered with metres of snow, the Zanskar region becomes inaccessible for the winter, and the frozen river the only route connecting it with the rest of the world. For hundreds of years villagers across the mountains have used Chadar (the ice road trek) to get to school, work or to see a doctor. But that will change soon, as the Indian government plans to build a new road here. However, as our translator Stanzin Tundup told us, the road may not be the biggest engine for change.

Bill Gates has been big on vaccines since before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but in a new blog posting, the Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist says the only way to end the pandemic for good is to offer a vaccine to almost all of the planet's 7 billion inhabitants. That's big. "We've never delivered something to every corner of the world before," Gates notes. It's especially big considering that a vaccine hasn't yet been approved for widespread use, and that it may take as long as a year to 18 months to win approval and start distribution. Some… Read More

The US believes Russia is working with Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, to send militia fighters and equipment to Libya, according to senior officials. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, US special envoy for Syria, Jim Jeffrey, said Libya’s increasingly shadowy battlefield could get even more complicated. “We know that, certainly, the Russians are working with Assad to transfer militia fighters, possibly third country, possibly Syrian, to Libya, as well as equipment,” he said. His comments came a day after a leaked UN report confirmed the presence of Russian and Syrian mercenaries operating in Libya in support of renegade military commander, Khalifa Haftar. The report revealed that Russian private military contractor, Wagner Group, has up to 1,200 mercenaries operating in Libya in support of General Haftar’s forces, which are already backed by the UAE, Russia and Egypt. The report, seen by Reuters, is one of the first indications of the scale of Wagner’s military operation in Libya’s messy battlefield, as well as the first time the UN has confirmed the presence of the shadowy Russian mercenaries. Since 2014, the oil-rich North African country has been split between areas controlled by the internationally recognised Government of National Accord in Tripoli and the northwest, and territory held by Gen Haftar’s eastern-based forces in Benghazi. For almost six years Gen Haftar’s forces have been at war with a coalition of militias from the west of the country who support the government in Tripoli. Turkey is the only military backer of the Tripoli government that is currently trying to stave off Haftar’s year-long offensive on the capital. The UAE and Egypt have long strengthened Haftar’s forces with military equipment, including aircraft and helicopters, while Moscow provided private contractor forces. As the conflict has drawn on and involvement has increasingly become the stage for a struggle for power in the region, diplomats say both Turkey and the UAE have deployed drones and the use of mercenaries has increased, now seemingly including forces from Russia and Syria. Libya has been mired in chaos since a 2011 NATO intervention helped topple Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, and its battlefields increasingly populated with foreign fighters in a shadow-war. Russian mercenaries were first reported fighting alongside General Haftar’s forces in Libya in 2018. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, however, insisted that those mercenaries do not represent the Russian government. Yet when General Haftar visited Moscow in 2018, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman with long-standing ties to Mr Putin and suspected owner of Wagner, was seen in the footage of the meeting, sitting near the Russian defence minister. Russia, which also backs Assad’s government in Syria, has maintained a delicate balancing act in Libya, forging ties with both the UN-recognised government and with the rebel commander. But Moscow’s patience with General Haftar began to run out earlier this year when he and his entourage in January abruptly left the much-anticipated cease-fire talks in Moscow mediated by Russia and Turkey without signing the deal. Henry Wooster, deputy assistant secretary at State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs also expressed increasing concern over the ties between the Libyan commander and Syria’s president, who are both bitter enemies of Turkey and fighting Turkish-backed militant groups on their soil. “Haftar’s establishment of so-called diplomatic relations with the Assad regime...is very much a part of the piece of the question of Syrian mercenaries, at least on his side of the equation,” he said. While the leaked report also confirmed the presence of Syrian mercenaries in Libya fighting alongside Haftar’s forces, Pro-Turkish Syrians are also known to be fighting with the Tripoli government, against General Haftar.

Smart Education And Learning Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Age, By Component (Hardware, Software, Service), By Learning Mode, By End User, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2027Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891723/?utm_source=PRN The global smart education and learning market size is expected to reach USD 680.1 billion by 2027. The market is anticipated to witness a CAGR of 17.9% from 2020 to 2027. Demand for smart education and learning solutions is increasing among the growing population in corporate and academic sectors, owing to benefits such as improved education quality and easy access to educational content. Increasing adoption of consumer electronics, such as smartphones, e-readers, laptops, and e-learning applications, has altered conventional education methodology and has enhanced the efficiency of an individual to learn. Additionally, there are enormous opportunities for advancements in the market, owing to improved internet accessibility.Also, the COVID - 19 outbreak has emerged an opportunity for the market with an increasing number of states and countries closing educational institutes. For instance, over 90.0% of the world's students are not attending their schools due to this pandemic, as mentioned by UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization). Commonwealth of Learning (COL), an intergovernmental organization of The Commonwealth (Canada), has supported educational institutions and governments in building robust distance education solutions for quality e-learning practices. However, lack of awareness among end-users about the latest technologies and inadequate amount of resources for delivering quality education in developing regions is anticipated to hinder market growth.The simulation-based learning segment is anticipated to exhibit the highest CAGR because this mode enables corporate professional and educational institutions to create a realistic experience in a controlled environment.It also allows professionals and learners to practice, navigate, explore, and obtain more information through a virtual medium before they start working on real-life tasks.Growing awareness among people and the rising popularity of smart education are encouraging solution providers to invest in research and development for creating more reliable, better, and cost-effective solutions. Manufacturers are making substantial investments in developing new products for enhancing the user experience.Smart education and learning market report highlights:• Growing demand for smart educational practices can be accredited to factors, such as reducing expenses of online training, curbing geographic challenges in physically attending classes, and time constraints faced by aspirants• Increasing penetration of the Internet of Things (IoT), enhanced internet accessibility, and rapid adoption of mobile technology have encouraged users to adopt smart education and learning solutions• Innovative techniques, such as gamification, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), microlearning, and adaptive learning, which improve the overall educational process, are expected to drive the market over the projected period• North America accounted for the largest market share in 2019 owing to its large consumer base for e-learning methodsRead the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891723/?utm_source=PRN About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Contact Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001

Police have dropped an investigation into two prominent Brexit campaigners accused of breaching spending rules during the referendum campaign. In 2018 the Electoral commission said that Alan Halsall, of Vote Leave, and Darren Grimes, founder of pro-Brexit youth group BeLeave, failed to declare a payment related to the campaign. The watchdog said that BeLeave "spent more than £675,000 with (Canadian data firm) Aggregate IQ under a common plan with Vote Leave". This spending took Vote Leave over its £7 million legal spending limit by almost £500,000. Vote Leave paid a £61,000 fine, but denied wrongdoing, while Mr Grimes won an appeal against his £20,000 fine in July. The Commission also referred the pair to the Metropolitan Police but on Friday it was revealed that the investigations had now been dropped. A spokesman for the Leave campaigners said: "The Metropolitan Police has written to Vote Leave board member Alan Halsall and BeLeave founder Darren Grimes to confirm that it will not be acting on allegations made against them by the Electoral Commission and various Remain campaigners. "This marks the end of a two-year ordeal for both individuals." Mr Grimes, 26, said the development called into question whether the Electoral Commission was "fit for purpose". He had insisted since the allegations were first made that he was "completely innocent" of making false declarations in relation to the £680,000 donation. In a statement, Mr Grimes, a former fashion student originally from County Durham, said: "The Metropolitan Police has found, after investigation and consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, that there is no case to be answered. "Once again the Electoral Commission has been found to be part of the mob, a quango out of control that isn't policing elections so much as punishing Leavers who have the temerity to win them. "My ordeal at the hands of the kangaroo court that is the Electoral Commission is now over, but questions must now be asked of whether that body is fit for purpose." Mr Halsall, the responsible person for Vote Leave, said he was "delighted to have been exonerated" and thanked the police for their "professional" investigation. "I was very disappointed that my colleagues at Vote Leave and myself were never given the opportunity of making our case in person to the Electoral Commission before being fined and reported to the police," he added. "It seems a rather unusual way of conducting an inquiry into such matters that only the so-called whistleblowers who made these allegations are interviewed by the regulator." A spokesman for the Met said an investigation into the Electoral Commission's allegations against Vote Leave and BeLeave, submitted on July 17 2018, was handed over in October to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). "On Tuesday, March 3 preliminary advice was received from the CPS," said the force spokesman. "This advice has now been duly considered and no further action will be taken."

Federal investigators have found “reasonable grounds” that a government whistleblower was punished for speaking out against widespread use of an unproven drug that President Donald Trump touted as a remedy for COVID-19, his lawyers said. Dr. Rick Bright headed the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a unit of Department of Health and Human Services that focuses on countermeasures to infectious diseases and bioterrorism. The OSC is an agency that investigates allegations of egregious personnel practices in government.

We put Caddy 2.0.0 head to head against a ranking heavyweight, Apache 2.4.41.

The noted author on Indigenous blockades, her most controversial book, life in Tahsis, and more.

'It seems - like humans - flamingos form social bonds for a variety of reasons,' researcher says