Supporters of Julian Assange were cautioned by police as they protested outside a central London court today.

Cumbria Police have apologised for an "ill-judged" tweet that suggested people should not buy plants or compost during the coronavirus lockdown.

If someone tests positive for coronavirus more than once, it does not necessarily mean they have been reinfected, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Nigel Farage has been visited by police officers who advised him not to breach lockdown restrictions after he travelled to Dover to report on migrants.

A man has been jailed after he viciously bit down on an officer's finger in a "sustained attack" to avoid being arrested.

A police officer accused of murdering former Aston Villa star Dalian Atkinson is set to go ahead in September, despite the current uncertainty about court timetables due to coronavirus.

Two 20-year-old men were arrested on suspicion of public order offences

Tesco has been slammed after putting clothing on a half price sale in stores despite lockdown rules banning non-essential shopping.

But it was his reason for trying to make the 12-hour trip to California that shocked officers the most.

Police have cordoned off a busy road in south east London after a double stabbing in broad daylight.

The National Lottery website is down due to a power failure, leaving users unable to check results or enter Wednesday's draw.

London's iconic Ritz hotel was sold for "half the market price" after conversations were secretly recorded by the nephews of the billionaire co-owner and a Saudi investor offering £1.3bn, the High Court has heard.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a police officer was attacked in north west London.

More than a third of families with children living at home may have to cut back on spending for up to a year after the coronavirus lockdown measures end, a survey has found.

A number of police officers have been injured after responding to reports that men were "acting suspiciously" in Finsbury Park.

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

Police have released CCTV footage of a man they want to trace after an NHS doctor was attacked on her way home from work.

Plans to ramp up rail services have been brought forward by a week and will start from next Monday, a union is claiming.

Drive-thru restaurants such as McDonald's are "made for social distancing", Environment Secretary George Eustice has said.

A top aide to US Vice President Mike Pence has tested positive for coronavirus, just one day after another White House staff member was diagnosed.

Police say they are "fighting a losing battle" over enforcing the lockdown after "hundreds" turned out in parks across east London to enjoy picnics in the sunshine.

From Tashkent to Samarkand and Bukhara, travel writer Caroline Eden believes Uzbekistan offers a dazzling mix of traditional style and a modern outlook

Twenty five years after the fall of the USSR, it’s interesting how the Soviet-era hangover lingers in Uzbekistan. Hulking apartment blocks are gradually being upgraded, and while you won’t spot statues of Lenin (they’ve been replaced by the nomadic conqueror Tamerlane and celebrated medic Ibn-Sina) you will see plenty of samovars (Russian kettles) and Soviet military medals for sale in the markets. But you will also see master ikat weavers reviving weaving traditions, and many musicians and artists are now turning to their Islamic heritage for influence. This mix of Soviet legacy and Uzbek Islam is one of the things that makes the country so fascinating.

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.

The 5,100 sq km behemoth which broke away from Antarctica in 2017 drops its own large chunk of ice.

US space agency satellites follow the melting trends in Antarctica and Greenland over 16 years.

A satellite mission that bounces laser light off the ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland has found that hundreds of billions of tons' worth of ice are being lost every year due to Earth's changing climate. Scientists involved in NASA's ICESat-2 project report in the journal Science that the net loss of ice from those regions has been responsible for 0.55 inches of sea level rise since 2003. That's slightly less than a third of the total amount of sea level rise observed in the world's oceans over that time. To track how the ice sheets are changing, the ICESat-2… Read More

For Jeff Anderson, 61, working from home during the coronavirus pandemic has been a respite from office politics and the chatter around the copy machine.But as the push to reopen the country's economy intensifies, so do feelings of dread at the idea of returning to the office, said Anderson, a self-described introvert and anthropology professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York."Just walking from the parking lot to my office I feel like I could be sick," he said. "It's that bad."In wanting to work alone, Anderson is not alone. People other than introverts view a return to the office with sadness and anxiety, and not just because they still risk getting infected. A Gallup poll found a majority of U.S. adults working from home would prefer to continue doing so "as much as possible" after the pandemic.These fans of online work worry that they -- and the country itself -- will lose important benefits discovered during this unprecedented experiment in mass remote work. People who have never liked schmoozing with colleagues have found new heights of productivity away from meetings and office chitchat. People worried about climate change are eager to reduce their carbon footprints by avoiding commutes by car. And while many parents are desperate for schools and day care centers to reopen, some working parents are appreciating more time with their children.Before the pandemic, Christine Reilley had to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to catch an early bus to Manhattan where she works as senior director of strategy and innovation for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers."I'm better rested. I can devote more time to my work," she said. "Just saving the time and money of commuting, I really like this personally."Impossible for Some and 'Overrated' for OthersIt did not take long for naysayers to declare that working from home was "overrated."And yes, it is an option mostly for white-collar office workers. Telecommuting is rarely possible for people in manufacturing or service jobs, and for the health workers, emergency responders, grocery store clerks and delivery people who have been deemed essential personnel. And the more than 30 million Americans who have lost their jobs since March may be impatient about complaints from people still drawing paychecks.Nor can the other downsides be denied. Trying to meet on Zoom from a kitchen table with bored children and annoyed spouses complaining in the background is hardly good for productivity. Women say that video calls make it harder for them to get in a word during meetings dominated by men. This crisis has also increased the burdens on working mothers.Telecommuting was already a growing trend that left out many low-wage workers and was viewed warily by employers who worried that people were slacking off at home. Researchers warned that problem solving and creativity suffer when workers are isolated from one another. Isolated work can lead to loneliness and boredom. Remote workers have also reported they have had to work even longer hours.OK, So What Are the Benefits?For remote work to be successful, employers need to provide the right equipment and other support, said Laurel Farrer, chief executive of Distribute Consulting, a business consulting firm. And the employees must be able to get work done without supervision. If set up properly, experts and advocates say, remote work has many benefits:-- Less time on the road. Commuting by car has been linked to increased stress, more pollution and respiratory problems. The average American who drives to work spends 54 hours per year stuck in traffic, according to an analysis by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.-- Greater productivity. One well-known study from 2014 led by Stanford professor Nicholas Bloom examined remote workers at a Chinese travel agency and found that they were 13% more efficient than their office-based peers.-- A cleaner environment (maybe). According to estimates from Global Workplace Analytics, a research and consulting firm, if everyone in the United States worked remotely half the time, it could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicle travel by more than 51 million metric tons a year. Graphics showing the reduction in air pollution and pictures of clearer skies over cities like Los Angeles have been among the silver linings of the pandemic. Of course, when people return to work, the roads may fill up again, especially if people fear getting the virus on public transit. And even if more people start working remotely, they might use their cars more for errands closer to home, said Bill Eisele, a senior research engineer at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Office commuters make up only about 18% of all traffic, he said.-- Money saved. Global Workplace Analytics estimated that people could save, on average, $2,000 to $6,500 every year by not spending on things like gasoline and day care. Companies could spend less on real estate. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office estimated it saved more than $38 million in 2015 by not using as much office space, according to a Harvard Business School working paper from November.-- More job satisfaction. A 2005 study found that job satisfaction increased with each additional hour people spent working remotely. But it stopped increasing beyond 15 hours worked remotely.-- Less sickness. Even as companies consider reconfiguring workplaces with plexiglass barriers on desks and special air filters, letting employees work from home can help keep them safe from communicable diseases (and not just COVID-19).-- More time for fitness. You may be able to squeeze in more workouts. "Having a little more time, if you're using it wisely, can be very beneficial," said Marilyn Skarbek, an assistant professor of exercise science at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. "There are a lot of other things you can do around the house to keep you moving: laundry, cleaning -- all of that keeps you active. My house is definitely cleaner than normal." But there is a risk you could be more sedentary, she warned.Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, predicted that workers will be looking for the "happy medium," splitting time between remote work and showing up at the office. The hope is that the pandemic will have shown managers that workers can be trusted to do their jobs without constant supervision."Any kind of flexibility is something that people are really, really ripe for, just some control over where and when they work," she said.Happy Tales From the Home OfficeMany people who had never considered this kind of working life have now had a taste of it, and they love it.Jacquie Benetua-Rolens, communications and engagement coordinator at Santa Cruz Community Health Centers in Santa Cruz, California, has a 2-year-old son who has become a daily part of Zoom meetings with colleagues, waving at them in his pajamas."There is this softened, unfiltered, more honest version of ourselves that I'm enjoying getting to know," Benetua-Rolens said. "There is room to be forgiving and understanding with each other and ourselves. And it's because we've all had to juggle."Benetua-Rolens said she often thinks of her small cubicle back at the office, which she decorated with plants and pictures of her two children."I used to love it," she said. "But I don't miss it at all. I don't want to go back to that even though my house is filthy."Jessica Keup, a 37-year-old single mother and a computer programmer in Ann Arbor, Michigan, moved to her parents' home in rural Tennessee with her 3-year-old son in mid-March, after her company told employees to work from home.Since then, she has been coding from the deck while her son plays with the goats, chickens and peacocks that roost on the vast property.Keup said the solitude has made her more focused and more productive. Her work is not interrupted by chatty colleagues who want to say hi or need help fixing a computer glitch."The people who are in the office who are extroverts stand out and talk a lot and can take the oxygen out of the room," she said.At least one poll from early in the pandemic suggests a strong preference for remote work. Gallup found that almost 60% of Americans working from home would prefer to work remotely "as much as possible" after restrictions are lifted, with 40% saying they preferred to return to the workplace. The online survey of 2,276 randomly selected adults was conducted from March 14 through April 2. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.At the very least, some workers would like to see employers put lessons of the pandemic into practice, including more compassionate management in general.Rico Sisney, who works for Greenpeace USA, said he would like to continue seeing the kinds of emails his organization has been sending lately encouraging employees to take walks and small breaks."Organizations can continue that even when there is not a pandemic," Sisney said. "Highlight mental health."Christine de Denus, a chemistry professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, said she has relished the quiet of working from her porch. She thinks workplaces should adapt to all styles of working."Go to the people and say, 'How can I help you thrive?'" de Denus said. "Just because I'm quiet in a meeting doesn't mean I don't have ideas."When the time comes to return to the office, Keup said she plans to ask if she can work two to four weeks a year from Tennessee."It's beautiful. It's resting and restorative," she said. "And I'll miss that."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company

One of the hardest tasks in Earth observation is tracking tiny changes in the shape of the ground.

Exclusive: report criticising government lockdown proposals heavily redacted before release

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Government scientific advisers are furious at what they see as an attempt to censor their advice on government proposals during the Covid-19 lockdown by heavily redacting an official report before it was released to the public, the Guardian can reveal.

The report was one of a series of documents published by the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage) this week to mollify growing criticism about the lack of transparency over the advice given to ministers responding to the coronavirus.

Lethbridge police are being investigated by an outside force after handcuffing a woman in a stormtrooper costume outside a Star Wars-themed business earlier this week. But still the force faces accusations that not enough is being done to investigate what happened.

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."

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Police complaints commissioner raises questions about explanation for not recommending criminal charges. 

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