The success of Britain’s fast-paced vaccination programme has led to one in 20 people being vaccinated, providing a significant boost for Boris Johnson’s beleaguered premiership.
The UK’s distribution of Covid-19 vaccines has far outstripped that in mainland Europe, with more than three million already receiving their first shot.
These latest figures show that five in 100 people in the UK have been vaccinated, which contrasts significantly with major European countries that have so far achieved just one in 100. Worldwide, Britain is fourth behind Israel, which has vaccinated 24 in 100, the UAE with 15 in 100 and Bahrain with six in 100.
The UK leader promised to have 14 million people vaccinated by mid-February which would cover the vast majority of the population most vulnerable to Covid. If he gets it right, it would be a major victory for Mr Johnson following several blunders during the pandemic.
Potentially in the knowledge that success in mass vaccination will lead to political redemption, the government is now said to be upping the daily jabs given from 200,000 to 500,000 a day and plans are advanced to set up a 24-hour vaccination centre.
On the insistence of Health Secretary Matt Hancock, the Vaccines Taskforce approached companies early, signing up for agreements that meant that, by August, Britain had access to more than 350 million vaccines from seven different potential vaccines.
Political commentator Paul Waugh said significant credit should go to Mr Hancock who “very early on spotted this vaccination programme was a bet worth putting lots of money on and it was him that pushed it really hard and said ‘right, we'll order these doses’ even though it might not work out well”.
Political insiders also believe that, if successful, it could “turn the page on his government,” allowing Mr Johnson to say “we've delivered” and, as a result, Britain will be able to open up its economy.
“The vaccination programme is so central to Boris’s government that he realises that if he gets it wrong, politically, it's an utter disaster because the public have cut him a lot of slack since the start of the pandemic,” Mr Waugh said.
Britain’s politicians can count themselves fortunate that they have been able to start vaccinating since early December because, just before Christmas, the new virus strain emerged in England that led to an infection rate averaging almost 50,000 a day. The British government on Friday reported a further 1,280 deaths and another 55,761 new Covid-19 cases.
With 3,235,000 people now vaccinated, the majority of them elderly and frontline medical staff, it means that hospitals will possibly not be entirely overwhelmed.
Italy has carried out the next highest number of vaccines with 972,000, followed by Germany with 842,000 and Spain with 676,000. Bureaucracy and scepticism over the side-effects of vaccination in France have led to a slow start, with just 318,000 vaccinated, or 0.49 per 100 people.
But within the UK there are still concerns that while Scotland and Northern Ireland have been able to rapidly vaccinate elderly people in care homes, England has lagged behind. Questions are still being raised about Britain’s innovation of allowing up to three months between shots although most scientists believe this does not present a problem.
A crucial reason why the UK has been able to surge ahead was that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency was able to approve the Pfizer and Oxford vaccines on December 2, weeks before the EU certified them.
Britain is also fortunate in having a large military with 5,000 personnel sent in to help vaccinate, test and deliver the supplies in what the Ministry of Defence has called the “biggest ever homeland military operation in peacetime”.
Whereas in France people have to see their doctor to give written consent five days before a jab, in Britain patients can simply book over the phone.
Mr Johnson has also made the commitment of ensuring that every person has a vaccination centre within 10 miles of their home. Additionally, the government has gone to the private sector, with vaccination sites opening in the Asda supermarket chain and the Boots pharmacist chain.
Despite a significant number of deaths, with 100,000 expected before the end of the month, the fast and widespread vaccination programme could dig Britain out of a significant hole. In large part that is down to its excellent scientific base rather than politicians.
“I'm a scientist and I think this reflects very well on the scientists who have been working nonstop on this as well as the NHS workers who are burned out and hundreds of them have died from Covid, which is unacceptable,” said Dr Ilan Kelman of University College London.
“For me, the political leadership has been a major concern throughout the pandemic and I fully understand that the way the UK government has managed the whole process may have consequences for public confidence. I hope for all of us the programme proves effective.”
The five pillars of Islam
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
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Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
The Lowdown
Kesari
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')
Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)
Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
UAE SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Adel Al Hosani
Defenders: Bandar Al Ahbabi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Mohammed Barghash, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Hassan Al Mahrami, Yousef Jaber, Mohammed Al Attas
Midfielders: Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Hamad, Khalfan Mubarak, Khalil Al Hammadi, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Harib Abdallah, Mohammed Jumah
Forwards: Fabio De Lima, Caio Canedo, Ali Saleh, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
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THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
Company%20Profile
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India cancels school-leaving examinations
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Race card
6.30pm: Emirates Holidays Maiden (TB), Dh82,500 (Dirt), 1,900m
7.05pm: Arabian Adventures Maiden (TB), Dh82,500 (D), 1,200m
7.40pm: Emirates Skywards Handicap (TB), Dh82,500 (D), 1,200m
8.15pm: Emirates Airline Conditions (TB), Dh120,000 (D), 1,400m
8.50pm: Emirates Sky Cargo (TB), Dh92,500 (D)1,400m
9.15pm: Emirates.com (TB), Dh95,000 (D), 2,000m
