Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 9 Feb 2021

1. ‘Don’t panic’ over new Covid strain

The deputy chief medical officer has told the public not to “panic” over the emergence of the South African Covid-19 variant. Professor Jonathan Van Tam said it is “not likely to become the dominant” strain in the near future, adding: “The stories and the headlines around variant viruses and vaccines are a bit scary - I wish they weren’t.” Britain has so far recorded 147 cases of the South African strain and there is concern that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine – one of the main jabs in use in the UK – provides less protection against the variant.

Why South Africa has stopped using the Oxford vaccine

2. Swift timetable for Trump trial

The historic second impeachment trial of Donald Trump begins today after Senate leaders agreed a short timetable for the proceedings. Democratic impeachment managers and Trump’s lawyers will be allowed up to 16 hours each to present their cases. Democrats say they have “overwhelming” evidence to support charges against the former president for “inciting insurrection” ahead of the deadly riot at the US Capitol on 6 January. However, Republicans are expected to rally behind Trump, dismissing the impeachment as “a waste of time”, Associated Press says.

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What will be different about Trump’s historic second impeachment?

3. Royal Family vetted 1,000 laws

More than 1,000 laws have been scrutinised by the Queen or Prince Charles through a little-known procedure before being approved by parliament, The Guardian reports. “Queen’s Consent” has seen the Royals vet legislation on issues including social security, pensions, race relations, rules on car parking charges and hovercrafts. Dr Adam Tucker, a specialist in constitutional law at Liverpool University, said: “A lot of these bills are not distinctively about the crown, or mainly about the crown, or obviously about the crown in any way. And yet they obviously still have some content which drags them into the process.”

Queen ‘used royal consent rule’ to lobby for law change to hide her wealth

4. New pollution death data

A study has found that air pollution from burning fossil fuels is causing more than twice as many deaths as originally thought. Experts at Harvard University and University College London found that almost one in five deaths in the UK are linked to fine particle pollution from road traffic, power generation and other activities that involve burning petrol, diesel, coal and gas.

Is lower air pollution under lockdown saving lives?

5. North Korea ‘broke sanctions’

North Korea upgraded its nuclear missile programme throughout 2020 in violation of international sanctions, a UN report has claimed. Independent monitors say that Pyongyang “produced fissile material, maintained nuclear facilities and upgraded its ballistic missile infrastructure” last year. The regime also continued to seek technology for those programmes from abroad, says the report to the US Security Council’s North Korea sanctions committee.

Kim Jong-un kicks off rare party meeting with admission of economic failure

6. Tory tweets anti-Semitic abuse

A Conservative council candidate will no longer run for her seat after sending a message to a Jewish Labour MP about the “Aryan race”. Sharon Thomason, who was to contest a seat on Warrington Borough Council in May’s local elections, tweeted “keep the Aryan race going” to Charlotte Nichols. The Jewish Labour Movement condemned the “appalling anti-Semitic abuse”. Thomason will no longer be standing for the Tory party, with a spokesperson saying that it took action “swiftly and immediately” after being made aware of her comments.

£14m for Jewish community after record hate incidents

7. Threat of chemical attack growing

The defence secretary has said there is growing threat of chemical and biological attacks due to a “breakdown of world order”. Ben Wallace told The Times that some regimes believe it is acceptable to use nerve agents and pathogens against their opponents after attacks in Syria and on Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Britain. He said that the internet provided a “turbo boost” for terrorists or nation states seeking to develop such weapons, adding: “I think we are at the point where they’ve largely been invented but I’m not sure they’ve been fully exploited and it’s very hard to predict which way that will go.”

Chemical weapons: A history from Passchendaele to Syria

8. UK pension bill soars

The pension burden has increased by 21% in the three years to 2018, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. The bill grew from £5.3 trillion at the end of 2015 to £6.4 trillion at the end of 2018. Steve Webb, a former Liberal Democrat pensions minister, said the government must consider higher taxes, longer working lives or a “squeeze” on the size of pensions. The state pension bill will increase again in April, as the government’s “triple lock” policy guarantees a 2.5% rise in payments.

What's the pensions triple lock and why is it such a political hot potato?

9. Canon kills man at baby shower

A man attending a baby shower in the US has been killed after a small cannon exploded. Evan Thomas Silva, 26, died after he was struck by shrapnel from the cannon that was fired to “celebrate the baby’s pending arrival”, Michigan State Police said in a statement. Pyrotechnic devices at gender reveal parties have caused devastating wildfires, plane crashes and deaths of guests.

VIDEO: the gender reveal that started a 47,000-acre wildfire

10. Ahmed favourite for Mastermind slot

Journalist and broadcaster Samira Ahmed is the frontrunner to replace John Humphrys as the new presenter of the BBC’s Mastermind, The Telegraph reports. Should Ahmed get the job, she will become the first female presenter in the show’s 49-year history. Humphrys has announced that he is to step down from the BBC’s iconic quiz show after 18 years.