UK shoppers, like British businesses, need more reassurance from the chancellor

Frightening retail sales figures mean the Treasury must instil more confidence in struggling firms and consumers Retail sales figures for January will give the Treasury a fright. A fall of 8% was much larger than the more modest 3% expected by City economists and reveals how shoppers, when confronted by a third lockdown, were reluctant

Covid: vaccinated Israelis to enjoy bars and hotels with ‘green pass’

Mobile app inoculation certificate aims to help reopen economy, but privileges are untested and raise ethical questions Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Israel is preparing itself to be split in half from next week, with the government creating a new privileged tier in society: the vaccinated. Nearly 50% of the population

Asylum seeker brings case against Covid ‘curfew’ at London hotel

Proceedings launched against home secretary challenging legal basis for restrictions Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Asylum seekers in hotels are being subjected to “false imprisonment” and a 23-hour a day “curfew”, according to a legal challenge lodged in the high court. An asylum seeker, who cannot be named, has launched judicial

Digested week: the soundtrack of this pandemic is teeth grinding

Bruxism is now so severe that some patients can grind down with a 100kg force Virus numbers are down in New York, while the positivity rate remains high – hovering at 8% – bringing new safety guidelines from the Centres for Disease Control. If you can’t find an N95-grade mask, says the CDC, try double-masking:

Writer’s blockdown: after a year inside, novelists are struggling to write

A spell at home is surely a good opportunity to write, so why are so many authors struggling? William Sutcliffe, Linda Grant and more share how the pandemic has stifled their imaginations In early February, after a month of lockdown, William Sutcliffe wrote on Twitter: “I have been a professional writer for more than twenty

No guarantee this Covid lockdown will be England’s last, says minister

James Cleverly says 100% certainty is not possible ‘because viruses don’t work like that’ Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage The government cannot guarantee that the current lockdown in England will be the last, a minister has said. The Foreign Office minister James Cleverly said it was impossible to give the public

Pound hits $1.40 for first time since 2018 amid Covid vaccine optimism

Sterling rises against dollar and euro and is best-performing G10 currency Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage The pound has hit $1.40 against the US dollar for the first time in almost three years, on expectations that the UK’s Covid-19 vaccination rollout will help the economy to rebound more quickly. Sterling hit

Florida women wear ‘granny’ disguise in attempt to get Covid vaccine

Two women aged 34 and 44 rumbled while wearing bonnets and gloves to vaccination centre Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Two Florida women aged 34 and 44 dressed up as “grannies” – wearing bonnets and gloves – in a failed attempt to pass as old enough to be eligible for coronavirus

Covid has created legions of unpaid carers who urgently need support themselves | Rhi Storer

My mother is one of many exhausted people in the UK who have taken on more while care services are depleted Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Last year, the health and social care select committee highlighted the social care system as “unfair, confusing, demeaning and frightening for the most vulnerable people

UK Covid live: Johnson to make vaccine pledge to poorer nations as he chairs G7 meeting

Latest updates: PM expected to say that the UK will share any surplus vaccines and will cut the time it takes to develop new jabs Boris Johnson to pledge surplus Covid vaccine to poorer countries at G7 New universal credit claimants forced to skip meals in Covid crisis Coronavirus – latest updates See all our