| Phased return to Scottish schools expected |
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Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is due to set out later her government's plans for getting pupils currently in Covid lockdown back into classrooms. Currently, the youngest pupils and older children who have to do coursework are due back in from next week. And while Ms Sturgeon has said she is "very keen" to have a phased return to school, Scottish ministers will review the latest coronavirus data and scientific advice before confirming the next steps later this afternoon.
As education is devolved to the four nations of the UK, the approach to how and when all children get back to in-school learning varies. In England, a roadmap for exiting lockdown is due to be announced on Monday 22 February. In Wales, primary schools begin reopening next Monday, but in Northern Ireland there will be no return before 8 March.
Many parents and pupils want to know when schools will be fully open again - we've tried to answer that question here. In the meantime, we've got resources on hand to help with children's mental health, and some suggested activities for the half-term break. And there's a raft of lockdown learning assistance across the BBC.
In other Covid news, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that speedy tests which would show if a person is infectious could be the way to reopen parts of the UK economy which have been closed since the pandemic began - such as nightclubs - and places that have struggled with social distancing, like theatres. But Mr Johnson stressed that it was early days and any steps towards lifting lockdown measures would be "cautious but irreversible". | |
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| 'Free-speech Tsar' for universities |
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| The government says the appointment of a free-speech champion is necessary because of what the education secretary has called the "chilling effect" of "silencing" on university campuses. The post being announced today is aimed at ensuring academic freedom in England (higher education is a devolved matter). Whoever is appointed to the free speech role will sit on the board of the Office for Students, a body that has the power to fine institutions if they do not comply with its rules. While Gavin Williamson said he was "deeply worried" about "unacceptable silencing and censoring", the National Union of Students said "there is no evidence of a freedom of expression crisis on campus". Back in 2018, our Reality Check team looked into claims that free speech was being stifled in English universities - and what duties the institutions have to ensure a range of opinions continue to be heard. | |
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| LGBT ex-service people to reclaim medals |
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| People who served in the British armed forces but were sacked because of their sexual orientation or gender identity will be able to reclaim their medals. The ban on LGBT people serving in the military was lifted in 2000, and it is not known how many people were affected. The announcement comes after a long campaign by former Falklands War veteran Joe Ousalice . He was sacked from the Royal Navy for being bisexual and says "they cut [the medal] off my chest with a big pair of scissors". The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that anyone affected - or the families of those who have since died - will be able to lodge an application to have their medals returned. | |
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| |  | | | The government says it hopes to make Covid a manageable disease like flu. Vaccination and new treatments, they argue, will reduce the death rate, allowing us to live with the virus rather than constantly trying to fight it. Is this the right approach? And is it even possible? Wiping Covid from the face of the Earth would, of course, be great given the death and destruction it has caused. But the only problem with that is that this has only been achieved with one virus before - smallpox in 1980. It is easy to forget flu kills. Back in 2017-18 more than 20,000 people died from it. It was a harsh, cold winter and deaths from other causes rose too, pushing excess winter deaths close to 50,000. Society barely blinked. "We have lived alongside viruses for millennia", says Prof Robert Dingwall, a member of the government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Group. "We will do the same with Covid." | |
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| | Nick Triggle | Health correspondent | |
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| | | | "The Final Lockdown" is among the headlines on Tuesday's front pages. These are the words used by the prime minister as he confirmed the government was drawing up a "cautious" roadmap to end the lockdown in England. The Times leads on "encouraging" data which suggests that the rollout of Covid vaccinations in the UK is having an effect on hospital admissions, deaths and virus transmission. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's decision to be interviewed on TV by US talk show host Oprah Winfrey is the lead for several tabloids, including the Daily Mirror, which says Buckingham Palace is fearful of "explosive claims" from the royal couple. Get more on this and other stories in Tuesday's paper review. |
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| | | Quarantine Passengers to leave hotel after 'error'. |
| | | | Self-injury 'Concerning' rise in pre-teens being admitted to hospital. |
| | | | Capitol Independent commission to investigate January riot. |
| | | | Amazon Fake reviews 'being sold in bulk' online. |
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| If you watch one thing today |
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| If you listen to one thing today |
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| If you read one thing today |
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| Need something different? |
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| Mate Rimac is being compared to the tech entrepreneur Elon Musk - because like the billionaire behind the US car firm Tesla, he is doing exciting things with electric motors. So much so that his Croatian supercar firm has attracted investment from German sportscar giant Porsche. | |
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| | | 2001 At least seven Serbs are killed in a bomb attack on a bus making its way to a religious ceremony in Kosovo. |
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