Sir Elton John's ex-wife has launched legal proceedings against the musician after he made several mentions of her in his autobiography. Former sound engineer Renate Blauel, 67, has applied for a High Court injunction against the 73-year-old Rocket Man singer. It is understood that German-born Blauel and Sir Elton had …...Read More

Smoking and vaping raises the risk of falling critically ill with Covid-19, experts have warned — despite a growing body of research showing the opposite. German scientists reviewed available evidence on the damage smoking and vaping inflicts on vital organs in the body. All three harden the arteries and raise …...Read More

Number 10's 'ad hoc' Covid-19 test, track and trace scheme relies too heavily on private companies and will have missed thousands of cases, leading doctors fear. In a letter published in the British Medical Journal, three public health experts questioned why ministers chose to create a new system when a …...Read More

Surgeons have today called for same-day coronavirus testing so hospitals can start clearing the backlog of NHS operations. Health bosses fear up to 10million people could be stuck on NHS waiting lists by the end of the year due to Covid-19 hold-ups. Officials urged hospitals to cancel ops and turf …...Read More

Microplastics have been discovered in apples, carrots, pears, broccoli and lettuce, studies have revealed. Root vegetables including radishes, turnips and parsnips could also be contaminated with the man-made waste, prompting fears over the health impact. The tiny pollutants are thought to have been sucked into plants roots with water, and …...Read More

Testing units could be rolled out in public gardens and churches under plans to increase the numbers of patients being swabbed. Health officials want to make the process more accessible, especially in urban areas, which are most likely to see virus flare-ups in the coming weeks. They are currently piloting …...Read More

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in an address to BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit workers, raised what appeared to be a rhetorical question. She asked why even finished products such as Ganesha idols had to be imported from Chinese firms. She also wondered about the mismatch between the goal of self-reliance and …...Read More

Not only has the #BlackLivesMatter movement in the US found support in several other countries including India, it has also sparked conversations about racism in several other contexts. How racism in India compares to racism in the US is of course a matter of endless debate. But certain behaviors here …...Read More

Days like this it’s difficult to know where to start. I’ve spent most of the week sifting through your despairing emails in the wake of my recent column about the Black Lives Matter madness. Sorry if you’ve not had a personal reply. After the first few hundred I ran out …...Read More

Last year, Vicente Villela, 37, told the officers holding him down at a jail in Albuquerque that he could not breathe. He lay on his stomach as the guards struggled to remove his shackles and pressed their knees onto his back and legs. Mr. Villela died, and the autopsy report …...Read More