UK variant has mutated again, scientists say
By Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online
The Kent variant of coronavirus that has been spreading in the UK appears to be undergoing some 'worrying' new genetic changes, say scientists.
Tests on some samples show a mutation, called E484K, already seen in the South Africa and Brazil variants that are of concern.
Although this change may reduce vaccine effectiveness, the current ones in use should still work, say experts.
The UK has already stepped up measures to control the spread of new variants.
Sputnik V vaccine has 91.6% efficacy against symptomatic Covid, Russian trial suggests
Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine has 91.6% efficacy against symptomatic coronavirus, interim trial results have suggested.
The preliminary findings are based on analysis of data from more than 20,000, mostly white, adults, three-quarters of whom received the vaccine. The remainder received a placebo.
No serious adverse events were deemed to be associated with vaccination, and most reported adverse events were mild, including flu-like symptoms, pain at the injection site and weakness or low energy, researchers wrote in the journal The Lancet.
Russia: Navalny hearing begins, dozens arrested outside court
Supporters of Alexei Navalny gathered outside the Moscow courthouse where judges were to decide whether the Kremlin critic would serve time in prison. Navalny said the process was aimed to "intimidate" the public.
A Moscow court on Tuesday began hearing whether opposition figure Alexei Navalny should face prison time. Prosecutors allege he violated the terms of his probation, but Navalny and other government critics see it as a bid to silence the Kremlin opponent.
During the hearing, Navalny said his trial was aimed at making people afraid. He blamed the charges against him on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Turkey arrests dozens of students at peaceful protest over LGBT rights
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday lashed out at Turkey's LGBT movement, accusing it of "vandalism" following an outbreak of student protests.
Four people were arrested over the weekend for depicting Islam's holiest site with pictures of the LGBT rainbow flag during a rally at Istanbul's Bogazici University.
And shortly after Erdogan's televised speech on Monday, another rally erupted at the same school with dozens of people detained and social media footage showing police dragging away students who had been protesting peacefully.
UN report says torture, forced labour rife in North Korea prisons
A new report by the United Nations human rights office has said torture and forced labour are rife in North Korea’s prisons, amounting to possible crimes against humanity.
Tuesday’s publication, issued seven years after a landmark UN investigation found that crimes against humanity were being committed, also said that political prison camps run by security forces still persisted, although information is more scarce.
Captain Tom Moore, who raised millions for the NHS, dies aged 100
Updated 1623 GMT (0023 HKT) February 2, 2021
Tom Moore, the 100-year-old World War II veteran whose efforts to raise millions for the UK's National Health Service made him a universally adored icon during the first wave of the Covid-19 outbreak, has died in hospital after himself contracting the disease, his family said Tuesday.
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