Coronavirus news- live: Protests and calls to postpone GCSE results as appeals ‘mess’ deepens A-level chaos

Boris Johnson urged to take control of A-level 'fiasco'

The prime minister is facing calls to take charge of the growing A-levels "fiasco" amid mounting anger among students, teachers and MPs, with disbelief at Westminster after guidance on students in England seeking to appeal against their grades being downmarked was suddenly removed.

One senior Conservative MP said the situation was a "huge mess" while Labour said it was up to Boris Johnson to "get a grip" and sort out the situation. Meanwhile, some students were resorting to legal action in an attempt to get their downgrades reversed through the courts.

The exams regulator Ofqual issued guidance on Saturday setting out the criteria for students to make appeals on the basis of their mock exam results, only for it to be taken down hours later.

More than 11,000 Scottish people sign up for Covid-19 vaccine trials

Volunteers are helping speed up efforts to find a safe and effective vaccine in the fight against coronavirus, with more than 100,000 people signed up UK-wide, Emma O'Neill reports.

However, researchers are urging more people to sign up, especially those over the age of 65, and those from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

On Monday, the government urged more people to sign up to the NHS Covid-19 vaccine research registry by October, to allow large-scale vaccine trials to take place.

UK government minister for Scotland Iain Stewart said: “I am delighted that more than 11,200 people in Scotland have registered to take part in clinical studies through the NHS Covid-19 vaccine research registry so far.

“Volunteers are a major part in the race to find a working vaccine. I encourage people from all groups, particularly the over 65s, frontline workers and those from BAME communities to sign-up as we look to find a vaccine for coronavirus.”

New Zealand's new outbreak

Thirteen new coronavirus cases have been reported in New Zealand, including 12 linked to an outbreak in the city of Auckland and one returning traveler who was already in quarantine.

The outbreak in Auckland, discovered Tuesday, has prompted officials to put the nation's largest city back into a two-week lockdown.

The outbreak has now grown to 49 infections, with authorities saying they believe all the cases are all connected, giving them hope the virus isn't spreading beyond that cluster.

New Zealand had gone 102 days without community spread of the disease before the latest outbreak.

Officials believe the virus was reintroduced to New Zealand from abroad but have not yet been able to figure out how it happened.

Associated Press

Face masks in France

After France recorded its highest one-day rise in virus infections since May, the government is pushing for wider mask use and tighter protections for migrant workers and in slaughterhouses.

But France still plans to reopen schools nationwide in two weeks, and the labor minister says the government is determined to avoid a new nationwide lockdown that would further hobble the economy and threaten jobs.

Elisabeth Borne, the minister of labour,  said in a newspaper interview the government wants to expand mask use in workplaces.

"We must avoid new confinement at any cost," she said.

Associated Press

Street party in Manchester

Police officers were pelted with missiles as they tried to shut down a street party in Manchester last night. 

It followed another large gathering the night before, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.

People gathered in large numbers on Saturday for the street party in Harlow Drive, according to the force.

Ian Pilling, deputy chief constable, said: "Despite having significant number of GMP officers on duty, supported by officers from North Wales and Cheshire, we were extremely stretched again yesterday with unprecedented demand.

"The last thing we need is large gatherings such as this, as well as unacceptable attacks on officers attending the scene."

He added: "Quite frankly, it is beyond comprehension and I am incredibly disappointed that people feel they can gather in this way - blatantly flouting the rules.

"I can honestly say that in 30 years of policing I have never seen anything quite as outrageous as this behaviour."

Here is GMP's full statement on the incident:

There are more restrictions over household mixing and where you can meet others in Manchester - as well as in other places of northern England - due to a recent spike in cases. 

Residents have been banned from meeting people they do not live with inside homes or private gardens.

They have also been urged not to meet people from another household in venues such as pubs and restaurants. 

Alastair Campbell, former Labour spin doctor and frequent Independent contributor, has described himself as growing angry with the opposition's response to the controversial downgrading of exam results.

‘No way to spin that’: Mitt Romney blames Trump administration for surge in US coronavirus deaths

Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, offered rare Republican criticism of the Trump administration’s coronavirus response on Friday, saying the federal government dismissed the virus’s threat and failed to protect Americans as infections spiralled out of control, Derek Hawkins and Marisa Iati report.

“Short term, I think it’s fair to say we really have not distinguished ourselves in a positive way by how we responded to the crisis when it was upon us,” Mr Romney said in a video interview with the Sutherland Institute. “And the proof of the pudding of that is simply that we have 5 per cent of the world’s population but 25 per cent of the world’s deaths due to Covid-19.

“And there’s no way to spin that in a positive light,” Mr Romney added.

At least 166,000 people nationwide have died of coronavirus-related complications – about 21 per cent of the worldwide death toll. An additional 1,222 US deaths were reported on Friday and 1,218 were reported on Saturday as of late evening.

Italy produced 10% less waste during lockdown

Italy produced 10 per cent less garbage during its coronavirus lockdown, but environmentalists warn that increased reliance on disposable masks and packaging is imperiling efforts to curb single-use plastics that end up in oceans and seas.

Italian researchers estimate that during the peak months of Italy's lockdown in March and April, urban waste production fell by 500,000 tonnes. That decrease is enabling dumps in Italy — where trash collection in major cities has often become a hot-button political issue — to absorb the 300,000 tons of extra waste from protective masks and gloves estimated to be used this year, according to the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research.

"Substantially, the figures will balance each other by the end of this year," said Valeria Frittelloni, the institute's head of waste management and circular economy.

But the pandemic dealt a blow to efforts to move away from single-use plastics in many places where they were just beginning to become mainstream. UN, Greenpeace, Italy's Marevivo environmental organisation and other such groups are warning that continued reliance on single-use plastics will pose longer-term risks to the environment.

AP

Student threatens Ofqual with judicial review over exam results

A law firm has written to Ofqual threatening legal action over the way in which A-level grades were awarded to students unable to sit exams due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The firm Leigh Day, on behalf of 18-year old student Curtis Parfitt-Ford, have written to the watchdog, claiming the process adopted to award grades this year is unlawful, and called on the government to review and revise the scheme as a matter of absolute priority.

Mr Parfitt-Ford, who studied at a comprehensive school in west London, says he feels angry on behalf of thousands of students affected after 40 per cent of students received A-level grades that were one or two grades lower than their ‘Centre assessment grades’ (CAGs). He has created a GoFundMe page to help with the legal fight.

In the letter before action sent to Ofqual on Friday, lawyers for Mr Parfitt-Ford argue that the exam regulator's standardisation model is unlawful on a number of levels, including the fact that, for a large number of students, it fails to take account of relevant considerations such as the teacher’s predictions and takes into account irrelevant considerations such as the historical success of a school.

Furthermore, the model used is very different from that announced after Ofqual’s consultation and is not in line with its own policies, meaning an unfair procedure was followed as a time when particular care was needed to ensure an equitable process, the solicitors argue.

Germany eases border restrictions for unmarried couples

Couples kept apart by coronavirus restrictions have been reunited after Germany eased border controls for unmarried couples who can prove their relationships preceded the pandemic.

Florian Mehler, 41, from Wiesloch near Frankfurt, had not seen his girlfriend Renata Alves, 40, since she returned to her native Brazil in January after visiting him in Germany.

"We had to get so much paperwork together, unbelievable," said Mr Mehler after he hugged Alves at Frankfurt airport. "I did ask myself why couples didn't count, as the love we have is the same as with married couples. But now she is finally here!"

Berlin's decision to allow people from countries it considers a high coronavirus risk, such as Brazil, to join their German partners followed a social media campaign under the hashtags #LoveIsEssential and #LoveIsNotTourism.