Before the coronavirus pandemic hit, Saurav Dutt smoked up to six cigarettes a day. The 38-year-old author from London first took up the habit as a way to unwind from college exams. But as the years went by he found that it helped him focus, and it became essential to his writing process.

Simon Cowell is said to have undergone surgery after breaking his back in a fall from an electric bike in California. The music mogul’s spokeswoman said he was was in hospital and was “doing fine”. “Simon had a fall from his bike, testing his new electric bike in the courtyard at his house in Malibu with his family. He hurt his back and was taken to hospital. He’s doing fine, he’s under observation and is in the best possible hands,” she said on Saturday.

One quarter of the UK’s native mammals are classified as being at “imminent risk of extinction” and conservationists are calling for urgent action to save them, as the first official Red List for British mammals has been published.

The United Kingdom has banned Huawei from its 5G telecom network, reversing a January decision to allow the embattled Chinese tech company a limited role in building the country's super-fast wireless infrastructure.

There is "absolutely no reason" to change the guidance on working from home, the UK's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance has said. Since late March the government has advised people to work from home if possible to help curb coronavirus. But last week Prime Minister Boris Johnson signalled a change, saying: "I think we should now say, well, 'Go back to work if you can.'"

A 100-year-old Muslim man has raised more than £170,000 for coronavirus victims after being inspired by Colonel Sir Tom Moore. Dabirul Islam Choudhury is fundraising for those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in both the UK and Bangladesh by walking laps of his community garden while fasting for the religious festival of Ramadan.

Northern Ireland has reported no new confirmed cases of coronavirus for the first time since lockdown. The department of health said there were no positive results out of the 995 tests analysed in their laboratories on Friday, meaning the total remains unchanged at 4,866.

The U.K. government is to exempt some leading U.S. actors, such as Tom Cruise, and crew from its 14-day travel quarantine to allow Hollywood blockbusters to resume production. The move follows a conversation between culture secretary Oliver Dowden and Cruise earlier this week about restarting filming on the latest “Mission: Impossible” movie. The exemption will allow “Mission: Impossible 7” – starring and produced by Cruise – to restart filming at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, near London.

Allocating more than £10 billion for research as part of the 2020–21 budget, the UK government seems to be well on track to boost science funding to 2.4% of GDP by 2027 as they had promised in March, an analysis by the Campaign for Science and Engineering (Case) has found.

The UK took its "eye off the ball" in relation to Russia's attempts to meddle in British politics and deliberately "glossed over" allegations of a Kremlin-sponsored influence campaign during the Brexit referendum, an influential group of UK lawmakers say.

Ethical veganism is a "philosophical belief" and so is protected in law, a tribunal has ruled for the first time. The landmark legal case was brought by vegan Jordi Casamitjana, who claims he was sacked by the League Against Cruel Sports because of his ethical veganism.

Our precious natural environment will be better protected for generations to come with today’s (Thursday 30 January) introduction of a far-reaching Environment Bill. The speedy return of the Bill to Parliament following the General Election underlines the government’s commitment to tackling climate change and to protecting and restoring our natural environment for future generations.

London’s leafy streets and gardens have long been prized for their beauty — and more recently their ability to counteract carbon emissions and improve air quality. But the value of urban trees can also be measured with money. A new report from Britain’s Office of National Statistics estimates tree cover saved the capital more than 5 billion pounds ($6.56 billion) from 2014 to 2018 through air cooling alone.

Over 170 MPs and peers have urged the government to introduce a universal basic income to "give everyone the financial support they need to provide for themselves and their families" during the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to chancellor Rishi Sunak the parliamentarians say that the plan to pay every adult a flat, unconditional sum of money each week for the duration of the crisis is a "practical, not ideological" proposal.

Prince Charles, the 71-year-old heir to the British throne, has tested positive for coronavirus but is in good health and is now self isolating in Scotland. Charles, eldest son of Queen Elizabeth, is displaying what Clarence House said were mild symptoms but remains in good health and has been working from his home on the Balmoral Estate in Scotland. His wife, Camilla, tested negative.

People in the UK need to shift from cars to public transport to address the challenge of climate change, the government says. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: "Public transport and active travel will be the natural first choice for our daily activities.

OneWeb, the high-profile London-based satellite start-up, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US. The firm, which has been building a network to deliver broadband across the globe, blamed the Covid-19 crisis for its inability to secure new investment.

Cell towers in the U.K. are being torched after some online trolls peddled conspiracy theories that linked 5G communications technology to the coronavirus.

A beauty queen who was crowned Miss England in 2019 has returned to the United Kingdom from overseas charity work to continue her career as a doctor amid the coronavirus pandemic. Bhasha Mukherjee took a career break as a junior doctor after competing in the Miss World pageant in December 2019. Mukherjee represented England at the pageant after winning Miss England.

Comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor has died at the age of 79 with coronavirus, his agent has confirmed to the BBC. The entertainer, best known as one third of the popular 1970s show The Goodies, and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, died on Sunday. Goodies co-star Bill Oddie called him a "true visual comic and a great friend".