Covid-19: The police fining people for breaching restrictions
Since the pandemic began thousands of fines have been issued by police in the capital to those in breach of Covid-19 restrictions.
BBC London went on patrol with officers in Tower Hamlets in east London, which has seen some of the highest infection rates in the country, to see if people are sticking to the rules.
Covid-19: Rule-breakers ‘increasingly likely’ to be fined – Cressida Dick
Metropolitan Police commissioner Dame Cressida Dick
wrote in the Times that Londoners have been hosting raves, house parties and gambling events.
Julian Assange: Wikileaks founder extradition to US blocked by UK judge
The Wikileaks founder is wanted in the US over the publication of thousands of classified documents.
bird control
Premiership: Newcastle Falcons & Bath awarded wins after Covid-19 cancellations
Newcastle and Bath have each been given four points after their Premiership games on 26 December were cancelled due to opposition coronavirus cases.
Falcons and Bath were due to host Leicester and London Irish respectively but players from the visiting teams had to isolate because of the virus.
The points – equivalent to a win – lift Newcastle to second and Bath to sixth.
Tigers and Irish have been deemed to have lost their respective games but have been awarded two points each.
The decision was made by a Premiership Rugby panel of chairman Andy Higginson, chief executive Darren Childs and rugby director Phil Winstanley in line with a newly-implemented points system for such instances.
“The health and safety of players, staff, management, officials and supporters is our only priority, so the correct decision was taken to call the game(s) off,” said a Premiership statement.
Both Leicester and Irish closed their training grounds to prevent a significant outbreak, with the Exiles reopening their facilities on Monday for further testing.
As well as positive cases at the clubs, other players have had to self-isolate due to contact tracing or experiencing symptoms of the virus.
Saracens’ England stars will not play before Six Nations after Championship unveils March start date
Saracens’ England internationals will not play a competitive game before the Six Nations after the new Championship season was delayed until March.
It leaves players including captain Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje and the Vunipola brothers without a game before England face Scotland on 6 February.
Saracens were relegated from the Premiership earlier this year after breaching salary cap rules.
English rugby’s second tier has not had a game since March due to Covid-19.
It had been suggested that the 2020-21 Championship season would start in January, but it will now not get under way until the weekend of 6 March.
The 12-team league will be split into two conferences with the winners of each playing a two-legged final for the right to earn promotion to the Premiership.
Saracens will be in Conference A and will face Cornish Pirates, Ampthill, Jersey Reds, London Scottish and Hartpury University.
Conference B is made up of Ealing Trailfinders, Coventry, Nottingham, Bedford Blues, Doncaster Knights and Richmond – who come up from National One in place of relegated Yorkshire Carnegie.
Each side will play their opponents in their respective conferences on a home and away basis.
Last season’s competition was ended early with Newcastle Falcons promoted to the top flight after the 2019-20 season was decided on a “best playing record formula”.
This season clubs are hoping they will be able to stream their fixtures online should they be unable to welcome supporters into their grounds because of Covid-19 restrictions.
“As a result of Championship clubs having little or no income for the last nine months the majority do not have the financial ability to meet the costs of Covid testing required under the elite sport framework,” a Rugby Football Union statement read.
“The clubs have chosen not to return to play under adapted laws and the March start date allows time for clubs to gain clarity from Sport England regarding the Sport Winter Survival Package before starting pre-season training.
“All Championship clubs are unanimously behind the intended competition as outlined, but require some weeks of full training, to make squads ‘match ready’, subsequent to the long absence of competitive rugby.”
The RFU also said clubs can continue to arrange pre-season friendlies, as Saracens have already done.
Covid: London likely to move to tier 3 amid rising rates
Covid-19 pandemic: Tracking the global coronavirus outbreak
Key charts and maps explaining how the virus has spread around the world.
mouse exterminator brentford
Koko Camden: Fire engulfs famous music venue
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One of London’s most famous music venues has been badly damaged in an overnight blaze.
The dome on the roof of Koko in Camden has been destroyed by fire, according to the London Fire Brigade.
Sixty firefighters helped fight the flames after the blaze broke out just before 21:00 GMT on Monday and no injuries have been reported.
The venue which began life as the Camden Theatre in 1900 has hosted stars including Madonna, Coldplay and Prince.
Station commander Jon Lewis said the fire was brought under control at about 02:30 on Tuesday, adding: “Firefighters’ quick action and hard work in the early stages meant the fire was contained to the roof and saved the rest of the building.”
Koko owner Olly Bengough said he was “deeply saddened” by the blaze, adding: “We’ll be doing our best to get the redevelopment of this iconic building back on track.”
The fire in the building’s roof was brought under control in the early hours of Tuesday
Crews will remain at the scene throughout the day and have warned people to stay away from the area.
Koko which was closed for refurbishment, was also previously known as the Camden Palace and Camden Hippodrome and has been one of the capital’s most iconic live music venues for decades.
The Rolling Stones, The Clash and Ed Sheeran are among other star names to have performed at the venue, which is close to Mornington Crescent underground station.
Image copyright
Oliver Cooper
About 60 firefighters helped tackle a fire at Koko in Camden High Street
It was reportedly the last venue where AC/DC’s Bon Scott was seen drinking before his death from alcohol poisoning in 1980.
In the early 80s it served as a major venue for the punk and New Romantic scene, with singer Steve Strange of the band Visage holding club nights.
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UniversalImagesGroup/Getty
Opening night at Camden Palace 1981 with Steve Strange (left)
Members of the public have been sharing their Koko memories on Twitter.
Marc Rustic was “absolutely gutted” having seen his first grime gig at Koko.
“MoStack was performing and it was honestly the best night of my life,” he added.
Veteran DJ Tony Blackburn who held his legendary soul nights Shakatak also tweeted about the fire.
Koko and the nearby Roundhouse effectively “bookended” Camden’s music scene, according to music writer Carl Allen.
In between the two are 60 music venues including the Dingwalls and Electric Ballroom, as well as restaurants and pubs.
On Twitter the Roundhouse said it was “really sad” to hear the news about our Camden neighbours.
Camden Council leader Georgia Gould said: “Heartbreaking watching the Camden Palace/Koko up in flames this evening, a building that holds so many memories and means so much to us in Camden.”
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan thanked the fire brigade for its quick response.
The venue was set to reopen in the spring after a “major state-of-the-art” refurbishment, after the purchase of two adjacent buildings.
The venue hosted the BBC’s Electric Proms in 2007
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PA Media
Koko has hosted some of music’s biggest names including Madonna, The Rolling Stones and Prince
Do you have memories of attending gigs at Koko? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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Norwich City v Crystal Palace
TEAM NEWS
Norwich midfielder Kenny McLean is a doubt to face Crystal Palace because of a foot problem.
Josip Drmic is not expected to return until the weekend, while Ben Godfrey and Timm Klose are long-term absentees.
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson is again expected to be without a host of first-team players.
Christian Benteke, Gary Cahill, Scott Dann, Jeffrey Schlupp, Andros Townsend, Joel Ward and Patrick van Aanholt are all on the sidelines.
Hodgson has revealed that Martin Kelly played with a muscle strain against Southampton, while Cheikhou Kouyate has said he has a groin issue.
MOTD COMMENTATOR’S NOTES
@chriswisey: There has been a VAR hurricane swirling around the Premier League in recent days, and both Norwich and Crystal Palace found themselves in the eye of the storm.
The devil was very much in the detail of the offside calls against Teemu Pukki and Wilfried Zaha, which denied their respective teams important goals on Saturday.
Norwich really do need to start making marginal gains on those above them. They were the only team in the bottom three not to win during the festive period.
Unsurprisingly, history doesn’t favour teams bottom of the table at the start of the new year. But the Canaries are determined to prove that their attractive, attacking approach is the method to escape the minefield.
VIEW FROM THE DUGOUT
Norwich City head coach Daniel Farke: “The quicker we can get 25 points, the easier we make the period where the mind games begin.
“That is why we go game to game. Don’t be too down or too high with each result.
“We know our situation and what we are trying to achieve. We are the only self-funded club on this level, and compared to the other teams we were not able to spend any money.”
LAWRO’S PREDICTION
There’s a real spirit about Crystal Palace. Roy Hodgson’s side have come from behind to pick up points against Brighton and West Ham recently.
Norwich are not playing badly and are creating lots of chances. They’re also due a win and went close to beating Tottenham on Saturday.
Prediction: 2-1
Lawro’s full predictions v Britain’s Got Talent comedian Kojo Anim
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
- Norwich have won only two of the past 18 league meetings.
- Palace have won three of their last four away league games against Norwich, as many as they managed in their previous 15 visits to Carrow Road.
Norwich City
- Norwich have their worst record after 20 matches of a top-flight campaign (W3, D4, L13).
- They have won just one of their last 15 league games and are winless in seven.
- Daniel Farke’s side have conceded at least twice in nine successive top-flight home games, the second longest such run in Premier League history behind Wolves’ 11 in 2012.
- They were the only Premier League side without a win in December, despite leading in five of their seven matches. The Canaries dropped 12 points from winning positions, the most by a team in a single month in Premier League history.
- The side bottom of the Premier League going into a new year has been relegated in 23 of the previous 27 seasons, though three of the four to avoid relegation have done so in the past six seasons.
Crystal Palace
- Crystal Palace have won just one of their last six Premier League away games, after winning five of the previous seven.
- Roy Hodgson’s side are unbeaten in their 10 matches against the teams who start 2020 in the bottom nine (W6, D4).
- They have scored just four first-half goals this season, with a league-high 78% of their goals coming after the break. The fastest league goal by the Eagles this season was a Luka Milivojevic penalty in the 21st minute against Norwich on 28 September.
- Fourteen of the Eagles’ 20 league games this season were goalless at half-time, which is six more than any other side.
Croydon stabbing: Man, 60, found injured in street dies
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Google
The victim was found suffering from stab wounds outside a property in Woodcroft Road
A 60-year-old man has been stabbed to death in a residential street in south London.
Police and ambulance crews were called to reports of a stabbing in Woodcroft Road, Thornton Heath, Croydon, at 21:30 GMT on Monday.
The victim was found outside a property with knife injuries and was pronounced dead at 21:49, the Met Police said.
A 50-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and taken into custody.
The suspect became unwell while in custody and was transferred to hospital where he is in a stable condition, police said.
Det Ch Insp Simon Harding said: “The victim was found injured in a residential street. While it is not a heavy footfall location, there may have been members of the public travelling through Woodcroft Road who saw something.
“I urge those people to come forward and speak to my officers without delay.
“No matter how insignificant you think it may be please do make the call.
“We are building the sequence of events leading up to and immediately following this attack which has led to a man’s death, your call could complete the picture.”
Inquiries into the circumstances continue.