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Elderly Britons jabbed with AstraZeneca's vaccine are less likely to have Covid antibodies than those who given Pfizer's, a study has suggested.  Imperial College London experts found that fewer than 85 per cent of over-80s had detectable levels of the virus-fighting proteins two weeks after their second AZ jab.  By contrast, the proportion of over-80s with antibodies after getting the second Pfizer vaccine was almost 98 per cent. The findings came from Britain's largest surveillance study, known as REACT-2, which randomly tests blood samples from hundreds of thousands of Britons. Although antibodies are just one part of the overall immune response to Covid, experts said they were not totally surprising.  Professor Ian Jones, a virologist at Reading University, told MailOnline the British jab was less likely to spark immunity because it relied on a weakened cold virus.  In some cases the body may attack this virus instead of the Covid proteins on its surface, which results

NHS England will send text messages to more than half a million people urging them to get their second Covid jab early as part of a last minute vaccine dash ahead of Freedom Day. About 650,000, mostly young, people who have been waiting eight or more weeks for their second dose will receive a text from ‘NHSvaccine’ in the coming days.   Government figures show that the UK hit its target of getting two-thirds of all adults fully vaccinated on July 14, five days ahead of schedule. But soaring Covid case numbers and rising hospital admissions have given ministers fresh impetus to get even more people fully protected before the country lifts most remaining restrictions on Monday. It follows a change of policy from No10’s vaccine advisors who have slashed the minimum wait time between Covid jabs to eight weeks. Previously, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation , which advises No10 on the Covid vaccine rollout, recommended people wait 12 weeks for their second vaccine. Sir Kei

A businessman dubbed Candyman 2.0 who flaunts bikini clad women and sports cars on social media has sent a message to the teenagers who ransacked a luxury car owned by his pregnant partner. Posting a series of Instagram stories on Tuesday night, Gold Coast influencer Troy 'Candy' Williams detailed the saga to his 165,000 followers.  The video shows the teens filmed their crime and tagged Mr Williams' Instagram account as they ransacked the turquoise Mercedes parked in the driveway of the couple's home.  'Little c***s took my s*** out of my mrs car,' he wrote.   Mr Williams offered a cash reward to his followers in return for information on the identity of the offenders and the return of his items.  Posting an update to his Instagram, he thanked his followers for helping him track down the names and addresses of the thieves, revealing he received most of his items back.  Mr Williams did not go to the police, but instead spoke with the father of one of the teens

The Iranian-American journalist at the center of an international kidnapping plot says she only learned the 'shocking' extent of the scheme last night when four men were charged and that she worked with the FBI to track down those responsible.  Masih Alinejad, a journalist and human rights activist who has been a sharp critic of Iran, told CNN on Wednesday she only discovered the details of the elaborate plan overnight despite the FBI telling her eight months ago she wasn't safe.  The 44-year-old, who lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and son, said she spent three months living in different safe houses after the FBI told her she was being tracked by a US private investigator hired by Iranian intelligence operatives. Prosecutors say the Iranians, at one point, had a live feed of her home. While in the safe houses, Alinejad said the FBI asked her to keep going live on Instagram to her five million followers without providing a location to see if the Iranian operati

The world’s rarest stamp is returning to Britain after 143 years. The British Guiana 1c Magenta, printed in 1856, is described as ‘the Mona Lisa of the stamp world’. Stamp dealer Stanley Gibbons paid £6.2million ($8.3million) for it at auction last month. It will go on display in a zero-oxygen frame at its central London store. Stamp dealer Stanley Gibbons paid £6.2million for this stamp printed in British Guiana in 1856 The stamp, pictured, was used to post a newspaper and was sold by a Scottish schoolboy in 1873 to a collector for six shillings  Gram for gram, the stamp is thought to be the most valuable man-made item in the world – 2.5million times more valuable than gold. Octagonal, printed in black on magenta paper and measuring 29mm by 26mm, it features a three-masted ship with the motto ‘Damus Petimus Que Vicissim’, meaning ‘we give and expect in return’. Graham Shircore, of Stanley Gibbons, said: ‘The British Guiana 1c Magenta really is the Holy Grail of philately. It’s truly o

He began his reign as the dashing image of knightly chivalry. He ended it as a bloated, stinking whale, hated and feared across the land Henry VIII was one of the most magnetic characters in English history. Tall, handsome, charming and clever, a fine musician and a magnificent sportsman, he was also grasping, impulsive, suspicious and cruel. He began his reign as the dashing image of knightly chivalry. He ended it as a bloated, stinking whale, hated and feared across the land. But in his determination to preserve his Tudor dynasty, Henry changed England in ways that still echo today. Succeeding his father in 1509, Henry ruled during one of the most revolutionary periods in European history — the Reformation, when rebellious thinkers were challenging the hold of the Roman Catholic Church. At first Henry treated the new ideas with suspicion. The new books were burned in public and rebels against the Catholic Church, who were nicknamed Protestants, were dragged to their deaths. But then

A woman trapped inside a Covid-addled apartment in Melbourne has revealed she is 'very annoyed' after sharing a lift with infected removalists. Four new cases recorded on Wednesday are residents on the third floor of the Ariele Apartments in Maribyrnong, which has been in lockdown since Monday night after the infected removalists from Sydney visited the building.  Resident Cherryll Scott vented her frustration on Thursday morning, explaining that she was inside the apartment block's only lift lift with the infected men - who were not wearing face masks.  'I was actually in the lift with the furniture when it was going up and down,' she told Today host Allison Langdon.   More to come 

Britney Spears wants her father charged with conservatorship abuse, a court in Los Angeles was reportedly told on Wednesday, during a hearing in which she is applying to appoint her own lawyer and bring about an end to the 13-year arrangement.  Supporters of the #FreeBritney movement gathered outside Los Angeles Supreme Court for the hearing, where the star's hand-picked attorney Mathew Rosengart will argue that he should take over her case. The court hearing kicked off at 1.30pm local time at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles where Judge Brenda Penny was set to hear arguments on who should represent Spears in her battle to remove her father Jamie as her conservator and end the conservatorship. The 39-year-old pop star picked her choice last week, signing a legal document requesting to hire the high-profile former federal prosecutor Rosengart. This comes after her longtime court-appointed attorney Samuel Ingham resigned in the wake of Spears' bombshell court a