Alasdair Lane

This year, as coronavirus-induced panic caused public life to retreat behind closed doors, the fortunes of socially vulnerable senior citizens plummeted. For many, being forced to curtail visits from friends and family, keeping coronavirus out meant letting loneliness in. In the not-so-distant future, however, this painful trade-off may not be necessary. That’s thanks to advances in the realm of “socially intelligent” artificial intelligence, a phenomenon that a group of British scientists is

In the frenzied first days of Britain’s coronavirus outbreak, as contagion fears reached fever pitch and public life retreated behind closed doors, the nation’s lockups locked-down. With little notice, prison visits were cancelled, exercise and education activities curtailed, and out-of-cell time cut to as little as thirty minutes a day. Such muscular measures were necessary, officials said, spurred by fears that a single super-spreader might bring down an entire institution. That COVID-19 has

On June 20, as Brits basked in the mid-summer sunshine, terror struck with little warning. Armed with a knife, 25-year-old Khairi Saadallah walked into a park in Reading and stabbed to death three friendsin a frenzied, indiscriminate attack, prosecutors allege. It was — in the words of Neil Basu, head of UK counter-terror policing — the "re-emergence" of one disease, extremism, as another, COVID-19, recedes. He is not alone in his concern. Deprived of social stimulation during lockdown, expert

In 2015, George Osborne - then the U.K.’s finance minister - crowed that Britain was China’s “best partner in the West”. What a difference five years can make. As Beijing mobilizes against Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, and London looks to lock Huawei out of its 5G future, Anglo-Chinese relations are in freefall. On Monday (July 6), things came to a head. The U.K. is guilty of “gross interference,” decried Ambassador Liu Xiaoming, Beijing’s man in Britain, in typically sharp-tongued fash

As Poles head to the polls today, a presidential race-cum-culture war reaches its climax. The incumbent Andrzej Duda - a man who plays fast and loose with press freedom and the rule of law - seeks re-election on a platform of Eurosceptic populism. His principle rival, Warsaw’s cosmopolitan mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, offers voters a very different vision, one that defends Poland’s beleaguered minorities, and endorses ever closer E.U. integration. In many ways, the contest is a microcosm of much de

In the sprawling prison camps of northeastern Syria, home to hundreds-of-thousands of Islamic State (IS) detainees, coronavirus is far from the only chronic health concern. Malnutrition, hypothermia, and preventable disease stalk the fetid, overflowing terrorist penitentiaries, whilst another contagion, religious fundamentalism, proliferates unchecked. Every year, hundreds of children, many of European lineage, are born into this abject deprivation. They are the sons and daughters of some 12,00

In Scotland, a history of slave trading hides in plain sight. It’s in the striking Georgian facades of Edinburgh and Glasgow, paid for by plantation profits, and on the monuments and street names that venerate men who were enriched by human suffering. Generations of Scots have walked down Glassford Street and Ingram Street in Glasgow, for example, perhaps without real

Barren, beautiful, and sparsely populated. Social distancing comes easily on the remote islands of Scotland. Mile after mile of "machair" — windswept coastal grassland — can be strolled without encountering another living soul. For those in need of a little solitude, it's perfect; for a populace determined to keep a pandemic at bay, it's even better. As coronavirus wreaked havoc on the mainland, Scotland's offshore communities acted fast to insulate themselves, halting ferry and air arrivals fo

The soaring slopes of Wales’ Carneddau mountains make for unforgiving pastures. To survive on these alpine grasslands, species need to be as rugged as the wind-hewn hills themselves. Short, stout, and sturdy, Carneddau’s wild ponies are no exception. “They are just so hardy,” said Sandra Roberts, who's been photographing the ponies for almost a decade. Year after year, she ha

How best to describe his employees' mood last week? Mike Padgham, who runs a number of care homes in Yorkshire, doesn't know. After a lengthy pause, he finds the word: "solemn." The specter of COVID-19 had suddenly materialized, killing three of his care home residents in quick succession. To his staff, they were "part of the family." But there's been little time to mourn. Five weeks into the lockdown, Britain's care homes have become a critical front in the coronavirus fight. More than any ot

GLASGOW, Scotland — Cultivating hops is a difficult business. Long before the little cone-shaped flowers are ready for harvest, days of gruelling groundwork must be laid. For hours on end, workers kneel as they intricately thread the infant shoots around lengths of string. “Training,” as the process is known, takes skill, focus and patience. But most of all, it requires manpower — and that’s why Ali Capper is worried. “We’ve already recruited. We’ve got a team of people all hoping to come. They

Eight weeks ago, Chris* was waking to the bitter winter chill of Scotland’s east coast. With nowhere to call home and “absolutely nothing” to his name, he had run out of options, and was living on the streets. “I felt really hopeless, it was so depressing,” recalls the 30-year-old Edinburgh man. But today, he’s feeling a little brighter. “I have a nice room with its own bathroom. It’s restful and I respect everyone here,” Chris says of his current accommodation – Edinburgh’s Old Waverley Hotel,

Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. GLASGOW — From Downton Abbey to Game of Thrones, Star Wars and Batman, their artistry has enthralled millions. But now a group of British costume designers are fulfilling an altogether different public service: making scrubs for medics on the front line of the coronavirus fight. Working from makeshift studios in homes across the country, hundreds of people from the arts are plugging the

In 1940, as German bombers filled the skies over London, parliamentarians fled the historic Palace of Westminster, convening at a less obvious target nearby. Eighty years on, British lawmakers are again uprooting in the face of catastrophe, retreating to a place their predecessors could scarcely have imagined: cyberspace. While the UK remains in coronavirus lockdown, parliamentary business is to be conducted virtually, authorities announced this week. The scheme will see MPs quizzing government

Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. GLASGOW — As British politicians invoke memories of World War II’s “Blitz Spirit” during the coronavirus lockdown, and many are quietly channeling the stoic resolve their elders showed in the face of enormous hardship, some in the nation’s baking community are taking a more direct cue from history. Britain's National Loaf — a nutrient-dense whole wheat bread first produced in 1942 — has

"You're safer at home." In the UK — like other nations affected by the coronavirus pandemic — it's the enduring public health message. But for hundreds-of-thousands of British women, there's no sanctuary to be found within their own four walls. "His emotional and verbal abuse is escalating the longer we're isolated and I'm concerned that mentally I won't survive this." "We are trapped under lockdown and he can turn up at any time." "I'm having to sit in my car to get away." Shut in with thei

Glasgow, Scotland - Non-coronavirus deaths in Scotland have risen since the pandemic took hold, amid warnings of "eerily quiet" hospital departments as vulnerable people miss out on medical care. Scottish deaths in late March and early April were 60 percent higher than the five-year average - with less than half of the increase attributed to COVID-19. • Coronavirus: All you need to know about symptoms and risks • Coronavirus pandemic: Which politicians and celebs are affected? • Don't self-isol

As the worst of the winter weather recedes and Easter approaches, Fraserburgh harbor in northeast Scotland ought to be teeming with activity. Under clear skies, dozens of trawler boats would — in normal times — be setting off for the bountiful fishing grounds of the North Sea, or returning to unload their catch. But these are not normal times, and the port sits silent. A full four-fifths of the fleet is currently tied up, estimates veteran Fraserburgh skipper Mark Robertson. Like businesses the

GLASGOW — In the Outer Hebrides, a remote island chain off the west coast of Scotland, there has yet to be a confirmed case of the coronavirus. But local leaders are worried. An image shared by lawmaker Angus MacNeil paints a bleak picture of preparedness there: a primitive row of camp beds, each with a thin red blanket and blue pillow, sitting empty in a village hall. No ventilators, no

Floundering trade talks. Gunboat diplomacy. Stormy waters ahead. With Brexit and fishing, the puns come easily. But for the fishing industry’s 180,000 European employees, Britain’s E.U. departure is no joke. Its economic significance may be slight—1.6% of GDP at most—but across the continent, fishing sustains whole coastal communities. With London and Brussels at loggerheads over the sector’s future, their survival is in doubt. Britain’s waters—and the creatures in them—have long been a symbol