England: Guinness World Record for speedy electric ice cream van

England: A British inventor has achieved a Guinness World Record for the fastest electric ice cream van by reaching a speed of just over 70 miles per hour in his eco-friendly vehicle.

It's taken Edd China, who has won several records before, over two years to 'electrify' his van, which originally had a diesel engine. Ahead of the attempt in March this year which took place on an airstrip in Yorkshire an official Guinness World Record's adjudicator said China had to reach speeds of just under 70 miles per hour in order to be awarded the record, the first of it's kind. China, in his van named Edd's Electric Ices, scooped the award by getting up to 73.921 mph. He celebrated afterwards by posing for pictures with his certificate - and eating ice cream.

While it's nice to get awards according to a press release China created a conversion kit for ice cream vans to move from diesel to electric to help combat emissions - an idea he hopes will be used around the world. China's Guinness World Record will feature in the 2021 edition of the book, which is out from September 17.

UK's National History Museum gets ready to reopen

London, England: London's Natural History Museum is dusting off the blue whale that soars above its central hall, along with its dinosaur skeletons and thousands of other exhibits in preparation for re-opening next month after COVID-19 forced its closure in March.

Museum Director Michael Dixon said staff had been working for weeks to make the museum, which is one of London's most popular attractions, safe for the limited number of visitors it can accommodate with social distancing measures in place. "We want to the museum to look at its fabulous best - this great cathedral to nature," he told Reuters on Monday, July 27.

"As you can see behind me, Hope the whale is getting her annual dusting, we have brought that forward this year, and she will look her magnificent best on the 5th of August when we reopen to the public." The museum, which has been based in South Kensington since 1881, closed its doors on March 17, six days before Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered a nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Though the museum receives government support, which has been bolstered during the crisis, a lack of income from visitors has hit the museum hard, said Dixon. Even once reopened only 20 percent of the normal number of visitors would be admitted, he added.

While unfortunate for the museum, those lucky enough to get a visiting slot will be in for a "fantastic VIP experience," said Dixon. "They will be able to see things without so many people around them, and I think that will be a wonderful experience for many, many people," he said.

Cat tests positive for COVID-19 in England, first case of an animal being infected with the corona in Britain

England:"COVID-19 confirmed in pet cat in the UK. The virus responsible for coronavirus has been detected in a pet cat in the UK. The UK's Chief Veterinary Officer has confirmed that the virus responsible for coronavirus has been detected in a pet cat in the UK. The government said on Monday, July 27 in the first confirmed case of an animal being infected with the virus in Britain.

The infection was confirmed following tests at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) laboratory in Weybridge on Wednesday 22 July. Although this is the first confirmed case of an animal infection with the coronavirus strain in the UK, there is no evidence to suggest that the animal was involved in transmission of the disease to its owners or that pets or other domestic animals are able to transmit the virus to people. The advice from Public Health England is for people to wash their hands regularly, including before and after contact with animals.

The British environment ministry said, All available evidence suggests that the cat contracted the coronavirus from its owners who had previously tested positive for COVID-19. The cat and its owners have since made a full recovery and there was no transmission to other animals or people in the household. Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said: Tests conducted by the Animal and Plant Health Agency have confirmed that the virus responsible for COVID-19 has been detected in a pet cat in England. 

Both the cat and the humans made a full recovery and there was no transmission to any other animals or people in the household, the ministry said without identifying the individuals involved. The government said the infection was confirmed in lab tests on Wednesday, July 22, adding there was no evidence that cats could transmit the virus to humans.

This is a very rare event with infected animals detected to date only showing mild clinical signs and recovering within in a few days. There is no evidence to suggest that pets directly transmit the virus to humans. We will continue to monitor this situation closely and will update our guidance to pet owners should the situation change. Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director at Public Health England, said: This is the first case of a domestic cat testing positive for COVID-19 in the UK but should not be a cause for alarm. 

The investigation into this case suggest that the infection was spread from humans to animal, and not the other way round. At this time, there is no evidence that pets can transmit the disease to humans. In line with the general advice on fighting coronavirus, you should wash your hands regularly, including before and after contact with animals. 

The pet cat was initially diagnosed by a private vet with feline herpes virus, a common cat respiratory infection, but the sample was also tested for SARS-CoV-2 as part of a research programme. Follow-up samples tested at the APHA laboratory in Weybridge confirmed the cat was also co-infected with SARS-CoV2 which is the virus known to cause COVID-19 in humans. 

Pet owners can access the latest government guidance on how to continue to care for their animals during the coronavirus pandemic. The case has been reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health in line with international commitments. There have been a very small number of confirmed cases in pets in other countries in Europe, North America and Asia."

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said cats are the most susceptible animal species to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and are able to transmit it to other cats. The WHO has said it will investigate the possibility of cat-to-human infection, but its chief scientist has said there is "very little risk" from domestic animals.

England: Rembrandt and Picasso entice life back to auctions after lockdown

London: Works by Rembrandt, Miro and Picasso are being offered to entice life back to the auction world next week when Sotheby's holds its first face-to-face sale since the coronavirus in London with a line-up from the Renaissance to the European Avant Garde.

With art collectors locked down from Moscow to Manhattan and some fortunes in peril from the worst economic hit in centuries, the art auction world is trying to bring back some sparkle after the gloom of the pandemic. Sotheby's will on Tuesday, July 28 hold its first face-to-face auction at its Bond Street salerooms since the outbreak, with 71 works spanning half a millennium of European art history, from Gerhard Richter to Rembrandt.

The Rembrandt is a self portrait of the artist as a young man, one of only three left in private hands. The Dutch master looks out with the slightly affected confidence of youth. Price tag: 12-16 million pounds ($15-20 million). One of Miro's dream paintings, Peinture (Femme au chapeau rouge), from 1927, shows a woman floating against striking blue, deliberately obscure like a wistful love poem. It is on offer for 20-30 million pounds.

"It's fantastic to be back in the galleries here in Bond Street," Helena Newman, chairman of Sotheby's Europe, told Reuters.

The Picasso is a seductive image of his lover, Marie-Thérèse Walter, Femme Endormie. In charcoal on primed canvas, her curved face, arms and lips are visible but her body is only hinted at. Price: 6-9 million pounds.

Fast forward 40 years to Richter's Clouds (Window), which evoke the Romantic landscapes of Constable and the light-effects of Turner. On sale for 9-20 million pounds. Presale estimates for the auction range from 128.8 million pounds to 185.8 million pounds. There will be limited attendance and bidders will be in a separate room to the auctioneer and admittance is by ticket only.

Over a million doses of COVID-19 vaccine possible by September: Oxford researcher

Oxford, England: University of Oxford researchers hailed a "really important milestone" on Monday, July 20 as early stage trials indicated its experimental coronavirus vaccine to be safe and effective in producing an immune response.

Lead researcher Andew Pollard said the vaccine was well tolerated by over a 1,000 participants in the trial and that it successfully induces responses from both antibodies and T-cells.

Oxford's vaccine has been produced in partnership with pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca. Early estimates of the production a million doses of the experimental vaccine by September could be an underestimate depending on how quickly late-stage trials can be completed, according to one researcher.

Adrian Hill, the director of the university's Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research, said AstraZeneca's manufacturing capability meant that figured could conceivably be surpassed. He added it was possible that the vaccine would be widely available by the end of the year. The institute's research group leader, Sandy Douglas, said any potential release of the vaccine before the end of 2020 would most like begin with high risk individuals first, before being made open to the rest of the population.

The vaccine, called AZD1222, has been described by the World Health Organization's chief scientist as the leading candidate in a global race to halt a pandemic that has claimed more than 600,000 lives. More than 150 possible vaccines are in various stages of development with U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and China's CanSino Biologics also reporting positive responses for their candidates on Monday.

China says it will respond resolutely if UK sanctions officials

London, England: China will respond resolutely to any attempt by Britain to sanction Chinese officials following the imposition of a security law in Hong Kong, its ambassador in London said on Sunday, July 19.

Earlier this month Britain introduced a new sanctions regime to target individuals it says are involved in human rights abuses or organised crime. Some lawmakers in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party have said the sanctions should be used to target Chinese officials.

"If UK government goes that far to impose sanctions on any individual in China, China will certainly make a resolute response to it," Liu Xiaoming told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show. Britain says the new national security law in Hong Kong breaches agreements made before the handover and that China is crushing the freedoms that have helped make Hong Kong one of the world's biggest financial hubs.

Speaking on the same programme, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said it was clear the Uighur minority in China had suffered abuses of their human rights. But Liu told the BBC that most Uighurs were living happily and that ethnic minorities in China were treated as equals.