Ministers refuse to rule out new local lockdowns

Latest updates and essential advice from The Independent [View in browser]( [Alternate text] Daily briefing May 17, 2021 Today’s essential news from the source you trust This morning’s headlines The shadow of the highly infectious Indian variant of Covid-19 hung over [Britain’s biggest step yet out of lockdown]( on Monday, as ministers warned they could not rule out regionalised restrictions or the reversal of moves towards normal life. With pubs and restaurants reopening indoors in England and Wales and further relaxations in most of Scotland, the prime minister, Boris Johnson, urged Britons to enjoy their new freedoms with “a heavy dose of caution”. New figures showed positive cases and deaths from coronavirus beginning to creep upwards after a precipitous fall from peaks in January, with infections in variant hotspots Bolton, Blackburn and Bedford continuing to grow. The health secretary, Matt Hancock, warned that the B1.617.2 variant, thought to be partly responsible for the raging pandemic in India, could “spread like wildfire” among unvaccinated groups in the UK. Four men have been arrested by officers investigating a video that appeared to show [antisemitic abuse being shouted from a car]( in London on Sunday, the Metropolitan Police said. Mr Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer denounced the incident in which threats were apparently shouted from a convoy of vehicles driving through a Jewish community in the capital. Footage showed a group of cars adorned with Palestinian flags driving down Finchley Road on Sunday, with several individuals standing up through the sunroofs and waving flags as one man shouted: “F*** their mothers. Rape their daughters. We have to send a message.” Gaza [will run out of fuel to run its power station]( in two days, according to officials who warned it will see homes and hospitals plunged into darkness after the most intense bouts of fighting since the 2014 war. Households across much of the tiny blockaded strip are already only receiving four hours of power a day because of the closure of the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel through which Gaza receives its fuel. The fighting has also damaged power lines to Israel, which, according to Israeli media, has cut more than 230,000 Gazans off from electricity. But now there could be total blackouts if no new fuel is brought to the strip to power the last remaining turbine at the Strip’s power plant. . We need your support The Independent employs over 100 journalists around the world to bring you news you can trust. Please consider showing your support with a contribution. [Contribute]( . Top stories [Education secretary criticised for ‘galling’ comment on ‘dead-end’ courses]( [Row with EU over fish threatening deal for finance sector, government told]( [Elon Musk hints Tesla has dumped Bitcoin holdings]( . . Stories chosen for you - [Was Brexit the root cause of the arrival of Indian Covid variant?]( - [Boris Johnson’s Brexit trade deal risking political stability in Northern Ireland, says minister]( - [Labour’s ratings slump to 12-month low after Hartlepool defeat]( - [Rows with EU over fish threatening deal for finance sector, warn Lib Dems]( - [‘Red Wall’ seats would have been safer under my leadership, Burnham says]( . News you can trust The Independent has a 100% NewsGuard trust rating [NewsGuard] [Find out more]( . If you can spare two minutes we’d love to hear your [feedback]( on our newsletters [Alternate text] Join the conversation or follow us [Twitter]( [Facebook]( Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's News email. Add us to your safe list of senders. If you do not want to receive The Independent News Daily Briefing email, please [unsubscribe](list_name=IND_Headlines_Masterlist_CDP). If you no longer wish to receive any newsletters or promotional emails from The Independent, you can unsubscribe [here](. This e-mail was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF. Registered in England and Wales with company number 07320345. Read our [privacy notice]( and [cookie policy](.