The education secretary has insisted children must return to a “normal pre-pandemic” experience in schools, despite the risk of an increase in COVID cases. Gavin Williamson said testing would be key to guarding against rising infection rates, but refused to outline what the government’s “contingency plan” for other potential measures might involve. Experts are predicting
UK
The UK has recorded 207 more coronavirus-related deaths in the latest 24-hour period, government data shows. It is the highest figure since 9 March when 231 deaths were reported. There have also been another 35,693 COVID cases recorded. The figures compare with 32,181 infections and 50 fatalities reported on Tuesday and 35,847 cases and 149
Students go back to school in England and Wales this week amid concerns over a lack of preparedness for COVID-19. Representatives of headteachers and other school leaders have criticised the government for what they call a “hit and hope” strategy for pupils returning. Many of the precautions present during the last academic year – including
Fereba Hafizi couldn’t sleep last night, she was so excited to see her 79-year-old mother, Layloma, again. Fereba ran towards her mother as Layloma waited outside the hotel where she’s been quarantining for 10 days since returning from Kabul. As they embraced, both women sobbed and kissed each other’s faces. Then, Layloma fainted. Afghanistan latest
A policeman’s widow is increasing her pressure on politicians to make killing an emergency worker punishable with a mandatory life sentence, a year after launching her campaign. Lissie Harper was left bereaved when her husband, PC Andrew Harper, was caught in strapping attached to a car in August 2019 and dragged behind the vehicle. It
The former Royal Marine who founded an animal shelter in Afghanistan has apologised for the “incredibly embarrassing” language he used in a voicemail to a government aide as he tried to leave the country. Paul “Pen” Farthing arrived at London Heathrow on a privately-funded charter flight from Kabul at around 7.30am on Sunday – with
A woman found dead at a property in Kettering, Northamptonshire, has been named as Maddie Durdant-Hollamby. Northamptonshire Police said the 22-year-old’s death is being treated as murder. The body of a man was also found in the property, and police have said they are not looking for anyone further in connection with their inquiries. Senior
The human cost of Britain’s withdrawal from Afghanistan will be felt by those who were eligible to return to the UK but did not make it on to flights out of Kabul. It is unclear exactly how many eligible people remain, but among them are the family of a man called Mohammad, whose name has
The last remaining UK troops have been flown out of Kabul airport, ending Britain’s 20-year campaign in Afghanistan. It comes as the last dedicated flight purely for the evacuation effort left the Afghan capital last night – ahead of the 31 August deadline set by Joe Biden for American forces to withdraw. Operation Pitting has
One of the Britons killed in the Kabul bomb attack has been named as Mohammad Niazi, who died along with his wife and two of their children after he went to Afghanistan to rescue them. The 29-year-old taxi driver and father-of-four travelled to Kabul on Tuesday to bring his family to safety in the UK.
Two British men and the teenage child of a third UK national were among those killed in the terror attack outside Kabul airport yesterday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said. Some 95 mostly Afghans, and 13 US troops, died in the suicide bombing, which was claimed by ISIS-K, an offshoot of the so-called Islamic State
Scotland has recorded its highest number of daily COVID cases ever but the government has denied it will go into a circuit breaker lockdown. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said there was a “very sharp rise” yesterday as 6,835 cases were recorded, 1,910 more than the day before. It is the highest number of infections recorded
A coronavirus infection presents a much higher risk of developing a blood clot than a first dose of either the AstraZeneca or the Pfizer jab, a study has found. The research used findings from more than 29 million people who were vaccinated with first doses of either jab. The study showed although there was an
Award-winning radio presenter Lisa Shaw died due to rare complications from the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, a coroner has ruled. Ms Shaw, 44, lost her life in May, just over three weeks after receiving her first dose, an inquest in Newcastle heard on Thursday. The BBC Radio Newcastle host – referred to by her married name,
Festival-goers will be able to grab a COVID-19 jab as easily as a beer or a burger at the Reading and Leeds festivals this weekend. It comes as more than half a million 16 to 17-year-olds have received their first shot, according to NHS England. Music fans can get vaccinated in between sets at pop-up
A woman and two children have died in a crash involving a motorhome and a lorry. The woman, 44, a nine-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy were passengers in the grey motorhome which collided with a white HGV on the A64, near York, on Tuesday night, North Yorkshire Police said. A spokeswoman said a six-year-old
COVID-19 protection from two doses of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines begins to wane within six months, new research suggests. In a reasonable “worst-case scenario”, protection could fall to below 50% for the elderly and healthcare workers by winter, analysis from the Zoe COVID study found. The Pfizer-BioNTech jab was 88% effective at preventing
The UK has recorded a further 30,838 coronavirus cases and 174 deaths in the latest 24-hour period. This compares with the 31,914 new COVID cases and 40 deaths reported yesterday. This time last week, 17 August, the UK recorded 26,852 cases and 170 deaths. On Monday, 46,401 people were given their first dose of a
A person from Afghanistan on the UK’s no-fly list has been flown into Birmingham as part of the British evacuation operation in a potential security breach, MPs have been told. The individual, who is not being identified by the government, is understood to have reached UK soil on a British military plane, with officials being
The UK has agreed to buy 35 million more doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as it prepares to administer booster shots – while the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said booster shots should be delayed to raise vaccination rates globally. The coronavirus vaccines, which will be delivered from the second half of next