UK

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

The UK is to offer antibody testing to the general public this week for the first time. Who will be able to get a test? Anyone aged 18 or over in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland will be able to opt in to a programme when they get a PCR test. They will be

An antibody testing programme for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 is to be launched across the UK. The government’s new programme is intended to produce data on antibody protections for people following infection by different coronavirus variants. From Tuesday, anyone aged 18 or over in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, will be

The UK has recorded 32,058 more COVID cases and 104 further deaths in the latest 24-hour period, according to government data. On Friday 37,314 new cases and 114 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were recorded. And this time last week, 29,520 cases and 93 deaths were reported. Another 57,289 people had their

England’s progress to the Euro 2020 final caused a “significant risk to public health across the UK”, according to scientists from Public Health England (PHE). Data from NHS Test and Trace showed that more than 9,000 COVID cases were linked to Euro 2020 football games. Wembley hosted eight matches during the month-long tournament and figures

An Afghan boy, five, died in a fall from a ninth-floor Sheffield hotel window just days after fleeing the Taliban, it has been reported. South Yorkshire Police is appealing for information following the death on Wednesday. In a statement, the force said: “It is reported that a five-year-old boy fell from the window of the

People who become infected with the Delta variant even after being fully vaccinated may still pass the virus on, undermining hopes of herd immunity, new research suggests. Scientists at the University of Oxford found levels of the virus could be just as high in people who get COVID despite having both jabs as in those

The collapse of Afghanistan’s government happened faster “than even the Taliban predicted”, the prime minister has told MPs, but he denied the UK had been caught “unawares”. Opening a recalled session of parliament to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan, Boris Johnson claimed it was “not true” to say the UK was “unprepared” for or “did

The UK will take up to 20,000 vulnerable Afghans over the coming years as part of a resettlement plan, following the Taliban takeover of their country. Under the new bespoke scheme – modelled on the UK’s seven-year programme to resettle Syrian refugees – the prime minister has promised thousands of Afghans who are most in

A child has been taken to hospital by air ambulance following a collision between a car and pedestrians, Sussex Police have said. Six others were also taken to hospital by road, including three children with potentially serious injuries. Officers were called shortly after 4.30pm on Monday after the incident on College Road in the West