‘We are finally starting to turn the corner’: Business leaders welcome easing of Covid curbs and end of WFH as boost for city centres – but unions urge caution about rushing back to offices and say axing mask rule is ‘premature’ Boris Johnson announced today Plan B Covid rules in England are being lifted  Mandatory face masks and Covid passes […]

Causing a FENCE! ‘Neighbour from hell’ builds 3ft-tall wooden barrier along shared driveway with couple next door – stopping them opening car doors or putting out their bins Chris and Millie Adams said Matthew Carter had left them ‘living in a nightmare’ They blasted the 3ft fence at their house in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire They slammed him for leaving barely enough […]

BBC warned it is ‘threatening future of independent local journalism’ with plan to employ 100 more regional web news reporters News Media Association says BBC is trying to be ‘monolithic provider of news’ Group says its coverage poses ‘direct threat to strength and plurality of news’ There are proposals to create more than 100 digital reporter roles for local news […]

FACE masks WILL still be needed on the Tube and all London transport despite Plan B being ripped up from next week, Sadiq Khan has said. Boris Johnson announced he is scrapping almost all Covid restrictions which were introduced last month to help fight off the Omicron wave. The PM declared wearing masks in public spaces like trains, buses, and […]

JOE Biden is set to give just his second solo press conference as president today. President Biden is scheduled to speak at the White House at 4pm ET, according to his official schedule. The address comes on the final day of his first year in the Oval Office, and as his popularity with Americans continues to slip. Biden's approval rating […]

Outside their usual docket of blockbuster constitutional controversies, Supreme Court justices are divided over something else: face masks. The high court returned to in-person arguments in October, but a recent surge in COVID cases due to the omicron variant has the justices split over safety protocols. Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor has diabetes, which puts her at higher risk for a […]

Fears and fighting spirit of a nation in Kremlin crosshairs: IAN BIRRELL reports from inside Ukraine as experts warn Russian invasion is imminent Oksana Lanskaya, a mother and successful Ukrainian food entrepreneur, admits being scared now that Russian military forces have encircled her nation and the threat of war grows stronger. As at least 100,000 Russian troops mass on the […]

By Simon Lewis and Susan Heavey    WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden's top diplomat will seek to defuse a crisis with Moscow over Ukraine when he meets the Russian foreign minister in Geneva this week following visits with Ukrainian leaders in Kyiv and European officials in Berlin.    Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel amid concerns voiced by Ukraine and […]

TEACHER Ashling Murphy was laid to rest on January 18, 2022, after her heartbroken pupils gave her a special guard of honour at her funeral mass. The 23-year-old, a talented musician, was murdered on the banks of the Grand Canal in Tullamore, Co Offaly, on January 12. Who was Ashling Murphy? Ashling, from Tullamore in County Offaly, Ireland, was a […]

Academy Award winning actor Javier Bardem appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Monday, where he spoke about accidentally causing the late, great pop star Prince to begin a concert an hour late. Bardem explained that Prince invited him and his wife, actress Penelope Cruz, along with their friend, actor Jordi Mollà, to have dinner before the show. Bardem […]