It was “respectful” and the “right thing to do” to give Tony Blair a knighthood, the Commons Speaker has said. Sir Lindsay Hoyle said all former prime ministers should be given the honour because it is “one of the toughest jobs in the world”. “Whatever people might think, it is one of the toughest jobs
Month: January 2022
Secondary school students in England are again being asked to wear masks in classrooms to help tackle the rise in Omicron coronavirus cases. The recommendation comes as the government pledges to keep face-to-face education going despite surging COVID-19 infections in England, with a record 162,572 new cases reported on Saturday. Masks will “maximise the number
Microsoft says it is aware of a programming flaw which saw some customers’ Exchange servers stop processing emails just as the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve. System administrators, who are sharing workarounds on social media, have dubbed the bug Y2K22 – in the style of the Y2K bug which affected some computers at
Emergency services searching for people missing after wildfires swept through communities in Colorado will use cadaver dogs to hunt through layers of fresh snow covering the smouldering debris. Three people are missing and nearly 1,000 homes were destroyed and hundreds damaged in the fires, the cause of which is still unknown. For those who escaped
Contingency plans are being drawn up over fears a quarter of public sector workers could be absent due to the Omicron wave of COVID infections. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told ministers to test preparations for a possible worst-case scenario as daily coronavirus numbers continue to hit record levels. All government departments are also renewing
At least 12 people have been killed and 15 injured in a stampede at a popular Hindu shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said. The crush in the early morning at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine came as a thousands gathered to mark the start of the new year. India’s prime minister Narendra Modi offered condolences
Those feeling the effects of the night before on New Year’s Day will be disheartened after a new study revealed that so-called hangover cures showed no convincing signs of working. Researchers from King’s College London and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust assessed 21 placebo-controlled trials of 23 treatments thought to alleviate hangovers. These
A 14-year-old girl died after being hit by a car in a New Year’s Eve collision that led to the arrest of a suspected drug-driver. The teenager was on Station Road, near Rowley Regis railway station in Sandwell in the West Midlands, at around 4.45pm on Friday when she was struck by a grey Mercedes.
Guy Hands, the billionaire financier, is plotting the sale of the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) biggest landlord in what could be one of Britain’s biggest private equity deals of 2022. Sky News has learnt that Mr Hands’ Terra Firma Capital Partners has begun talks with investment banks about overseeing an auction of Annington Homes. City
Tributes have been paid at the state funeral in South Africa of Archbishop Desmond Tutu – described as a “giant” in the anti-apartheid struggle who “lit up the world”. Tutu, who died aged 90 on 26 December, helped spearhead the fight against white minority rule and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 in recognition
New post-Brexit customs rules for goods arriving in Britain from the European Union have come into effect, changes that a leading food industry body has warned could cause disruption and potentially lead to food shortages. Importers must now make full customs declarations on goods entering the UK from the EU and other countries. Traders can
Tributes have been paid to veteran actress Betty White who has died less than three weeks before her 100th birthday. The Golden Girls star, whose career spanned eight decades, reportedly died at her home on New Year’s Eve. Her death was confirmed by her longtime agent and close friend, Jeff Witjas. He told Associated Press