COVID-19 booster jabs will be able to be booked a month earlier under a change that comes into effect on Monday 8 November. Currently, people in England have to wait until six months after their second dose before they are eligible to book their booster jab. But the change will mean that they can make
UK
The UK has reported a further 34,029 coronavirus cases and 193 deaths in the past 24-hour period, according to government figures. For comparison 37,269 COVID-19 cases and 214 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were reported on Thursday. There were 43,467 cases and 186 deaths reported this time last week. Another 334,398 booster
A new chairman has been appointed by Yorkshire County Cricket Club, which is vowing to do “whatever it takes” to regain trust after a former player accused it of institutional racism. Lord Kamlesh Patel of Bradford has been appointed as a director and chair of the Club in the wake of Azeem Rafiq‘s allegations. Following
An electrician who thought he had got away with the murders of two young women 34 years ago is facing the rest of his life in jail after new DNA techniques finally identified him. David Fuller, 67, pleaded guilty to murdering Wendy Knell, 25, and Caroline Pierce, 20, in two separate attacks in Tunbridge Wells,
The UK has become the first country to approve a “game-changing” anti-viral pill that can be taken at home to treat COVID-19. Molnupiravir can be taken by those who have tested positive and have at least one risk factor for developing severe illness, such as obesity, being over 60, diabetes or heart disease. After promising
Cervical cancer rates are almost 90% lower in women vaccinated against HPV, a new study has found. Women offered the vaccine between the ages of 12 and 13 were found to have cancer rates 87% lower than in previous generations, according to a study published in The Lancet. Researchers also found a reduction of 62%
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam has warned of a “potentially problematic” Christmas due to COVID-19 and said he thinks there will be “hard months to come”. England’s deputy chief medical officer said the UK is at “half-time in extra time” in tackling coronavirus. “I think the final whistle in terms of – I can’t predict it –
Free blood pressure monitors are to be given to more than 200,000 people in a bid to prevent heart attacks and strokes. The NHS will make 220,000 devices available to people who have been diagnosed with uncontrolled high blood pressure to enable them to carry out checks at home. More than 65,000 people have already
Two Metropolitan Police officers have pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office after sharing photos of the bodies of two murdered sisters on WhatsApp. PC Deniz Jaffer 47, and PC Jamie Lewis, 33, appeared before Judge Mark Lucraft at the Old Bailey on Tuesday morning charged with committing misconduct in a public office between
The rollout of smart motorways should be suspended amid safety concerns, MPs and campaigners have said. Government plans to remove the hard shoulder from all future smart motorways and use the lane for live traffic are “premature”, a report from Commons Transport Select Committee (TSC) has said. Demonstrators carried 38 cardboard coffins to the Houses
An electrician accused of murdering two women more than 30 years ago sexually assaulted dead bodies in the mortuaries of hospitals he worked at, a court has heard. David Fuller is standing trial at Maidstone Crown Court in Kent accused of the murders of Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce in 1987. Both women were found
Two trains have crashed near Salisbury station and emergency services are at the scene, Wiltshire Police have said. No one has died, but a number of people have been injured, British Transport Police said. Its officers were called to Fisherton Tunnel at 6.46pm on Sunday. There are unconfirmed reports that one of the train drivers
A man and two women have died and another woman is fighting for her life after a group of paddleboarders got into difficulties on a river in Wales, police have confirmed. Emergency services first received reports of people in distress in the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest shortly after 9am on Saturday. A huge search and
A search and rescue operation launched after a group got into “distress” on a river in Wales has been stood down. Speaking on Saturday evening, DCI Jonathan Rees of Dyfed-Powys Police said everyone in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, had been accounted for. He said the priority was to ensure that all those involved, and their families, had
Boris Johnson has warned that success in the fight to tackle global warming “is going to very difficult” but “the whole of humanity is in the ring.” Imploring world leaders to act as the G20 summit begins in Rome on Saturday, the prime minister told Sky News’ Beth Rigby there is “a chance, if everybody
Prince Andrew’s lawyers in the US have asked a judge to dismiss his accuser Virginia Giuffre’s civil lawsuit. Ms Giuffre has accused the Duke of York of sexually abusing her when she was 17, more than 20 years ago. In court filings, the duke said he “unequivocally denies” sexually abusing or assaulting her. His request
The government is accelerating contingency plans for the collapse of Bulb, Britain’s seventh-biggest domestic energy supplier – a demise that would mark by far the biggest insolvency of the crisis engulfing the sector. Sky News has learnt that ministers and officials, along with the industry regulator Ofgem, believe that Bulb – which has around 1.7
The UK has summoned the French ambassador after a British scallop trawler was detained – as a row over fishing rights continues to escalate. A government spokesman condemned “unjustified” threats from France over further action amid the ongoing dispute. Brexit minister Lord Frost chaired a meeting on Thursday to consider London’s response. “The proposed French
Glasgow has been hit by flooding just days before the city hosts the crucial climate change summit COP26. Footage and pictures on social media shows cars driving through flood water in some streets as heavy rain lashes the city and causes disruption to transport. Some Glasgow residents have tweeted that several roads including Maryhill Road,
A teenager who butchered two sisters after believing he had made a chilling pact with a demon has been jailed for at least 35 years. Danyal Hussein, 19, has never explained his motive, but at his home detectives found a hand-written “contract” with “the mighty king Lucifuge Rofocale” in which he promised to sacrifice women