Official figures show about 10,000 excess deaths since June. Some of them might be caused by delays in diagnosis and treatment during the lockdown. Department of Health and Social Care confirms early investigation suggests circulatory diseases and diabetes may be partly responsible for the majority of excess deaths.

The Tory leadership candidates’ latest debate was steered by the Bank of England’s warning of economic hardship. Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak says Liz Truss’s plan to cut tax could fuel inflation, while the foreign secretary says the government needs to take bold action to revive the economy and prevent a recession.

Japan’s Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving leader of modern Japan, was gunned down today while campaigning for a parliamentary election. His assassination has shocked the world. Police arrested the suspected shooter at the scene.

Events were held Tuesday to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire, the deadliest domestic blaze since the Second World War. Politicians, survivors, neighbors, and members of the public paid tribute to the victims. Campaigners are calling for those responsible for the fire to face prosecution.

A war Russia expected to win in a few hours has lasted more than three months and enters its 100th day Friday. Ukrainian troops are holding out in a key city in Luhansk province that Moscow sees as its key target to take control of the Donbas region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces currently occupy about 20 percent of his country’s territory and battle frontlines now stretch more than 600 miles. Russian troops are advancing in some key cities in the Donbas region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian forces have “completely destroyed” the eastern Donbas region, and that they are trying to kill as many Ukrainians as possible. Moscow says that it will soon get full control of Luhansk, as it ramps up its assault.

Top American diplomats were in Kyiv Sunday, the highest-level U.S. visit since the invasion. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin brought news of an increase in military aid for Ukraine. Meanwhile, residents hiding in a bunker under the Mariupol steelworks are calling for help.

A Russian ultimatum to Ukrainian troops in Mariupol to surrender by this afternoon has passed. A marine commander says they are facing their last days if not hours. The deputy mayor of the city casts doubt on Russia’s claim of a humanitarian corridor and calls on the West to provide promised weapons as quickly as possible.

A member of the “Beatles”, the notorious ISIS terror cell responsible for the beheadings of Western hostages, was on Thursday found guilty by a U.S. court. All four members of the cell are from the U.K. The trial in the U.S. was about their role in the deaths of four Americans, including a young woman. […]

Finland says it will make a decision within ‘weeks’ about whether to apply to join the U.S.-led NATO alliance. Sweden is contemplating a similar move. It underlines a shift in security perspectives since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has again warned the Nordic countries not to join NATO.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin says Moscow had no choice but to launch the military operation in Ukraine. He says the goal of the operation is noble as it is to help people in the Donbas region and ensure Russia’s safety. Ukraine has invited forensic experts from France to witness its exhuming of a mass grave […]

Armed Forces minister James Heappey says Western officials are looking into the reports that Russian forces used chemical weapons attacking Ukrainian forces in Mariupol.

Ukraine says at least 50 people died, including at least five children, after two rockets hit a railway station in the Donetsk region. Moscow denies any involvement, saying they don’t have that type of missiles. And 26 bodies were found under two ruined buildings in Borodyanka, a town northwest of Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says […]

Ukraine says the bodies of at least 410 civilians have been found in areas outside the capital after last week’s withdrawal of Russian troops. Kyiv is investigating over four-thousand cases of war crimes and will seek justice in the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Please note that some viewers may find the following scenes disturbing.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence says Ukraine’s forces have retaken key areas in the north, and Russia will have to re-equip and refurbish these troops significantly before redeploying them. NATO expects the war will enter a crucial phase in the coming weeks when Russia focusses its efforts on Ukraine’s east.

A British family of five was struck by a landslide while hiking in the Blue Mountains in Australia. Police have recovered the bodies of the father and a son, while the mother and another son have been critically injured. The only member of the family to walk out of the incident is the 15-year-old daughter. […]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a visit to the town of Bucha that the alleged Russian massacre there makes the peace talks harder to conduct. In some other parts of the country, Ukraine’s emergency service is busy de-mining the areas Ukrainian troops have reclaimed. Russian troops hit some fuel facilities in Odesa, and the Black Sea […]

Russia is accusing Ukraine of attacking a fuel depot on Russian soil. Ukraine’s foreign minister refuses to confirm or reject the accusation. The Kremlin says the attack doesn’t create comfortable conditions for peace talks. And Ukraine says Russian soldiers have pulled from the Chernobyl nuclear power station.

Despite Russia’s promise of scaling down attacks around Kyiv, the capital’s mayor says the sound of shelling could still be heard. President Zelenskyy says Ukrainians are not naive and as long as Russian forces are in his country there’s no reason to trust Moscow’s words. The Kremlin says it’s impossible to discuss the sovereignty of Crimea.

The United Nations said it has evidence showing that Russia used cluster bombs in populated areas in Ukraine, which may amount to war crimes. The U.N. also said nearly 550 civilians have lost their lives and 2.5 million Ukrainians have fled the country. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the war has reached a strategic turning point.

Residents of the eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy are leaving in the first evacuation through a humanitarian corridor. Meanwhile, Kyiv accuses Moscow of shelling the corridor used to flee the besieged city of Mariupol. British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says Russian President Vladimir Putin is not getting his way as forces have not made many advances while […]

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced more military support for Ukraine, and he says there will be more sanctions targeting Russian companies on international markets.

The crisis enters a new stage after Russian President Putin officially recognized two rebel-held regions in Eastern Ukraine. The West condemned the move as an illegal act fearing it could lead to a full-scale Russian invasion. Germany says it stopped the Nord Stream 2 pipeline whilst EU ministers are about to decide on a package of sanctions targetting Russia.

Hundreds of people were rescued from a ferry that caught fire between Greece and Italy in the early hours of Friday morning. The ferry had sailed from western Greece and was headed to the Italian port of Brindisi. There are no reported casualties or severe injuries. The coastguard said over 200 passengers and over 50 crew […]

President Vladimir Putin said that Russia does not want a war in Europe and is ready to talk with the West about military transparency. He met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Moscow to discuss Ukraine tensions. Russia has announced it’s pulling back some troops. Scholz welcomed the pull-back, saying diplomatic options to avoid war had not been […]

The world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic has arrived back in Belgrade. It follows a two-week saga over his visa, in which he ultimately lost his appeal against a deportation order. Three court judges on Sunday upheld the decision that Djokovic’s visa be canceled on “public interest” grounds. They deemed that his decision not […]

The rapid spread of the Omicron variant boosted supermarkets’ sales over the key period around Christmas. People deserted restaurants and pubs and turned to the supermarket aisles to entertain smaller groups at home. Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Marks & Spencer all saw record sales of their champagne, sparkling wines, and premium range food over the Christmas […]

As the Omicron variant continues to spread across the UK, pressure is mounting on the country’s health service. Staff shortages largely due to self-isolation are prompting the Ministry of Defence to deploy troops in London. Around 200 armed forces personnel are being made available to hospitals across the capital.

A nationwide shortage of lateral flow tests has left many worried. Some people need the tests to be able to go to work. The shadow health minister says it’s “unbelievable” the prime minister has not checked the number of tests available.

AstraZeneca is a British-Swedish company, and the COVID-19 vaccine it developed with Oxford University is widely used around the world. This year, the vaccine suffered some controversy over side effects of blood clots and bleeding. But it’s still a key part of the UK’s mass vaccination campaign after being declared safe by the regulator. NTD […]

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told members of Parliament on Thursday that the government was operating in Afghanistan according to a UK intelligence assessment, which indicated Kabul was “unlikely” to fall this year.

Thousands of police officers are preparing for the upcoming 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). It’s expected to be one of the largest policing operations ever undertaken in Britain.

European Union ministers met Tuesday to discuss Afghanistan and how Europe will deal with the expected flow of migrants. Ministers agreed to step up aid to Afghanistan and its neighbors but could not agree on a common policy on accepting asylum-seekers fleeing Taliban rule.

Hundreds of Afghan military commandos have been evacuated to the UK. The Ministry of Defense is assessing how Britain can support them and utilize their skills. One proposal is to form a new Army regiment, like the Gurkhas.

NATO forces have begun withdrawing from Afghanistan. But Turkish civilian experts could remain in the country to help the Taliban run Kabul airport, possibly keeping open a way out.

European countries are rushing to evacuate people from Afghanistan as the Aug. 31 deadline for the withdrawal of foreign troops draws closer, after the U.S. president on Tuesday rejected calls from allies to extend the deadline.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Britain will not take any military action in Afghanistan. The priority is to evacuate British citizens and those who helped the UK.

A man suspected of killing five people in Plymouth before shooting himself is named as local Jake Davison. Devon and Cornwall police have confirmed a 3-year-old girl is among the victims. Officials say it’s not terror-related.

An investigation has found that controversial LGBT charity Stonewall got more than 1 million pounds a year from over 300 taxpayer-funded bodies in the UK.

The government says China’s largest gene company must register its prenatal test with UK regulators by Sept. 1 if it wants to keep offering products in Britain.

Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians took to the streets one year ago in the biggest challenge to Alexander Lukashenko’s rule since he became president in 1994. With little sign that his grip on power is weakening, more and more Belarusians are subject to a life in exile. Reporting by Trevor Piper  

Many people in France support the law requiring a health pass to access bars and restaurants, due to come into effect on Monday. But business owners are more concerned about what it means for them.