MoD The UK government is confident it can get British nationals out of Afghanistan, with plans for hundreds more to leave in the coming days, the defence secretary has said. Ben Wallace told the BBC the military part of Kabul’s international airport was open and secure, enabling those eligible to leave for the UK. The
Month: August 2021
There have been scenes of panic at Kabul airport as desperate residents try to flee following the seizure of the Afghan capital by the Taliban. Eyewitnesses told the BBC that at least three civilians died on Monday in the chaos at the airport, which is being secured by US troops. Commercial flights have mostly been
A powerful earthquake has struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti, killing at least 29 people. The 7.2-magnitude quake hit the west of the country on Saturday morning, toppling and damaging buildings including churches and hotels. The prime minister said there was “extensive damage” in parts of the country, and he was declaring a month-long state
PA Media The police watchdog is investigating why the man who shot dead five people in Plymouth on Thursday had been given back his confiscated gun and permit. Jake Davison was stripped of the weapon and its licence in December after he was accused of assault, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) says. It
Unknown The mother of the Plymouth gunman, Maxine Davison, and three-year-old Sophie Martyn have been named among the five victims of his shooting spree. Ms Davison, 51, was shot and killed by her 22-year-old son Jake Davison at her home on Biddick Drive, Plymouth, on Thursday evening. Davison went on to kill three-year-old Sophie, her
Getty Images Police in Plymouth have confirmed six people – including a suspected gunman – have died in a firearms incident. Devon and Cornwall Police were called to Biddick Drive in the Keyham area at about 18:10 BST on Thursday. Police said three females, two males and the suspect died. All are thought to have
In April, a herd of 15 elephants in China meandered more than 800 miles from the city of Pu’er to the city of Kunming in June, gaining legions of fans along the way. The herd, which officials said was finally reaching a protected habitat in southwest China’s Yunnan province, had been migrating in search of
AFP The Taliban have seized the cities of Ghazni and Herat in the same day, taking control of 11 provincial capitals in less than a week. Taking strategically important Ghazni increases the likelihood the Taliban could take the capital Kabul. There is also heavy fighting in the second largest city, Kandahar. The insurgents have moved
Getty Images Hundreds of thousands of pupils are finding out their GCSE results, amid predictions of another spike in grades after exams were cancelled. Pupils will receive their grades in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, in a second year of exams disrupted by the pandemic. It follows a leap in top grades at A-level earlier
The Taliban fighters we meet are stationed just 30 minutes from one of Afghanistan’s largest cities, Mazar-i-Sharif. The “ghanimat” or spoils of war they’re showing off include a Humvee, two pick-up vans and a host of powerful machine guns. Ainuddin, a stony-faced former madrassa (religious school) student who’s now a local military commander, stands at
Hundreds of wildfires in Greece have forced people to evacuate as the nation struggles to regain control over the natural disaster. On the Greek island of Evia, which produces many staples, including olives, figs, and honey, wildfires have forced residents and their animals onto ferries and into temporary shelters. “These last few days have been
Getty Images US President Joe Biden has said he does not regret his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, as the Taliban continue to make advances. Mr Biden urged Afghanistan’s leaders to unite and “fight for their nation”. Violence has escalated across the country now that US-led forces have all but withdrawn following 20 years
Chinese goods made by an organization linked to the mass detention of Muslims in Xinjiang may have made their way to US stores and consumers, according to a report released on Tuesday. The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps is a vast governmental and paramilitary organization with interests in many industries, and it administers some of
The loss of control that comes with incontinence isn’t the only thing that’s embarrassing. All the judgmental glances I’d get during my trips to the drugstore for Depend made me super ashamed of my incontinence. Plus, lugging around an unwieldy box of diaper-like incontinence underwear just added insult to injury. So too did my Depend
More than 75% of UK adults have now received two Covid jabs, the government has said. A total of 39,688,566 people have now received both doses, while another 7 million have only had a single dose, according to the latest figures. Boris Johnson described the milestone in the vaccine rollout as a “huge national achievement”.
David Davies – Pa Images / PA Images via Getty Images Alice Dearing, the UK’s first Black Olympic swimmer, wants organizers for the next Games to approve swim caps that better accommodate Black hair. Dearing is one of four Black people who set up the Black Swim Association in the UK, which aims to make