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Ministers in the United Kingdom have been told that they cannot wait for additional research on the Omicron variation to be completed before acting to prevent a "very substantial wave of infections" that might overwhelm the NHS. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced on Friday night that 75 further instances of the variation had been discovered in England, increasing the total number of confirmed cases in the UK to 134. "We have started to notice cases where there are no ties to travel, suggesting that we have a modest bit of community transmission," said Dr Jenny Harries, the agency's director. The government has been quietly persuaded by some of its own scientific experts to tell people to work from home until Christmas if they can, when more will be known about the dangers posed by the new type. The Sage committee's most recent meeting, the contents of which were revealed on Friday, reflected growing concern over the variant's spread. Experts

The parents of the high school sophomore suspected of killing four classmates in Detroit were detained early Saturday morning, more than 12 hours after they were charged with involuntary manslaughter. Soon after they were discovered at a commercial facility in Detroit after authorities received a tip that their car had been seen in the vicinity, James and Jennifer Crumbley pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them. The parents of Ethan Crumbley were each given a bond of $500,000 by an Oakland County judge.  The couple's arrest brought to an end a period of conflicting claims in which authorities said they were seeking for them while their lawyer claimed they had left town "for their own protection."and had no intention of giving up. Chief James E. White of the Detroit Police Department made it apparent that he didn't believe the explanation. White explained, "This isn't symptomatic of handing yourself in—hiding in a warehouse." According to

President Biden said Friday that he is working on a strategy to counter a Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is becoming increasingly likely. Although the president did not give specifics, many believe his response will involve greater economic penalties against Russia as well as military assistance to Ukraine. On the Ukrainian border, over 94,000 Russian troops have gathered. According to newly leaked US intelligence papers obtained by The Washington Post, the invasion may take place as early as January 2022, with 175,000 troops involved. Russian President Vladimir Putin has requested written guarantees that Ukraine would not be admitted to NATO. The US, according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, will not make such a guarantee. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told Reuters during a Friday press conference that the US is "committed to stand up decisively against any foolish or aggressive activities that Russia may pursue, as well as to safeguard the territorial integrit

According to local media reports, France expressed its opposition to joint patrols of police personnel or troops by France and the United Kingdom over French waters on Thursday. In a letter to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French Prime Minister Jean Castex stated that conducting joint patrols over French waters is not a question of collective action, but rather of each State's sovereignty over their borders and coasts. "We have always been open to examine and discuss UK proposals for increased collaboration in good faith. We accepted some and turned down others "The letter was reported in the French daily Le Parisien. For example, we cannot allow British police or military patrolling our shores. "Our sovereignty is on the line," he stated emphatically. The UK prime minister proposed a "bilateral agreement of readmission facilitating the return of all illegal migrants crossing the Channel" in a letter to the EU. "Returning refugees is not an opt

The Biden administration stated on Thursday that it has reached an agreement with the Mexican government to restore a Trump-era border policy that requires asylum seekers to remain in Mexico until their immigration court hearing in the United States. According to NBC News, the program will begin on Monday at one border crossing and will eventually expand to seven crossings, including San Diego and the Texas cities of Laredo, El Paso, and Brownsville. Former President Donald Trump originally established the policy in 2019 in response to an uptick in Central American families crossing the southwest border. According to the American Immigration Council, some 70,000 migrants have been returned to Mexico as a result of the program since 2019. President Joe Biden suspended the policy on his first day in office, citing violence against migrants waiting for court hearings in Mexico, and it was formally ended in June. In April, however, the Republican-controlled states of Texas and Missouri sue

House and Senate lawmakers narrowly avoided a government shutdown on Thursday by passing a package to finance the federal government until early next year, preventing a shutdown after some Republicans tried to exploit the approaching fiscal deadline to attack President Biden over his vaccine policies. The two victorious nighttime votes putting an end to a brief but stressful period that threatened to bring Washington to a halt by Saturday morning, a move Democrats had criticized as foolish and hazardous in the midst of a deadly pandemic. The new agreement, which must be signed by Vice President Joe Biden, covers federal spending through February 18. At that time, lawmakers must either pass another short-term measure or finish a dozen long-stalled bills. The new agreement, which must be signed by Vice President Joe Biden, covers federal spending through February 18. At that point, Congress must either pass another short-term measure or finish a dozen long-stalled appropriations bills to

According to a study, Covid booster shots can significantly improve the body's immunological defenses, raising hopes of preventing another wave of severe sickness caused by the Omicron strain. Researchers from the UK-based Covid-Boost trial examined immune responses in over 3,000 participants who got one of seven Covid-19 boosts or a placebo two to three months after their second dose of either AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccination, according to a report published in the Lancet. After two doses of AstraZeneca, those given Pfizer had antibody levels roughly 25 times greater than controls a month later. Antibody levels increased by more than eightfold when the Pfizer booster was administered after two Pfizer doses. A complete dosage of the Moderna vaccination was the most effective booster in the study, raising antibody levels 32-fold in the AstraZeneca group and 11-fold in the Pfizer group. Moderna is given in half-doses in the United Kingdom's booster program. While the results sug

Michelle Mone, a Conservative peer, has been accused of sending a racist message to an Indian-origin man, who claims in an official complaint that she informed him he was "a waste of a guy's white skin." The remark was purportedly used by a Tory member of the House of Lords in a WhatsApp message made in June 2019 amid a discussion over a deadly yacht disaster off the coast of Monaco. The message was part of a series of WhatsApp interactions that were screenshotted and handed to the House of Lords Standards Commissioner as part of a complaint alleging that Lady Mone sent racist and abusive texts. The complaint and screenshots of the discussions have been obtained by The Guardian, in which Mone appears to make insulting statements about the man's partner's mental health, referring to her as a "mental loony" and "nut case bird." Mone's texts were not sent in the course of her legislative duties, according to the commissioner, thus he was unabl

  The Supreme Court hinted on Wednesday that it is on the verge of significantly curtailing abortion rights in the United States, and that it is likely to maintain a Mississippi law that violates one of the key principles of the Roe v. Wade decision, which was handed down over 50 years ago. It was uncertain if the court would finally overturn Roe, which held that women have a fundamental right to terminate their pregnancies. Mississippi's statute forbidding most abortions after 15 weeks, according to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., is not a "dramatic departure" from viability, and gives women adequate time to decide whether or not to terminate their pregnancies. However, none of the court's six conservative members expressed support for upholding the court's ruling that states cannot prohibit abortion before fetal viability, which is commonly believed to be between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy. "Why would 15 weeks be an improper line?" he continued. O

In reaction to the spread of the "extremely contagious" Omicron Covid strain across Europe, the European Commission president has suggested that obligatory vaccination be considered. Ursula von der Leyen, in a call to action, urged the EU's 27 member states should provide booster dosages quickly, and a commission communiqué backed nations that choose to temporarily require pre-travel PCR tests even within the bloc's borders. In the EU, there have been 59 occurrences of the Omicron variation, all of which have featured mild symptoms or have been asymptomatic. Von der Leyen, who worked as a doctor before entering politics, told reporters in Brussels: "We have the vaccines, the life-saving vaccines, but they are not being used adequately everywhere." And this comes at a price... This is going to be a huge health cost.