Brief. Me Better Faster January 25, 2026 2:08 pm
Boris Johnson under fire for delaying Covid-19 public inquiry until 2022
Boris Johnson has come under fire from experts and bereaved families for delaying until spring 2022 the newly announced public inquiry into the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. – The Guardian
Kazan school shooting: Suspect charged with multiple counts of murder
Rhe suspect in the deadly school shooting in the Russian city of Kazan was on Wednesday charged with multiple counts of murder. Nine people, including seven students, died in Tuesday’s shooting at School No 175.
The attacker, identified as 19-year-old Ilnaz Galyaviyev, was placed in pre-trial detention for two months. – Euronews
US Ramps Up Fight Against Sexual Violence
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has asked Congress for an unprecedented $1 billion to fight violence against women, including domestic abuse and sexual assault. VOA’s Mike O’Sullivan reports on the challenges so many survivors face. – VOA
President Abbas says will continue to do ‘everything possible’ to defend the Palestinian people
President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday that his government is doing everything possible to defend the Palestinian people.
The aging Palestinian leader said he was working to stop Israeli forces and settlers harming Jerusalem and other Palestinian territories. – Arab News
Buddhist monks in Myanmar split on anti-junta movement
Myanmar’s Buddhist monkhood led an earlier struggle against military rule but is split on the coup that ended the country’s nascent democracy, with some prominent religious leaders defending the new junta. – CNA
Covid vaccine: Ohio lottery offers residents shot at $1m
The US state of Ohio will award cash prizes of $1m (£710,000) to five recipients of Covid-19 vaccines as part of a lottery launched to boost flagging up-take of jabs. – BBC World
Israel-Gaza: Rockets pound Israel after militants killed
BBC News says Hamas militants have launched dozens of rockets at Israel after Israeli airstrikes killed senior commanders and felled a multi-storey building in Gaza.
The conflict has also triggered a wave of street violence in Israel between Jews and Israeli Arabs. Political leaders have appealed for calm.
At least 67 people in Gaza and seven people in Israel have been killed.
NHS to receive £160m to tackle backlog of care built up during Covid
The Guardian says the NHS new £160m initiative will provide patients with quicker access to tests and surgery and will help identify ways of tackling the massive backlog of care that built up because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hospitals will use the money to buy mobile CT and MRI scanning trucks, put on extra surgery in the evenings and at weekends, and look after patients at home in “virtual wards”.
Thousands march in Colombia as anti-government protests enter third week
France24 says Colombia has taken to the streets to march in anti-government protests, as the president urged his citizens to reject violence and stereotypes about protesters and police alike.
The protests started in late April due to outrage at a now-cancelled tax plan. But the protests have continued and Colombians are marching to end police violence, for economic support as the pandemic has destroyed incomes and a withdrawal of the health reform.
UN Security Council urges immediate cease-fire in Yemen
Arab News says the UN Security Council is calling for an immediate cease-fire in Yemen. They say a cease-fire and political settlement is the only way to end the six-year conflict and the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
In calling for an end to the violence, the council singled out the military escalation by Houthi rebels in the province of Marib, the internationally recognized government’s last stronghold in Yemen’s northern half.
COVID cases across India being traced to weeks-long Kumbh Mela
Aljazeera says an official in Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal told them that 83 people from Gyaraspur and adjoining villages had gone for Kumbh and only 61 turned up for the tests while the remaining allegedly went into hiding.
Sixty out of 61 tested positive for Covid-19, he said, requesting anonymity. “After a hectic drive to trace the missing, the remaining 22 people were also tested and sent for quarantine.”
Brazil loses nearly 2,500 more people to Covid-19
TRT World says Brazil has recorded 76,692 additional confirmed cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, along with 2,494 deaths from Covid-19.
Brazil has registered more than 15.3 million cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 428,034, according to ministry data on Wednesday.
Trump Cements Republican Party Control With House Leadership Battle
VOA says U.S. House Republicans are expected to pick Representative Elise Stefanik for a top leadership spot Friday, sending a powerful message about the direction of the party. She is noted for her support of former President Donald Trump.
Stefanik, 36, would take over the position of House GOP Conference chair from Representative Liz Cheney, who was removed Wednesday after calling Trump’s allegations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election “a big lie.”
Live Updates
Israel-Gaza: Rockets pound Israel after militants killed
NHS to receive £160m to tackle backlog of care built up during Covid
Thousands march in Colombia as anti-government protests enter third week
UN Security Council urges immediate cease-fire in Yemen
COVID cases across India being traced to weeks-long Kumbh Mela
Images of the ongoing violence in Israel and Gaza feature on many of Thursday’s front pages, amid fear of a “full-scale war.”
The Times leads with the fears over the threat of a war. It reports that Israel Defence Forces have sent tanks and troops to the border and a military spokesman has refused to rule out a ground offensive.
The Daily Telegraph leads with a picture of people cleaning up a torched synagogue, with the headline “US offers ‘ironclad support’ to Israel over conflict with Hamas.” The paper quotes Antony Blinken saying there is an “absolute distinction” between Hamas “indiscriminately raining down rockets” and Israel’s response.
FT leads with two images of plumes of smoke and flames in Israel and Gaza. The paper says more than 50 people have died in the attacks as violence continues to escalate in the region. The paper’s lead story is on stocks retreating after a 4.2 per cent surge in inflation in the US.
The Guardian reports on PM Boris Johnson’s promise to hold an independent inquiry into the government’s handling of Covid-19 . The paper says there is anger that the inquiry will not be held until 2022. Experts believe the inquiry could be up and running in “three to six months”. The paper quotes Lord Falconer saying the government will be confident the pandemic will not conclude before the next general election – expected in 2023.
Will you show up? UK hotels fear last-minute cancellation chaos this summer – Read on
Tesla will no longer accept bitcoin over climate concerns, says Musk – Read on
US fuel shortage: Drivers warned not to use plastic bags to fill up – as some fight for fuel – Read on
Champions Rangers one game away from unbeaten campaign with Livingston win- Read on
Casey Stoney: Manchester United Women boss to leave at end of season – Read on
Jurgen Klopp: Man Utd schedule ‘a crime’, says Liverpool boss – Read on
A spat over Covid vaccine doses has erupted between the European Union and the UK threatens to have far reaching implications over coronavirus jab disruption.
Brussels demanded access to AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured in UK plants to make up for a shortfall after the pharmaceutical giant said it would have to cut the amount of doses delivered to the bloc by the end of March.
What do we know about the dispute? And what potential implications could the rumbling dispute have on future Covid vaccine rollouts? – (ITV)
Recent and upcoming changes
Restrictions are easing across the UK.
In England
Step 1 of the roadmap out of lockdown has begun. Shielding ends on 31 March.
In Scotland
People will be asked to ‘Stay Local’ from 2 April. A timetable for further lockdown easing from 5 April is on GOV.SCOT.
In Wales
The stay at home restriction was lifted on 13 March. Read about the rules on GOV.WALES.
In Northern Ireland
The next review will happen on or before 15 April. You can read the guidance on current restrictions on nidirect.
latest Covid-19 news
For the latest Covid-19 news visit the UK governement website