UK

COVID-19 has dropped out of the top five leading causes of death in England and Wales for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The virus was the sixth leading cause of death in 2022, down from the leading cause in both 2020 and 2021, with 73,766 deaths (12.1% of all deaths) and

Police Scotland says it is investigating reports of “threatening and abusive” messages sent to referee Kevin Clancy following Saturday’s Old Firm derby. The Scottish Football Association (SFA) said the referee’s contact details were published online after the premiership clash in which Celtic beat Rangers 3-2. The SFA said it had referred a “significant volume of

An emergency was declared after a plane landing at Dublin Airport experienced a “minor issue” with its landing gear. The Ryanair flight from Liverpool on Sunday afternoon was met by the airport’s fire service, with passengers kept on board until the fire officer had given the all-clear. Ryanair said in a statement that the plane

The BBC has objected to being labelled as “government-funded media” on Twitter. The corporation said it had contacted Twitter after the label was added to the main BBC account. Twitter owner Elon Musk responded to the complaint, asking: “Is the Twitter label accurate?” Musk later emailed the BBC, saying: “We are aiming for maximum transparency

The coronation regalia is at the heart of the crown jewels, locked away in the Tower of London. The King’s crowning ceremony will be a rare outing for the sacred collection, with dozens of important and symbolic objects to keep an eye out for. From crowns and swords to sceptres and orbs, here’s what you

The route the King and Queen Consort will take to the coronation has been revealed – involving two gilded coaches, one of which has air conditioning and shock absorbers. The other one is uncomfortably suspended on leather straps, weighs four tonnes, and can move only at walking pace, pulled by eight horses. Charles and Camilla

Life-saving vaccines targeting serious health conditions including cancer and heart disease could be ready within the next seven years, experts believe. Pharmaceutical company Moderna – which produced one of the leading COVID-19 jabs – is reportedly developing “personalised” vaccines to target different types of tumours. Moderna’s chief medical officer, Dr Paul Burton, said the treatment

Police were called to a theatre in Manchester after a “disturbance” during a performance of hit musical The Bodyguard. Theatre-goers tweeted to say the show at the city’s Palace Theatre was stopped before the end because of people “singing over the lead during the final song”. Two people were removed from the venue, Greater Manchester

Police searching for a teenager first reported missing more than six weeks ago say they have found his body. Warwickshire Police say officers found the body in the water at Newbold Quarry Nature Reserve, in Rugby, on Thursday afternoon. It has now been identified as 17-year-old Toby Burwell, who had been missing from his Newbold

A Labour frontbencher has defended a social media post used by the party which claims Rishi Sunak does not think child sex abusers should go to prison. Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell said the post was part of “political campaigning” but admitted: “It won’t be to everybody’s taste.” Asked whether she was “comfortable with pointing

England’s Lionesses have beaten Brazil in the first-ever Women’s Finalissima, after the match went to penalties at Wembley Stadium. Ella Toone’s 23rd-minute strike put England in front before a late equaliser from Andressa Alves took the game to a shootout, which the hosts won 4-2. Georgia Stanway scored the first penalty for the home side

Illegal immigrants will have their bank accounts shut down in a new crackdown by the Home Office – who have been accused of “demonising” asylum seekers. The Home Office announced it began sharing data with the financial sector on Thursday so it can refuse to open new bank accounts and close existing accounts of people

The King has for the first time signalled his support for research into the British monarchy’s historical links with transatlantic slavery. Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Thursday the monarch took the issue “profoundly seriously”. The statement came after The Guardian newspaper published a previously unseen document showing links between a slave trading company

Hospital leaders have expressed serious concerns about how they will maintain patient safety as the health service enters “unchartered territory” during “unprecedented” strike action next week. Junior doctors who are training in England will stage their longest walkout so far between 11 and 15 April. The 96-hour strike is likely to be the most disruptive

The historic document drawn up by King Charles II to outline the terms on which he would return to Britain and assume the throne is expected to fetch up to £600,000 at auction. Sotheby’s in London will offer one of just two surviving copies of the Declaration of Breda, which is signed by Charles II,

A civil rights group has threatened legal action against the home secretary for refusing to implement all of the recommendations of the independent Windrush inquiry. The Black Equity Organisation (BEO) is seeking a judicial review following Suella Braverman’s announcement in January to disregard three of the 30 reforms the government agreed to implement. The scrapped

The King and the Queen Consort have enjoyed some tasty treats as they sampled macarons, gelato and banana bread as well as sipping some gin during a trip to Yorkshire. The royal couple visited the market town of Malton, known as the county’s food capital, where hundreds of people turned out to greet them despite

A police force will resume its use of live facial recognition technology after the publication of a new report – but campaigners have made renewed calls for a ban. South Wales Police had paused its use of the technology amid concerns over discrimination but said it would now use it again. The Court of Appeal

Drivers are being warned of a new crash scam that sees fraudsters lurk on residential roads, fake collisions and force drivers to hand over cash. The new con is a twist on the traditional “crash for cash” scams where scammers purposefully cause a collision. It involves scammers accusing drivers of clipping their wing mirror, before

Police in Gloucestershire have arrested a man on suspicion of the murder of Carol Clark, who was killed 30 years ago after going missing in Bristol. The 66-year-old suspect was taken into custody for questioning on Tuesday, Gloucestershire Police said. Ms Clark was 32 when she was last seen alive, getting into a car in