Israel kills top Hezbollah figure in Beirut strike, Reuters sources say
Top Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil was killed on Friday in an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, two security sources told Reuters.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday that laws requiring people in England with COVID-19 to self-isolate could be lifted by the end of the month, bringing an end to all domestic coronavirus restrictions.
"Provided the current encouraging trends in the data continue, it is my expectation that we will be able to end the last domestic restrictions --- including the legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive --- a full month early," Johnson told Parliament.
People who test positive now have to isolate for five full days. That rule is to expire on March 24.
Johnson added he plans to present his plan for living with the virus when Parliament returns from a short break on Feb. 21.
Johnson's Conservative government dropped most remaining COVID-19 restrictions last month. Face masks are no longer mandatory anywhere in England, except on London's public transport network. Virus passports for gaining entry to nightclubs and large-scale events were scrapped, as was the official advice to work from home.
Officials have said the government plans to switch from legal restrictions to advisory measures and treat the coronavirus more like the flu as it becomes endemic in the country.
The U.K. has seen a drop in both new infections and COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals since early January, when the highly transmissible omicron variant drove daily caseloads to more than 200,000 a day.
Current infections average at around 64,000 daily -- the lowest recorded since mid-December -- with 314 deaths reported on Tuesday.
Officials have credited the government's booster jab program with preventing the surge of omicron cases from causing serious stress to U.K. hospitals. In Britain, 65.4% of those 12 and over have had a booster vaccine, and 84.5% have been fully vaccinated.
Beginning Friday, the rules for people travelling to the U.K. will also be relaxed. Fully vaccinated travelers will no longer need to take any coronavirus tests before or after arrival, and those who are not fully jabbed won't have to isolate, although they need to take tests.
Some scientists greeted Wednesday's news with caution. Simon Clarke, a professor in microbiology at the University of Reading, said ending the self-isolation rule will be "an experiment which will either be shown to be very brave or very stupid."
"Omicron may be on the wane in Europe but other parts of the world are still in the full flush of a surge in infections. In such circumstances, as we have seen before, the virus is in the best possible position to mutate again, and there is absolutely no certainty that any new variant would be less dangerous," he said.
Britain joins other European countries also easing COVID-19 restrictions as infection rates drop. The Czech Republic said Wednesday people no longer have to show a vaccination certificate to enter bars, restaurants and cafes, while Sweden is halting widespread testing, citing unjustifiable costs and relevance.
Britain still has the second-highest virus death toll in Europe after Russia, with over 159,000 dead in total.
Top Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil was killed on Friday in an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, two security sources told Reuters.
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.
An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.
Israel’s military has struck the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, in a dramatic escalation in a year-long period of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.
A paid passenger on an expedition to the Titanic with the company that owned the Titan submersible testified before a U.S. Coast Guard investigatory panel Friday that the mission he took part in was aborted due to an apparent mechanical failure.
Following the MIND diet for 10 years produced a small but significant decrease in the risk of developing thinking, concentration and memory problems, a new study found.
The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.
David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.
Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.