Secondary school pupils in the UK will return to school a week later to enable the rollout of mass Covid testing, the UK government has announced.
The move applies to secondary schools only, with primary schools set to return as planned on January 4.
"This targeted testing round will clamp down on the virus as students return from the Christmas break and help stop the spread of Covid-19 in the wider community," said UK Education Minister Gavin Williamson.
He said the new regime means "more pupils in school, the best place for their development and wellbeing."
Pupils in years 11 and 13 will go back first to continue their GCSE and A-level studies.
The news comes after the UK's top civil servant at the Department for Education, Susan Acland-Hood, would not deny reports over the delay when quizzed by the House of Commons' public accounts committee on Thursday.
Ms Acland-Hood had said there were no "plans to lengthen the Christmas holiday" but conceded that there were "conversations going on about exactly how parents and pupils will go back,"
Rumours of a delay surfaced earlier in the week after the UK's National Education Union implored government to move lessons online for the first week of term to allow schools sufficient time to train staff in the administering of Covid-19 tests.
Details on the precise nature of mass school testing remain scarce. As yet it is not known how often pupils will be tested, although staff will be tested weekly.
Government ministers have said that primary school mass testing is also in the offing.
Large swathes of east and south-east England to be placed into Tier 3
Large parts of east and south-east England are to follow London back into Tier 3 restrictions, UK Health Minister Matt Hancock hasannounced.
The areas going back into Tier 3 as of one minute past midnight on Saturday are Bedfordshire; Buckinghamshire; Berkshire; Peterborough; Hertfordshire; Surrey (with the exception of Waverley); Hastings and Rother on the Kent border of East Sussex; and Portsmouth, Gosport and Havant in Hampshire.
The direction of travel for tiers wasn't exclusively upward, however.
Bristol and North Somerset will move from Tier 3 to Tier 2, and Herefordshire will be moved from Tier 2 to Tier 1 thanks to its case rate of only 45 per 100,000.
UK furlough scheme to be extended by a month
UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak also announced on Thursday that he would extend the furlough scheme by another month until the end of April, and that businesses would be able to get new Covid loans until the end of March.
The news came after Mr Sunak said he would set out longer-term plans at an annual budget on March 3 as he seeks to reduce public borrowing, currently on track to reach £400 billion ($539bn) this year.
Mr Sunak has previously faced criticism for not announcing furlough extensions until shortly before the furlough was due to expire, by which point some employers had already made staff redundant.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
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Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The five pillars of Islam
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7.40pm Maiden Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
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8.50pm Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 1,400m
9.25pm Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 2,000m
The National selections:
6.30pm Underwriter
7.05pm Rayig
7.40pm Torno Subito
8.15pm Talento Puma
8.50pm Etisalat
9.25pm Gundogdu
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day - 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227 for four at the close.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
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