Mount Etna eruption rains down black ash on nearby homes

Mount Etna has erupted again on March 12, causing spreading fires on the mountainside and rains of black ash on nearby homes.

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  • Prince Philip funeral: Queen leaves chapel as Windsor service ends

    The Queen sat alone at Windsor Castle’s St George’s Chapel during Prince Philip’s funeral ceremony this afternoon. It was her first public appearance since Prince Philip’s death, while the duke’s coffin arrived at the chapel on a car her helped to design. The hearse, a specially modified Land Rover, arrived at the castle shortly before 2.30pm to collect the coffin.

  • Vaccine immunity ‘won’t just disappear’ in face of Covid variants – JCVI expert

    It comes after warnings were issued from a leading scientist that new coronavirus variants could set back the UK’s lockdown easing.

  • Netflix expected to signal the end of the Covid TV streaming boom

    Netflix expected to signal the end of the Covid TV streaming boom. Analysts expect lowest number of winter sign-ups since 2017 as lockdown eases and entertainment options grow

  • Is Scotland heading for a Catalonia-style constitutional meltdown?

    A high-stakes stand-off over Scottish independence is looming. Adam Forrest takes a look at the strange possibilities ahead after the upcoming Holyrood election

  • Don’t underestimate evolutionary capabilities of ‘clever’ coronavirus, scientists warn

    ‘It’d be a brave person to say that the virus is nearing the end of its evolutionary route and can’t go any further,’ says top virologist

  • Land Rover driver at Prince Philip's funeral spent week ensuring he could drive at correct speed

    The servicemen in charge of the specially modified Land Rover carrying the body of the Duke of Edinburgh spent the past week making sure they could drive “at the correct speed”. And, no wonder, as leading the vehicle on its way to the steps of St George’s Chapel, Windsor, on foot were the most senior members of the Armed Forces and the Band of the Grenadier Guards. Corporal Louis Murray was behind the wheel, with Corporal Craig French, as Land Rover Commander for the Royal Hearse, both 29 years old, alongside him. The two staff instructors from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers had been picked “on a coin-toss” from a group of four who had been training for the purpose and were described by officials as a “trusted pair of hands”. Cpl French said it was his job to “ensure that the driver puts the vehicle in the right place at the right time and whether to speed up or slow down.” “We have done a lot of practice over the last few days and you get to feel what the correct speed is, and we know what pace we have to be at. It’s now like second nature.

  • Liam Williams vs Demetrius Andrade ring walks: What time will fight start in the UK?

    Everything you need to know ahead of tonight’s WBO world title bout

  • Coronavirus in numbers: UK deaths rise by 35

    The Government said a further 35 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Saturday, bringing the UK total to 127,260. Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies show there have now been 151,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. The Government also said that, as of 9am on Saturday, there had been a further 2,206 lab-confirmed cases in the UK. It brings the total to 4,385,938.

  • The incredible evolution of Lara Croft: from triangle-boobed adventurer to ass-kicking LGBT+ icon

    From Tomb Raider to Fortnite, Lara Croft, the original IT girl of the 90s, has changed the face of video games over the last three decades.

  • Coronavirus news - live: Safe travel list might include only 8 countries as Johnson urged to cancel India trip

    Follow the latest updates

  • Alex Salmond: An independent Scotland should not immediately pursue full EU membership

    Alex Salmond has said that an independent Scotland should not immediately pursue full EU membership and must establish its own currency “immediately”, in a fresh attack on Nicola Sturgeon’s constitutional strategy. The former First Minister claimed the SNP case for separation was “frozen in aspic” and had not taken account of drastic changes since he led the Yes campaign to defeat in 2014. He suggested that an independent Scotland should initially have a Norway-style relationship with Europe, as a member of European Free Trade Association (EFTA), saying this would allow Scotland to maintain access to the UK internal market and British common travel area. Ms Sturgeon remains determined to rejoin the EU, even though this would likely mean a land border with England and trade barriers with the UK, with which Scottish firms do the majority of their business. The Alba leader, who wants his new party to establish a Holyrood “supermajority” for independence after May’s election, also criticised the SNP’s currency stance.

  • Sinn Fein leader apologises for the death of Lord Mountbatten following Prince Philip's funeral

    The leader of Sinn Fein has said she is sorry for the murder of Lord Mountbatten at the hands of the IRA following the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh. Mary Lou McDonald, the President of the republican party, said the death of the Duke’s uncle in 1979 was “heartbreaking” and that it was her responsibility to “lead from the front”. Her comments represent a significant shift from her predecessor Gerry Adams, who expressed regret over the assassination but refused to retract his claims that Lord Mountbatten knew the risk of travelling to Ireland.

  • St George’s Chapel: The setting for a Covid-secure royal funeral like no other

    The nave, which was packed with family and friends at three royal weddings in recent years, is an empty space with no pews.

  • Victoria Beckham Celebrates Birthday With Kim Kardashian And Husband David In Miami

    The former Spice Girl’s 47th was a star-studded affair.

  • Greensill: Boris Johnson told to give up power to decide on investigating ministers

    Boris Johnson should relinquish his right to decide when possible breaches of the ministerial code warrant investigation, according to the chair of the Committee for Standards in Public Life. In a letter to the prime minister, Lord Evans argued the power to launch a probe into the behaviour of members of the government should instead be held by the next independent adviser on ministerial interests. It comes as questions continue to mount over contacts serving ministers had with former prime minister David Cameron in relation to his lobbying on behalf of the now-bankrupt finance firm, Greensill Capital.

  • Model suggests ‘green light’ travel list could include only eight countries

    While the government works out how to categorise countries for a traffic light system, a new model predicts only eight countries will be on the ‘green’ list

  • Prince Philip funeral: Duke’s coffin lowered into royal vault by electric motor

    Moment ‘usually only witnessed by the royal family,’ says commentator

  • AstraZeneca could have COVID-19 vaccine against variant by end-2021 -Austrian newspaper

    A modified version of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine tailored to combat a coronavirus variant first documented in South Africa could be ready by the end of 2021, an AstraZeneca official in Austria said in an interview published on Sunday. Sarah Walters, AstraZeneca's Austria country manager, told the Kurier newspaper that studies, so far, indicating the existing AstraZeneca vaccine was less effective against the more infectious variant first documented in South Africa were "too small to draw final conclusions".

  • Promising Young Woman has its flaws but is the #MeToo revenge movie every teenager should watch

    Emerald Fennell’s dark comedy thriller takes on sexual assault. It falls short in places, but could be eye-opening to many, especially men and boys

  • Family of three contract Covid from infected neighbours in hotel quarantine in Sydney

    Family of three contract Covid from infected neighbours in hotel quarantine in Sydney. NSW Health reclassifies three coronavirus cases to locally-acquired after testing showed they shared same viral sequence as infected family next door