Uttarakhand dam disaster: What caused India's deadly flood?

Dozens of people have died and many are still missing after a devastating flood in the Himalayan area of Chamoli in Uttarakhand, northern India.

Latest stories

  • We are now seeing the impact of Brexit – it is time for an apology from all the people who dismissed us as ‘Remoaners’

    We watch as businesses and lives are being ruined by Brexit – and yet not a single apology from those who championed the cause

  • Airlines set to launch international vaccine passport as part of summer holidays plan

    The first digital vaccine certificate is set to be launched by the world's airlines this month as part of a four-step plan for summer holidays being considered by the Department for Transport (DfT). The Travel Pass app, developed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), will allow passengers to present pre-departure test or vaccine certificates on arrival at their destination, enabling them to sidestep quarantine or other restrictions. IATA is in talks with the DfT over the app, to which immunity certificates for those who have had Covid but have not been vaccinated could be added. It will be trialled by 10 airlines including IAG, which owns BA, Qantas and Singapore Airlines, starting initially with pre-test data but ready to be adapted to include vaccine certificates once they are digitised. At present, most countries are using paper to confirm people's inoculations, which the airlines are concerned could delay the introduction of a travel pass with both vaccinations and test data and lead to lengthy queues at airport immigration desks. The app is part of a four-stage approach IATA has proposed to the DfT that would see international travel restart in May, with pre-departure testing or vaccines being used for entry to a country before the eventual removal of all restrictions to allow free travel between "green list" countries. It proposes three tiers of countries including a "red list", where there may still be quarantine and pre-departure testing, an "amber list" where quarantine is replaced by tests or vaccine certificates, and a "green list" where travel corridors between low-risk countries could allow unrestricted travel.

  • COVID infections now rising in 55 areas – map shows rate in your area

    One in seven areas of the UK have seen a weekly rise in COVID cases, the latest government data reveals.

  • I’m Brazilian – and just spent 10 days in a quarantine hotel in London. This is what it was like

    It felt frustrating arriving back in the UK and being so close and so far at the same time – in total, I spent 29 days away from my son

  • Cameron criticises successors May and Johnson and insists Brexit referendum ‘was properly thought-through’

    Theresa May ‘weakened the National Security Council,’ says predecessor as PM

  • Nicola Sturgeon facing calls to resign as witnesses back Alex Salmond's evidence on key meetings

    Nicola Sturgeon is facing calls to resign after two witnesses in the Alex Salmond scandal corroborated his version of key events and provided damning evidence she repeatedly misled parliament. In a potentially devastating development for the First Minister, ahead of her appearance before a Holyrood inquiry on Wednesday morning, a pair of former special advisers contradicted her claims about two meetings in 2018. Ms Sturgeon has told parliament she only found out about the allegations when Mr Salmond visited her home on April 2, 2018 and but she refused to intervene. Last week she denied during First Minister's Questions the identity of one of the women was shared with Geoff Aberdein, Mr Salmond's chief of staff, "to the best of my knowledge". But Duncan Hamilton, a former SNP MP and junior counsel, said the name of a complainant was given to Mr Aberdein by a senior official shortly after Mr Salmond was informed of the government's investigation into sexual misconduct claims on March 7, 2018. In a letter to the inquiry, he said "fact that the government official had shared that information with Mr Aberdein was reported to me, and to Kevin Pringle, on a conference call." He was present at the meeting between Mr Salmond and Ms Sturgeon at her home on April 2 and confirmed she "did offer to assist" him with her government's investigation only to change her mind. Ms Sturgeon has told parliament she refused to get involved but Mr Hamilton, said: "We discussed mediation. My clear recollection is that her words were 'If it comes to it, I will intervene'." He contradicted Ms Sturgeon's claim about when she found out about the allegations, stating that when Mr Salmond and his team arrived at her home, "everyone in the room knew exactly why we were there."

  • Alec Baldwin and wife Hilaria welcome sixth baby six months after she gave birth to fifth

    The couple have welcomed a new baby, just sixth months after the birth of son Eduardo.

  • Trump took $10bn from hospital funds to pay for Warp Speed instead of asking Congress for cash

    $10bn was set aside by Congress to help care providers pay for staffing, protective gear, care for uninsured individuals, and vaccine distribution

  • Covid vaccines compared: What are the differences between Pfizer, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Novavax? - OLD

    As misinformation spreads across the globe, here are the facts about the inoculations that could offer a route out of the pandemic. Samuel Lovett reports

  • Dolly Parton - who helped fund vaccine - gets Covid shot in the arm

    Singer joked she had got ‘a dose of her own medicine’ after vaccination in Tennessee

  • Furlough extended to September by Rishi Sunak as Budget pours billions more into Covid support

    Unions warn jobs at risk as chancellor says employers will be made to contribute from July

  • People without vaccinations should be banned from travelling in holiday jets, says public

    The vast majority of people want bans on non-vaccinated people travelling on planes - and would be happy to share their vaccination details to be shared for a digital travel health app, an exclusive survey has revealed. More than six in ten (61 per cent) say they are in favour of flights which only accept passengers who have been vaccinated, according to the survey of more than 2,100 people for the travel think tank Thrive. Eight in ten (79 per cent) said they were happy for their vaccination details to be passed on by the NHS to a digital health app, for examination by airport officials in other countries. The findings come as EU leaders indicated that the UK would be included in the EU-wide “vaccine passport” scheme which is designed to open up travel in time for this year’s summer holidays. The public also appear resigned to the continued need for measures such as mask wearing to protect against Covid even after the roll out of the vaccine. Three-quarters of UK adults interviewed (74 per cent) felt it would be reasonable to be expected to wear a facemask on a plane, even after having had the vaccine. Nine in ten UK adults said they intended to fly abroad at some point in the future, with over two-thirds (69 per cent) saying they would fly abroad this year if the vaccination programme is fully rolled out. This is up from 53 per cent when last surveyed in December 2020. Sania Haq, Research Director for Thrive, said: “These findings suggest consumers are now conditioned to ongoing social distancing measures which reduce transmission and prevent the spreading of Covid-19. “It is also clear that few are worried about any privacy issues regarding their vaccination details if it means they can seamlessly access other countries and travel for business or leisure.” The survey also raised concerns over the level of compliance with quarantine: 80 per cent said they would actively try to get around the rules in order to avoid hotel quarantine for 10 nights. Some 78 per cent of those intending to fly abroad this year said they would consider the option of re-routing their return journey to avoid having to spend time in an hotel and avoid the cost of up to £1,750 per person.

  • Neighbours first look at Hendrix Greyson's new mistake

    Brent Colefax is left devastated.

  • Tiger Woods makes first public statement since crash

    On Sunday, Tiger Woods took to social media to speak out for the first time since his car accident

  • French doctors slam 'AstraZeneca bashing' as France enacts U-turn on jabs for over-65s

    French doctors have blamed deep domestic scepticism of AstraZeneca on the “bad press” it has received, including criticism from Emmanuel Macron that it was “quasi-ineffective” for the elderly. The indirect criticism of the French president, who was forced to say he would take the jab if necessary last week, came as Gallic health regulators said they would make the jab available for the over 65s. Mr Macron fanned Gallic scepticism over the jab developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University in January hours before it received a green light from the European Medecines Agency by saying: “Everything points to thinking it is quasi-ineffective on people older than 65, some say those 60 years or older." Since then, French reports of flu-like side-effects among dozens of health workers further tainted its image. That contributed to a dearth of demand in France, where only 24 per cent of AstraZeneca stocks have been used, according to the health ministry. That is well below a target set at 80-85 per cent and compares with 82 per cent for vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech and 37 per cent for those made by Moderna. "It is true that we are facing issues with AstraZeneca vaccines," said a health ministry official. The scepticism prompted Jacques Battistoni, head of the MG France doctors' union to denounce the widespread "AstraZeneca bashing" that was causing many vials to go unused. France’s vaccination coordinator, Alain Fischer, has also complained that the "bad press" surrounding the shot was "deeply unfair".

  • England on course to end social distancing in mid-June, Matt Hancock says

    Comment goes further than ‘roadmap’ - which said review will decide, based on progress over next three months

  • Next week on Coronation Street: Will Mellor's debut scenes revealed, plus Tyrone gets closer to Alina (spoilers)

    And Peter is rushed back into hospital.

  • China will bully the West like Hong Kong if governments do not reduce ties, report warns

    Western governments should reduce trade with China so they are not vulnerable to bullying from Beijing, a new report citing the example of Hong Kong has warned. Beijing has been helped to achieve its political ambitions in the city by a steady rise in investment from mainland China over the past two decades, finds the report by Hong Kong Watch, an advocacy organisation. “The massive influx of red capital explains why Beijing failed to pass national security legislation in 2003 but succeeded in 2020,” said Johnny Patterson, policy director of Hong Kong Watch. “State capitalism dictates that the Communist Party’s interests are the first priority for every business.” Employees of Chinese firms in Hong Kong, for instance, were banned from participating in the pro-democracy protests that roiled the streets in 2019. Thirty-five percent of Hong Kong media outlets also have a major mainland Chinese stake, which has allowed Beijing to “shape the media environment through censorship and editorial control,” according to the report. Chinese firms were banned from taking advertisements out in Hong Kong media outlets that carried coverage deemed unfavourable by Beijing – a move that squeezed a business lifeline for news organisations.

  • SNP government lawyers had 'reservations' about continuing Alex Salmond court fight

    John Swinney has admitted the Scottish Government's lawyers had “reservations” about continuing its costly legal fight with Alex Salmond months before its case collapsed. The Deputy First Minister confirmed the SNP administration was aware of what would prove a fatal flaw in its case as early as October 2018, yet persisted until the following January when it conceded. He insisted there were “good public policy grounds” for continuing the defence action, but did not say there were justifiable legal grounds for doing so. His admission, in a letter to a Holyrood inquiry into the debacle, came after Mr Salmond claimed the Scottish Government prolonged its defence longer than was legally justifiable - a potential breach of the ministerial code. Mr Swinney said the government aimed to release the advice to the inquiry on Tuesday afternoon, ahead of Nicola Sturgeon's appearance on Wednesday morning. He caved in to opposition demands for the advice to be published on Monday evening after a majority of MSPs swung behind a Tory motion of no confidence, which would have forced his resignation if passed. In a humiliating about-turn, he promised to publish the "key" advice. However, the Scottish Tories warned they would press ahead with the vote of no confidence if he failed to hand over everything the inquiry demanded.

  • Stephen Hendry makes 776th century as snooker legend returns with Gilbraltar Open defeat

    Stephen Hendry showed promise on his return to professional snooker, making the 776th century of his career despite losing 4-1 to Matthew Selt at the Gibraltar Open in Milton Keynes. Hendry, a seven-time world champion, was back at the table for the first time since he had announced his retirement after a crushing defeat to Stephen Maguire in the quarter-finals of the 2012 World Championships. Hendry's total centuries had become so enshrined in the game that it even made up part of his Twitter handle, SHendry775 - but the 52-year-old may hold back on a social media tweak in the expectation of increasing that number deeper into his improbable comeback.