Taylor Swift‘s The Eras Tour concert film will premiere across the UK and Europe next month following its success in America.

Following record-breaking demand for screenings of the fly on the wall film, ODEON Cinemas group revealed that the movie will also be screened in Europe.

Tickets are now live in the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Spain, Italy, Germany and Portugal and the release is slated for October 13.

In a nod to Taylor Swift’s 1989 album and her favourite number, 13, tickets in the UK and Ireland will be priced at £19.89 for adults and £13.13 for children.

The first incredible screening kicks off at 6pm on 13 October the concert film will play multiple showtimes at cinemas on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays to meet the anticipated demand.

The history-making concert was a phenomenon during the first leg of its US run, and the UK and European leg of the tour is due to kick off on 9 May 2024 in Paris and wrap up on 17 August 2024 in London. 

Fans across the UK and Europe will now be able to see the incredible tour experience on the big screen at the same time as fans in the US, Canada and Mexico, before the tour itself reaches the continent.

The ticket release in the U.S, Canada and Mexico set a new record at ODEON’s parent company AMC as it made $26 million in ticket-sales revenue.

ODEON are expecting similarly high demand for this cinematic experience.

The tour, in which Taylor runs through hits from her 17-year career, is on track to make a projected gross of $2.2 billion in North American ticket sales alone,’ TIME previously reported.

According to TIME, industry analysts said that the performer’s lucrative tour should surpass $1 billion in revenue by March of 2024, when she is slated to be overseas.

The numbers would make it the most-profitable tour ever, surpassing the $939m Elton John made on his The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, according to the outlet.

Taylor’s career continues to soar, but in her private life she is reportedly been hanging out with Kansas City tight end, Travis Kelce.

They have apparently  been spending time together under the radar for months before they were spotted together in public for the first time on Sunday.

The pop superstar supported the sports start as his team beat the Chicago Bears, and afterward the enjoyed an ‘affectionate’ dinner together, but that was reportedly just their most high-profile get-together so far.

Sources with direct knowledge of the couple claimed to TMZ on Monday that the two have hung out together ‘several times’ over the past few months.

It’s not clear exactly when the two began seeing each other in person, but Travis had revealed on his New Heights podcast in July that he had hoped to introduce himself to Taylor when he attended one of her Eras Tour stops.

‘I wanted to give Taylor Swift [a bracelet] with my number on it,’ the tight end shared, but he learned that the singer’s devotion to putting on the best performance possible made it impossible to chat with her.

‘I was disappointed that she doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings, so I was a little butt-hurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her,’ he said.

Taylor amped up the budding courtship at Sunday’s game when she arrived alone — aside from her usual bodyguards — to cheer on Travis from a box.

However, the sources explained to the outlet that the Lavender Haze singer’s earlier meetings with the NFL star were in a ‘very private setting’ so as to not attract attention.

It appears that she’s moving toward a more open relationship with Travis now, though the sources also stressed that the two are not ‘officially’ dating, even though things are clearly heating up between them.

Another sign that Taylor the Kansas City Chiefs star are growing closer was that she met his parents at Sunday’s game.

The hitmaker could be seen cheering on Travis while standing next to his mother Donna, and Travis’ father Ed was also in attendance.

Meeting parents for the first time is often stressful, but the sources shared that the first meeting went ‘very well,’ and Taylor seems to have particularly won over Donna, who called her a ‘lovely person.’

Although she has now met Travis’ parents, Taylor has yet to meet his brother Jason Kelce, who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles and co-hosts the New Heights podcast with his sibling.

Although Taylor and Travis appeared to keep the PDA to a minimum while heading to the Prime Social Rooftop in Kansas City after the game on Sunday, eyewitnesses spotted them holding hands once they were inside the restaurant.

The PDA escalated when Taylor reportedly sat on the football players lap at one point.

The dinner was only somewhat private, as Travis’ family, including his mother Donna, also showed up, and some of his teammates dropped by as well.

An eyewitness previously told Entertainment Tonight that it was Travis who had bought out the restaurant for the afterparty.

‘Taylor arrived, wearing a denim dress, and was seen snacking, having some cocktails and dancing alongside Travis,’ they said.

Another diner told ET that restaurant staff told them there would be a ‘hard close’ at 8 p.m., and the wait staff handed out to-go boxes ahead of the deadline while letting them know that they would need to leave the premises before that time.

However, they were offered free drinks at the restaurant’s sister venue to cut down on the inconvenience.

Although some of the patrons apparently asked if the closure was related to Travis and Taylor, the staff reportedly were stiff-lipped.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv‘s allies have committed billions upon billions in military and humanitarian aid to help Ukrainian Armed Forces fight off Russian occupiers.

But as the war drags into its 19th month, President Volodymyr Zelensky is seemingly facing an uphill battle convincing both his neighbours and Western allies to continue apace. 

The Biden administration’s latest request for a fresh $24billion aid package is the subject of a bitter spending battle that could see Congress trigger a government shutdown with skeptical Republican lawmakers wary of sending yet more funds to Kyiv. 

Some Republicans say the money could be better spent on US border security, while there are also concerns about the pace of Kyiv’s counteroffensive and that corruption in Ukraine means the money will be squandered. 

Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said this week his country ‘is no longer transferring weapons to Ukraine’ amid a row over Poland‘s ban on Ukrainian grain imports to protect the interests of its farmers.

With this in mind, MailOnline recaps the level of funding sent to Ukraine so far. 

The US is far and away Ukraine’s biggest benefactor. 

According to the Kiel Institute’s Ukraine Support Tracker – which follows and quantifies military, financial and humanitarian aid given to Ukraine since January 24, 2022 – the US has sent €69.5billion ($74billion) to Kyiv, €42billion ($44.7billion) of which came in the form of weapons systems, armoured vehicles, tanks and ammunition.

The support tracker’s data has been published up until July 31, 2023. If Biden’s $24billion package is approved by Congress, US total aid to Ukraine will begin closing in on $100billion.  

America’s aid provision is only outstripped by the EU as a collective, with European institutions providing €84.8billion – though almost €80billion of this was financial aid rather than military. 

The Biden administration is also preparing to provide a parting gift to Ukraine following President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s White House visit, in the form of long-range ATACM missiles to strike distant Russian forces.

President Biden has told Zelensky that Washington will provide Kyiv with ATACMS long-range missiles, NBC News reported on Friday, citing three U.S. officials and a congressional official.

That comes a day after Zelensky visited Washington, pleading with lawmakers in the Capitol and during a meeting with Biden for more weapons to protect Ukraine’s skies as it seeks to fight back Russia’s invading force.

That came on a trip when House Republicans are opposing Biden’s proposed $24 billion aid package for Ukraine, and where House Speaker Kevin McCarthy declined to appear with Zelensky in public after saying before Zelensky’s trip that ‘I have questions for him.’ 

‘Where’s the accountability on the money we’ve already spent?’ McCarthy asked, before McCarthy met with the full Senate but did not address the full House or the GOP Conference.

Besides the US, Germany, the United Kingdom and Norway have been the next most significant aid providers for Ukraine, giving €20.9billion, €13.8billion and €7.4billion respectively. 

In relative terms, however, Ukraine’s smaller supporters and Russian neighbours like Estonia and Lithuania are contributing a greater share of their GDP to the war effort. 

Estonia’s aid to Ukraine has totalled some 1.3 percent of GDP, with Lithuania sharing 1.2 percent. Poland has given military aid commitments equalling 0.5 percent of its GDP, is one of Kyiv‘s main weapons suppliers and also hosts some one million Ukrainian refugees, who have benefited from various kinds of state aid.

The US meanwhile, despite contributing the overwhelming majority of military aid to Kyiv, has only donated 0.2 per cent of its GDP. 

Canada meanwhile has provided Ukraine with almost $9billion in military and other aid since the Russian invasion began, and is home to the world’s second largest Ukrainian diaspora after Russia.

Ottawa’s $8.9billion in aid to Kyiv has included more than $1.8billion in military aid, including Leopard 2 tanks, air defence and artillery systems, anti-tank weapons, drones and other equipment.

It has also trained more than 36,000 Ukrainian soldiers.

Zelensky was in Ottawa today to drum up more support after meeting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, capping off a North American tour which saw him face a skeptical US Congress. 

Yesterday Zelensky confronted the issue of potentially fracturing political support in the United States for his country’s demands for more arms to push back the Russian invasion.

‘We’re with you and we’re staying with you,’ Biden told him after their top teams met at the White House.

Wearing his trademark olive green military-style shirt, Zelensky said Ukraine ‘has exactly what our soldiers need’ after Biden announced a new package of US military aid, including sophisticated air defence weapons.

But behind the optics – firm handshakes across a grand cabinet table and shows of solidarity in the Oval Office – was the reality that Zelensky’s second wartime trip to Washington was far tougher than the first.

He received a hero’s welcome when he visited in December, but this time, he spent his closed-door meetings in the US Congress desperately trying to overcome growing war fatigue among Republicans.

Hardline Republicans are threatening to block Biden’s request for a fresh $24billion aid package for Ukraine, and it has now become caught up in a bitter spending battle that could spark a US government shutdown.

Biden said alongside Zelensky that there was ‘no alternative’ to backing the Ukraine funding, adding that he was ‘counting on the good judgment of the United States Congress.’

The US president said the first US M1 Abrams tanks will arrive in Ukraine ‘next week,’ boosting Kyiv’s forces as they battle Russian troops in a slow-moving counteroffensive.

The latest US package would also strengthen Ukraine’s air defence capability, crucial at a time when the country faces repeated Russian missile and drone attacks.

It came as there were reports of Ukraine striking two Russian ships in Crimea on Saturday.

A pro-Russia channel said six Neptune missiles were fired and while four were allegedly intercepted, two found their target. 

On Friday, Ukrainians used a British-made Storm Shadow missile to hit Putin‘s Black Sea Fleet HQ in Ukraine.

 Senior Russian commanders were killed in the Ukrainian missile strike, it was also revealed.

At least nine people were killed and 16 wounded in the attack in Sevastopol, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov.

Russia has refrained from giving details on the killed and wounded, and its main news bulletins failed to mention the humiliating strike in annexed Crimea.

Russian air defences were again today at work in and around Sevastopol, the main naval port in the peninsula.

There were reports of incoming missiles and that one missile had been shot down.

Russian war cheerleaders are demanding reprisal attacks on Ukrainian command posts.

Rybar Telegram channel warned: ‘As long as there are no strikes on control and command centres, the intensity of the AFU attacks will increase.

‘Meanwhile, in Kyiv, the work of all Ukrainian structures responsible for regular raids, such as the GUR and the SBU [intelligence services] , is proceeding without interruption.’

War analyst Sergei Mardan, a columnist for Komsomolskaya Pravda, said: ‘The strike to the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol is a crushing blow to the entire Russian elite, which is seriously committed to freezing the conflict in the autumn of 2023.

‘They still don’t want to fight.

‘They agree to any, the most shameful conditions of a truce. 

‘They still consider [the start of war on] February 24, 2022, a catastrophic mistake by Putin and intend to do everything to convince him of this.

‘They see a ”limited” military defeat of Russia as the ideal way.’

He claimed this was the wrong route for Russia.

‘Our enemies will force us to fight, if only because they do not agree to a ‘limited’ defeat.

‘They intend to defeat the Russian army and bring the Russian government to its knees.’

Spymaster Budanov told Voice of America: ‘Among the wounded is the commander of the group, Colonel-General (Alexander) Romanchuk, in a very serious condition.’

He added: ‘The Chief of Staff, Lieutenant-General (Oleg) Tsekov, is unconscious.

‘The number of injured regular servicemen who are not employees of the headquarters is still being determined.

‘These are military personnel who are on duty, security, and so on — they are not included in the list that I announced.’

Some reports say Black Sea Fleet commander Admiral Viktor Sokolov was also hit and killed, but there has been no confirmation.

There were suggestions he was ‘missing’.

Sokolov was handpicked by Putin a year ago to take over from Admiral Igor Osipov after the humiliating sinking of the fleet’s flagship, the cruiser Moskva, sunk by a Ukrainian Neptune missile.

Romanchuk is commander of Russian forces in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region, and was promoted to the rank of colonel-general in 2023.

Tsekov is the commander of the 200th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, part of the Coastal Forces of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy.

Budanov declined to confirm Russian claims that Storm Shadow missiles – provided to Kyiv by Britain and France – had been used to the fleet HQ.

‘Here I have to refrain from answering, I think you should understand me,’ he said.

Tales of heroism have also been coming out of Ukraine.

Jack Knight is a British military volunteer in Ukraine and a former mine clearer with the Royal Engineers whose great-great grandfather rescued a wounded man from no man’s land in WWI.

Knight saved eight Ukrainian troops in a daring 14-hour rescue mission while taking fire.

He even stepped into a minefield in complete darkness to save four Ukrainians who wandered into it while carrying their dead companion on a stretcher.

His brave ancestor William Young won the Victoria Cross for his antics and saw a street named after him in Preston.

Knight told The Telegraph: ‘Hopefully, my great-great grandad will think I’ve done my bit. Every bit of that rescue literally felt like a suicide mission.’

At one point he even set down his weapons and grenades to reduce the weight he was carrying. When he was then faced with being just 20 metres away from a group of Russian troops as he took cover behind a wall, he realised he had a problem.

He picked up two rocks and prepared for a fight to the death.

Knight said: ‘I figured I’d throw the rocks at them – they’d have thought at first that they were grenades, which might have distracted them enough for me to charge one of them, grab his gun and spray a few rounds.

‘I probably wouldn’t have survived but if I could inflict some casualties they’d maybe pull back rather than carry on towards our lines.’

He has since been nominated for a medal for his valiant efforts in the battle alongside Canadian fellow volunteer Wayne Hallatt.

Cancer-battling grandfather, 82, with just weeks to live is reunited with best man who was his closest friend in childhood after 60 years apart

• Jimmy Fraser, 82, went on a quest to find his childhood best friend after cancer
•  He managed to track down Tam Kerr, who immigrated to Canada 50 years ago

By Matt Drake

Published: 13:46 EDT, 20 September 2023 | Updated: 17:05 EDT, 20 September 2023

Experiencing different cultures is part of the magic of travelling.

But some have the potential to leave tourists scratching their heads, thanks to bizarre local customs.

Commenters took to online forum Ask Reddit to reveal some of the choicest examples after user ‘LifeOnMarsden’ posed the question: ‘What is totally normal in your country that would be really bizarre to foreigners or tourists?’

The discussion, which has gained thousands of comments since it began, recently resurfaced online. 

Getting the ball rolling, ‘chillphilsonthegrill’ said: ‘In Canada, we put maple syrup on snow and wait for it to get all gooey, then we eat it.’

Explaining how this is done, fellow Redditor ‘truecdn’ added: ‘You basically make a mound of snow and cut a trench in it, then pour the hot syrup into it and the snow cools it. Then, when it’s still gooey, you roll it onto a stick and eat it off the stick.’

Sharing another peculiar foodie tradition,’seeyouyeah’ suggested: ‘Throwing cheese down a hill then running after it.’

The comment, which earned 788 upvotes, refers to the Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake event in Gloucestershire, England, where competitors roll a cheese wheel down a steep hill and the first person to cross the finish line wins.

In another food-focused comment, ‘Azel’ said: ‘In Cambodia, there’s this food called “Happy Pizza”. It’s a pizza with marijuana on it.’

While ‘molecularpotet’ shared how, in Colombia, people put cheese in hot chocolate.

They explained: ‘You put in a bit of cheese in the cup, it melts, and you take it out with a spoon and eat it with bread. No, it doesn’t make your chocolate taste cheesy, it just melts in a nice way… the first time I did this with foreigners they were completely beside themselves.’

And while it’s not a foodie custom per se, chewing gum is banned in Singapore – a rule that locals find ‘odd’, Reddit user ‘Im_Tsuikyit’ revealed. 

Sharing the story behind the ban, which was implemented in 1992, they said: ‘The fact gum is illegal here in Singapore may be odd to foreigners, but there’s a reason for that. The reason being, people [were] constantly spitting gum onto the ground, sticking it on cars and elevator buttons, making everywhere you went covered in gum. And when the gum dried up, it would become very hard to remove.’

Also in Singapore, ‘bluezebra1990’ said that in food halls, coffee shops and food courts, you can ‘reserve a table or a seat by placing a packet of tissue or a handkerchief on the spot’.

They added: ‘No need to leave my bag or bottle or anything else to reserve the spot before I walk over to a food stall to buy food. I come back and my 20-cent packet of tissue is still there.’ 

And quirky customs extend to drinking too. Offering insight into a Russian tradition, Reddit user ‘Skordge’ revealed it’s customary to put ‘liquor bottles under the table when you finish them, because there’s a superstition about empty bottles on a table bringing bad luck’. They added: ‘You follow it even if you don’t believe it because you never know if anyone drinking with you actually does and takes offence.’ 

Several users, meanwhile, pointed out that ‘clamanto juice’ – clam juice and tomato juice – is frequently mixed into beer in Canada and Mexico. ‘It’s a “hangover cure” but I’ve had it and it might be the most repulsive thing ever,’ user ‘thatdrunkgirl’ commented. 

And user ‘DrUnce’ revealed that drive-through daiquiri shops are an unusual custom in the U.S. The cocktails are served in closed containers, so they can’t be sipped while driving. 

Another common theme in the discussion was different countries’ approaches to parenting. For instance, ‘Zrina94’ said Denmark’s approach to caring for children ‘baffles a lot of foreigners’.

They explained: ‘We find it natural to leave them unattended. They are left in their prams to nap basically everywhere, usually outside, no matter what time of the year it is.’

‘Rimana2015’ replied that it’s customary for children to be left to nap outside in Finland as well.

Sharing a parenting custom of the Ute people, an indigenous tribe in the U.S, ‘nativehoneybaby’ said that it’s traditional for new mothers to be confined to a room in their homes for 30 days after having a baby, only leaving to go to the doctor. 

The Reddit user, who explained they are Ute themselves, said that ‘it’s to help the baby identify where his/her home is’.

Manners and politeness are other topics that seem to underpin intriguing local customs.

Irish Reddit user ‘Madra_ruax’ suggested that the custom of ‘thanking the bus driver’ can confuse visitors from other countries. They said: ‘If I don’t thank them, I think that [the bus drivers] think I’m rude.’ Another UK-based Reddit user admitted this is commonplace in Britain too. 

Sharing a custom in Iran, ‘Sunchild21’ said ‘it is common to say “no” out of politeness’ when you are offered something.

They explained: ‘Only if the other person asks again will you say yes. Cab drivers will do this too for instance.

‘You ask how much you owe them and they’ll say something along the lines of “oh, don’t worry it’s worth nothing” to which you then reply by insisting on paying. Only then will they tell you the price.’

User ‘EasyDeezy’ said: ‘In Bulgaria, we nod for “no” and shake [our heads] for “yes”… foreigners get really, really confused.’

And Reddit user ‘Skordge’ revealed that in Russia, it’s not customary to smile at strangers. 

One unnamed user said the ‘no smiling’ practice also happens ‘in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia’, adding: ‘When we smile, it actually means something.’

Local festivals can baffle foreigners, the forum suggested. Reddit user ‘TommyTbone’ revealed that Swedes dance around a penis-shaped maypole that’s festooned with flowers to celebrate Midsummer each year. ‘Historically this was to ensure a plentiful harvest,’ they explain. 

Other customs that can cause confusion are the different words used to describe the same thing, the forum highlighted.

Australian Reddit user ‘Imnotavegan’ said: ‘We call flip-flops “thongs” and erasers “rubbers”.’ User ‘guustavoalmadovar’ weighed in and said that flip-flops are called ‘jandals’ in New Zealand.

While ‘butterpopkorn’ said that in Malaysia, water is referred to as ‘sky juice’. 

Hurricane Lee to hit US TODAY with 80mph winds and 20ft waves: Maine declares state of emergency as Long Island homeowners batten down the hatches

• Lee will trigger potentially life threatening storm surges on Friday and Saturday 
• Category 1 storm sparked first hurricane warning in Maine in 15 years 
• Nantucket, Cape Cod and coastal Long Island also bracing for storm’s impact  

By Jen Smith, Chief Reporter and Associated Press

Published: 08:22 EDT, 15 September 2023 | Updated: 10:51 EDT, 15 September 2023

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A summer resurgence in Covid cases has prompted some GP surgeries to bring back face mask rules for patients — weeks after a new variant was spotted.

One practice in Leicester last week reinstated the guidance, urging people to mask-up, as a ‘precautionary measure’ to protect vulnerable patients.

Another in Essex cautioned that an ‘increasing number of patients and staff with Covid’ had prompted the move. 

A spike in infections across the country has seen Covid hospitalisations in England hit a five-month high. 

Health officials yesterday confirmed that a total of 42 cases of the super-mutated Pirola Covid variant have now been detected in the UK, up from 36 last week. 

Mukta Modi, manager of Canon Street Medical Centre in Leicester told GP magazine Pulse: ‘We are preparing for the autumn vaccination programmes and this is a precautionary measure to protect staff and our vulnerable patients.

‘This has been discussed with our patient participation group who have been very supportive.’

Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Local Medical Committee (LMC) chair Dr Grant Ingrams told MailOnline today: ‘Every practice is different with significant variation in the number of staff and patients who are at higher risk of catching Covid or having complications. 

‘In addition, many practices are very short of space meaning that patients have to sit or stand close together in reception and waiting areas.’

He added: ‘Practices are private companies and have a legal duty to protect their staff and patients under Health and Safety Legislation and this includes against infection. 

‘Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland LMC supports all practices to carry out a risk assessment and implement what protection they conclude is needed which may include wearing masks.’

While the true prevalence of the virus is unclear, data from the ZOE Covid study, which tracks self-reported infections, suggests there were 97,904 new daily cases of symptomatic infection on September 13 — almost double the 50,000 it reported at the start of August.

The study, which is based on data from millions of users of the ZOE app, estimates around 1.29million in the UK are currently infected, roughly one in 52 people. 

The figure is the highest for five months, but it is still far lower than the estimated toll during earlier peaks, with it reporting that 3.8million people were infected in April 2022.

Patients had been required to wear face masks in GP surgeries up until June last year.

Updated NHS guidance at the time told practices that patients, apart from those with respiratory symptoms, are ‘not required’ to wear a face mask unless they wish to as a ‘personal preference’.

However, health and care staff were advised to continue to wear face masks as part of PPE when working with suspected or confirmed Covid patients, including those working with untriaged patients in primary care.

It comes as a caller, known only as Caroline, spoke to TalkTV on Wednesday claiming the unnamed GP surgery she works at in Essex had asked staff ‘to mask up again’.

In a message sent out to staff earlier in the week, it said: ‘Due to an increasing number of patients and staff with Covid, I’m afraid we need to ask you to mask up again at work from tomorrow. 

‘Hopefully by wearing them again during the surge we can protect and look after each other and provide an example to patients.’

The message also confirmed the practice would review ‘mask wearing on a regular basis’, she claimed.

She told TalkTV: ‘I did message back and said I wouldn’t be wearing them and I would try and keep my distance if they were worried.

‘They also wanted us to start testing again if we feel unwell.’ 

In recent weeks scientists have recommended a return of pandemic mitigation measures, including mask wearing, and increased ventilation because of the virus’ resurgence. 

Some virologists have also urged Ministers to re-consider vaccine eligibility criteria, after the Government ditched plans last month to offer Covid vaccines to under 65s under the autumn jab rollout which began on Monday.

Despite some experts questioning whether they were ever necessary, studies have repeatedly shown mask wearing can reduce the transmission of the virus.  

Last month, a report by the Royal Society also found ‘mask wearing and mask mandates were an effective approach to reduce infection’.

Researchers said studies consistently reported the measures were an effective approach to reduce infection, despite officials issuing mixed messages about their effectiveness at the beginning of the pandemic. 

Other evidence from studies in healthcare settings also showed that higher-quality ‘respirator’ masks — such as N95 masks — were ‘more effective than surgical-type masks’, they added. 

However researchers noted that as the pandemic progressed and the virus became more transmissible, non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) became less effective in controlling the spread of the virus. 

It comes after UKHSA data yesterday showed that Covid hospitalisations are at their highest level since April.

Admissions among patients who tested positive for the virus stood at 4.6 per 100,000 people in the week to September 10, official figures show.

This is up from 3.7 per 100,000 the previous week and the highest since the week ending April 30.

This is still a fraction of the level reached last winter, when the rate stood at 11.8 per 100,000. It is also well below the figures seen during the first year of the pandemic. 

The rate has been on a clear upwards trend for the past two months, however. 

Rates remain highest among people aged 85 and over, at 51.1 per 100,000, and 75 to 84-year-olds, at 21.2 per 100,000.

Experts predict Covid cases will continue to rise as the UK heads into the autumn, and people mix more indoors.

Brits are also no longer testing en masse like they were earlier in the pandemic — with community testing ending in May 2022. 

Therefore, confirmed cases are an underestimate of how many Britons are infected with Covid and how many of those have the new variant Pirola. 

Yesterday UKHSA confirmed a total of 42 cases of the super-mutated strain, known scientifically as BA.2.86, have now been detected in the UK, up from 36 last week. 

Of England’s 37 cases, spotted as of September 11, seven had been hospitalised, while two were detected among A&E patients. No deaths have been recorded among those infected. 

Some 5 BA.2.86 cases have been reported by Public Health Scotland. No Pirola cases have been detected in Wales and Northern Ireland. 

Pirola, like other recently emerged Covid variants, is a spin-off of the Omicron strain.

However, its host of mutations, 35 in total, sparked alarm with some experts fearing it would be different enough to effectively dodge the protection offered by Covid vaccines and infection from previous waves. 

The UKHSA said it is currently analysing blood samples taken from NHS workers to test how effective the immune response generated by Covid jabs is against Pirola.

Experiments to determine how effective lateral flow tests are at spotting Pirola are also still underway. 

Thousands of freshly-trained medics join the NHS every year after five years in medical school.

But it was revealed this week that, rather than working in the health service, a third of those in training plan to flee the UK in favour of working in the likes of Australia, New Zealand and Canada in a bid for better pay and work-life balance.

One in 33 students even plan to leave medicine altogether.

Among the medics vacating the health service include those jetting off to use their skills abroad and those becoming social media stars or joining OnlyFans – with some earning millions.

Moved to Australia

Dr Michael Mrozinski says he felt exhausted after working in the NHS for seven years.

The medic, 37, says that during his time as a junior doctor in Glasgow, the NHS couldn’t ‘care less’ about his ideas for providing better patient care.

On TikTok, the Scot explained that by age 30 he was ‘completely burnt out’.

He said he saw far too many patients, was snowed under with paperwork and always left an hour or two after finishing.

Dr Mrozinski said: ‘That just wasn’t sustainable for me.

‘So I decided to get away from the NHS, to move out to Australia and it is the best decision I have ever made.’

The medic started working in Australia in 2016. He said his work-life balance is far more sustainable and his more senior colleagues even ‘scolded him for not taking his coffee breaks’ or staying 20 minutes after his shift.

Became a Youtube star

Dr Ali Abdaal, 29, studied medicine for six years at Cambridge University and worked as a junior doctor for a further two.

During his studies, he set up a YouTube channel, creating content around medicine and his degree.

But eight years into working for the NHS, he was earning £40,000 a year as a medic while he claims his YouTube account made him millions.

He said: ‘This year we are expecting the business to probably make around £2million in profit.’

‘The money equation here is completely asymmetrical,’ he added.

He explained that he would have eventually reached a salary of £100,000 working for the NHS after specialising, but that wouldn’t be for many years.

Dr Abdaal revealed that while he did enjoy his job as a doctor, he did not look forward to going to work on a Monday morning.

He said now he genuinely looks forward to going to work every day and rushes through his morning routine just to sit at his desk and work on ‘doing his own thing’.

Joined OnlyFans

Michaela Ogilvie, from Ramsgate, left her role as an NHS mental health social worker earlier this year.

The 32-year-old made the decision after becoming ‘depressed’ by her work.

Since making the switch, the content creator has amassed nearly 20,000 followers on Instagram and 30,000 on TikTok.

But her income comes from OnlyFans, where she claims she is in the top two percent of creators on the site, earns up to £1,000 a week.

She said: ‘I enjoy it so much more than social work – it’s so freeing.  

‘For me it’s about taking back control.’

Became a life coach

Dr Helena Bridge, who worked as an NHS junior doctor in Oxford, says she was often left ‘sobbing and hyperventilating’ while working as a junior doctor.

She said she was overwhelmed with calls and a long list of urgent tasks, which left her ‘scared’ in case she made a mistake that cost someone their life.

After nearly a decade in medicine, she took the ‘ultimate risk’ and left the NHS last year.

The neuroscience graduate became a life coach instead and has since set up her own business.

Dr Bridge said: ‘I am definitely not anti-medicine, but I am anti-suffering.’

‘The system feels like a sinking ship’, Helena added.

‘I would not want to continue working in a health care system like this, because I couldn’t provide to my patients the kind of care standards that I would want for my own family or friends or for myself.

‘I don’t dehumanise patients, I don’t see them as a tick box on a list of todo things. I value people’s quality of life, I value that they are not in pain.’

Pictured: Brit soldier, 28, charged with murder ‘after fatally elbowing businessman while in Canada on military exercise’

• Brett Sheffield, 38, was killed after a late-night altercation at a bar in August
• Craig Gibson, 28, has been charged with second-degree murder

By Paul Farrell For Dailymail.Com and James Callery

Published: 05:35 EDT, 12 September 2023 | Updated: 16:29 EDT, 12 September 2023

Hunter Biden‘s former associate’s emails with then-Vice President’s staff from 2015 detail a closely coordinated relationship that blurred the line between official government work and the Biden family business and may be evidence of ‘collusion,’ say Republicans.

The GOP is ramping up its investigation into the Biden family’s decades-long ‘influence peddling scheme’ as lawmakers eye opening a potential impeachment inquiry into the sitting president over his connections to his son’s foreign business operations.

They are narrowing in on a series of emails between Eric Schwerin, a close business associate of Hunter’s at his investment firm Rosemont Seneca, and then-VP staffer Kate Bedingfield in December 2015 regarding Hunter’s Ukraine ties.

In an exchange on December 4, 2015 labeled ‘Quotes,’ Schwerin sought the VP’s sign-off on statements he suggested the White House use to respond to media inquiries regarding Hunter’s role in Ukrainian oil company Burisma as Joe ramped up his anti-corruption work in the country.

At the time, Hunter was serving on the board of the company making roughly $83,000 a month despite having no previous experience in the energy industry.

According to the records, Schwerin wrote to Bedingfield’s official ‘@ovp.eop.gov’ account, suggesting language ‘from a spokesperson for Hunter’ distancing Joe from Hunter’s lucrative Burisma role.

She replied: ‘VP signed off on this’ a few hours later, and then sent the statement to the New York Times and other inquiring outlets.

On the exact day of the email exchange, Hunter was actually in Dubai with Burisma executives at a dinner at the Four Seasons.

Hunter allegedly said at that dinner that he would be able to get ‘help from D.C.’ in order to relieve some ‘government pressure’ on the company as they faced corruption probes.

Archer testified before Congress last month that Burisma ‘requested Hunter, you know, help them with some of that pressure,’ and ‘D.C.’ meant his influence based on his connection to his then-VP father. 

‘Well, I mean, he was a lobbyist and an expert and obviously he carried, you know, a very powerful name. So I think it was that’s what they were asking for,’ said Archer about Hunter. 

He then continued on to confirm that immediately after Hunter was asked to help during the Four Seasons meeting, he ‘called his dad.’ 

Although Archer was not ‘privy’ to the call, he was told that ‘we called D.C.’ 

The emails between Schwerin and Bedingfield were first publicized by America First Legal in March as part of an ongoing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit with the National Archives. 

Many of the related emails have been ‘withheld in full’ due to White House executive privilege. 

Now, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is demanding the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) produce all the emails between Schwerin and Bedingfield in their full, un-redacted state. 

He also asks for documents and communications between the VP’s office and staff with Hunter’s other associates including Devon Archer, Vuk Jeremic, John Robinson ‘Rob’ Walker and Jeffrey Cooper.

‘Joe Biden never built an ‘absolute wall’ between his family’s business dealings and his official government work – his office doors were wide open to Hunter Biden’s associates,’ Chairman Comer told DailyMail.com in a statement. ‘There is evidence of collusion in the efforts to spin media stories about Burisma’s corruption while Vice President Biden was publicly pushing an anti-corruption agenda in Ukraine.’

A spokesperson for NARA said that the agency has received the request from Comer and will respond ‘in accordance with the Presidential Records Act (PRA), NARA’s implementing regulations, and the governing Executive Order.’ 

The White House has maintained that Joe Biden has never been ‘in business’ with his son or aware of his foreign dealings. 

The follow-up request comes a week after Comer wrote to NARA asking the agency to provide records detailing reports that Hunter traveled to at least 15 countries with his dad then-Vice President Joe on Air Force Two.

They accuse then-VP Biden of having ‘abused’ his taxpayer-funded office ‘to enrich his family’ by flying Hunter all over the world to meet with his business associates, according to a letter to the National Archives on Aug. 29 obtained by DailyMail.com.

Hunter tagged along with his powerful father during official vice president trips between 2009 and 2017 to Asia, Europe, Africa, Mexico and Canada spanning at least 15 different countries, according to a recent report by Fox News.

During the trips, Hunter would reportedly meet with his international business associates and potential clients. He also apparently offered short ‘handshake’ meetings providing his partners direct access to his father on several occasions. 

They demanded all Air Force Two flight records and emails sent from the White House to Biden family members during the Obama-Biden administration.

Additionally, new records have revealed that then-Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter’s investment firm Rosemont Seneca exchanged over 1,000 emails during his time as the No. 2 most powerful politician in the world.

Republicans claim there is mounting evidence that the then-vice president was involved in Hunter’s overseas deals that raked in millions from nations including China, Romania and Ukraine.

The House Oversight Committee Republicans reiterate their ‘concerns’ that foreign nationals ‘sought access and influence by engaging in lucrative business relationships with high-profile political figures’ immediate family members,’ including members of the Biden family. 

DailyMail.com reached out to NARA for a response to the Republican-led letter last week, and a spokesperson said Comer’s ‘request’ has been received. 

‘NARA has received the request from Chairman Comer, and will respond in accordance with the Presidential Records Act (PRA), NARA’s implementing regulations, and the governing Executive Order.’ 

A million US deaths could be averted each year if mortality rates in America were on par with those in other rich countries, a damning report has found.

Researchers looked at the rate of all-cause mortality per population size since the 1930s in nearly two dozen peer nations, including the UK, Canada, Japan, Australia and 17 European countries. 

They found that despite the US being the richest, it has suffered more deaths per capita than any of the 21 other nations since around 1980, which have reached ‘unprecedented levels’ in recent years.

The study noted the opioid and fentanyl epidemic, gun violence, and obesity-related deaths, which have all been exacerbated by the Covid pandemic, are the reason America is an outlier.

The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nexus, found that by 2019, around 600,000 deaths could have been prevented if the US had similar mortality rates to its peer nations.

But in 2020 and 2021, this rose to 1.1million.  

Steffie Woolhandler, senior author and professor at the School of Urban Public Health at Hunter College, blamed America’s healthcare system, insurers, corporate greed and politicians for the avoidable deaths the country has seen.

‘We waste hundreds of billions each year on health insurers’ profits and paperwork, while tens of millions can’t afford medical care, healthy food, or a decent place to live,’ Woolhandler said.

‘Americans die younger than their counterparts elsewhere because when corporate profits conflict with health, our politicians side with the corporations,’ she added.

The United States was only one of a handful of countries on the list that does not provide universal healthcare coverage to its residents. 

Despite the number of excess deaths peaking in 2020 and 2021, the team from Boston University School of Public Health, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard Chan School of Public Health and Hunter College found America’s excess death rate had been worsening since the 1980s.

During World War II and thereafter, America had a lower mortality rate than peer countries. 

In the 1960s and 70s, the rate was similar to other wealthy countries. 

However, in the 1980s, the number of excess deaths began to rise, climbing to approximately 622,500 in 2019. 

Deaths then spiked in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic. Those years saw approximately one million excess deaths.

In the years between 1980 and 2021, there were 13.1 million ‘missing Americans’. 

Study lead and corresponding author Jacob Bor, an associate professor of global health and epidemiology at Boston University, called the number of missing Americans ‘unprecedented in modern times.’

Nearly half of the missing Americans died prior to age 65 in 2020 and 2021, a level of excess deaths Bor said was particularly stark. 

‘Think of people you know who have passed away before reaching age 65. Statistically, half of them would still be alive if the US had the mortality rates of our peers. The US is experiencing a crisis of early death that is unique among wealthy nations,’ Bor said. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported life expectancy in 2020 was 77 years old, a decline of nearly two years from 2019. In 2021, life expectancy declined again to 76.4 years. 

In 2020, nine of the 10 leading causes of death were the same as in 2019, though five causes switched ranks. 

However, heart disease and cancer remained the top two, while Covid was newly added and took the third slot. 

Unintentional injuries moved to fourth place and stroke moved to fifth place.

In 2021, nine of the 10 leading causes of death remained unchanged from the year prior and heart disease, cancer and Covid were the top three again.

Unintentional injury and stroke remained the fourth and fifth top causes of death in 2021, respectively. 

During both 2020 and 2021, deaths among all ages increased year-over-year, except those among one- to four-year-olds, which declined slightly only in 2020. 

‘Living in the US is a risk factor for early death that is common across many US racial and ethnic groups,’ Bor said. 

‘Whereas most health disparities studies assess differences between US racial/ethnic groups, such an approach renders the poor health of Whites invisible and grossly underestimates the health shortfall of minoritized groups. 

‘By using an international benchmark, we show that Americans of all races and ethnicities are adversely affected by the US policy environment, which places a low priority on public health and social protections, particularly for low-income people.’ 

Accounting for the future years lost due to someone dying prematurely, researchers estimate that in 2021, excess deaths translated to 26.4 million years of life lost when compared to peer countries. 

Based on the study results and the trend of excess deaths in the US, Mr Bor is not optimistic mortality rates will rebound in the near future, even as Covid deaths fall to some of their lowest numbers. 

‘The US was already experiencing more than 600,000 missing Americans annually before the pandemic began, and that number was increasing each year. There have been no significant policy changes since then to change this trajectory.

‘While COVID-19 brought new attention to public health, the backlash unleashed during the pandemic has undermined trust in government and support for expansive policies to improve population health.

‘This could be the most harmful long-term impact of the pandemic, because expansion of public policy to support health is exactly how our peer countries have attained higher life expectancy and better health outcomes.’