A Madagascan government minister said he swam for 12 hours after his helicopter crashed at sea during a rescue mission for a ship that sunk, killing at least 68 people.

The self-isolation period for people who contracted COVID in England will be cut from 10 days to seven for those who can produce negative lateral flow results on both day six and their final day of quarantine.

Vladimir Putin has threatened a "military-technical response" if Western countries continue with what he calls "unfriendly" actions over Ukraine.

The chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has been suspended as he is being investigated over alleged sex crimes.

The US government is buying 500 million at-home rapid COVID tests that Americans can order online for free starting in January, Joe Biden has announced.

Omicron cases are surging in the UK and as the variant has taken hold for more than a week we can start to see the effect it's having on hospitalisations for the first time.

Israel has announced it will offer a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to people aged over 60, saying it is the first nation set to roll it out.

England fast bowler Jofra Archer has suffered a fresh injury setback, undergoing a second elbow operation that will keep him out of action until next summer.

Germany will introduce new measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said.

Strict limits on crowd numbers at football matches have been announced for Scotland and Hogmanay events will be cancelled as part of new COVID restrictions from Boxing Day.