Challenged by Ms Baillie about whether there was nothing other than texts in which Mr Murrell spoke about pressure being applied to police over the Salmond case, he replied "there is nothing else - no.

"Mr Murrell has claimed he phrased the text message in which he said it was a "good time to be pressuring the police" poorly because he was upset and that its meaning has been misinterpreted.

Boris Johnson has dashed hopes that children might be able to return to school after the February half-term, noting that hospitals remain in a "perilous" situation and the government can't take any risks with Covid-19 rampant.

"It will not be possible to reopen schools immediately after the half-term. I know how frustrating that will be to students and teachers who want nothing more than to get back to the classroom," the prime minister said on Wednesday.

If we do, we run the risk of our NHS coming under still greater pressure, compelling us to reimpose every restriction and sustain those restrictions for longer.

Johnson noted that it was a priority to see kids in England get back to school, but insisted the decision would be taken as soon as the time was right.

The PM said it was still too early to relax restrictions, adding that the National Health Service cannot be put further at risk.

"We remain in a perilous situation, with more than 37,000 patients now in hospital with Covid, almost double the peak of the first wave," Johnson added.

Which suggests that all the ludicrous orders and insane dictates that people have been complying with has done absolutely nothing to stop or slow the spread.

The PM also insisted that schools are indeed "safe," but the risks of bringing communities together posed a high risk, and "a large number of kids are a considerable vector of transmission."

The government claims teachers are at no extra risk of catching Covid-19 and has not announced any plans for prioritizing teachers for vaccination against the virus, despite pressure from opposition parties.

Schools have remained closed since Christmas, with only the children of key workers receiving in-person teaching.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has unveiled new Covid-19 border restrictions, forcing UK citizens travelling from red-list countries to quarantine in government-provided accommodation while stepping up checks on other arrivals.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Patel declared that there are "still too many people coming in and out of our country every day," forcing the government to introduce stricter border restrictions to protect the country from new variants of the virus.

As was expected, the government will require UK citizens who are coming back from so-called 'red-list' countries to quarantine for 10 days in government-provided accommodation, so they can be monitored in case they develop symptoms. Alongside that, police will also increase checks on other arrivals who are self-isolating to ensure they comply with the rules.

To enforce the new measures, police presence at ports and airports will be increased, so border officials can check that people only travel abroad if they have a valid reason for doing so. Those who are flouting the rules will be asked to return home or be given a fine.

"Going on holiday is not a valid reason to travel," Patel said.

Except, of course, when they do it.

While Prime Minister Boris Johnson's party and his scientific advisers support this new approach, the opposing Labour Party has criticised the move as not going "anywhere near far enough" to combat incoming cases, leaving "huge gaps in our defences against emerging strains."

Labour's Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds argued that by only requiring people returning from a specific handful of countries to quarantine in monitored accommodation, the government is showing it is "too far behind the curve" in tackling the ongoing crisis.

On Tuesday, the UK passed the grim milestone of 100,000 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test. The country has recorded almost 3.7 million cases to date.

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China has begun using anal swabs to test those it considers at high risk of contracting Covid-19, state TV reported, with social media users and travellers squirming over the invasive procedure which doctors say can be more effective in detecting the virus.

Officials took anal swabs from residents of neighbourhoods with confirmed Covid-19 cases in Beijing last week, broadcaster CCTV said, while those in designated quarantine facilities have also undergone the test.

Small, localized outbreaks in recent weeks have seen multiple cities in northern China sealed off from the rest of the country and prompted mass testing campaigns — which up until now have mostly been conducted using throat and nose swabs.

But the anal swabs method "can increase the detection rate of infected people" as traces of the virus linger longer in the anus than in the respiratory tract, Li Tongzeng, a senior doctor from Beijing's You'an Hospital, told CCTV.

Users of China's popular Twitter-like Weibo social media platform reacted to the method with a mix of mirth and horror.

"So lucky I returned to China earlier," one user wrote.

"Low harm, but extreme humiliation," another said, using a laughing emoticon.

The NAACP had called on Biden to create a policy "czar" position to put one person in charge of addressing racial justice and equity issues. Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said Tuesday it was important to see the issues embedded in the administration's domestic policy portfolio.

The Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative, a coalition of racial justice and civil rights organizations, pushed Tuesday for Biden to establish a White House Office on Racial Equity and Inclusion to coordinate all actions. But administration officials emphasized what they said is an unprecedented move to embed racial equity throughout all agencies.

"Advancing equity is everybody's job," said Rice.

Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, said Biden's initial steps and Rice's role indicates racial justice will not be marginalized in the new administration.

"It's not time to pop a cork or spike the ball. No way. Don't get me wrong," he told USA TODAY. "But these are things that we have encouraged, asked for and demanded. So it looks like we're being heard at this stage."

Eric Rodriguez, senior vice president of policy and advocacy at UnidosUS a national Latino civil rights organization, praised Biden's focus on housing, which he called a 'sleeper issue.' "We know that systemic racism is throughout the government."

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Israel and Iran both seek to put pressure on President Joe Biden ahead of his expected announcement on his approach for dealing with the Iranian nuclear program. In Iran, leaders said they would not wait indefinitely for Biden to act. Biden has said he will seek to revive the deal, with some changes.

Kohavi said allowing Iran to proceed with a nuclear program would be "an unacceptable threat and will lead to nuclear proliferation across the region." Kohavi said that given the threat posed by Iran, Israel's military would be prepared to attack on its own if needed.

"I instructed the army to prepare a number of operational plans in addition to the existing ones. We are taking care of these plans and will develop them during the coming year. Those who decide on carrying them out, of course, are the political leaders. But these plans have to be on the table."

Just hours before Kohavi spoke against a deal, Iran prodded Biden to rejoin the atomic accord. "The window of opportunity will not be open for long," said Iran's Cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei.

Israeli officials, including Kohavi, say that Iran is in a much weaker position than in 2015 after years of sanctions by the Trump administration. They say that any new deal should eliminate "sunset" provisions that phase out certain limits on Iran's nuclear activities, address Iran's long-range missile program and its military involvement and support for Israel's enemies across the region.

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