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At the service preceding the cremation, Cherie Blair, eminent barrister and wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, said: "It isn't easy to build a life in a new country as Aruna and Swraj did here in the UK... their achievements were marked by Swraj's elevation to the House of Lords for his services to industry and to the Labour party and many Labour leaders including Tony welcomed and listened to his advice, and therefore, I know they were listening to Aruna's advice."

A report released by Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto said the UAE was suspected of orchestrating spyware attacks on No. 10 in 2020 and 2021. Pegasus is the hacking software -- or spyware -- developed, marketed and licensed to governments around the world by the Israeli firm NSO Group. It has the capability to infect phones running either iOS or Android operating systems.

Dick, the first woman to lead the country's largest police force, had been under pressure over a number of issues that recently generated adverse publicity for the Met, Xinhua news agency reported. The Police Chief said her decision followed contact with the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan earlier on Thursday.

Current Covid-19 restrictions were set to expire on March 24 but Johnson on Wednesday suggested rules could expire later this February, Xinhua news agency reported. "Providing the current encouraging trends in the data continue, it is my expectation that we will be able to end the last domestic restrictions, including the legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive, a full month early," the Prime Minister told MPs.

A report by the UK Health Security Agency found the mutant BA.2 sub-strain accounted for 3.4 per cent of the country's new infections by January 16 -- and it is doubling every week, the Daily Mail reported.

In total, 40 countries have uploaded 8,040 BA.2 sequences to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) since November 17, 2021, and at this point, it is not possible to determine where the sub-lineage may have originated

Khan said that the continued electrification of London's bus fleet is also under threat, with the date for a zero-emission fleet likely to slip till at least 2037, Xinhua news agency reported.

The UK's largest airport said that "swiftly imposed" action during the month of December to tackle the Omicron variant in the run-up to the festive season prompted uncertainty among the travellers who faced additional bills for costly PCR tests. It added that there was now significant doubt on when demand would return despite the subsequent lifting of UK rules last week governing pre-departure Coronavirus testing for people arriving in the country, the report said.

Truss, while retaining her role as foreign secretary, will take over ministerial responsibility for UK's relationship with the EU with immediate effect, it said. In his resignation on Saturday, Frost said he's concerned about "the current direction of travel" of the government, Xinhua news agency reported.

Around 3.8 million people live within the zone which extends to the north and south circular roads around the British capital, reports Xinhua news agnecy. London City Hall expects around 110,000 vehicles are likely to pay a 12.50 pounds ($17.22) charge for driving within the new zone. Drivers who don't pay face a penalty charge of 160 pounds, reduced to half if paid within 14 days.