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The new five-day travel quarantine scheme was mired in chaos yesterday as two testing firms pulled out after being swamped with demand. Following weeks of delay, ministers finally unveiled a list of 11 approved private medical firms where travellers flying into the UK can get a test to cut quarantine time from ten to five days.  The Department for Transport’s ‘test to release’ plan was supposed to help revive the virus-ravaged travel industry ahead of the Christmas period. Ministers finally unveiled a list of 11 approved private medical firms where travellers flying into the UK can get a test to cut quarantine time from ten to five days. Pictured: Passengers arrive at London's Heathrow Airport But industry leaders were dismayed after the approved providers were announced just five hours before launch at midnight yesterday.  They claimed the list was shortened at the last minute after ministers decided to approve tests only from providers with direct access to a laboratory. However,

Australia will lodge a formal dispute at the World Trade Organisation on Wednesday night over China's tariff on Aussie barley.  Beijing slapped an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley in May, a month after Scott Morrison called for an inquiry into the origins of coronavirus which was identified in Wuhan late last year. China claims Australian barley growers are unfairly subsidised by the government, but Canberra denies this.  Beijing slapped an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley in June. Pictured: Barley in central west New South Wales  Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has demanded sit-down talks with Chinese officials, who have refused to answer his calls for months. 'We advised the counterpart for Australia's intention to request formal consultations with China in relation to dumping and other duties in regards to the Australian daily industry,' he said in a press briefing on Wednesday. 'We will make this formal request to the WTO tonight.'  China impos

MPs have been warned they may have to work on Christmas Eve, raising hopes of a last-minute Brexit deal with Brussels. Boris Johnson is reportedly preparing to push back the Christmas recess of Parliament if he can secure an 11th hour break-through with EU negotiators.  Under plans being inspected by leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, MPs and Peers will be asked to sit on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday if a deal is reached by the weekend, the Telegraph reports. Having Christmas Eve as a sitting day as well is also on the table, the paper adds.  It comes as Mr Rees-Mogg last night insisted 'there is no last moment' to strike a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union as he said talks could continue right up to the deadline on December 31.  The Commons Leader suggested the UK would be willing to negotiate with Brussels 'until Big Ben strikes 11 o'clock' on New Year's Eve - the point at which the 'standstill' transition period comes to an

Britain's best-paid university boss has apologised after being found guilty of bullying – but has refused to quit. Professor Alice Gast enjoys a pay package of £554,000 a year as the president of Imperial College London, which has been a key part of the battle against coronavirus. Last week the Daily Mail revealed how the Texan academic and one of her top lieutenants were subject to a secret probe this summer over a culture of 'bullying and harassment'. Professor Alice Gast , who earns a pay package of £554,000 a year as the president of Imperial College London, was subject to a probe this summer over a culture of 'bullying and harassment' Imperial initially refused to reveal the inquiry's conclusions – but it has finally relented after pressure from MPs and its students. The report found Professor Gast, 62, had 'bullied one senior colleague', while her chief financial officer, Muir Sanderson, bullied two individuals.  Professor Gast said: 'I am very

The amount of taxpayer-funded legal aid handed to the killers of hero policeman Andrew Harper has rocketed to £720,000. The incredible sum was paid to solicitors and barristers defending the three teenagers who dragged the newlywed constable to his death behind a car for more than a mile. It was revealed in August, shortly after the killers were convicted, that their legal aid bill had hit more than £465,000. But now that figure has spiralled as they fight a series of appeals. Lawyers for gang ringleader Henry Long, 19, were paid £253,588. His accomplices Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, both 18, had separate legal teams who were paid £199,720 and £208,409 respectively. A further £2,720 went on legal representation for all three at the police station after their initial arrest. The amount of taxpayer-funded legal aid handed to the killers of hero policeman Andrew Harper has rocketed to £720,000. The incredible sum was paid to solicitors and barristers defending the three teenagers who dr

A pub in the NSW Riverina is being shut down after serving 20 schooners and four rum and cokes to a teenage boy who then died in a car crash. The Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority said the Temora Hotel would be forced to shut on Christmas eve for 14 days after the 17-year-old died, hours after drinking at the pub in March. ILGA chairman Philip Crawford says the incident is about as horrific as it gets. 'The matter is subject to a police investigation and a coronial inquest, with the authority's decision to suspend the hotel's licence triggered by the sale of alcohol to a minor and the licensee's complete failure to manage the risk of harm,' Mr Crawford said on Wednesday The Temora hotel, in New South Wales Riverina region, will be forced to shut on Christmas eve for 14 days after a 17-year-old who drank on the premises in March died in a car crash hours later The teen was not asked for ID despite spending around seven hours drinking at the pub and engaging w

Germany: A hard lockdown from today, closing all non-essential shops, will last until January 10, and the country’s famous Christmas markets have largely been cancelled. Private gatherings are limited to five people from two households, but the rule will be eased slightly for the Christmas holidays to allow families to celebrate, with up to ten people allowed to gather, not counting children. Italy: Italians will not be allowed to attend a midnight mass on Christmas Eve and can move between regions only in emergencies over the holiday period starting on December 20. Coronavirus restrictions in U.S.A, France, Portugal, Germany, France and Italy over Christmas Pope Francis’s Christmas Eve Mass will start two hours earlier, so the limited number permitted to attend can be home by the curfew time of 10pm. Portugal: There is no limit on how many people will be able to gather for Christmas, and the night-time curfew will be pushed back from 11pm to 2am on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. But

Adorable mice have been spotted shredding waves on tiny handmade surfboards near Byron Bay.  Allysha Le Page was at a beach in Ballina, New South Wales, teaching her toddler how to swim, when she spotted a man watching his mice surf.  The 29-year-old mother approached the pet owner who was giving each of his four mice a turn catching waves and recorded the exciting waveriders.  One of the mice is seen catching waves at a beach in Ballina, New South Wales  The man pays a lot of money to build and design the custom surfboards for his mice 'There was a bloke with his surfing pets at the beach and stoked is an understatement,' Ms Le Page wrote on Instagram alongside the footage.  'This guy loves his mice. He spends so much money on their custom beach cart (that has separate rooms, light reflecting windows, water droppers and beds and towed a trailer full of custom mice fish and mal surfboards).  'Not to mention he takes them to Queensland to see a vet and spends heaps on

A former colleague of Jeffrey Toobin has broken her silence over his 'pervy' behavior, claiming he left a message on her voicemail detailing a sex act he planned to perform on her before calling days later to tell her he was back with his wife. Journalist Lisa DePaulo told the New York Times about the alleged incident in 2003, as it emerged that CNN is still employing Jeffrey Toobin more than one month after he was fired from the New Yorker for allegedly masturbating on a work Zoom call.   The disgraced journalist, 60,  was on an 'election simulation' video call with New Yorker colleagues in mid-October when, thinking he was off-camera, he allegedly pulled out his penis and masturbated in full view of the other participants.   He was immediately suspended by the magazine pending an investigation before being fired last month, with parent company Condé Nast telling staff in a memo it takes 'workplace matters seriously'.  But, almost two months on since the scanda

Vice President Mike Pence will get the new coronavirus vaccine within days, he Tuesday – as the White House said unidentified senior officials would do so to instill 'public confidence.' Pence flew to his home state of Indiana Tuesday to tout the administration's vaccine efforts.  'Be confident that we have cut red tape, but we've cut no corners when it comes to the development of this vaccine,' he said said. 'I look forward in the days ahead to receiving the vaccine myself and do so without hesitation.'  Vice President Mike Pence says he will get the coronavirus vaccine 'in the days ahead' CNN, citing unnamed sources, said it would likely happen by Friday.  Pence, whose chief of staff and press secretary contracted the coronavirus, has headed the coronavirus task force while multiple outbreaks have occurred at the White House.  Top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has advised that President Trump, Pence, President-elect Joe Biden, a

Warrant Officer Class 1 John Letch, Command Sergeant Major of the Special Operations Command, has stood down from his position after publication of a photograph showing him drinking from the prosthetic leg of a Taliban fighter in Afghanistan A senior Special Forces soldier pictured drinking out of a slain Taliban fighter's prosthetic leg recently lectured troops on ethics and integrity in the army's own newspaper. Warrant Officer Class 1 John Letch, Command Sergeant Major of the Special Operations Command, has voluntarily stood down from his position after a pixelated copy of the photograph was widely published. A clear version of the image showing WO1 Letch is published by Daily Mail Australia here for the first time.  The highly-regarded 50-year-old veteran of numerous overseas deployments is the most senior enlisted man in Special Forces and one of the most senior soldiers in the entire army.  A source familiar with the photograph - and others showing senior SAS soldiers doi