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Scotland has removed most of its remaining coronavirus restrictions, but people must continue to wear face masks on public transport and inside public places.

The country has moved to Level 0 from today, meaning all legal requirements for physical distancing – except in health care settings – and gatherings have been removed and all venues, including nightclubs, can reopen.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the nation could move to the lowest level of its five-tier system of rules due to the “steady decline in cases” and “the success of vaccination”.

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Sturgeon eases most Scotland restrictions

Double-vaccinated adults and also children are now able to avoid self-isolation if they are a close contact of someone with coronavirus as long as they are symptomless and provide a negative PCR test.

All teachers and pupils will have to keep wearing masks indoors for up to six weeks after schools return, but whole classes will no longer have to stay at home if someone tests positive.

However, children and adults who are higher-risk close contacts will still be told to isolate.

Under the new rules, people will be allowed to drink while standing up in pubs and outdoor events of more than 5,000 people and indoor events of more than 2,000 will be able to go ahead, as long as they have permission from local authorities and the government.

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When announcing the lifting of further restrictions last week, Ms Sturgeon hailed Monday as “perhaps the most significant date so far” in the pandemic.

She has also urged people to “continue to take sensible precautions” despite the majority of rules being lifted.

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Wales lifts remaining restrictions

The number of new coronavirus infections reached a peak of 4,234 on 1 July but the average number of daily cases during August is 1,172, according to Scottish government statistics.

A total of 3,323,466 people in the country have been fully vaccinated while 4,024,852 have received at least one dose.

On Saturday, Wales moved to its own level zero, easing most restrictions but not the requirement to wear face masks in most indoor public places, including in shops, health care settings, and on public transport.

First Minister Mark Drakeford urged people to still be sensible despite the lifting of restrictions, saying “alert level zero does not mean the end of restrictions and a free-for-all“.

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Luis Piovesana: Family ‘devastated’ after body found in search for brother of judo Olympian

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Luis Piovesana: Family 'devastated' after body found in search for brother of judo Olympian

A judo Olympian has said her family is “devastated” after the discovery of body in the search for her missing brother.

Lubjana Piovesana, 28, appealed for help to find her younger sibling, Luis, 26, on Saturday. He had not been seen since the early hours of Friday morning.

A body was found in the River Frome near Napier Road in Eastville, Bristol, at around 6pm today, Avon and Somerset Police said.

Formal identification is yet to take place, the force added.

In a post on Instagram, Ms Piovesana wrote: “Hello everyone, Luis has been found.

“We are completely devastated but he has passed away.

“I am grateful for everyone’s support. And I am so sorry this happened.

“Luis was my little brother and loved by everyone. I wish he could have seen the love from everyone. He will be remembered by us all.”

The post was signed off with a dove emoji.

Pics: Avon & Somerset Police
Image:
Luis Piovesana did not have any money or his mobile phone with him when he went missing, police said. Pics: Avon & Somerset Police

Mr Piovesana was last seen at around 3am on Friday at the Eastgate retail park, which is less than a 10-minute walk away from where the body was found.

He had travelled there by taxi from a venue in Little Ann Street, St Jude’s, a 10-minute drive away.

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The 26-year-old’s family spent the weekend searching for him, and asked people to check their sheds and gardens.

His partner, Laurin Bohler, said loved ones had travelled from Birmingham to help.

Mounted officers and police drones were also involved in the investigation.

Ms Piovesana competed for Team GB before switching to the Austrian team, and defeated British competitor Lucy Renshall in the women’s -63kg judo event at the Paris Olympics last year.

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Sophie Evans: Man jailed for life for murdering son’s girlfriend after school run

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Sophie Evans: Man jailed for life for murdering son's girlfriend after school run

A man has been jailed for life for murdering his son’s girlfriend after she returned home from the school run.

Officers from Dyfed-Powys Police were called to an address on Bigyn Road in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, on 5 July last year.

Sophie Evans, 30, had sustained 72 separate injuries on the outside of the body, “all but three of them new injuries”.

Richard Jones, who is now 50, believed he was “being taken advantage of financially” by Ms Evans and his son, with whom she was in a relationship.

While the purpose of Jones’s visit was “purely normal”, he confronted her on that morning about his suspicions and Ms Evans’s reaction was such that Jones “lost [his] temper”.

He subjected Ms Evans to “gross violence” before ultimately strangling her and leaving the property to run errands, including ordering a new bank card and buying pastries from a bakery.

Richard Jones. Pic: Dyfed-Powys Police
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Richard Jones. Pic: Dyfed-Powys Police

‘Last time on their school run’

During sentencing on Monday, the defendant kept his head bowed for most of the hearing.

He will have to serve at least 20 years behind bars before he can be considered for release by the parole board.

Swansea Crown Court heard Ms Evans was the mother of two young children.

Passing his sentence, Judge Geraint Walters said Ms Evans “had just taken her two children for the last time on their school run” prior to the attack.

“She wasn’t to know that when she parted company with them that morning,” he added.

The court heard the Jones believed he was being defrauded by Ms Evans and his son.

“There is clear evidence, that in the days leading up to this, that you had begun harbouring thoughts that Sophie Evans and your own son were in fact financially scamming you,” he said.

“What precisely brought about that view is difficult to determine.”

Judge Walters said Jones “lost [his] temper when [he] didn’t get the answer that [he] thought [he] deserved”.

He added that, having lost his temper, the defendant “subjected [Ms Evans] to gross violence over a period of time, before you ultimately extinguished her life by strangulation”.

The court was told in evidence that at the time of the attack, Ms Evans was wearing only a bath towel.

‘The rock of our family’

In a victim personal statement, Ms Evans’s sister Kerry Quinlan told the court she was “the rock of our family”.

She said Ms Evans was taken from them in a “senseless and cruel act”.

“Words cannot express fully how much of a loss this has been to her children,” she added.

“When they cry themselves to sleep wanting their mum, she isn’t there and never will be.”

Ms Quinlan added that Jones had “taken everything from us, all in the most despicable way possible”.

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Ms Evans’s partner at the time, and the defendant’s son, Jamie Davies, said in a victim personal statement, read on his behalf, that they had both “trusted” Jones, and that Ms Evans had even been planning the defendant’s 50th birthday.

“The thought of having to live my life without Sophie causes me extreme pain and heartache,” he added.

Prosecuting, Michael Jones KC said the offence was aggravated by the defendant’s previous convictions and the fact Ms Evans was murdered in her home.

In mitigation, David Elias KC said there was a “lack of premeditation”.

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Third man charged with murder over house fire in Bradford that killed mother and her three children

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Third man charged with murder over house fire in Bradford that killed mother and her three children

A third man has been charged with murder over a house fire that killed a mother and her three children in Bradford last year.

Bryonie Gawith, 29, Denisty Birtle, nine, Oscar Birtle, five, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle were killed in the fire on 21 August 2024.

Sharaz Ali, 39, from Bradford, has been charged with four counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

He will appear at Bradford Magistrates Court today.

Two other men, Mohammed Shabir, 44, and Calum Sunderland, 25, both of Keighley, are due to go on trial next week after pleading not guilty to murdering Ms Gawith and the three children, and attempting to murder Ms Gawith’s sister, Antonia.

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The children’s father Jonathan said at the time he was “absolutely distraught” by the “sudden loss” of his fiancee and “three beautiful children”.

“Bryonie and I were together for a long time, and we had a good life together. She was a beautiful woman and a loving mother to Oscar, Aubree and Denisty,” he said.

“I loved them with all my heart and if I had the chance, I would take their place in a heartbeat. I cannot imagine life without them.”

A family statement added: “Our B (Ms Gawith) was the life and soul of the party, music was a big part of her life, she loved music, singing and dancing, she would always be singing and dancing with Chuch (Denisty), Oggy (Oscar) and Strawberry (Aubree).

“B was always a really happy, joyful, bubbly beautiful woman, who cared for everyone and was loved by everyone, her kids were everything to her, her whole life.

“Oggy had the cheekiest smile, he was cheeky but he was a shy boy, Strawbs was shy and bashful with big blue eyes and blonde hair and Chuch was a beautiful, confident, outgoing and creative young girl.

“We are still trying to comprehend what has happened to our beautiful family. No words can describe how we are feeling and no words could ever make up for the profound loss we are now faced with.”

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