Flu cases at record levels as ‘tidal wave’ of illness hits the NHS

The NHS is facing a “tidal wave” of illness ahead of Christmas as flu cases reach the highest on record for this time of year, health chiefs have warned.

Figures show 1,717 patients were admitted to hospital with flu each day last week, up from 1,098 in 2024.

This is 56 per cent higher than this time last year, according to NHS England statistics.

Data suggests the UK could be facing the worst flu season for decades, placing pressure on hospitals just as resident doctors are set to stage another five-day strike amid a row over pay and conditions.

Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) are set to walk out from 17 to 22 December, after the union accused the government of failing to make “sufficient progress towards a viable deal on jobs and pay”.

The health secretary Wes Streeting branded the strike “irresponsible”, warning that the dates, just before the Christmas bank holidays and when the NHS is often in the midst of a ‘winter crisis’, represented a “different magnitude of risk” to previous industrial action.

NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey branded the decision by doctors to strike as “something that feels cruel” and which is “calculated to cause mayhem at a time when the service is really pulling all the stops out to try and avoid that and keep people safe”.

Speaking at a board meeting on Thursday, Sir Jim said the planned strike action had caused “a genuine and palpable feeling of anger, frustration and exasperation” among colleagues, adding: “I really do hope we can find a way of avoiding this.”

The latest flu figures have been published by the NHS to show the performance of hospitals in England this winter. They are ten times higher than in 2023, which saw an average of 243 flu patients a day.

Daniel Elkeles, the chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “The NHS is facing a tidal wave of flu. It’s very worrying to see the figures at a record high for the time of year — and still heading up.

“That’s alongside all the other winter bugs piling the pressure on the NHS. The last thing anyone needs now is the prospect of another strike by resident doctors, bringing yet more disruption and distress for patients.

“We urge the BMA to see sense, get round the table with the government and end the dispute, so we can have all hands on deck in the lead-up to Christmas.”

This year’s flu season started earlier than usual and is yet to reach a peak, meaning pressure on hospitals is likely to grow in the run-up to Christmas.

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of the King’s Fund, said: “Today’s data confirms that the NHS is entering the most challenging period of the year with pressures hitting the health and care service from all directions.

“Rising flu waves and industrial action are all adding strain to a system which is already struggling to deliver timely care for patients. The flu season started unusually early this year and is yet to peak, so it is too soon to know how long this surge will be sustained for.”

Professor Julian Redhead, NHS national medical director for urgent and emergency care, said flu cases are now “incredibly high” and that the latest figures “confirm our deepest concerns: the health service is bracing for an unprecedented flu wave this winter”.

He added: “The NHS has prepared earlier for winter than ever before, but despite that we know that ballooning flu cases coinciding with strikes may stretch our staff close to breaking point in the coming weeks.

“With just a couple of weeks left to ensure maximum immunity from flu for Christmas Day, I urge anyone eligible to come forward to get their jab.”

Fifa’s bow to Ronaldo marks new low in stained reign of Infantino

When you speak to those near the very top of Fifa, pretty much as close to Gianni Infantino’s presidential office as you can get, many still declare themselves baffled by the decision to suspend two matches of Cristiano Ronaldo’s ban. They weren’t privy to any extra explanation about the process or rationale, beyond the brief statement to which the global body has directed media, as well as references to the fact this was the 40-year-old’s first international red card.

Fifa duly cited Article 27 of its disciplinary code, which allows their judicial committee the option to “fully or partially suspend” such disciplinary measures. So, an “elbowing” offence that is normally supposed to bring a minimum of a three-match suspension only brings one. It isn’t completely unprecedented but it is unusual.

That can be felt in the response of the wider game, as many struggle to understand the rationale. Ronaldo may not have been sent off for Portugal, but he has received 12 red cards. It’s far from an uncharacteristic moment that warrants leniency.

Ronaldo himself understands how real power works. He’s been closer to it than most footballers.

Fifa’s decision was all the more conspicuous given that it dropped a mere six days after Ronaldo’s appearance at a state dinner at the White House. It was quite a setting for his first photographs in the US since the 2018 leak of allegations of sexual assault, which Ronaldo denies and have never been proven.

The selfie featuring Elon Musk and Infantino inevitably generated the greatest number of responses, but the very room offered a snapshot of where the game is as it heads into 2026.

It certainly is unprecedented that a foreign footballer, in his mere role as “a footballer”, appears at an official White House event with the heads of state of the United States and Saudi Arabia. The event was quite the precursor to the political theatre we’re going to see here in Washington around the World Cup draw, which takes place at the Kennedy Center on Friday.

Infantino is at least well used to such invitations by now. He could once more speak to both leaders about their hosting of the 2026 and 2034 World Cups, respectively.

Perhaps Musk will make another appearance, as he did at the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, complete with strange commentary over footage on a post of a penalty, itself the sort of copyright infringement that Fifa used to insist was taken down in seconds. One rule for some.

The event was primarily a refresh of US-Saudi relations, with Donald Trump even defending Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The response to that outrage has been cited as one of the motivations for the wider Saudi sporting – or sportswashing – project, that will reach a peak with that 2034 World Cup.

As such, you almost say the East Room served to showcase every single major football issue in 2025: sportswashing; overt commercialisation; the landgrab of the new frontier of the US; the manner in which the game is being used to further authoritarian politics, right up to how social media – and especially Musk’s X – has served to poison discourse around the sport, while reshaping its culture for the worse.

The modern Fifa has repeatedly been criticised as a willing facilitator of all this, especially given Infantino’s constant proximity to Trump. And yet many in football are now arguing that the Ronaldo decision is – in the words of one senior figure – “one of the worst things they’ve done”.

Clearly, it does not have the real-world dimension of political influence or human rights and sportswashing. But all of that can often feel opaque, and is usually met with waves of PR and pushback that serve to confuse the discussion. The great difference with the Ronaldo decision is that it cuts to Fifa’s very raison d’etre, which is the running of the sport. It cuts to sporting integrity. The questions couldn’t be clearer.

A three-match ban has been reduced to one, for fairly nebulous reasons, ensuring the most famous footballer in the world can instantly play in what is intended to be the most commercially lucrative World Cup ever. And yet that is also of a piece with the bigger issues.

Despite – or almost because of – the lack of transparency in these processes, the Ronaldo decision conversely starts to make clear how the norms around football have been distorted by this Fifa. It is as if everything surrounding the game has been so warped, that effect has started to seep into the sport itself.

This is only a natural follow-on from developments such as: the World Cup-hosting parameters being changed so Saudi Arabia was the only possible host; a new calendar being unilaterally imposed; the Club World Cup entry rules being altered so Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami could feature and a bespoke transfer window being set up for that tournament.

A decision like this – at the “discretion” of Fifa – just feels like a logical and yet absurd next step.

And it needs to be stressed that this is new. Fifa and Uefa, for all their historical faults, used to be commendable at this type of thing. They usually refused to bend to star power.

In 2002, Rivaldo was given no latitude for simulation. Ahead of Euro 88, Uefa refused to shorten Liam Brady’s ban for a similar incident, and that despite some of the most powerful figures in Italian football writing on behalf of the Irish international.

Things have evidently changed, and that could create further disruption. Other federations, from Argentina to Romania, are now seeking to have bans for their players reduced. Countries who draw Portugal in Friday’s draw may appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Worse, it is like something historically sacrosanct – the very rules of the game, and the sense of fairness that all sport fundamentally requires – is being affected.

It looks like the modern Fifa bending the game to the will of the current hierarchy rather than serving its members, as is supposed to be its mission.

So much for the way Fifa lauds itself for upholding integrity, from its “integrity initiative” and “Global Integrity Programme” to “establishing preventative measures to protect” its competitions.

Compare the rules on this to rugby, where such situations are impossible. Regulation 17 is core legislature and there in black and white it reads: “All Matches are equal. A Player suspended from playing the Game shall be suspended from participating in any Match at any level during the period of the Player’s suspension.” That is inarguable.

With football now, other considerations may abound.

On coming to power in 2016, Infantino promised his voters more money, and a more commercially successful World Cup does that. Ronaldo certainly helps that.

All of this may also test something even more fundamental, as well as integrity. Through that rise, Infantino inherited what is arguably the most perfect sporting format ever devised, which is a 32-team World Cup. It has a magic that overcomes everything, from human rights questions to the more questionable side of the game.

Fifa has already messed with it, for a new 48-team World Cup. It is now risking the sporting trust that underpins it all.

New Epstein island pictures give ‘harrowing look behind closed doors’

Never-before-seen photos and videos, released Wednesday by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, reveal details of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s estate on his infamous private island.

Among the trove of unearthed images is what appears to be a dentist chair in a room adorned with decorative masks of bald men’s faces hanging on the walls, as well as another room featuring a chalkboard with the words “power,” “deception,” and “music.”

Another features a large shower room stacked with bins of towels and blankets.

“Oversight Dems have received never-before-seen photos and videos of Jeffrey Epstein’s private island that are a harrowing look behind Epstein’s closed doors,” the Democrats wrote on X. “See for yourself. We won’t stop fighting until we end this cover-up and deliver justice for the survivors.”

The new photos and videos were taken on Epstein’s island in the Caribbean, where he took women as part of his sex-trafficking ring.

The House released them on the same day members of Congress demanded answers from Attorney General Pam Bondi on when the Trump administration will release the full Epstein files.

Congress passed – and President Donald Trump signed into law – a bill that required the full files to be released in 30 days, which would be on Friday.

In a letter to Bondi, obtained by NBC News, the lawmakers are asking the attorney general to clarify if the Justice Department can meet the 30-day deadline to release the files should they find “any new evidence, information or procedural hurdles.”

In total, the Oversight Committee democrats uploaded 10 photos and four videos showing some of the interior and exterior of the lavish estate.

Epstein, once a wealthy financier, invested millions in Little St. James, an island in the U.S. Virgin Islands that he used as a private getaway – where he brought underage girls and young women to the island to sexually abuse.

Videos of the estate show palm trees scattered throughout the expansive property, surrounding multiple small buildings. In one video, a helipad can be seen located near a large in-ground pool. The paved walkway from the pool leads visitors to the beach.

The interior photographs show two large bedrooms, a sprawling bathroom, what appears to be an office and a large shower room.

Stacked against the wall in the large shower room are bins filled with towels and what seems to be extra linens.

In walkthrough videos of the bedrooms and their adjoining bathrooms, there appear to be few personal touches other than bottles of skincare products.

The file of photos also includes close-up photos that reveal puzzling, but inexplicable, details. One depicts a landline telephone with first names listed on speed dial buttons: Darren, Rich, Mike, Patrick and Larry. Several other names appear to be censored on the phone’s directory.

Another detailed photo shows a chalkboard, seemingly located in Epstein’s office, that has various single words scribbled across it, including “Power,” “Deception,” “Truth,” and “Music.”

Some of the writing on the chalkboard is also censored. A Democratic committee aide told CNN that any woman’s name was redacted out of an abundance of caution.

The Independent has asked the Justice Department for comment.

Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, a ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, said they plan to release documents and files “as we receive them.”

“The survivors deserve justice and the truth. We need the Department of Justice to release all the files, NOW,” Garcia wrote.

House Democrats have been releasing documents and files related to the government’s investigation into Epstein as part of a push to force transparency on Epstein’s alleged ties to high-profile individuals.

Trump spent part of his 2024 campaign promising to release more information about the Epstein case. The disgraced financier died by suicide inside a New York City prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges.

His death has sparked numerous conspiracies as people believe there is more to his case and death than has been publicly released.

Epstein had connections to several prominent figures and politicians, including both Trump and former president Bill Clinton – neither has been accused of wrongdoing.

Bondi said early in Trump’s return to the White House that the Epstein files and his so-called “client list” were on her desk for review. But she later retracted and in July announced no new information would be released.

That sparked fury among the MAGA base and saw several prominent lawmakers split from the president to demand the release of the files.

Trump downplayed the requests as a “hoax” led by Democrats. He continued to persist until it became clear that the House of Representatives had enough support to force a vote. Trump then reversed course and said the files should be released.

After passing in the House and Senate, Trump ultimately signed the legislation on November 19 – triggering the 30-day deadline for the Justice Department to release documents.

The legislation allows for Bondi to make redactions to protect survivors’ identities, national security or ongoing investigations. It’s unclear if any of the exemptions will delay the release by the deadline.

Harry Kane’s surgeon awarded £37,000 in battle over stolen Bentley

A distinguished surgeon, renowned for treating England captain Harry Kane’s hamstring injury, has been awarded £37,000 in damages from the UK’s oldest Bentley dealership following the theft of his new luxury car.

Professor Fares Haddad, a world-acclaimed orthopaedic surgeon specialising in sports medicine, successfully sued Mayfair-based Jack Barclay Ltd.

The claim centred on the dealership’s alleged negligence in failing to arrange an electronic tracker service for his vehicle.

Prof Haddad’s Bentley Continental GTW12 was stolen from his driveway in January 2023. But when he attempted to claim on his insurance, the payout was refused because the car’s tracker system was not properly activated.

While staff at Jack Barclay, known for its prestigious Mayfair showroom and reputation as “gentlemen car dealers”, had installed cutting-edge tracker software, a crucial subscription service remained inactive.

Mr Haddad, 58, said that he had assumed Jack Barclay’s staff would establish a continuous tracker subscription via Vodafone.

This understanding stemmed from conversations and email exchanges with a showroom executive in 2019, when he was considering the Bentley purchase.

He claimed a total of £78,643 from Jack Barclay Ltd, trading as Jack Barclay Bentley, suing for the return of money paid out under his HP agreement, which his insurers refused to cover after the theft – plus £4,000 for the cost of a replacement hire car.

And following a trial at Central London County Court, Judge Andrew Holmes ruled in favour of the surgeon, finding the dealership at fault in failing to fire off an email to Vodafone, which would have kickstarted the tracker.

“But for the failure to send the form to Vodafone, Prof Haddad’s losses would not have occurred. Had the tracker subscription been incepted, Prof Haddad would have taken the steps necessary to continue it,” the judge told the court.

But he went on to decide that the professor himself bore some blame for failing to notice there was no subscription in place until after his prized Bentley was plucked from his driveway by thieves in April 2023.

The judge slashed the award of £82,643 by 60 per cent to £33,057 to reflect Prof Haddad’s “contributory negligence”, although with accumulated interest his total award will come to just over £37,000.

Prof Haddad is the clinical director of the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health with a special expertise in hip joint, knee reconstruction and major ligament injuries.

It was Prof Haddad who ended up saving the latter phase of then Tottenham forward Harry Kane’s 2020 season after the star striker – now at Bayern Munich – crocked his hamstring.

Kane underwent surgery for a ruptured tendon, and although he missed much of the Premier League season, he was back in training by May 2020 and competing in the latter part of the specially extended Covid Premier League.

The year before, in 2019, Mr Haddad had bought his Bentley Continental from Jack Barclay in part exchange for his former car, an Aston Martin, on the basis of a hire-purchase credit agreement, the court heard.

The then brand-new model of the GTW12 featured a 6l engine and 8-speed gearbox, a top speed of 207mph and retailed for up to £200,000.

The car was stolen in 2023 and Mr Haddad went on to put in an insurance claim, only to be refused due to the tracker not being operational, as per the conditions of his policy.

The surgeon’s barrister, Bradley Say, told Judge Holmes that he was assured when he bought his Bentley that “a tracker is standard on the car and I will set that up for you”.

“Mr Haddad made a particular point of asking him about the tracker when he picked up the vehicle because of the previous problems he had with the tracker on his Aston Martin,” explained Mr Say.

Later enquiries revealed that the tracker had been fitted and commissioned by a Jack Barclay engineer but was never registered due to a lack of customer details being supplied to set up a subscription, the court heard.

From the witness box, Mr Haddad said he never received a contract from Vodafone to set up a subscription for the tracker, but had understood that everything would be arranged by Jack Barclay.

“I assumed they were setting it up for me and that it would be activated and functioning, and that if I needed to do anything, I would be told what to do,” he said.

“Because the Bentley was a high-end car and the after-sales support had been comprehensive, I believed that if anything needed to be done to the car, including in relation to the tracker, Bentley would contact me.”

Mr Haddad claimed that, had the tracker been activated and had he received reminders from Vodafone to renew, he would have done so in the same way as with his motor insurance.

Although he was aware that the tracker subscription would have to be renewed after 12 months, he assumed it was done automatically via a direct debit.

However, defence barrister, Sajid Suleman, disputed there was any promise to activate the tracker by Jack Barclay staff, also arguing that the responsibility to activate the device “fell on Mr Haddad”, who was entirely to blame.

Giving his ruling, Judge Holmes found that the Jack Barclay sales executive who dealt with Prof Haddad had “agreed to set up the tracker”, which was an “assumption of responsibility” on his part.

Having undertaken to arrange things for the customer, the executive then probably “failed to send off the form”.

He said Prof Haddad, who he labelled a “patently honest witness”, admitted he was aware that the tracker was based on an annual subscription, but assumed that a direct debit had been set up when he bought the Bentley.

Prof Haddad had explained in court that it was not always easy for him to monitor his bank outgoings, as he has around 50 direct debit payments going out of his accounts each month.

The judge found that Prof Haddad could be excused for not noticing that there was no subscription in place during his first year as owner, but added: “I see considerable force in the suggestion that Prof Haddad had a responsibility thereafter to ensure that the tracker was activated.

“With each year that went by, the failure to notice or to check his records becomes more difficult to understand.

“The ordinary person taking an ordinary level of care of his or her own affairs would be expected over time to realise that he was not making payment, or receiving correspondence, about an important point in relation to the insurance of a valuable vehicle.

“In my judgment, he is 60 per cent to blame for the loss that he has suffered.”

The finding of contributory negligence against Prof Haddad meant his payout was slashed by 60 per cent from £82,643 to £33,057, although with interest, he will get just over £37,000.

Perfect portraits: from groups to selfies and candid pics, expert tips

Portrait photography has come a long way from the days where everyone needed to be smiling directly into the camera, as a flash bulb popped.

And in fact, following on from an era where social media sites offered very curated, sometimes heavily filtered snapshots of our lives, more natural, candid images that really show off our personalities and experiences are now very much on trend. Think authentic photos of genuine moments where no-one is really paying attention to the camera. Instead they’re focused on enjoying what’s happening and the people they are with. For example, friends around a table enjoying a drink and a chat. Families engaged in a favourite activity. Photos that look like a glimpse into someone’s normal every day.

The best way to capture these in-the-moment shots? On a mobile: our ever-present, hand-held, do-everything device that has steadily taken over photography in the 26 years since the first camera phone appeared. Samsung’s newest device, the Galaxy S25 FE offers a wealth of photography-first features, from multiple cameras, lenses and wide angle settings, to in-built AI technology that will help you take the best possible pictures, then easily edit them afterwards. And as a photographer who runs masterclasses in mobile photography I couldn’t wait to try it out.

The phone itself is slim and lightweight, which makes it so much easier to hold steady, for clear, crisp, blur-free images, and take discreet, candid snaps.

Of course, we all have friends, family members and even pets who love performing for the camera. But for those who are a bit more reluctant to step into the frame, the Galaxy S25 FE offers a whole host of easy-to-use, fun AI features that will have even the most camera-shy feeling completely confident and ready for their close-up.

Samsung’s Drawing Assist function is a prime example and was an absolute hit with my kids, transforming our Sunday afternoon walk from a litany of moaning and dragging feet into a fun-filled adventure involving a lucky escape from the shark that apparently now lives in the park pond, and flying through the air with some giant balloons.

And all it took was a few simple, if strategically positioned snaps and some quick sketches using the Sketch to Image* function when editing the photo. This works best when you have some space in the frame around your subjects so you can easily draw what you want to add. In the shark image, for example, we needed enough water to the left of my kids for the shark to emerge from.

In the photo where the children are flying with the balloons, I needed them to be high up against the sky, and I also wanted the trees visible to add some context to the story we were trying to tell. They’re on top of the boulders, but I had to crouch down on the ground to cut out the houses in the background. By using the Generative Edit** function I was then able to replace the boulders with trees and then used Sketch to Image to draw in some balloons to make it look like they were floating away.

You don’t need to be an amazing artist for Sketch to Image to work well either, just enough line and shape for the app to recognise what you want to add into your image. The only limit here is your imagination and creativity. Involving the kids in some fun photography also meant that I got to capture some real, candid moments of them in the beautiful Autumn sunshine, with none of the usual complaints.

While playing around with reality can be fun, the Galaxy S25FE’s other AI features can also be used to make more subtle adjustments to enhance your images.

Just a few minutes of work with the Generative Edit function on a day out with a friend, helped me erase two unwanted photobombers from a photo (in which she perfectly co-ordinated with the graffitied heart wall in Borough Market). While removing some distracting weedkiller from the table where my cat was basking in the sunshine ensured the perfect pic where I can really appreciate him in all his fluffy glory.

Aside from fun and helpful editing functions, the phone’s AI technology is also running in the background to give your photos a boost, whatever and whenever you are capturing them.

This is great when you’re shooting challenging lighting conditions, for example at night. Dark, grainy and blurred photos are a thing of the past, with Samsung’s Nightography feature. Tapping the yellow moon icon that appears in dim lighting will enable this clever function which captures multiple images and then uses AI to blend them together to create one sharper, brighter image.

This can take a few seconds, so you’ll need to keep very still when using this feature – if you can, brace your arms on a table and hold the phone with two hands to keep the camera as steady as possible. It also helps if your subject is still, so this is more for capturing adults and older kids than snapping a restless pet or fast-moving child.

For these trickier subjects, from youngsters to four-legged friends, the excellent autofocus on the device makes for pin-sharp portraits rendered in high definition. And if you couple that with the outstanding Samsung colour profile you get beautifully saturated, nicely contrasted images which really pop. All the colours are beautifully rendered and all skin tones (and fur tones) are true to life. No filters are needed here.

And this is not just true of portraits you take of other people. The 12 MP camera lens on the front of the phone makes for gorgeously rendered, high resolution selfies with a variety of crop options, so you can find the perfect angle or image composition.

Taking a selfie at a 1:1 square crop, as well as the standard 3:4 crop option means you can easily include a friend or family member in your photo. And there’s a lovely little feature where you can get the lens to zoom out a little by tapping the ‘two person’ icon to provide a little extra space.

The 9:16 crop option means you can opt for a more flattering, longer and thinner photo while the full frame cop allows you a more zoomed-in selfie.

And if you want to take your selfies to another level, the option to add a little skin toning and smoothing effect and iron out any wrinkles (or in my case remove evidence of a sleepless night) is one of the additional features that makes the selfie camera stand out!

The excellent battery life means you don’t need to worry about it lasting, even after a few hours of photo fun. And when your battery does run down, lightning fast charging will see you back at 60 per cent in just 30 minutes, so you don’t have to wait long until you are good to go again.

Overall, whether it is taking vibrant portraits of yourself or capturing creative, candid images of the people (and pets) in your lives, making memories you’ll want to share is easy and fun with the Galaxy S25 FE.

Kirsty Hamilton is a portrait photographer – find out more at her website and on Instagram.

To find out more about the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE visit Samsung

*Samsung account login and network connection may be required for certain AI features.

**Samsung account login is required. Requires network connection.

Imran Khan’s sister says his disappearance was a ‘death test run’

Weeks of speculation over the wellbeing of jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan finally came to an end this week after one of his sisters was allowed to see him in prison.

Now, another sister, Aleema Khan, has spoken out to say that she believes the incident was a deliberate “test run” to gauge public reaction to rumours of the popular political leader’s death.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Independent Urdu on Saturday, she suggested the authorities were themselves behind reports that Khan had been killed behind bars.

Rumours of Khan’s death or surreptitious relocation circulated for weeks on social media in Pakistan as his family and legal team were denied access to visit him, without a reason being provided. The government and jail officials eventually insisted he was alive and well, but not before digitally mocked-up images of his corpse had spread online.

On Tuesday, Khan’s sister Uzma Khan was finally allowed to meet him in Adiala Jail, where she said he was well but angry at being held for extended periods in solitary confinement. Khan, who was ousted as prime minister in 2022, has been convicted or charged in multiple cases, which he and his party say are designed to keep him from running for office again.

Khan’s party told The Independent they did not believe the death rumours, and instead claimed the authorities wanted to deny him the opportunity to speak out in criticism of recent constitutional changes that have enshrined Field Marshall Asim Munir as Pakistan’s most powerful military leader in decades, extending his term and handing him lifetime immunity from prosecution.

Speaking before Khan’s wellbeing was verified, Aleema Khan ascribed another motivation to the episode. “Someone told us that they are doing a test run, [by spreading news about Khan’s death], they are doing a test run to see what people’s reaction would be,” she said.

“Because this is how they think. They do a test run to assess. If there is no reaction from the public, or if the reaction is manageable, then they might really do something to him.”

Aleema Khan also revealed that about a year ago, her family received a message: “There is a plan to eliminate Imran Khan in two months.”

She confirmed in the interview with Qurratul Ain Shirazi of Independent Urdu that her brother was being held in complete isolation: “Other than prison guards and staff, he cannot meet any other human.

“The real hunger Imran Khan has… that is what they torture him with. And that is his hunger for books. They do not allow Imran access to his books,” she said.

“There are two things Imran Khan asks the judge for. Every time Imran Khan stands before the judge, he asks for these two things. [He says] ‘Let me speak to my children’, which I think they have allowed only three or four times in the past year, even though it should be every week. He only ever asks the judge to let him speak to his children, or to let him have his books.”

Aleema Khan described the difficulties faced by Imran Khan’s sons Kasim and Sulaiman Khan in trying to travel to Pakistan: “We were told that it would be better [for them] to apply for a visa to travel with their British passports, and that the visa would be issued within an hour.

They applied for these visas in July. The visas that were supposed to be issued within an hour, they [the authorities] still haven’t even acknowledged receipt of their application.”

In July, Kasim and Sulaiman also travelled to the United States to meet with officials from the Trump administration. Aleema Khan explained that her nephews acted out of necessity: “His children are [speaking to US officials] because if you don’t allow them to enter Pakistan, then where else should they go? They can only voice their concerns in the UK or in the USA.”

When asked whether she thought Donald Trump could have a role in bringing about a resolution, Khan was doubtful: “People speak of Trump. Well I say that above all, Pakistanis will take action for their own country.”

Khan also questioned the lack of intervention from the British government or any Commonwealth state: “We haven’t heard any Commonwealth state or the British government speak out about this and urge Pakistan to uphold certain principles as a Commonwealth member. And that Pakistan must follow these principles.”

Hundreds of homes evacuated in Derby after explosives arrests

Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes in Derby after police arrested two men on suspicion of explosives offences.

A major incident has been declared and an evacuation zone has been put in place for around 200 properties, with residents told to prepare themselves to be out of their homes for 24 hours.

Officers had carried out a warrant after receiving intelligence about materials at an address in Vulcan Street, with two men aged in their 40s and 50s arrested.

They remain in police custody, with Derbyshire Constabulary stating that the investigation is not being treated as a terrorism incident.

They added that there is no wider risk to the community, and that the evacuations are being done as a precaution to ensure the safety of those living in the area.

A rest centre has been established at the Salvation Army on Osmaston Road and is being run by Derby City Council. Police have urged residents to make necessary preparations as they relocate, which includes taking medicines or requiring pets to be moved.

Affected streets include:

Police say they are working closely with Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, East Midland’s Ambulance Service and the city council.