UK Friday Morning Press Briefing: Today’s Top Telegraph Headlines

Welcome to your early morning press briefing from The Telegraph - a recap of the main stories we cover on Friday. To receive twice-daily briefings by email, subscribe for free to our Front Page newsletter.

1. Disaster of the Channel migrants: “My wife was on the boat. I followed the GPS … then it disappeared ‘

The husband of an Iraqi-Kurdish woman has expressed fears that she has drowned in the Channel tragedy, after her GPS signal suddenly disappeared as he stalked her across the sea .

Maryam Nuri is considered by her family to be one of 27 migrants who died when their fragile boat capsized and sank six miles off the coast of Calais in rough seas and cold weather. Read the full story.

2. A smuggler shot a migrant in the kneecaps as he refused to board the boat.

Smugglers shot a frightened migrant in the kneecaps after he refused to board a boat the same night, 27 people dead trying to cross the English Channel.

Volunteers from the Calais Jungle Migrant Camp rushed to the aid of a 20-year-old man who was “rapidly losing a lot of blood” after a smuggler felt frustrated by his refusal to board the ship and pointed a gun at him. Read the full story.

3. Travel Red List returns as fears grow over the super variant of Covid in South Africa

South Africa is placed on a new travel red list as of noon Friday amid widespread concern over a new variant of Covid-19 that has been detected in the country.

Neighbors Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and Lesotho will also be redlisted with flights temporarily banned. Read the full story.

4. No new money for Boris Johnson’s “leveling” program as Rishi Sunak turns off the tap

Rishi Sunak’s treasury has made it clear that no new money will be spent on relaunching Boris Johnson’s “upgrade” program next month, according to the Telegraph.

Ministers and officials drawing up plans for the highly anticipated white paper must work with existing government plans and consider reforms at no cost. Read the full story.

5. British tanks will return to Germany to keep the growing Russian threat at bay

British tanks must return to Germany amid tensions with Russia, the Defense Secretary said, as part of a major restructuring of the military.

This decision will increase the amount of British military equipment available in Central Europe, with the aim of allowing the rapid strengthening of NATO’s eastern flank. Read the full story.

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