with theirjobs in the travel sector and millions of families are being kept apart unnecessarily while the rest of the world is back to normal. ben bradshaw, labour mp for exeter, in sicily, thank you for your time. scotland s first minister nicola sturgeon is to set out plans today for the lifting of most legal covid 19 restrictions in a statement to msps. the whole of scotland is currently in level zero of the virus alert system, and the first minister has said she is hopeful of going further on 9 august, which could see physical distancing rules relaxed, the return of office working and larger crowds at events. an afghan general has warned of devastating consequences for global security if the taliban are allowed to win in their fight against government forces. fighting in lashkar gah in the southern helmand province has been intensifying. there are fears it could be the first provincial capital to fall to the taliban.
last week, figures for scotland showed the country continued to record more drug related deaths than any other country in europe. the number of covid 19 deaths in the uk is slowly rising, according to the latest figures from the office for national statistics. the number of deaths registered in the uk in the week ending 23july 2021 was 11,160 which was 8% above the five year average. 392 involved covid 19 124 more than were reported in the previous week. an afghan general has warned of devastating consequences for global security if the taliban are allowed to win in their fight against government forces. fighting in lashkar gah in the southern helmand province has been intensifying. there are fears it could be the first provincial capital to fall to the taliban. a tv station there is reported to have been seized by the militants, and thousands of people have been