South African variant 'won't become dominant in UK' - Prof Jonathan Van-Tam explains why

The Tinder Swindler subject Shimon Hayut has said the women in the Netflix documentary “weren’t conned”.Hayut, who also went by the alias Simon Leviev in the recent film, recently spoke to Inside Edition about the allegations levelled against him by several women who met him on Tinder.The first part of the interview aired yesterday (February 21) with a second part due to be released today (February 22), also featuring Hayut’s girlfriend Kate Konlin.“I’m not this monster,” Hayut said of the claims of The Tinder Swindler. “I was just a single guy that wanted to meet some girls on Tinder.”The Netflix documentary alleges that Hayut convinced women he was the son and heir of diamond mogul Lev Leviev, before reportedly conning them out of millions of dollars.“They weren’t conned and they weren’t threatened,” Hayut said of the women featured in the doc, and said of the claims he was the son of Leviev: “No I am not, and I never presented myself [as such].”He went on to say he didn’t “feel bad” for the women who accused him as the allegatiosn were false, and said he is “a legit businessman” in terms of justifying his current lavish lifestyle.Hayut added: “I want to clear my name, I want to say to the world, this is not true.”Victims Cecilie Fjellhøy, Ayleen Koeleman and Pernilla Sjoholm recently set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to repay their debts after being conned.“You’re probably here because you’ve heard about our story, and we appreciate you taking the time to search and find this page,” they wrote.“The past few days have been a whirlwind, and we three (Ayleen, Pernilla and Cecilie) have been completely shocked and floored by the flood of compassion and support from everyone.

Pale Waves have announced new dates for their shows in Dublin and Belfast.

Prominent Australian TV Executive and philanthropist Neil Balnaves has died aged 77 in a boating accident, his foundation has said.

America’s Got Talent judges have paid tribute to series star Jane Marczewski, who died on Sunday 19 February after being diagnosed with cancer. She was 31.

The Mysterious Girl singer celebrated Valentine's with wife Emily last week. Writing in his New magazine column Peter said : "Valentine’s for us is all about time together, we got each other a few little bits but the most special for me was the card Emily got me. " Peter added: "As part of this beautiful card, was hidden 12 things you love about your partner and she hid each one in different locations, and I had to find them.

A lad pointed a BB gun at a college student who had a ‘silly’ argument with his girlfriend before firing at him.

Rio Ferdinand has praised Manchester United starlet Anthony Elanga for seizing the initiative during his early days with the first-team squad.

Chris Sutton believes Manchester City could regret signing Jack Grealish rather than Harry Kane last summer by the end of the season.

Coronation Street star Kimberly Hart-Simpson has recently revealed she is returning to the soap.

Oti Mabuse has announced she is leaving Strictly Come Dancing after seven years.

The much awaited all-British heavyweight championship fight between Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte has now been confirmed with Whyte signing his contract.

Oti Mabuse has quit Strictly Come Dancing after seven years as a pro dancer, as she said goodbye to her BBC colleagues.The star shared her big news on Instagram, thanking the people who work on the show and the celebrities she has performed with.Oti, who has seen her television judging career flourish since joining Dancing On Ice, said she is "so grateful" for her time on the BBC show.She shared a gallery of images of her years on Strictly and a lengthy caption, which started: "Never easy to say goodbye."I have been part of the most amazing TV show, Strictly Come Dancing for the past seven years and it has been an incredible time."Lifting the glitter ball twice and having the best journey with all my celebrities, but also meeting and working with the best team, crew, producers, celebs and incredible professional dancers!"You are my family and I adore you all forever.

fire at officers after a confrontation with McDonald’s staff over an order mix-up.Officers were called to the scene following a dispute over an order at the McDonald's drive-thru in Midvale, Utah.The man allegedly brandished a firearm at staff after they told him to pull upfront while they corrected his order.As he was being arrested, an officer noticed a gun being brandished in the back seat.The quick-thinking officer managed to deflect the firearm to avoid serious injury to themselves or anyone else in the vehicle.It was then he realised the person holding the gun was a four-year-old and shouted “kid” to ensure his fellow officers were aware of children in the car.A shot did go off but it went into the roof of the car, leaving the four-year-old and his three-year-old sibling with no injuries.The officer received a minor injury to his arm and was hailed a “hero” for his restraint and quick thinking, which is believed to have saved a life.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.Police could have “fired back not knowing who was in that vehicle” had it not been for the officer's actions, said Sheriff Rosie Rivera with the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office.Officers later identified the suspect as 27-year-old Sadaat Johnson of Midvale.Sheriff Rivera said, “This is a sad day for law enforcement and our community. To have an adult think it is okay to encourage a four-year-old to pull a firearm and shoot at police illustrates how out of hand the campaign against police has gotten.“This needs to stop and we need to come together as a community to find solutions to the challenges we face in our neighbourhoods.

Emmerdale star Paige Sandhu has confirmed she is leaving the ITV soap - and has already "started crying" about the exit.Paige has played serial killer Meena Jutla on the popular ITV soap - an evil murderer who has wreaked havoc on the Dales.Paige first set foot in the soap, as Manpreet Sharma's estranged sister, in September 2020, but she's been causing trouble ever since.During her vicious on-screen killing spree, Meena has killed three members of the village.The psychopath shoved Leanna Cavanagh over a bridge to her death, beat up Andrea Tate and left her to burn alive in a fire, and fatally pummeled Ben Tucker.With Meena's fate hanging in the balance, Paige has now confirmed that she is set to leave the soap.The actress told This Morning that it's "the beginning of the end" for her character, but there's plenty more action to come before that happens.Paige said: "This is the beginning of the end for Meena but there's more drama to come!"The exit has clearly left her emotional, because Paige revealed that she's already started crying about it.She told the Mirror: "The ending’s incredible, better than I could ever have imagined, and I have already started crying."Paige went on: "[Meena] is a psychopath and believes nobody will ever get the better of her.

Gerwyn Price is undergoing a mega body transformation as the Welsh darts star sheds the weight ahead of his debut boxing clash in April.The Iceman, 36, will take to the ring in the name of charity against fellow countryman Rhys Evans who boasts an undefeated 3-0 record.

LeBron James struggled to hold himself together during a peculiar rendition of the USA national anthem before the NBA All-Star Game on Monday night. LeBron, one of the sport's most famous stars, captained one of the teams in the 71st annual exhibition game, which took place at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio.The 37-year-old forward is known for keeping it cool out on the court, but there was none of that usual poise and calmness as Macy Gray performed the national anthem.

China, on February 18.The man, who dresses in all black, is seen rolling on the floor at an empty crossing at around 11.20pm."I thought it's a black bin bag drifting through the wind," Ms Jia recalls.She turns on her fog light and watches the man making his way to the safety island without stopping.Ms Jia later posted the footage on Douyin and warned other motorists: "Please be careful when driving, especially when you think you are driving into a plastic bag..."Viewers were stunned when they watched the clip, with one saying: "I thought that's a bin bag as well! That was a close one!"A second commented: "That's pretty impressive of him to make his way home despite being drunk."Want all the latest shocking news and views from all over the world straight into your inbox?We've got the best royal scoops, crime dramas and breaking stories - all delivered in that Daily Star style you love.Our great newsletters will give you all you need to know, from hard news to that bit of glamour you need every day. They'll drop straight into your inbox and you can unsubscribe whenever you like.You can sign up here - you won't regret it..."You have got to be careful when you next see a plastic bag on the road," a third added.Ms Jia said she ended up calling the police for assistance so the man could make his way home safely.Meanwhile telecom giants have predicted that traffic lights will be redundant in "new" cities where cars will be able to "talk" to each other over 5G.For more stories from the Daily Star, sign up to one of our newsletters here.The motor industry is expected to be one of the top four sectors employing 5G by 2030."Using data collected from our cars we can already use traffic congestion information in navigation as well as

The Masked Singer judge Jonathan Ross spoke fondly of the fellow star, who he has declined to name, but shared that the pair had bonded over European cinema before the other man in question made his move.

direct to your inboxMatt Hancock led a press briefing earlier this afternoon where he delivered a statement on the latest with coronavirus.

direct to your inboxThere is 'no reason to think' the South African variant will become the dominant coronavirus strain in the UK, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam has said. Speaking at today's Downing Street press conference, England's deputy chief medical officer said the South African variant had been detected in small numbers here but the Kent variant was currently dominant in UK.

Britons have been urged not to wait for a reformulated vaccine that may offer more protection against the South Africa variant of Covid-19, because the new mutation may not become "dominant" in the UK.