The Royal Liverpool University Hospital in the United Kingdom declared a critical incident due to an "exceptionally high" as a result of the uptick in the number of patients appearing complaining of respiratory illnesses and the flu, Sky News reported on Tuesday.BBC News reported that patients in that emergency department can expect waits of up to 50 hours - over two days.

Jordan and Syria have agreed to form a joint security committee to secure their border, combat arms and drug smuggling and work to prevent the resurgence of Islamic State, Jordan's foreign minister said on Tuesday.Western anti-narcotics officials say the addictive, amphetamine-type stimulant known as captagon is being mass-produced in Syria and that Jordan is a transit route to the oil-producing Gulf states.Jordan's army has conducted several pre-emptive airstrikes in Syria since 2023 which Jordanian officials say targeted militias accused of links to the drug trade and the militias' facilities."We discussed securing the borders, especially the threat of arms and drugs smuggling and the resurgence of Islamic State. Our security is one, we will coordinate together to combat these mutual challenges," Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safari told a joint press conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani.Shibani, who was in Amman after visiting Qatar and the United Arab Emirates following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, told Safadi that drug smuggling would not pose a threat to Jordan under Syria's new Islamist rulers.