Italy could welcome foreign tourists from next week, says PM May 5, 2021 Italy will allow tourists to enter the country without quarantining as soon as mid-May, Prime Minister Mario Draghi has announced, as he claimed the nation was “ready to welcome back the world”. Visitors who have either received a Covid-19 vaccine, have immunity from previous infection, or tested negative 48 hours prior to travelling will be allowed [...]
Coronavirus: Two Indian delegates test positive at G7 meeting in London May 5, 2021 The G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in London has been hit by a coronavirus scare after two Indian delegates tested positive for Covid. Britain is hosting the three-day meeting, which was stalled last year due to the pandemic, at Lancaster House in the capital. Although India is not a G7 member, it was among other countries [...]
ITV begins ‘cautiously optimistic’ recovery from production hit during pandemic May 5, 2021 British broadcaster ITV has begun to recover from stalled production during the pandemic, with advertising revenue rebounding 68 per cent this month. In a trading update this morning, ITV said it expected total ad revenue for the first half of the year to rise around 26 per cent compared to 2020, despite pandemic restrictions being [...]
Portugal, Israel and Greek and Spanish islands get green light for British holidays May 4, 2021 British holidaymakers have been given the go ahead for international travel to Portugal, Israel and some Greek and Spanish islands ahead of government plans to unveil a travel green list later this week. The Foreign Office this afternoon dropped its advice against non-essential foreign travel to Portugal and the Greek Islands of Rhodes, Kos, Zakynthos, Corfu [...]
Coronavirus third wave fears ‘diminishing’ amid UK’s rapid vaccine rollout May 4, 2021 The likelihood of a major third wave of coronavirus infections in the UK is “diminishing” alongside Britain’s rapid vaccine rollout, one of the UK’s most senior scientists said today. Markets responded positively to the news, with the FTSE up three-quarters of a per cent mid-morning. Professor Neil Ferguson, member of the Scientific Advisory Group for [...]
UK and India free trade deal talks to start in autumn, says minister May 4, 2021 The UK and India will begin talks over a full free trade deal in the autumn that will “double” trade between the two countries, trade minister Liz Truss has said. Truss told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Britain wanted to see India’s tariffs on imported cars and whiskey reduced or removed as part of [...]
Hong Kong protestors sentenced to 14 months jail for pro-democracy demonstrations April 16, 2021 Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai is among several of the territory’s most prominent pro-democracy figures to be handed a tough jail sentence today after being found guilty of unauthorised assembly. Lai, who founded the island’s Apple Daily tabloid, was jailed for a total of 14 months under Beijing’s fresh crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations. Eight [...]
One in six UK adults fully vaccinated against coronavirus April 16, 2021 One in six adults in the UK are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19, with more than 2m second doses delivered in the past seven days, latest official figures show. More than 8.9m people have now received both doses of a Covid vaccine — equivalent to around 17 per cent of Britain’s adult population. A further [...]
London R rate climbs above 1 for first time in months April 16, 2021 London’s R rate has climbed above 1 for the first time in months, meaning the spread of the virus may no longer be slowing across the capital. London’s R rate now stands at a best estimate of between 0.8 and 1.1. The figure marks a marginal hike from last week, when scientists estimated that the [...]
Covid: New Indian mutation found in UK raises immunity concerns April 16, 2021 A new Indian strain of coronavirus that may evade immunity has been detected in the UK for the first time. A total of 77 cases of the new strain, known as the B1617 variant, have been recorded in Britain up until 14 April, according to Public Health England. Four of those have been linked to [...]
