Monday 26th April:
–Nomadland swept the Oscars – The 2021 Oscars were swept by Nomadland as they won the best director, best lead actress, and best film categories. Director, Chloe Zhao is the first woman of colour to win the Academy Award for directing.
–Surge of autumn holiday bookings in the UK – Floods of holiday bookings are being experienced by travel companies for autumn as British holidaymakers pin their hopes on the “longest summer ever”, the Daily Mail reports. Skyscanner has reported more holidaymakers are seeking departures in September, October, and November than ever before.
–Pandemic has caused the biggest fall in employment for older workers since the 80s – The Covid-19 pandemic is said to have caused the biggest annual fall in employment for older workers since the 1980s. As a result of these claims, the Resolution Foundation has called for the government to tailor retraining opportunities for over-50s after it found that after losing work, older workers take the longest to return.
–Let ‘bodies pile high’ – Unnamed sources have claimed Boris Johnson told No. 10 officials he would rather see the “bodies pile high in their thousands” than him ordering the third lockdown. The comments were strongly denied by Downing Street with Boris Johnson insisting it was “just another lie”.
Tuesday 27th April:
–Prince Andrew joins forces with a banker accused of sexual harassment – Prince Andrew has set up a new company with Harry Keogh. Keogh is a banker who has been accused of sexual harassment which caused him to resign in 2018. The Duke of York has formed a company with him to take care of his family investments.
–Madeleine McCann’s parents have more than £750,000 for a private search for their daughter – The parents of Madeleine McCann have more than £750,000 in a fund to bankroll a private search for their daughter if the police hunt ever ends. The accounts are said to be named ‘Madeleine’s Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned Ltd’ whereby the money is only to be used to “secure the safe return to her family”.
–Youngest winner ever on Mastermind – Jonathan Gibson, 24 from Glasgow, has become the youngest ever champion of the BBC’s, Mastermind. The champion won the final by four points and the show also saw John Humphrys’ final episode after 18 years as host. Humphrys has presented 735 episodes of the quiz show and asked more than 80,000 questions.
–Covid fines to be reviewed – Tens of thousands of Covid fines issued in England are to be reviewed as the joint committee on human rights has found more than a quarter of prosecutions for breaching the regulations in the first two months of the year were shown to have been wrongly brought. The committee explained the rules have changed 65 times since March 2020 meaning they are “muddled, discriminatory and unfair”.
Wednesday 28th April:
–Nearly 40million in ‘Covid-free’ areas in England – Almost 40 million people in England live in areas that are virtually Covid-free, The Times reports. The report displayed that seven out of ten people live in areas where a maximum of two infections were reported during the most recent week for which data is available. Professor of ecology at UEA, Alastair Grant has claimed: “the virus is retreating to small areas”.
–Self-driving cars allowed in the UK this year – The British government has announced that “self-drive” could legally be allowed on UK motorways this year. The Department for Transport said the first vehicles fitted with Automated Lane Keeping Systems could be permitted to steer themselves in slow-moving traffic before the end of 2021. This system takes over the control of the vehicle at slow speeds and will be able to cap speeds.
–‘Terrific’ findings in the UK of vaccine efficacy – A new study has revealed one single dose of a Covid vaccine can reduce household transmission of the virus by up to half. Public Health England discovered that those given their first dose of Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines who became infected three weeks later were less likely by 38-49% to pass the virus on to unvaccinated people. Health Secretary, Matt Hancock described these findings as “terrific news”.
–Idaho joins as an ‘anti-abortion’ states – Idaho has been the next state to sign a law to ban most abortions after a heartbeat, which can be as early as six weeks into pregnancy. Republican, Brad Little shared the news that the bill had been signed saying “we should never relent in our efforts to protect the lives of the preborn”. Similar measures have also occurred in Oklahoma and Montana recently.
–India passes 200,000 Covid-19 deaths – As India faces their “ferocious” second wave, sad figures emerge with their Covid-19 death toll passing the 200,000 mark. The country is facing huge issues with only 1.6% of the population fully vaccinated.
Thursday 29th April:
–“Damaging paper trail” at Conservative Party headquarters with Boris Johnson – Downing Street concerned with the funding of Boris Johnson’s flat redecoration leaving a potentially “damaging paper trail” for the Conservative government. Yesterday the Electoral Commission launched an inquiry into the spendings. Boris claimed he paid for it all himself.
–Apple profits double during the pandemic – Apple has seen their profits double thanks to a surge in iPhone sales in China following the pandemic. Boss, Tim Cook explains his reflections of “optimism” about the days ahead. The sales at Apple are said to be “exceptional” according to a BBC report.
–Ex-footballer, Ryan Giggs appears in court – The Wales international football manager and ex-footballer, Ryan Giggs is spotted approaching Manchester Crown Court where he pleaded not guilty to assaulting two women including his girlfriend, Kate Greville. Giggs also denied a third charge of common assault and has since been bailed.
–Glacier melting rate doubles in speed – The melting of glaciers has almost doubled in pace over the past two decades, contributing to the sea-level rise. A group of international scientists has blamed human-driven global heating for this as they revealed from 2000-2019, glaciers lost 267 gigatonnes of ice per year, equivalent to 21% of sea-level rise.
Friday 30th April:
–Noel Clarke suspended by BAFTA for sexual harassment allegations – Actor and director, Noel Clarke has been suspended by Bafta after multiple allegations of sexual harassment. As he stars in ITV’s drama, Viewpoint, the channel has decided to pull the final episode of the drama Viewpoint after allegations were made. ITV explained it was “no longer appropriate to broadcast the final episode” on Friday as planned.
–Amazon profits triple – As online shopping thrives, this only means one thing for Amazon with the BBC claiming every aspect of the pandemic has “served to boost the tech giant’s revenues, from video streaming to grocery delivery”. As profits triple for Amazon, one analyst has claimed the pandemic could herald “a golden age” for the web giant.
–Gaga’s dognapping case sees five arrests– Following Gaga’s dognapping incident in February, five people have since been arrested in connection to the crime. Police have claimed they do not believe the attackers knew the dogs belonged to the mega-star, Gaga, but the motive laid in the value of the French bulldogs.
–At least 44 die in Israeli stampede – At least 44 people have been killed in a stampede at a religious festival in Israel. Dozens more are also said to be wounded at the Lag B’Omer festival with early reports suggesting a structure has collapsed causing a stampede. The festival is said to have had an estimated 100,000 people attending the event.