| India joins red list as travel ban begins |
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Travel to the UK from India is effectively banned from today, as the coronavirus-ravaged country is moved on to the "red list". While UK and Irish nationals will still be allowed entry, they must quarantine in a government-approved hotel. People scrambling to get home before the rules came into effect found some flights cancelled, while Heathrow Airport refused to allow extra arrivals because of concerns about pressures at passport control. "A lot of people were hoping the government would have made arrangements for people trying to get back," says Suresh Kumar, of Indra Travel. "They were disappointed."
Some who made it back spoke of their relief, saying they "couldn't afford to stay away" and had to get back to work. Others stuck in India worry that flights will be delayed or cancelled, leaving them facing additional charges from quarantine hotels. India has seen the world's highest number of daily recorded Covid cases, at more than 300,000, while hospitals in the capital Delhi are running out of oxygen. Public Health England says a further 55 cases of a virus variant first identified in India were found in the UK in the week to 14 April. Scientists don't know if it can be transmitted more easily, is more deadly or can evade the effectiveness of vaccines or natural immunity. Here's what we do know. | |
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| Postmasters await Appeal Court ruling |
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| Convicted of crimes including theft, fraud and false accounting, some sub-postmasters and postmistresses were jailed, lost homes and have struggled to find jobs. However, the High Court has since found an accounting system installed by the Post Office in 1999 contained "bugs, errors and defects" and there was a "material risk" the system caused shortfalls in branch accounts. Today, 42 of the 736 people prosecuted using evidence from the system will find out whether the Court of Appeal will quash their convictions. "I'm so nervous... my life is in the hands of three judges," says mum-of-two Janet Skinner, who was jailed for nine months in 2007 over a £59,000 shortfall at a post office in Hull. | |
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| Football review takes in '50+1' ownership rule |
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| In the wake of the failed European Super League breakaway, a fan-led review will assess new club ownership structures in British football. It will consider models including those used in Germany, where the "50+1 rule" bars clubs from the Bundesliga if a single commercial investor owns more than a 49% stake. The review, brought forward by the UK government, will be led by MP Tracey Crouch, who wants steps to "retain the game's integrity, competitiveness and, most importantly, the bond that clubs have with its supporters and the local community". It will assess the flow of money through the English football pyramid, scrutiny of club finances and the case for an independent regulator. | |
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| |  | | | If you live in the right part of the country, you can now call on a whole raft of app-based systems that promise to bring you groceries within 10 to 15 minutes. Agile start-ups with names such as Weezy, Gorillas and Dija promise instant deliveries with no substitutions.
Kiran Wiley, 28, has tried all three, but likes Dija best because he finds its app is easier to navigate. "Where I live is quite far away from the nearest shop and I wanted something that's quite quick and has a good selection of products," says Kiran. | |
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| | Robert Plummer | Business reporter, BBC News | |
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| | | | A Downing Street source is quoted by some papers saying Boris Johnson believes former aide Dominic Cummings has been leaking his texts. "Dom's a text maniac," is the Sun's headline. Leaked texts showed the prime minister promising to "fix" an issue on the tax status of Dyson staff working in the UK during the pandemic. Mr Johnson made "no apology" for trying to get ventilators to the NHS. But the Daily Telegraph says the claims about Mr Cummings could "reignite the damaging briefing war" which erupted after he was forced out of No 10 in November. Mr Cummings did not respond to requests for comment, according to the Times. Meanwhile, several papers mark the third birthday of Prince Louis with an image of him on a balance bike on his first day at nursery. | |
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| | | Tesla Autopilot "tricked" to operate without driver |
| | | | Greensill Treasury publishes emails amid lobbying row |
| | | | GCHQ Chief warns of tech "moment of reckoning" |
| | | | Covid One jab "cuts infection risk in all age groups" |
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| If you do one thing today |
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| If you listen to one thing today |
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| If you read one thing today |
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| Need something different? |
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| While most of us long for the day we can forget about the coronavirus pandemic, one man has been taking pictures of Covid warning signs for posterity - and they're strangely fascinating. And, as mentioned in the paper review, there are birthday celebrations for Prince Louis - the third child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. To mark him turning three, Prince William and Catherine released a photograph of him on a balance bike en route to nursery. Here it is. | |
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