So what was missing from Budget 2021? That is a very live question after it turned out Rishi Sunak had way more money tucked down behind the back of the sofa than most people expected. So much of this cash – £27 billion – to splash went on just one, fiendishly complicated tax break scheme
Month: March 2021
A documentary exploring claims filmmaker Woody Allen molested his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow when she was a child has had its UK release confirmed. Following its showing in the US, Allen v Farrow will premiere on Sky Documentaries on Monday 15 March. Image: The four-time Oscar-winner and his wife say the allegations are ‘categorically false’
Police say they have intelligence showing a “possible plot” by a militia group to breach the US Capitol on Thursday. A US Capitol Police statement did not name the organisation but called it “an identified militia group”. It follows an advisory sent to members of Congress by the acting House sergeant-at-arms earlier this week, saying
The chancellor has vowed to build a “fairer” country in the memory of those who have died during the coronavirus pandemic after he outlined his budget. In an unprecedented Downing Street news conference following his announcement in the Commons, Rishi Sunak acknowledged the victims and said financial support will continue long after COVID restrictions end.
An “incel” who admitted using a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto has been found guilty of their murder. Alek Minassian faced 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder in connection with the attack on 23 April 2018 that drew attention to an online world of sexual loneliness, rage and
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines are both highly effective at preventing over-80s from being admitted to hospital, according to a new study. Researchers in Bristol found that 14 days after one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, it was 79.3% effective at preventing people in that age group from developing symptomatic illness severe enough to
Here are the key points from Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s budget speech: • Government will continue doing “whatever it takes” to support British people and businesses as well as starting to fix public finances and beginning to build the future economy • Economy expected to return to pre-COVID levels by the middle of next year, six
The owner of the Daily Mail has bought the magazine New Scientist for £70m. Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), which also owns MailOnline, the Mail On Sunday and Metro papers, and an events business, said it had acquired the title from a consortium of investors. Founded in 1956, the London-based New Scientist describes itself
The legal limit for contactless payments will more than double, Chancellor Rishi Sunak will confirm in today’s budget. The limit for a single contactless payment will rise from £45 to £100 as part of Mr Sunak’s plans to boost businesses as the UK recovers from the COVID crisis. You can watch and follow the budget
A Japanese billionaire has launched a search for eight people to join him as the first private passengers on a trip around the moon. Yusaku Maezawa will be taking the trip with Elon Musk‘s SpaceX in 2023. He had originally planned to invite artists for the week-long voyage, but has changed the project to “give
Scientists have found three new deepwater shark species that can glow in the dark. The kitefin shark, the blackbelly lanternshark and the southern lanternshark were collected from the Chatham Rise, off the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island, in January last year. The species were already known to marine biologists but this was the
The biggest question of the budget could be when changes announced by Rishi Sunak are introduced, rather than what they are. Speaker Lindsay Hoyle has signalled he may reprimand the chancellor after so much of today’s budget appeared to have leaked or dripped out in advance. But does that mean all the budget’s true secrets
The US will have enough COVID vaccines for all adults by the end of May, Joe Biden has said. But in a speech at the White House on Tuesday, the US president admitted the country is unlikely to get back to normal until this time next year. Mr Biden also directed states to make sure
Younger age groups are amongst the worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic’s economic impact with many people likely to have been working in hospitality, retail, tourism and leisure – industries hit hard by lockdowns. Almost two thirds of the 730,000 people who lost their payroll jobs in the last year were under the age of
Furlough will be extended until the end of September, the chancellor will announce, as he unveils more support for workers and the self-employed. Ahead of the budget, Rishi Sunak has revealed that millions of workers will continue to have 80% of their wages paid until the end of September. More than 600,000 additional people, including
School pupils from an all-girls’ boarding school in the town of Jangebe were required to attend a different sort of assembly this morning. Instead of the classroom, they sat in a building that government officials in the Nigerian state of Zamfara use to speak to the media. They were given a little food, then filmed