Plus, is Big Tech going off remote working?
| Criticism grows over Covid passport idea |
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| | | A means of re-opening society more quickly, or a step towards a "two-tier" society? Either way, Boris Johnson says Covid passports - proving whether someone has had a vaccine, has tested negative or has immunity - won't be required to visit English beer gardens when they reopen on Monday. However, the prime minister remains under pressure after failing to rule out their wider use when restrictions are eased further. They will be trialled at upcoming events including the FA Cup final, and a government review says certificates could play a role in allowing people to return to theatres, nightclubs and mass events like festivals. They could also allow social distancing to be relaxed in hospitality venues. Last week, more than 70 MPs of various parties criticised the plan as discriminatory and divisive. Mark Harper, who chairs the Covid Recovery Group of Conservative lockdown sceptics, argues: "Covid status certification will lead to a two-tier Britain." | |
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| Call for clarity on overseas travel |
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| While many people hanker after a foreign holiday, travel industry bodies say a lack of certainty over plans to reopen borders is crippling. Boris Johnson says he's "hopeful" overseas travel can resume on 17 May but cannot confirm it, urging people to wait for advisers to report next Monday. But Business Travel Association chief executive Clive Wratten says a decision has "once again been kicked down the road". And, while welcoming plans for a "traffic light" system to ease restrictions backed by testing, the boss of the Abta travel association says more detail is needed "to help travel businesses plan ahead and to provide reassurance for travellers". | |
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| Police find body in search for student |
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| Efforts are under way to identify a body found in the search for missing student Richard Okorogheye. Police say the 19-year-old's family are being supported by specially trained officers in light of the discovery, in a pond in Epping Forest, Essex. Relatives last saw the Oxford Brookes student, on 22 March, when he left their home in west London. Police say he took a taxi to a residential street in Loughton, Essex, where he was last seen on CCTV in the early hours, walking towards the forest. | |
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| | | | | On Wednesday last week, Google's Fiona Cicconi wrote to company employees. She announced that Google was bringing forward its timetable of moving people back into the office. As of 1 September, she said, employees wishing to work from home for more than 14 days would have to apply to do so. Employees were also expected to "live within commuting distance" of offices. No cocktails by the beach with a laptop, then. The intention was clear. Sure, you can do more flexible working than you did before but most people will still have to come into the office. | |
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| | James Clayton | North America technology reporter | |
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| | | | "Cheers!" says the Daily Express, to confirmation that pubs, shops and hairdressers in England will reopen on Monday. "Book your table now!" is the Metro's advice. The Daily Mail is less enthused. "Call this freedom?" reads its headline, as it ponders continued social distancing, the inability to go abroad, weekly Covid tests, and vaccine passports. The Daily Telegraph quotes the prime minister saying some restrictions could remain even after all adults are vaccinated. Read the review. | |
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| | | | | | | Hunter Biden US president's son reflects on struggle with addiction |
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| If you watch 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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| Seen Lord of the Rings? No, not that one - the Soviet version. Well, Aragorn might look as though he's "crawled out of a Leningrad rubbish tip" but it does have Tom Bombadil and it's just notched up half a million YouTube views. Find out why. And get a shiver down your spine by watching environment correspondent Justin Rowlatt's film from Northumberland's Kielder Observatory, in which he explores whether lockdown has helped darken our skies. | |
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