Certain people may soon be able to avoid a 14-day quarantine on return to the UK, if they are strictly travelling for business.
Executives, senior bankers and deal-makers could be exempt from the UK's travel quarantine restrictions in a new bid to promote UK business ahead of the Brexit transition period deadline on December 31, according to reports.
The guidelines, currently being drawn up by the Government, could see the self-isolation period dropped entirely for senior business workers, the Sunday Times reported.
Business Secretary, Alok Sharma, yesterday said he is “sympathetic” to the idea of an exemption for City figures who need to travel for business, as the Government seeks to “promote global Britain”.
However, the shadow business minister, Lucy Powell, has hit back against the idea of the Government prioritising business travellers.
“It beggars belief that ministers are focusing on bending the rules for high net worth individuals rather than fixing their broken test, track, trace and isolate system,” Powell told the Times.
Earlier this month, Boris Johnson set up a taskforce to assess the UK’s policy on travel, quarantine and airport testing. It is understood there could be new guidelines to reduce isolation to seven days, as early as December.
Scroll down for more updates.
05:03 PM
What did we learn today?
A re-cap of today's main stories:
State of emergency comes into force in Spain
Britons visiting the Canaries will soon need to take a test
Holidaymakers ‘offered fake covid test certificates by travel agents’
Belgium records almost 12,500 cases a day for a week
Canaries interest rises by 900%
Norway imposes restrictions amid rise in cases
Join us tomorrow, for more live news from the world of travel.
04:59 PM
Norway imposes restrictions amid rise in cases
Norway will impose tougher measures to curb the virus following a recent rise in the number of infections, including stricter rules on private gatherings.
The government also said it would stop exceptions to quarantine rules that foreign workers coming to work in Norway enjoyed until now.
From Friday all foreign workers arriving in the Nordic country from EU countries that are experiencing a high number cases must undergo a ten-day quarantine.
“We need to do more to control the spread of the infection,” Solberg told a news conference.
Indoor public gatherings will now be limited to 50 people, reversing an earlier decision to allow up to 200 people, while the maximum number permitted to meet in a private setting will be cut from 20 to a household receiving no more than five guests.
While Norway has Europe’s lowest level of new infections, the government believes that a failure to impose targeted measures now could lead to a broader lockdown later, like those of several other countries.
04:57 PM
Canaries interest rises by 900%
Rebecca Murphy from Expedia comments on the boom in demand for holidays in the Canaries. She says:
“Autumn is here and as the prospect of colder and darker days loom, we’ve have seen that wanderlust is well and truly alive. The most recent travel news on Thursday, which stated that the Canary Islands and the Maldives would be given travel corridors, prompted a huge surge of British holidaymakers checking out options to get away before Christmas.
"In total, the Canary Islands saw interest increase approximately 900% within 24 hours of the announcement. Tenerife was the top choice in the archipelago, followed by Lanzarote. In fact, Tenerife was so popular it made the top searched for destinations list on Expedia.co.uk over the weekend which, this summer, has been mostly reserved for domestic destinations.
"Although slightly more modest, the Maldives has seen a considerable boost too. Expedia.co.uk saw interest increase by over 450% after the announcement. With direct flights to the beautiful islands and some fantastic deals on luxury hotels, this once-in-a-lifetime destination is becoming more accessible to travellers desperate to get away.”
Demand for holidays in Tenerife has skyrocketed
04:44 PM
Christmas might get cancelled...
... but all is not lost.
There are countries around the world that offer the holy trinity of winter sun, no quarantine on arrival (or return), and no draconian restrictions on group sizes if you choose to travel with friends or another family.
Obviously, things change very quickly and any of the below destinations could be put on the Foreign Office’s quarantine list by Christmas, if cases rise – and the destinations could indeed introduce their own measures between now and then.
But, so long as you book through a reputable tour operator, you will be eligible either for a refund or to re-book at a later date depending on their policy, in the event that your holiday is cancelled due to new restrictions.
'I endured a 15-month saga with TUI after my printed boarding pass was rejected'
Phil Woods writes:
In February 2019 I flew to Sri Lanka for a week with hand luggage only on a TUI charter flight. As instructed on my flight confirmation invoice, I checked in online and printed out both boarding passes in advance. Printed on the passes was the instruction for 'customers with no bags' to go straight to the departure gate, which would close '45 minutes before your flight departs'.
On my return, I used this print out to clear passport control and security in Colombo. However, I was refused boarding. Gate staff said I should have obtained an airport-issued boarding pass at the check-in desk.
TUI’s local agent, Aitken Spence, told me it had been asking TUI to amend its documentation after a passenger on a Stockholm flight had encountered a similar problem. The only offer made by TUI in Colombo was to book me on the next available charter flight in a week’s time, so instead I paid £340 for an Emirates flight later that day. Please can you help me reclaim this cost?
Japan, the world's third-largest economy, will be carbon neutral by 2050, the Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has pledged.
Mr Suga, who took over as prime minister on September 16, used his first policy speech to the Japanese parliament to outline an ambitious plan to cut emissions of greenhouse gases. The plan goes significantly beyond the commitment of the preceding government to reduce emissions by 80 percent by 2050 and to be carbon-neutral “as soon as possible” in the latter part of the century.
A wind turbine in Yokohama, Japan
In his address, Mr Suga said: “Responding to climate change is no longer a constraint on economic growth.
“We need to alter our way of thinking to the view that taking assertive measures against climate change will lead to changes in industrial structures and the economy that will bring about great growth."
To applause from politicians in the chamber, he added: “I declare that we will aim to realise a decarbonised society.”
Some news regarding travel that is slightly farther afield...
Nasa will announce an 'exciting' new discovery about the Moon this afternoon.
The contents on the announcement have been kept under wraps, but Nasa have said it will “contribute to Nasa’s efforts to learn about the Moon in support of deep space exploration”.
Those speaking at the event include Paul Hertz, Jacob Bleacher, Naseem Rangwala and Casey Honniball. The first three are senior members within Nasa, but the inclusion of Casey Honniball offers the biggest clue on possible contents of the announcement. He has conducted extensive research on the space agency's efforts to find water on the moon.
Nasa will make the announcement today from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).
SOFIA is the world's largest airborne observatory. It is a modified 747 plane that flies high in the atmosphere.
Wondering which country could be added to the UK's 'naughty step' next?
Here, we take a look at the case numbers, ahead of Grant Shapps' reassessment of the UK's travel corridors list on Thursday.
03:18 PM
BA ends in-flight food partnership with M&S
British Airways has confirmed it is ending its partnership with Marks & Spencer to provide in-flight food and drink on short-haul flights. Furthermore, in a move that would lend weight to suggestions that the carrier is reducing the quality of its offering, Greggs could be taking over the contract.
That's according to a report in The Sun, which claims the outlet best known for its sausage rolls is vying with Waitrose to supply snacks to BA's economy class passengers.
A BA spokesperson said: “We proudly launched our buy-on-board catering in 2017 with high-street favourite, M&S. After a successful journey, we are headed off on a new flight path. We look forward to announcing our exciting new buy-on-board proposition with a great British brand that customers have told us they love.”
Waitrose was in the running for the initial contract, introduced three years ago when BA stopped providing free food and drink on short-haul services. Critics said the move provided clear evidence that there is now very little difference between our flag carrier and its low-cost rivals.
03:14 PM
Belgium records almost 12,500 cases a day for a week
An average of almost 12,500 new cases of coronavirus were reported every day in Belgium last week, compared to about 5,000 every 24 hours a week earlier, according to figures released today.
About one person in every five who is tested turns out to be positive, with the very elderly hardest hit.
On average over the past week, 42 people died from the virus each day, bringing the death toll to 10,810, in a country with a population of around 11.5 million people.
Pressure is building on Belgium’s hospitals, where 467 people are being admitted on average each day, a rise of 85 per cent. Almost 5,000 people are currently in hospitals, more than 750 of them in intensive care, according to the latest data.
“What we do now, what we will do in the next two weeks, will be decisive,” said Yves Van Laethem, a spokesman for Belgium’s Covid-19 crisis centre. If the figures don’t change, he said, “we are likely to reach 2,000 patients in intensive care in two weeks. That is our maximum capacity.”
03:04 PM
'Arriving in the Highlands, I was struck by how weary the locals are'
Camping in earshot of the sea is a delicate balancing act, writes Simon Parker.
"Get too close, and the rumble and thump will induce nightmares of shipwrecks and tidal waves. But edge too far away, and you’ll miss out on a calming rhythm that beats a diazepam any night of the week.
"Cocooned in my thick down sleeping bag, as the North Atlantic barged ashore, and then fizzed over the moonlit sand, I found myself lying in a slumber sweet spot. I wasn’t exactly being rocked to sleep – more tranquilized by sound. The two beers, fresh breeze and five hours’ cycling had probably played a small part, too. But nevertheless, by 1930 I was dead to the world – earlier than most toddlers.
Simon Parker is cycling from Shetland to the Isles of Scilly
"Wild camping – or simply 'camping' as most Scots have known it for centuries – became a moot point in mainland Britain this summer, at the easing of lockdown. All dressed up for our hols, but with nowhere to go, hundreds of thousands of us scrambled to the countryside, looking for a night in the sticks.
"Most people followed the 'leave no trace' maxim to the letter – but as always – a few imbeciles tarnished its image for the masses. Some areas of mainland Scotland and Cumbria had to contend with the fallout of rowdy parties – giving rise to the not-so charming term 'dirty camping'. Rather than a few tent-shaped imprints and trampled grass, the aftermath looked more like the apocalyptic Monday after Glastonbury.
"On Orkney, however, summer looked and felt wholly different. Being cut off from mainland Britain – even by just six miles – allowed the islands to experience an unexpected fallow year. So much so, that for many Orcadians, 2020 will be remembered as the halcyon summer of campfires, surfing and beers under the stars."
Despite the pandemic’s strengthening grip on the world, the first ski resort in Canada opened for the 2020/21 ski season this weekend, writes Lucy Aspden.
The Mount Norquay ski area, in the popular resort of Banff in Alberta, welcomed skiers back to its slopes, which have been blanketed in white following a spell of cold weather and heavy snowfall, on Saturday.
It’s the earliest the resort in Banff National Park has opened in its 95-year history. In a miraculous seasonal transformation, it has been just two weeks since the resort welcomed its final summer visitors of the year, for climbing and walking.
Meanwhile in Europe ski resorts have been kicking off for the season steadily over the past few weeks. In Austria, the glacial resort of Hintertux as well as high-altitude slopes in Kitzbühel have opened. In France, autumn skiing is underway in Les Deux Alpes and Tignes. While Cervinia in Italy has reopened its slopes, which link to those in Zermatt, Switzerland, which have been open since the summer – providing skiers with a total of 50km of terrain.
As resorts open British skiers and snowboarders get a glimpse of the new measures that will be in place this winter, from mandatory masks to pre-purchased lift tickets and social distancing in lifts – however, it remains to be seen whether we’ll actually be able to travel to the mountains of Europe or North America to sample them for ourselves.
Singapore halts use of flu vaccines after 48 die in South Korea
Singapore has temporarily halted the use of two influenza vaccines as a precaution after some people who received them in South Korea died, becoming among the first countries to publicly announce a halt of the vaccines' usage.
South Korea reported that 48 have died as of Saturday after getting flu shots, but said it would carry on with the state-run vaccination programme as they found no direct link between the deaths and the shots.
No deaths associated with influenza vaccination have been reported in Singapore to date, but the decision to halt the use of SKYCellflu Quadrivalent and VaxigripTetra was precautionary, the health ministry and the Health Sciences Authority (HAS) said in a statement late on Sunday.
A woman wearing a face mask gets a flu shot at the Korea Association of Health Promotion in Seoul
The HSA is in touch with the South Korean authorities for further information as they investigate to determine if the deaths are related to influenza vaccinations.
Time to get away, without venturing too far from home? We've sought out the National Trust's most remote holiday homes to enjoy this autumn and winter...
Testing fails, lost corridors and sleepless nights: preparing for my half term holiday has been the stuff of nightmares, writes Claire Irvin:
Holidays are meant to be a salve for your stressed-out soul, not the stick that breaks you before you’ve even got there. Unless, of course, you are trying to get away during the last week of October 2020: the Most Horrible Half Term in History.
Witness this weekend, when, just as the Maldives and the Canaries were polishing off their shiny new air corridors, new restrictions caused untold confusion for would-be holidaymakers. Or, see Saturday night’s chaos at Rhodes Airport caused by the addition of just two extra flights to the UK.
Four PCR tests, three destination changes, and no shortage of stress – have holidays ever been harder to enjoy?
One third of British travellers ‘unaware EHIC changes are coming’ post-Brexit
According to new research by Holiday Extras, 33 per cent of UK travellers are unaware that the reciprocal healthcare protections UK holidaymakers currently enjoy in Europe under the EHIC scheme will come to an end this year.
Worse yet, the travellers relying on EHIC instead of proper travel insurance are even less likely to know the scheme will soon run out.
In a survey of 1,000 people, the travel company found that a third of holidaymakers go to Europe with both insurance and the EHIC; 43 per cent take out travel insurance; but 11 per cent rely on the EHIC. 13 per cent say they take nothing at all and just 'hope that nothing goes wrong'.
Of those who said they travelled either with no insurance or just the EHIC, 38 per cent didn’t know the EHIC scheme would no longer cover them after Christmas.
Most likely to take neither insurance nor EHIC were 21-25-year-olds; most likely to rely on the EHIC alone were 31-35.
01:20 PM
Why the new Boots Covid test isn't a silver bullet for travel
Boots has announced that it will start selling rapid coronavirus tests in selected stores within a matter of weeks - Bloomberg
The high-street chain's new tests can declare you Covid-free in just 12 minutes, but some countries won't accept the results, warns Emma Beaumont.
Certain countries, such as Cyprus, the Maldives and a number of Caribbean islands, specify that the evidence shown at the border must be from lab-analysed PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, which are able to detect the virus’s genetic material and are considered to be the most sensitive. These are the tests used by the NHS and most other private testing companies, and generally it takes at least 24 hours to receive results.
In contrast, the new Boots service uses antigen tests that identify specific proteins on the surface of the virus. Still, it seems that the tests could be used when travelling to the likes of Italy or Germany, which currently accept antigen test results. Do note however that countries often change their entry restrictions rapidly and without warning, so it is essential to check the latest FCDO advice before booking a test and travelling.
Holidaymakers ‘offered fake covid test certificates by travel agents’
A ‘fit to travel’ Covid certificate is the new holiday must-have, but obtaining a PCR test can be expensive, time consuming and complicated. Is it any wonder, then, that reports are emerging of illegal counterfeit certificates?
On the black market, a forged Covid test certificate can cost as little as £50, according to an investigation by the Lancashire Telegraph – which found that some travel agents in Bradford and Blackburn are allegedly offering counterfeit paperwork to clients.
Speaking anonymously, one traveller explained: “We needed a Covid-19 test for a family member and I spoke to one travel agent and he said, ‘Get it done and even if it comes out positive we will provide a negative one for you for £50’.”
Scotland's five tiers to be unveiled ahead of parliamentary debate, says Nicola Sturgeon
The geographic division of Scotland into five tiers will be set out ahead of a coronavirus debate in the Scottish Parliament tomorrow, Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed.
The new five-level approach will be introduced from November 2 and the level will depend on the spread of Covid-19 in local authority areas.
Areas in the central belt which are currently subject to stricter local restrictions are likely to be classified as level three, while other areas may be equivalent to level two, the First Minister said.
Speaking today, Ms Sturgeon said a "sustained" fall of virus transmission will be needed for an area to move down tiers.
"The best way of moving to a lower level of restrictions and of living more freely is to have a lower level of transmission of the virus," she told the daily press conference. "The best way we have of driving transmission lower and keeping it low is for all of us to stick to the rules that are in place at any given time.
"And that, of course, is a collective responsibility for all of us."
12:46 PM
Britons visiting the Canaries will soon need to take a test
British holidaymakers arriving in the Canary Islands could be tested for Covid-19 at hotel receptions this winter.
Under new plans, tourists will be tested at hotel receptions, rather than at airports, due to a lack of space. The tests will be conducted on a mandatory basis.
Hotels will be set up on the islands – including Lanzarote, Tenerife and Gran Canaria – to accommodate any tourists who have tested positive and must enter a 14-day quarantine while on holiday.
Tourism officials in the Canaries are keen to introduce the diagnostic tests as soon as possible, to encourage more European governments to grant travel corridors to the Spanish islands.
The Canary Islands were removed from the UK’s quarantine list last week, meaning those returning from the islands will not need to self isolate on return to the UK. Major tour operators including Tui and Jet2Holidays have resumed package holidays to the islands.
However, cases are slowly on the rise on the islands. Yesterday, there were 171 new cases on the Canaries, including 78 in Tenerife and 70 in Gran Canaria.
12:27 PM
Looking for a last-minute staycation?
As England’s least crowded county, Northumberland offers plenty of space for retreating from the crowds into your own private world.
No bustling cities; no commuter traffic. The coast beckons with miles of dune-backed beaches while inland there are the soft green Cheviot Hills and wilder moorland, plus spectacular Hadrian’s Wall with its horizon-stretching views. Sprinkled around are sturdy villages with welcoming inns or charming small hotels that are perfect for quiet stays. Then there are the grander affairs like castles and Georgian stately homes – several of which tempt with a spa or an indulgent afternoon tea (or both).
Restaurants work around curfew by reviving ‘le mâchon”, a traditional Lyon brunch
Restaurants in Lyon have responded to the 9pm coronavirus curfew in force in much of France by reviving a traditional but long-abandoned morning meal called the 'mâchon', reports David Chazan.
French diners are reluctant to eat early enough to return home before the curfew, so a dozen 'bouchons' — traditional Lyonnais restaurants — are trying to tempt them by serving the local version of brunch from 10am to noon on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The ‘mâchon’ features the famed specialities of Lyon, which prides itself on its distinguished gastronomic heritage.
It would typically consist of ‘jambon persillé’, cooked ham in jelly seasoned with parsley, ‘cervelle de canut’, a dish of soft fromage blanc seasoned with chopped, herbs, shallots and salt, poached sausage in red wine sauce, and ‘andouillette’ chitterling sausage with apple purée, and a praline tart to finish.
Traditionally, several dishes would be placed on the table for people to serve themselves, but the virus that has brought the “mâchon” back to life has also forced it to adapt, so it is now served as a succession of small individual dishes, washed down with a glass or two of wine.
Yann Lalle, owner of the Poêlon d’Or restaurant, told BFM TV: “We’re trying to adapt to the new timings and the curfew and we hope the mâchon will help all of us keep our spirits up.”
Mr Lalle said few Lyon restaurants were still opening in the evening. “We’re not like the ‘Anglo-Saxon’ countries. The French don’t finish work until about 6 or 6-30pm, and they like to go home and change or take a shower before going out for dinner, which leaves too little time before curfew.”
11:50 AM
How is Sweden doing? The country that refused to lock down
Let's take a look at the graphs.
Sweden set its anti-lockdown strategy early on in the pandemic and has pretty much stuck to its guns. Here's what the country's case rates have been doing.
11:22 AM
Netherlands cases jump by more than 10,000 in 24 hours
The number of coronavirus infections in the Netherlands jumped by more than 10,000 in 24 hours, hitting a new record, data released by the National Institute for Public Health (RIVM) on Sunday showed.
The RIVM reported 10,203 confirmed cases of Covid-19.
The Netherlands has entered a second partial lockdown, after a rise in cases
The Dutch government imposed partial lockdown measures to contain the spread of the virus on October 14, including the closure of all bars and restaurants in the country.
The clocks have gone back, the nights are closing in, the temperature is dropping. Winter is on the way.
Many people report suffering symptoms of depression as levels of daylight diminish. This year more than ever it feels like a time of year when we’re stuck indoors. Is a season of low mood inevitable, or is there anything you can do to change it?
Although there’s nothing you can do about the external environment, how you feel about what’s happening is entirely in your control.
Alia Crum at Stanford has looked at the impact of mind set – our conscious expectations – on health. In her review, she concludes that an individual’s expectation they will heal ‘can account for clinically significant benefit in an estimated 60 to 90 per cent of conditions’ – including pain, anxiety, depression, Parkinson’s disease, asthma, allergies, hypertension, immune deficiencies, Alzheimer’s disease and even recovery from surgery.
There’s lots of variety in terms of places to stay to suit all price points. And now that they’ve been added to the UK’s travel ‘green list’, there’s never been a better time to go.
Lanzarote is open to British holidaymakers
In this article, we outline which island will suit you, and the hotels and packages still with availability for a last-minute half-term getaway.
10:44 AM
Iran reports Covid death every five minutes
Hospitals in many Iranian provinces are running out of capacity to handle Covid-19 cases, health authorities say, with coronavirus now killing around 300 people a day or one person every five minutes.
Authorities have complained of poor social distancing, and Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi said the pandemic could cause 600 daily deaths in coming weeks if Iranians failed to respect health protocols in the Middle East's hardest-affected country.
A caption that ran on state television news said an Iranian died of novel coronavirus every five minutes, a rate that corresponds to daily death tallies reported by the authorities of just above or below 300 over the past 20 days.
Health Ministry spokesman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV on Sunday that 32,616 people had died of the disease and the number of confirmed cases had reached 568,896.
Some experts have doubted the accuracy of Iran’s official coronavirus tolls. A report by the Iranian parliament’s research centre in April suggested that the coronavirus tolls might be almost twice as many as those announced by the health ministry.
Schools, mosques, shops, restaurants and other public institutions in Tehran have been closed since October 3. As Covid-19 cases and deaths continued to hit record levels, the closure was extended until November 20, state TV reported.
Asked about preparations for a vaccine, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told BBC Radio 4's Today programme:
"We want to be ready in case everything goes perfectly, but it's not my central expectation that we'll be doing that this year.
"But the programme is progressing well, as I say, we're not there yet, the true answer to your question is we don't know. We don't know when a first vaccine will be available, but my central expectation is in the first half of next year.
"Nevertheless, of course, we're doing the preparatory work now for how that will be rolled out.
"We've got the joint committee on vaccinations and immunisations has set out the order of priority and, of course, we're doing the logistical work led by the NHS, working with the armed services who are playing an important role in the logistics of it, to ensure that we have that roll-out programme ready, but preparing for a roll-out and actually having the stuff to roll out are two different things.
"So it's obviously something that we want to happen as soon as safely can be done and as fast as safely can be done, but we are not there yet."
09:55 AM
A postcard from Ibiza, where a long, tough winter awaits
The White Isle's hospitality industry is bracing itself for a slow winter as the season comes to an end.
Abigail Lowe writes:
The end of October is usually met with both relief and celebration in Ibiza. After months of hard graft with little pause for respite, club closing parties mark the end of the tourist season and finally, locals are able to take a breath and enjoy the last days of sunshine before the peacefulness of winter arrives. But this year, it’s a totally different story. Despite relatively low numbers of Covid-19 cases over the course of summer, Ibiza was hit hard by tough government restrictions and UK quarantine rules, and now residents are facing the bleakest winter in recent memory.
France may be experiencing 100,000 new Covid-19 cases per day - two times more than the latest figures - Professor Jean-François Delfraissy, who heads the scientific council that advises the government on the pandemic, told RTL radio on Monday.
"There is probably more than 50,000 cases per day. We estimate, on the scientific committee, that we are more in the region of 100,000 cases per day," said Delfraissy.
France registered a record 52,010 new confirmed coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said in a statement on Sunday, as a second wave of cases surges through Europe.
The new cases took the French total to 1,138,507, with France now ahead of Argentina and Spain to register the world's fifth highest number of cases after the United States, India, Brazil and Russia.
09:24 AM
State of emergency in Spain
Spain has declared a national state of emergency and imposed a night-time curfew from 11pm to 6am in an effort to help control a new wave of Covid-19 cases.
Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, declared a state of emergency and imposed a nationwide curfew on Sunday, as Italy closed down event halls and Bulgaria’s leader tested positive for coronavirus.
Under Spain’s state of emergency, which was due to come into force on Sunday, citizens must remain inside their homes between 11pm and 6am unless they have a valid reason, such as work or other essential activities.
Regional governments have been allowed to adjust the timing of the start and end of the curfew by one hour, while the Canary Islands have been exempted from the curfew altogether.
After Spain recorded 110,000 new cases last week, passing a milestone of one million cases, Mr Sánchez said the situation was “extreme”, and urged citizens to “stay at home wherever possible”.
The state of emergency also includes a “rule-of-six” limit on social gatherings, and allows regional governments to seal their borders against non-essential entry or exit, as well as place districts or cities under perimeter lockdowns.
Madrid
Madrid Madrid
Barcelona
Barcelona barcelona
09:08 AM
Thousands flock to the Canaries
Travel corridors appear to be making great steps in relieving pent-up demand for those who want to go abroad for their holiday.
More than 5,500 people booked to go to the Canary Islands with Jet2holidays in the hours following Transport Secretary Grant Shapps' Thursday afternoon announcement that quarantine restrictions would be dropped on return from the region.
Speaking to Travel Weekly, Alan Cross, the operator's head of trade, said: “It’s not only great news, it’s a great confidence-builder, both for the industry and for the consumers."
Miles Morgan, the chairman of Miles Morgan Travel, also spoke to the trade publication, describing the opening up of the Canaries and the Maldives as "game-changing for the whole industry".
Samantha Davis, the wife of Star Wars and Harry Potter actor Warwick Davis and herself an actress, has died aged 53. Samantha co-founded the dwarfism charity Little People UK and featured in the final Harry Potter film, alongside Warwick. Warwick announced the news in a statement to the BBC, revealing she had died on 24 March.
The Prince of Wales has made his first public appearance since his wife, the Princess of Wales, announced she was battling cancer last month, and made a sweet promise to a Royal fan
While Western eyes are fixed on Tehran and Tel Aviv, Ukraine’s frontlines are showing clear signs of crumbling. There is a very real possibility they could crumble this summer if we do not throw the kitchen sink at Russia. Even if we do, it may already be too late for the weapons and munitions long promised by the West to save the day.
King Charles is said to have extended an olive branch to his youngest son and his wife by 'hinting' they should visit Balmoral this summer - but it could put the couple in a 'difficult position'.
Meghan Markle was on hand to congratulate her husband Prince Harry and his Royal Salute Sentebale team after they won the Royal Salute Polo Cup in Wellington, Florida
BBC Breakfast star Carol Kirkwood has been missing from the show this week. The weather presenter's absence comes after she shared an update on her health last week…
Springtime On The Farm returned to Channel 5 with Helen Skelton and Jules Hudson but fans had the same complaint for the show and the former Blue Peter presenter
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh's daughter Lady Louise Windsor has to follow a very antiquated rule with regards to her younger brother James, Earl of Wessex
The rest of Europe, Remainers like to tell us, is forging ahead into a glorious green future while Brexit Britain is stalling, the government backsliding one by one on its net zero commitments.
Meghan Markle is said to be missing "some aspects" of life in the UK and is worried that her children may grow up to "blame her" if they are "deprived" of the chance to be working royals in the UK.
This Morning guest Catherine was left stunned as she learnt the real value of her £10 charity shop bargain during the latest episode of the ITV chat show.
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