New 'Arcturus' Covid variant as surge of cases sees face mask rules return

Doctors have explained two potential symptoms of the latest Covid variant which has hit 29 countries across the world.

Great news, literature fans: Cormac McCarthy‘s “Blood Meridian” finally gets the cinematic treatment. Deadline reports that New Regency has an adaptation of the 1985 novel in development, with John Hillcoat set to direct.

Viacom18 have revealed a multi-year agreement making JioCinema India’s new streaming home for HBO, Max Original and Warner Bros. content from May. The WBD content had previously been carried on the Disney-owned Star TV platform. But the deal with Star expired at the end of March. WBD sources have confirmed that, except for a handful of shows licensed to third parties, HBO content has been absent from Indian airwaves since the beginning of the month. The new deal is another major victory for Mukesh Ambani, one of India’s richest and most politically influential businessmen. His Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is behind Viacom18 and the JioCinema streaming platform, as well as India’s dominant cellular phone and broadband internet providers.

Indian streamer SonyLIV has ordered two new series, social drama Kafas and suspense thriller 36 Days, from production powerhouse Applause Entertainment, along with four returning shows. 

The Masked Singer is back for season nine!

The new Omicron sub-variant has begun to spread across the world.

Booster jabs against Covid-19 are being made available at partnership centres across West Lothian as well as in local health centres.

“Succession” star plays the “tormenter” once again in a new reality competition series inspired by James Bond, titled “007’s Road to a Million,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.“I got to see how ordinary people would cope with being on a James Bond adventure,” Cox, 76, said about his new role, according to the outlet. Cox will host as “The Controller” – AKA the emcee – and the one who decides the future of contestants on the new Amazon Studios game show.The series features two-person teams competing to win $1.2 million, shot in locations that are relevant to James Bond, such as the Scottish Highlands, Jamaica and Venice, Italy.

Five people in the UK have died after catching the new Arcturus strain of Covid-19, according to UK health officials.

Succession star Brian Cox has lined up a new gig now that he's wrapped up with Logan Roy.

Prince William and Kate Middleton will celebrate their son Prince Louis' 5th birthday on Sunday.  On Saturday, Prince and Princess of Wales shared new photos of their youngest son to mark the occasion. "Someone’s turning 5 tomorrow…A very happy birthday to Prince Louis," the couple wrote in the caption of their Instagram post, adding emojis of a birthday cake and partying smiley face. In the first image, Louis was seen smiling as he sits on top of a pile of leaves and grass in a wheelbarrow while being pushed by his mother, who beams at him.

Stuart McDonald is the SNP's new treasurer following the resignation of Colin Beattie earlier this week.

A group of teenage girls in Perthshire have launched a new consent campaign which aims to tackle peer sexual abuse.

Remembering a legend. Queen Elizabeth II was celebrated by her loved ones on what would have been her 97th birthday following her death.

A new online petition is calling on Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates to rise in-line with the current rate of inflation. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation fell to 10.1 per cent in March from 10.4 per cent in February.

Kenji Iwaisawa, director of the cult “On-Gaku: Our Sound”), headlines an Annecy Animation Showcase at this year’s Cannes’ Marché du Film.  The Showcase in general look like a declaration of intentions from the world’s most important animation festival: Its heartfelt support for some of the world’s most original, redolent and sometimes riotous – think France’s Jul, Brazil’s Otto Guerra – adult animation auteurs of all ages, hailing from four corners of the earth. “Hina” looks to have largely flown  under the international radar to date, which will make this year’s Showcase a must-attend after Iwaisawa burst onto the scene with left-of-field musical comedy “On-Gaku: Our Sound,” hailed by Variety as 2020’s “biggest dark horse in anime fandom.” If it’s half as good as “On-Gaku” which in 2019 beat “I Lost My Body” and “Children of the Sea” to win the Grand Prix at the Ottawa Animation Festival, as Variety noted, it should be worth watching. 

Binky Felstead is making the most of the nice weather as she took her newborn baby boy on his first walk in the sunshine around London after giving birth on April 15.The former Made in Chelsea star, 32, took to her Instagram stories just five days after giving birth and shared a short clip of her walking with her brand-new little bundle of joy as the sun was out. She captioned the video: “First walk with the littlest in this gorgeous weather”.The mum-of-three gave a small glimpse of her newborn son and then panned the camera to a clear blue sky as she walked along the Thames.

Walking into her cancer consultant’s office, Sky Sports News presenter Jo Wilson was bracing herself for more bad news.The scan results about to be shared with her could mean new hope – or a death sentence. Just eight months earlier the seemingly super-healthy Scottish star shocked fans when she revealed to OK! That she had been diagnosed with Stage 3 cervical cancer. “I can honestly say, waiting for the results of my latest scan was one of the toughest times of my life,” she confesses.

A new Covid variant is on the rise after the latest strain has been linked to 50 cases in the UK.

A new Covid variant that could be 'more infectious' than previous strains has been identified in the UK.