Theatres in England can reopen for socially distanced indoor performances from August 1, it was announced yesterday.
Ahead of that date, the government is working on pilot openings to establish guidelines for venues before they welcome guests back.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in an announcement: "From August 1, we will restart live indoor performances to a live audience, subject to the success of pilots, and we will pilot larger gatherings with a view to a wider reopening in the autumn."
Oliver Dowden, the UK's Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, tweeted that he was "pleased to make progress to Stage 4 of our road map for culture".
Theatres in London’s West End closed on March 16 “until further notice”, as part of a move to limit the spread of the coronavirus. There have since been fears for the future of performances, as the closure lasted much longer than anticipated.
In June, actress Dame Judi Dench told Channel 4 News that she didn't think London's West End was "going to recover" without government help.
“It’s a desperate feeling, and when will they ever open again?” she said. "I don’t know, certainly, I’m sure not in my lifetime.
"I’m not saying that it should be more prioritised than anything else, but it just is going to be very serious. It’s a very serious effect on all of us. If the theatres now close and become dark. I don’t know when we’re going to get them back."
Jon Morgan, director of Theatres Trust, has labelled the news "a step in the right direction".
However, he added the caution that "for most theatres it will not be economically viable to reopen with the 30 to 40 per cent audience required under social distancing".
In the capital, socially distanced performances have been trialled at the London Palladium and with the London Symphony Orchestra.
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
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