We have put together a round-up of all the latest news, weather, and travel information for Monday, May 2, as New Zealand has begun welcoming back tourists from the UK and more than 50 other countries for the first time in more than two years after dropping most of its remaining pandemic border restrictions. Before the spread of Covid-19, more than three million tourists visited each year, accounting for 20% of New Zealand's foreign income and more than 5% of the overall economy.
But international tourism stopped altogether in early 2020 after New Zealand imposed some of the world's toughest border restrictions.
Read more: The Ukrainian people settling in Wales and the families opening their homes
The border rules remained in place as the government at first pursued an elimination strategy and then tried to tightly control the spread of the virus. The spread of Omicron and vaccinations of more than 80% of New Zealand's five million population prompted the gradual easing of restrictions. You can get more local and national news and other story updates by subscribing to our newsletters here.
New Zealand re-opened to tourists from Australia three weeks ago and today to about 60 visa-waiver countries, including much of Europe. Most tourists from India, China and other non-waiver countries are still not allowed to enter. Tourists will need to be vaccinated and to test themselves for the virus after arriving.
"Today is a day to celebrate, and is a big moment in our reconnection with the world," said tourism minister Stuart Nash.
At Auckland Airport, flights bringing in tourists began landing from early in the morning, coming in direct from places including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore. The border re-opening will help boost tourism ahead of New Zealand's upcoming ski season. But the real test of how much the tourism industry rebounds will come in December, when the peak summer season begins in the Southern Hemisphere nation.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said more than 90,000 people had booked flights to New Zealand in the seven weeks since the re-opening was announced and 21 international flights were scheduled to land on Monday in Auckland.
"Our tourism industry have felt the effects of the global pandemic acutely and are working hard to prepare," she said.
Ms Ardern said there were no immediate plans to ease virus testing and vaccination requirements for tourists.
Wales news headlines
Unexplained Covid symptoms leaving people badly ill for weeks
People across Wales are continuing to struggle with the debilitating after-effects of Covid-19, with some now reporting more unusual symptoms many weeks on from testing positive.
Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that around one in 18 people (5.67%) in Wales had the virus for the week ending April 23, and while this figure is falling there remain more than 170,000 people here with the disease. It is estimated that one in 10 will go on to experience so-called long Covid, where it takes weeks, months or even years to recover fully.
It also appears that in the past few weeks, particularly during March when infection rates reached record high levels due to the BA2 Omicron variant, people have been hit with longer and more unusual periods of coronavirus illness. Read more here.
Carol Vorderman is giving bursaries to students to study maths in Wales
Carol Vorderman is giving nine bursaries worth £2,000 each to students applying to study maths at Swansea University. The TV presenter and former Countdown star went to a comprehensive school in Wales and said she wanted to help students from a similar background.
The bursaries will be offered to applicants for the university's undergraduate degrees in mathematics or actuarial science. Swansea University said they would be available to those who started their studies this September. Sharing details of how to apply on Twitter, Carol spoke of her hope that students from a similar background to her own could benefit. She was brought up in Prestatyn and went to Blessed Edward Jones High School in Rhyl.
Inspired by her maths teacher, she went on to study engineering in Cambridge, becoming one of only a few female students at the time. Carol shared her passion for numbers on Countdown for 26 years and still works to inspire young people, teachers, and parents to enjoy mathematics through her talks, books, and charity work. Read more here.
Today's forecast
Cloudy and damp to start, drier and brighter later. Here is the full forecast for the bank holiday in Wales:
It will be a cloudy start with low cloud, mist and hill fog in places. Some light rain at first in the south. Turning drier and brighter into the afternoon with some sunny spells and an isolated shower. Maximum temperature 16 °C.
A mostly dry night will follow, although cloud will increase in the east bringing some hill fog at times. Clearer skies in the west, where feeling cooler. Minimum temperature 4 °C.
Here is how the roads and rail are affected at 7am
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Reports of traffic problems on A40 from A48 Pensarn Roundabout to A485 Abergwili roundabout. Traffic is coping well.
Direction and obstruction to be confirmed when police arrive on scene to investigate. -
An accident has closed the B4568 Powys between B4569 Caersws turn off and Aberhafesp Church.
National news headlines
Princess celebrates birthday with new pictures
Princess Charlotte has been photographed with her arm around the family cocker spaniel in a picture taken to mark her seventh birthday. The young royal, surrounded by bluebells, was snapped by the Duchess of Cambridge in Norfolk this weekend enjoying the outdoors.
Charlotte and pet dog Orla appear in one of three pictures released ahead of the princess turning seven on Monday.
William and Kate's middle child is wearing her long hair loose around her shoulders and sporting a fine cable knit blue jumper which matches the colour of the flowers around her. A white collar with dark dots completes the casual knitwear look. In the picture featuring Orla, the dog - who has a black shiny coat - is looking to its right while Charlotte grins towards the camera, holding flowers in her left hand.
The Cambridge family spend much of their time away from London at their Norfolk home of Anmer Hall on the Queen's Sandringham estate. Kate is a keen amateur photographer, and in 2017 she accepted a lifetime honorary membership of the Royal Photographic Society which recognised her "talent and enthusiasm". She regularly releases images of her children to mark important occasions like birthdays
Passport delays 'could cost £1.1 billion in cancelled summer trips'
New research out today has warned that delays in passport processing could cost £1.1 billion in cancelled trips this summer. The Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) said it estimated a 50% probability of a "successful and timely" passport renewal process for travellers based on current reports.
More than one million people applied for a new passport in March and the Passport Office is expecting to process almost 10 million applications in 2022. The unprecedented demand has seen people told they can expect to wait up to 10 weeks for a new document and it's vital mistakes aren't made during the application process.
Now Cebr says: "Data from the VisitBritain Covid-19 Consumer Sentiment Tracker shows that more than two in five are planning an overseas trip in the coming 12 months. Assuming that passport holders are somewhat more likely to have travel plans than the population as a whole and that a quarter of those will have made a booking leaves just under one million holidaymakers at risk due to the delays."
Her Majesty’s Passport Office has denied there was a backlog in passport processing as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. But it said there was huge demand after five million Brits delayed applying for passports when travel was restricted. There have been warnings of cancelled holidays due to delays in processing applications as demand recovered from the pandemic, with the passport office advising travellers to apply 10 weeks in advance.
The number of valid UK passports fell by more than 2.5 million during the first two calendar years of the Covid-19 pandemic as people delayed applications. A total of 48.9 million passports were in circulation at the end of last year - 2.6 million fewer than at the end of 2019.
This is an abrupt change from the period before the pandemic, which had seen passport numbers rise from 50 million in December, 2017, to 51.5 million two years later. The figures were obtained by the PA news agency from the Passport Office through a freedom of information request.
Sport headlines
What Wayne Pivac has learned for South Africa tour
Wayne Pivac and his fellow Wales selectors were out in force watching the Ospreys comprehensively defeat the Scarlets in the United Rugby Championship clash in Swansea on Saturday evening. There were individual battles across the park and points to be gained in the quest for Wales places on the tour of South Africa this summer.
Nothing is likely to have been decided solely on the basis of one match. But sometimes impressions can be formed that take time to shift. Who emerged in credit in some of the key contests to give Pivac a nudge? We take a close look here
Bale missed Real Madrid celebrations
Real Madrid secured their 35th La Liga title on Saturday with a 4-0 win over Espanyol. Needing just a point to be crowned champions, Madrid swotted aside Vicente Moreno's team to wrap up the league with four games to spare.
But Wales star Gareth Bale wasn't involved in the celebrations at the Bernabeu, which was the third domestic title the 32-year-old has won during his time in Spain. The international skipper revealed that a back spasm had kept him away from the ground, adding that he was gutted to miss the post-match festivities in the Spanish capital.
He tweeted: "CAMPEONES! So disappointed that I’m not able to be part of the celebrations this evening due to a bad back spasm but really proud of the team for winning the title! Enjoy tonight boys!"
