Paul McNamara , Reporter

For sectors like hospitality that have just about been clinging on – battered by social distancing requirements and the absence of office workers – there is now the added burden of a 10pm curfew in England, Scotland and Wales, and no prospect of an end in sight. 

No jobs, no training, no opportunities – in an economy battered by the impact of the pandemic there’s little wonder that young people are being called the lost generation.

The travel industry has suffered its worst summer season in living memory, and the aviation sector is on its knees.

The UK Government has hailed it a historic moment – the first trade deal since Brexit – a deal with Japan it says is worth £15 billion.

The Internal Markets Bill has thrust the vexed issue of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic back to centre stage in the Brexit negotiations. 

Paul McNamara has spent the day in Northern Ireland on the border in South Armagh near Newry.

Ministers have insisted they are “absolutely confident” that supply chains will keep moving, whether or not the UK and the European Union manage to agree a deal.

The government has launched a £2 billion scheme aimed at helping young people into work, creating thousands of new placement roles.

For those who have had enough of working at the kitchen table and only seeing colleagues in 2D on a computer screen, the government’s call to get back to work is welcome.

From retail to travel, people are losing their jobs in their thousands.

The potentially massive shift in where we will live and work will also have profound implications for the millions of jobs that have grown up around our City centred economy. 

With much of the economy still in limbo, it is perhaps not surprising that the UK’s debt has reached historic levels.

Shopping may never be the same again, the high street giant Marks and Spencer has warned.

The UK has been plunged into the deepest recession on record.

MV Wakashio ran aground two weeks ago on a coral reef off the Indian Ocean island – with 4,000 tons of fuel on board.