What Britain Talks About This Week – Bridgerton Season 2 | UEFA World Cup qualifiers Italy | Rishi Sunak (Spring Budget, Infosys) | China Eastern Plane Crash | London Aquatics Center

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Chancellor Rishi Sunak sets out measures to combat the cost of living crisis in Spring Statement

As millions of citizens across the UK suffer the cost-of-living squeeze, Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s spring budget statement was grim news. Some measures included 5p off a liter of fuel for the next 12 months, the promise of an income tax cut, and raising the threshold of National Insurance to £12,575.

Rishi Sunak shared the highlights of the ‘2022 Spring Statement’ on Twitter.

However, the public services and public sector workers have not been given anything in this statement to help them compensate for the soaring energy prices and food costs.

Rishi Sunak blamed the slow post-pandemic recovery of the UK on the war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Chancellor has also been in the news for his statement on March 13, where he urged UK firms to ‘think very carefully about their investments in Russia and how they may aid the Putin regime’.

Sky News journalist Jayne Secker grilled Rishi Sunak in an interview about his family’s links to Russia and his wife having a stake in Infosys which operates in Moscow.

Political editor for the Byline Times, Adam Bienkov criticized him for the same while sharing pictures of the Sunak’s father-in-law with Putin.

Bridgerton Season 2: Reviews call the period drama less compelling and miss Simon

The much-acclaimed 19th century high-society drama on Netflix, Bridgerton’s season 2 is being rated on an average ‘3 stars’ by various media outlets. With season 1’s protagonist Daphne being almost entirely absent and the Duke of Hastings, Simon Basset having bid adieu to the series, the new season mostly focuses on the senior Bridgerton son Anthony, played by Jonathan Bailey.

Of course, the mysterious and funny Lady Whistledown continues to enchant and enthrall her readers.

A Twitter user shared her anguish on missing Duke Simon, played by Regé Jean Page in Season 1, while many others also lament on social media that the drama is not the same without his charisma.

However, the second season is more lavish with sparkling balls, lush gardens, delicate outfits, and spicier gossip about the people.

The plot introduces the glamourous Sharma half-sisters, Kate, and Edwina. The elder sister, Kate is played by Simone Ashley, a British actress, who has played small parts in Broadchurch and Strike.

A Twitter user appreciated the accurate representation of the sisters’ South-Asian descent.

A huge damper for many season 1 fans, however, is the fewer number of intimate scenes in season 2. The previous season noted many explicit scenes surrounding the young love of Daphne and Simon, while the new season revolves around more grown-up and emotional relationships.

Writer and podcaster, Lyra Hale appreciated the first-rate performances of both Jonathon Bailey (Anthony) and Simone Ashley (Kate) after watching season 2.

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers 2022: Italy will miss their second consecutive FIFA World Cup

European Champions Italy will not be a part of the 2022 World Cup after suffering a loss of 1-0 to North Macedonia on Thursday night in UEFA qualifiers. While it was a great result for the 67th FIFA-ranked Macedonian team, it was a major upset for Italy as they miss out on the World Cup ticket for the historic second consecutive time.

Aleksandar Trajkovski scored the winning goal that sent Italy crashing out of the World Cup, two minutes into the additional five minutes with a precise aim from 20 yards right.

Retired soccer player, Taylor Twellman pointed out the ‘ruthless’ nature of the qualifiers (WCQ) citing Italy lost only once in the #WCQ, while Uruguay and Ecuador qualified despite having lost 6 times in the qualifiers.

Sports journalist Fabrizio Romano exclaimed it to be an ‘incredible disaster’ for Italy after missing out on Russia in 2018.

Italy coach Roberto Mancini called the evening his ‘biggest disappointment’.

The qualification results will be complete only after the resolution of Scotland’s match with Ukraine, postponed due to the Russian invasion. This is a part of Path A of the UEFA qualifiers, while results for Path B and C will be decided this month.

Ten European teams have already qualified for the World Cup and the twelve teams from Paths A, B and C are battling it out for the last three spots.

China Eastern Airline’s plane nosedives: All 132 passengers and crew on board die

Flight MU5735 plummeted from cruising altitude to crash in a heavy forest area of Guangxi while traveling from the southwestern city of Kunming to the port city of Guangzhou.

The video of the plane nose-diving was widely shared on social media.

Given the nature of the plane crash, there was little hope of finding any survivors. Late on Saturday, Beijing state media confirmed that all 132 onboard – 123 passengers and 9 crew members had been killed.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson shared a condolence message on Twitter for the families of the victims of this tragedy.

Due to the impact and the site of the crash, the DNA and debris were scattered widely and created a 20-meter-deep pit on the side of the mountain slope. Firefighters taking part in the search have recovered both the black boxes and the cockpit voice recorder (an orange cylinder), despite the muddy and rainy terrain.

Meanwhile, experts weighed in on the mystery of the crash with many citing a potential mid-air breakup.

China Eastern is one of China’s 4 major airlines. The carrier and its subsidiaries have grounded all Boeing 737-800s since the crash as a precaution. Boeing said in a statement that ‘a technical team is supporting the NTSB and the Civil Aviation Administration of China’ who are leading this investigation.

The major incident involving gas leak at London Aquatics Centre forces evacuation and closure

About 200 people were evacuated from the venue and 29 rushed to the hospital with breathing problems, following a major incident of chlorine gas leak at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, on Wednesday.

The London Aquatics Centre was used for swimming, diving, and synchronized swimming during the 2012 Olympics and was opened to the public in 2014.

Almost 50 were treated by paramedics, many could be seen wearing blankets, some being rushed in ambulances, while residents in the area were asked to close their doors and windows after an alarm was raised.

The London Fire Brigade said the high quantity of chlorine gas was released due to a ‘chemical reaction’ and that ‘positive pressure ventilation fans’ would be used to disperse the gas into the atmosphere.

The roads in the area were cordoned off as emergency responders handled the developing situation.

The centre remains closed since the incident and will reopen when safe.

Meanwhile, a pregnant woman injured by the poisonous gas leak plans to sue the park.

Post curated by Nidaa Koreishi & Manuela Willbold

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