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5 Things You Need To Know, Today, on Friday 1st October 2021
5. Australia will reopen its international border from November, allowing vaccinated travellers into the country for the first time in 18 months.
Currently only citizens and people with exemptions can enter. Outbound travel is also banned without an exemption.
4. Walt Disney and Scarlett Johansson have settled a legal dispute over the release of the Marvel superhero movie Black Widow.
Johansson sued Disney two months ago, accusing it of breaching her contract when it offered the movie on its Disney+ streaming service while it was still showing in cinemas.
3. Fast fashion firm Boohoo's sales have soared while profits dropped as a result of spiralling costs.
The online retailer saw sales jump 20% to £975.9m in the six months to 31 August, when compared with a year earlier but pre-tax profits fell 64% to £24.6m partly due to shipping costs that were £26m higher than pre-pandemic levels.
2. Restaurants and pubs are warning that prices will go up due to a rise in VAT rates, which takes effect from today.
Owners said the increase from 5% to 12.5% was badly timed, with one restaurant chain owner saying businesses were already "hanging by a thread".
1. A squeeze on household finances will become more acute as a new, higher energy price cap takes effect from Friday.
Typical default domestic energy bills are rising by around 12% or £139 a year and about 15 million households in England, Wales and Scotland are affected.