Fiona Hearst

In May it was announced that Palm Beach Airport in Florida is to be renamed to honour US President Donald J Trump. From today it will be known as the Donald J Trump International Airport - the new call sign is DJT. His son Eric was exuberant on X in his praise of the decision, saying it was a great honour for his father. It’s not unusual to have airports named after people.

There is widespread concern over the emergence of new Covid-19 mutations as infection rates are ticking up globally again, with the highly transmissible Delta variant taking hold - especially among the unvaccinated - and in regions where anti-virus measures have been relaxed. Ireland is one of the most vaccinated nations in the world with close to 90% of the adult population now having got at least one jab against the coronavirus.

New Zealand's response to the Covid-19 pandemic has drawn much attention in recent times. The country has the slowest vaccination rate among developed nations and is experiencing the economic pressure of prolonged isolation. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern won global praise for stamping out Covid-19 on the island nation last year and the country was virus-free for around six months – that was until the latest outbreak earlier this month.