This week: Evans appeals, Easter baptisms and clocks go forward

LIFE IS TWEET

Social network Twitter celebrates its tenth birthday today. The microblogging site now boasts 320 million users each month, took just three years to go from its first tweet to its billionth and now employs nearly 4,000 people around the world.

Singer Katy Perry, with over 71.5 million followers, is Twitter’s most followed celebrity. However, Twitter has lost over £1.4bn over the last decade and has warned shareholders it may never be profitable.

EVANS APPEAL

Footballer Ched Evans will have the appeal against his conviction for rape heard at the Court of Appeal tomorrow.

The former Sheffield United striker was jailed for five years in April 2012 after being convicted of raping a teenage girl but has always maintained he is innocent. His conviction was referred by the Criminal Cases Review Commission last year on the basis of new information not raised at his trial which raised “a real possibility that the Court of Appeal may now quash the conviction”. The court will now decide whether to uphold the conviction, quash it, or order a retrial.

SUPERHERO SQUABBLE

Thought super heroes were united in their fight against evil? Well, if this week’s big film release is anything to go by, they have their fallings out too. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice sees the two caped crusaders go toe to toe in battle.

We’re still not entirely sure why – Ben Affleck’s Batman mutters something about Superman having “the power to wipe out the entire human race” in the trailer – but it promises to deliver some high-octane action. Even so, it might take a bit of explaining to the younger members of the family.

JAIL FOR JOHNSON?

Disgraced former Sunderland and England winger Adam Johnson will find out on Thursday whether he will go to prison for engaging in sexual activity with a child.

Johnson will be sentenced at Bradford Crown Court after being found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl in his Range Rover in January last year. He also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of sexual activity and one count of child grooming. Judge Jonathan Rose warned that he faced up to 10 years in prison.

KEEPING UP WITH THE CLANGERS

The brains behind children’s television classics the Clangers, Bob The Builder and Peppa Pig will be passing on their knowledge to animators of the future as part of the week-long Leeds Young Film Festival.

Taking place at the city’s Carriageworks Theatre over Easter weekend, Animation Central is a four-day programme for youngsters aged five to 15, and is the UK’s only dedicated event for young people and their families to create animation and digital projects using the latest technology.

OPEN-AIR BAPTISMS

York will stage open-air baptisms in celebration of Easter this Saturday. Crowds will gather to watch the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, baptise candidates in a water tank outside York Minster. The service, now in its tenth year, is organised by One Voice, a network of Christian churches and leaders working together in the city.

START OF SUMMERTIME

Don’t forget to put your clocks forward by an hour at 1am on Sunday for the start of British Summer Time. We have builder William Willett to thank for the long summer evenings. It was his campaign that led to the Summer Time Act 1916, though the poor chap never got to reap the benefits. He died in 1915.

Twitter: @woodwardworld