Test and trace system tells 26,985 to self-isolate in first week June 11, 2020 England’s new track and tracing system was able to contact two-thirds of the people who tested positive for coronavirus and were referred to it in its first week, and then succeeded in contacting 85 per cent of their contacts to ask them to self-isolate. Of the 8,117 who were transferred to the system, 2,710 were [...]
Ocado to raise £1 billion to match demand from Covid-19 crisis June 10, 2020 Ocado, the British online supermarket and technology group, plans to raise 1 billion pounds, giving it more firepower to capitalise on the rapid growth of the online grocery market triggered by the coronavirus crisis. The group said on Wednesday it would raise about 657 million pounds through an equity placing and retail offer and about [...]
Tower Hamlets removes Docklands statue of slave trader June 9, 2020 A statue of Robert Milligan, an 18th century slave trader, was being removed from its plinth outside a London museum today after officials decided it was no longer acceptable to the local community. The previously obscure statue, which stood in front of the Museum of London Docklands, came into focus after demonstrators taking part in [...]
Sadiq Khan orders review of London’s statues and street names June 9, 2020 London mayor Sadiq Khan has ordered a review of the capital’s statues and street names after the toppling of the statue of an English slave trader by anti-racism protesters triggered a debate about the demons of Britain’s imperial past. A statue of Edward Colston, who made a fortune in the 17th century from trading West [...]
World shares rise as shock US jobs increase spurs recovery hopes June 8, 2020 World share prices edged higher on Monday after a surprise recovery in US employment provided optimism that economies could quickly recover after lockdown. Oil prices erased earlier gains to stand almost flat after OPEC and its allies, including Russia, agreed to extend record oil production cuts until the end of July. U.S. S&P 500 futures [...]
Coronavirus: Public confidence in UK handling of crisis slumps June 4, 2020 Public confidence in their governments’ handling of the coronavirus pandemic has slumped the most in UK, a survey showed today. In May, in the Group of Seven nations as a whole, 48 per cent of respondents approved of how authorities had handled the pandemic, down from 50 per cent in April and 54 per cent [...]
Boris Johnson targets Brexit trade talks with von der Leyen to agree summer deal June 2, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson is planning to hold Brexit trade talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in June, it is reported, with hopes of securing a deal before autumn, it is reported. “We need a broad agreement in place by the summer,” an unnamed UK official was quoted as saying by the [...]
PM defends Cummings as report says adviser ‘made second Durham trip’ during lockdown May 23, 2020 Dominic Cummings reportedly made a second trip to Durham during lockdown, it has emerged this evening, as Boris Johnson resisted calls to sack his top adviser. Cummings drove 250 miles from London to Durham while his wife exhibited coronavirus symptoms in early April. Downing Street has stood by the Prime Minister’s top adviser, saying he [...]
UK will ask employers ‘to pay 20-30 per cent’ of furlough wages May 23, 2020 The UK has drawn up plans to require employers to cover 20 per cent to 30 per cent of furloughed employees’ wages from August, it is reported. That would help reduce the vast burden of the coronavirus crisis on government finances, The Times newspaper reported. The UK on May 12 extended its job retention scheme [...]
Pressure on Dominic Cummings to quit after reports he broke lockdown rules to visit parents May 23, 2020 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s closest adviser, Dominic Cummings, travelled 250 miles from his London home after showing symptoms of coronavirus, breaking the government’s lockdown rules, the Guardian and Mirror newspapers reported on Friday. Cummings, a polarising figure in Britain since he masterminded the successful campaign to leave the European Union in 2016, travelled to [...]
