UK, US, Germany and France issue joint statement blaming Russia for “assault on UK sovereignty” in nerve agent attack row March 15, 2018 The UK has issued a joint statement with France, Germany and the US condemning the Salisbury attack on an ex-Russian spy, calling it “an assault on UK sovereignty” and threatening “the security of us all”. They agreed that Russia being behind the attack was the only plausible explanation. In a statement, the leaders said: This [...]
Tech investor TMT is ready to ride the blockchain boom – but warns of naivety in the sector March 15, 2018 Tech investor TMT Investments is planning to ramp up its involvement in the blockchain space, though the firm warned there is still plenty of naivety surrounding distributed ledger technology. The figures In the year to the end of 2017, TMT’s net asset value per share jumped 28.6 per cent to $2.43 (£1.74). The firm, which [...]
Russia hits back over UK “provocation”… and blames Brexit March 15, 2018 Russia has hit back against the UK’s claims it was behind the attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal, claiming the measures announced by Theresa May are “signs of a provocation against our country”. The UK Prime Minister yesterday revealed a series of retaliatory measures against the Russian state, including the expulsion of 23 diplomats whom [...]
Defence secretary Gavin Williamson wades into ex-spy attack row: “Frankly, Russia should go away and shut up” March 15, 2018 Defence secretary Gavin Williamson has weighed into the escalating situation between the UK and the Kremlin, saying: “Frankly, Russia should go away and shut up.” Speaking this morning as he unveiled plans to build a new chemical weapons defence centre, Williamson said it was “clear the Kremlin is ripping up the international rule book, using [...]
Pressure builds on Jeremy Corbyn as shadow ministers Emily Thornberry and Nia Griffith contradict Labour leader over Russia March 15, 2018 Pressure was growing on Jeremy Corbyn to back down over his stance on Russia’s involvement in the attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal this morning, after he was directly contradicted by two members of his frontbench. Shadow defence secretary Nia Griffith told the Today Programme the party backed the Prime Minister, who yesterday blamed Russia [...]
GKN backs Airbus warning against Melrose takeover saying short-term business model is “inappropriate” for investors March 15, 2018 GKN has responded to Airbus’ concern over an £8.1bn approach from Melrose, reiterating its “firmly held belief” that Melrose is not an appropriate owner for the firm. Airbus, one of GKN’s most significant customers, had become the latest party to express concern over Melrose’s proposed £8.1bn hostile takeover of the engineering company, saying it would [...]
Brexit latest: Brussels to agree that UK can negotiate and sign trade deals during transition March 15, 2018 The EU is poised to back down over whether the UK can begin to negotiate and sign new trade deals during the transition period. According to The Times, the UK will be able to act under its own steam from March 2019 without seeking permission for the European Union. Although the formal negotiating guidelines still [...]
Bitcoin price (BTC) drops to a five-week low below $8,000 March 15, 2018 Bitcoin has tumbled to a five-week low of below $8,000 as it continues to be battered by negative news. At the time of writing, bitcoin’s price was down 4.51 per cent at $7,827.21 a coin, according to Coindesk’s aggregate index. This was around $2,000 below bitcoin’s price at the start of the week. Yesterday, Google [...]
Augmented reality startup Blue Vision Labs emerges from stealth mode with $14.5m of funding March 15, 2018 A new augmented reality (AR) firm, Blue Vision Labs, has emerged from “stealth mode” today and raised $14.5m of venture capital funding. The London-based firm, which was founded in Oxford, allows multiple users of AR apps on smartphones to share the augmented images they view through the smartphone lens. According to Blue Vision, this was [...]
Skype billionaire Niklas Zennstrom’s Atomico leads $12m round for London startup StreetBees March 15, 2018 London-based tech startup StreetBees has received backing from the co-founder of Skype among others in a $12m (£8.6m) fundraising round. Niklas Zennstrom’s Atomico led the round, with participation from existing investors including LocalGlobe, Octopus and BGF Ventures. The company has a network of global users who are paid to share moments from their lives on [...]