New Zealand records first coronavirus outbreak in 102 days August 11, 2020 New Zealand has recorded its first locally transmitted coronavirus cases in 102 days. Four positive coronavirus tests have been reported in one family from an unknown source. The only positive cases New Zealand had recorded in the past 102 days had been in quarantine facilities from people coming into the country from overseas. Prime Minister [...]
Downing Street calls EU asylum seeker agreement ‘rigid and inflexible’ August 10, 2020 Downing Street has criticised the EU’s asylum seekers agreement, adding that it may need to be revised as the number of migrants arriving to the UK illegally by boat continues to rise. About 4,000 asylum seekers have crossed the channel this year, including 235 in just one day last week. The EU’s Dublin Agreement states [...]
HMRC triples number of tax probes into footballers August 10, 2020 The UK’s tax authority has tripled the number of investigations into professional footballers in the year to March as a part of a wider tax avoidance crackdown. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) opened 246 probes into professional footballers in the year to March 2020, which was an increase from 87 in the previous year. The [...]
What is Decentralized Finance (DeFi)? August 10, 2020 Decentralized finance, also known as DeFi, is a fast-growing sector of the cryptocurrency industry. While cryptocurrency coins create a decentralized store of value separate from any government-backed fiat currency, DeFi creates decentralized financial instruments separate from traditional centralized institutions. Although still small when compared to the global economy, DeFi has seen rapid growth in 2020. [...]
Beirut explosion: Blast probe will consider possible ‘rocket or bomb’, says Lebanon president August 7, 2020 Lebanon’s president has said it is possible the Beirut explosion was caused by “a rocket or bomb”. Michel Aoun was speaking to the media on Friday after the number of casualties had risen to 154. A further 5,000 people have been injured. Aoun said an investigation would consider the possibility the explosion was caused by [...]
Fortnite creator Epic Games raises $1.78bn August 6, 2020 Epic Games, the firm behind the popular online multiplayer game Fortnite, said today it has raised $1.78bn in its latest funding round, taking its valuation to $17.3bn. The latest funding round includes the $250m investment made by electronics giant Sony last month for a reported 1.4 per cent stake in the company. Other new investors [...]
Animal Crossing powers five-fold profit jump for Nintendo August 6, 2020 Nintendo posted a more than five-fold jump in quarterly profit today, as the success of its Switch console and standout game Animal Crossing supported the games maker during the pandemic. People stuck at home around the world flocked to titles like Animal Crossing, which allows users to create life on an idyllic island, which sold [...]