Blackburn risks local lockdown as infection rate surpasses Leicester July 20, 2020 A local lockdown in Blackburn is the “last resort”, the area’s public health official has said, as the Lancashire district surpassed Leicester as England’s coronavirus hotspot. Blackburn and nearby market town Darwen together recorded the highest infection rate in the country in the week to 17 July, according to Public Health England figures. There were [...]
Johanna Kyrklund: Are markets paying enough attention? July 20, 2020 | City Talk Like home-schooled children during the Covid crisis, markets seem to be struggling to pay attention for long. For parents, one of the most difficult parts of lockdown has been home-schooling their children. My social media feed has been full of people tearing their hair out as long-forgotten concepts such as subordinate clauses or trigonometry have [...]
Test and trace programme breaks GDPR laws, government admits July 20, 2020 The NHS Test and Trace scheme that collects contact details of those who have been in close proximity to Covid-19 breaks data protection laws, the Department for Health and Social Care has admitted. Campaigners from the Open Rights Group (ORG) earlier this month threatened legal action against the department over claims the NHS programme has [...]
Global banks ‘scrutinise Hong Kong clients for pro-democracy ties’ July 20, 2020 Global banks are examining whether their clients in Hong Kong have ties to the city’s pro-democracy movement, sources have warned Six people with knowledge of the matter said banks are scrutinising clients in an attempt to avoid getting caught in the crosshairs of China’s new national security law. Bankers at Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S), [...]
EU leaders make progress in €750bn coronavirus fund talks July 20, 2020 European leaders edged close to agreeing to the terms of a €750bn coronavirus bailout fund this morning after the “frugal four” governments signalled they were willing to compromise. Negotiations ended in the small hours of the morning after the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden were satisfied with €390bn of the emergency fund being made available [...]
UK set to suspend Hong Kong extradition treaty July 20, 2020 The UK will suspend its extradition treaty with Hong Kong today in a further escalation of its dispute with China over the introduction of a security law in the former colony, British newspapers reported. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab, who on Sunday accused China of “gross” human rights violations, will announce the suspension of the treaty [...]
Time for the UK to recognise the prospect of an independent Scotland July 20, 2020 The debate on Scotland’s future is changing. Opinion polls have begun showing majority support for independence. The two most recent polls have put the “Yes” vote at 54 per cent, nearly a full inversion of the 2014 referendum result. Brexit has been the main driver of this shift. The Scottish electorate consistently rejected leaving the [...]
In allying with Iran, China signals the start of Cold War II July 20, 2020 To read the lion’s share of today’s headlines, you would think the western world is in its final days, a Rome tottering on the edge of the abyss. And yet geopolitically, for all our leaders’ unheroic bungling of the coronavirus pandemic, our primary strategic rival China has had a far worse innings. Overconfident President Xi [...]
Coronavirus: EU leaders struggle to make progress on €750bn fund plan July 19, 2020 EU leaders are still trying to reach an agreement on a proposed €750bn (£680bn) coronavirus emergency fund, with the acrimonious talks yielding little on the first two days of the Brussels summit. Talks are deadlocked on the summit’s third day, with the more fiscally conservative EU countries – such as the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and [...]
UK looks at ditching Hong Kong extradition treaty July 19, 2020 The UK is prepared to tear up its Hong Kong extradition treaty after the imposition of new security laws by Beijing, according to foreign secretary Dominic Raab. Raab said he would outline the UK’s further plan to deal with Hong Kong tomorrow, but said the UK had enough international clout to get rid of the [...]