Daily Covid cases fall below 10,000 for first time since September February 15, 2021 The UK’s daily coronavirus caseload has fallen below 10,000 for the first time in five months, according to the latest official figures. A further 9,765 coronavirus cases were reported in the past 24 hours — the lowest figure since 28 September, when 9,929 infections were recorded. The number of coronavirus-related deaths also fell to the [...]
UBS quits role in Darktrace listing over Mike Lynch links February 14, 2021 UBS has quit its role in the upcoming £4bn flotation of Darktrace, the UK tech firm, over its links to British entrepreneur Mike Lynch, who is facing fraud charges in the US. The Swiss bank has informed Darktrace that it can not work on the cybersecurity firm’s initial public offering (IPO), according to Sky News. [...]
Bytedance in talks over sale of Tiktok assets in India after ban February 13, 2021 The Chinese owner of Tiktok is said to be in talks over a sale of its Indian assets to rival Glance after the viral video app was banned in the country. The discussions between Bytedance and Glance, which were initiated by Softbank, are complex and in early stages, Bloomberg reported. Google-backed Glance serves news and [...]
Google and Microsoft object to Nvidia’s $40bn Arm takeover February 13, 2021 Google and Microsoft have objected to the $40bn (£29bn) takeover of British chipmaker arm by Nvidia as the deal faces an in-depth competition probe in the US. The two tech giants, as well as semiconductor rival Qualcomm, are among the companies to object to the mammoth merger amid concerns it could harm competition. The US [...]
Rishi Sunak doubles down on 2021 deadline for global tech tax deal February 12, 2021 Rishi Sunak has doubled down on a commitment to establish a new global tax on tech firms in the coming months following years of conflict over a new regime targeting Silicon Valley. In a G7 meeting today the chancellor said the new digital tax framework was a “key priority” and called on member nations to [...]
UK prosecution of Mike Lynch ‘would delay justice’, court hears February 12, 2021 A criminal prosecution of Mike Lynch, the British tech entrepreneur, in the UK would result in severe delays, the US government argued today as it fought to extradite the Autonomy founder to be tried on fraud charges in America. The UK’s Serious Fraud Office has reserved the right to prosecute the case if Lynch is [...]
Over-65s to receive vaccine appointment letters from next week February 12, 2021 The NHS will start vaccinating over-65s from next week as part of the next phase of the UK’s vaccination programme. The Prime Minister has set a deadline of Monday 15 February for offering a first dose of the vaccine to the top four priority groups, including care home staff and residents, all over-70s, frontline NHS [...]
The Medium review: A middling next gen horror February 12, 2021 Between Covid delays and a slow start to the new console generation, true next-gen games have been thin on the ground. One of the first titles to debut on Microsoft’s new hardware is The Medium, a dark, bloated and occasionally inspired horror story about a troubled spiritualist, produced by Polish developer Bloober Team. With a [...]
Digital GP app Livi prescribes €200m funding boost amid pandemic boom February 12, 2021 One of the largest digital GP platforms in Europe is said to be in talks to raise a further €200m (£176m) as the Covid-19 pandemic drives up demand for remote healthcare services. Kry, which trades as Livi in the UK, is working with bankers at JP Morgan on a series D funding round, Sky News [...]
Australia pushes ahead with online news laws despite Google threat February 12, 2021 Australia is pushing ahead with landmark legislation that will force tech giants to pay publishers for news, despite Google’s threat to pull out of the country. The government will introduce new draft laws next week and they could come into effect this month. If passed, the legislation would make Australia the first country to force [...]