Ukraine won’t repay $3bn payment due to Russia this weekend December 18, 2015 Ukrainian president Arseniy Yatsenyuk has announced a "moratorium" on the payment of a $3bn (£2bn) bond due to Russia this weekend, effectively defaulting on the payment. In a televised appearance, Yatsenyuk said the two sides had failed to reach an agreement over restructuring its debt. On Twitter, he added: "From now on payments of debts [...]
Robots to take over the world in 2016, and five other crushingly predictable tech forecasts December 18, 2015 Every year the tech glitterati creates “tech predictions”. Once these were far-fetched, futuristic and fantastic. They promised jet cars, space food and handheld communicators. Nowadays, when our smartphones have almost as much computing power as Tim Peake’s new home, they can be a little… repetitive. So. Will those tech predictions everyone’s making come to pass? [...]
Bank Tube station gets green light for major upgrade December 18, 2015 Transport for London has been given the green light to "dramatically transform" Bank Tube station, with work beginning in the new year. But before you groan and start planning your alternative route, there is good news: the station will remain open throughout the work, which is expected to be completed in 2021. That's not to [...]
Run, hide and tell: Counter-terrorism police issue new advice for what to do in a firearms attack December 18, 2015 Run, hide, tell: That's the new advice issued today by the UK's National Counter Terrorism police chiefs in the event of a firearms or weapons attack. With the UK's threat level still at severe following the terror attack on Paris last month, the National Police Chiefs' Council and the government's National Counter Terrorism Security Office have published [...]
The best 50 areas to live in the UK revealed: Hampshire and the South East dominate quality of life index December 18, 2015 The South East is the best place to live in the UK according to a new quality of life index which is dominated by the home counties and surrounding areas. Over half of the UK's top 50 places to live are in the South East, according to Halifax's annual list, which names Hart, a serene [...]
Is Poland now joining the Romanian path? If the Law and Justice party monopolises Poland’s monetary institutions, the economy could fail December 18, 2015 This week, a striking event in Warsaw caught the European public eye. Thousands of Polish citizens protested against the revocation of three judges of the constitutional court by the freshly elected President Duda. Although Parliament had appointed these judges before the election, Duda made use of his prerogative to remove all three from their positions. The [...]
Four million of us now have a “smart” home – but that could more than double according to new research December 18, 2015 Four million UK households now have "some form of smart home", after a 30 per cent increase in adopting new technologies over 2015. Figures from Strategy Analytics show that 14 per cent of homes in the UK now use smart technology – such as controlling your thermostat or setting to record something on TV with your mobile phone while you're [...]
London’s rental crisis worsens, with 12 tenants for every new property listing December 18, 2015 London's rental crisis is getting worse, after a report suggested demand for rental properties has jumped 43 per cent in the past year. In fact, there are now 11.8 tenants to every rental property listing in the capital, compared with 7.5 in April, the figures by London lettings and property management agent Martin & Co [...]
Christmas travel: Engineering works to disrupt train services including Gatwick Express, Heathrow Express, Thameslink, Southern, Southeastern and many, many more December 18, 2015 Hoping to get away this Christmas? Well, start working on plan B because Network Rail has other ideas. This Christmas and New Year, one of the biggest-ever investment programmes is being carried out on the country's train infrastructure. New station facilities, longer platforms, extra tracks, new junctions and thousands of pieces of new equipment will be installed [...]
The UK’s love affair with salmon and breakup with soup: Three charts showing how our festive shopping habits have changed December 18, 2015 If you're planning on sitting down to a breakfast of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on Christmas morning, you won't be alone – after UK manufacturers reported a 25 per cent increase in salmon sales between 2013 and 2014. That's according to a release by the Office for National Statistics, anyway, which has published details [...]