Trade Union Bill: Union members and activists from around the UK heading to Westminster for rally over controversial bill November 2, 2015 Thousands of union members and activists are heading for central London this lunchtime to take part in a huge rally against the introduction of the Trade Union Bill. Unions including Unison, Unite, the Fire Brigade Union, Aslef and Bectu and activist groups such as Occupy London and War on Want will be taking part in the rally, which will [...]
Markit PMI: Sterling climbs as UK manufacturing reaches 16-month high – factory output grows amid growing consumer demand and exports November 2, 2015 The pound jumped against the dollar this morning, after UK manufacturing reached a 16-month high in October, recording its best month since June 2014, according to Markit PMI. The pound rose 0.3 per cent to $1.5479 in mid-morning trading, after the index's seasonally adjusted headline figure rose to 55.5, up from 51.8 in September (which was itself revised [...]
Sinai plane crash: “External factor” blamed for Russian Metrojet A321 flight 7K9268 tragedy over weekend November 2, 2015 Russian airline Kolgalymavia has blamed an "external factor" for the Metrojet A321 flight 7K9268 crash this weekend, in which 224 people were killed. It was "impossible" for the Airbus plane to have broken up in the air because of a technical fault or pilot error, the company has said. The only explanation was a "physical or [...]
District, Circle, Hammersmith Tube Lines part-suspended, causing severe travel delays, because of trespasser on the track at Mile End November 2, 2015 Transport for London had to shut down parts of the District and Circle Line this morning because of a trespasser on the track. There was no service anti-clockwise on the Circle Line during rush hour this morning because of the individual, who was on the track at Mile End. The District Line was closed between Whitechapel and [...]
Christmas adverts: John Lewis, Sainsburys, Burberry & Marks and Spencer beaten by Universal for most shared festive ad of all time November 2, 2015 It's that time of year already. John Lewis is poised to unveil its Christmas advert on Friday (8am if you're really keen) and once again will be launching in on social media first, followed by a grand pushing out to TV audiences at the weekend. It has become an iconic start to the festive period, [...]
London property prices: Luxury homes in Greenwich and Blackfriars going up for sale – in Kuwait November 2, 2015 Two new luxury developments in central London are going on sale this week, looking to tempt overseas property investors by holding the official launch at the Warba Tower in Kuwait. An "exclusive collection of homes" are being unveiled to Middle Eastern buyers on 4 and 5 November by developers Barratt Homes London, alongside Knight Frank and [...]
London weather: Thick fog prompts Heathrow, City Airport to cancel flights, drivers warned to go slowly as Met Office issues severe weather warning for much of UK November 2, 2015 Thick fog was causing travel chaos across London this morning, with flights in and out of London airports cancelled. The Met Office issued a severe weather warning for heavy fog from Sunday night "becoming widespread and dense in places by Monday morning". Yellow warnings were in place for London and the South East, South West, Wales, East Midlands, [...]
Horrifying house prices (and other scare stories) – here’s what got us talking this week October 30, 2015 It was a week in which we discovered that two teenagers were suspects in the TalkTalk hack (but that "significantly" fewer people were affected. We learned that all MPs earn a lot more than their constituents. And we discovered that the UK's population is growing much quicker than previously thought. Here's what got us talking this week [...]
Ahead of Black Friday 2015, are you ready for a truly digital Christmas? October 30, 2015 One look at Hamley's top 10 toys for Christmas 2015 and it’s hard not to think this year’s toy requests have been beamed in from Mars, with various intelligent robots powered by artificial intelligence, such as Clever Keet, an electronic bird that repeats and ‘learns’ phrases you say. In fact, it seems computing and interactivity [...]
DLR strike passenger advice released by TfL: Jubilee, Central, District and Hammersmith & City lines expected to be much busier as commuters seek alternative routes October 30, 2015 Transport for London has issued passenger advice for commuters affected by the forthcoming 48-hour strike on the DLR, with services "unlikely" to run because of the disruption. The strike has been called by transport union RMT over a dispute with KeolisAmey Docklands, which operates the DLR on behalf of TfL. It is due to start at 3:59am on 3 [...]
