Tory donor Arron Banks switches to Ukip as David Cameron prepares for Conservative party conference speech October 1, 2014 The Conservative party has suffered yet another blow with the defection of party donor Arron Banks to Ukip. Banks will donate £100,000 to Nigel Farage's eurosceptic party and could stand as a Ukip candidate in the 2015 general election. An insurance entrepreneur, Banks has made significant donations to the Conservative party since David Cameron became [...]
Russia sanctions remain until Ukrainian peace agreement in place, says EU September 30, 2014 The EU will maintain sanctions against Russia because of the ongoing violence in Ukraine, it decided today. At a meeting of EU ambassadors on Tuesday, the bloc ruled that the peace agreement between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists "will need to be properly implemented" before sanctions are dropped. However an EU spokeswoman noted there had been [...]
Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party Conference speech: “Semi-Marxist Miliband”, “eat the kippers” and “planet zog” September 30, 2014 Conservative favourite and London mayor Boris Johnson has delivered an upbeat speech to the Tory faithful at the party's conference in Birmingham. With swipes at Ukip defectors, Ed Miliband and Vince Cable, the speech was well-received in a conference hall nervous about the prospects of electoral success and party unity. Johnson ran through a list [...]
Uber makes peace with German taxi drivers September 30, 2014 Uber has launched its UberTaxi service in Berlin and Hamburg after a series of struggles with German courts. UberTaxi, which operates in London and New York, allows users to hail a licensed cab. Furthermore, Uber will be changing its UberBlack service to comply with Berlin regulations. The prices are, usually, lower than those of traditional [...]
Two-thirds of small businesses predict double-digit growth in 2015 September 30, 2014 Britain's small businesses are overwhelmingly optimistic about prospects for growth in 2015, according to research conducted by mobile network operator EE. The survey of 1,000 small businesses shows 69 per cent believe they will enjoy double-digit growth next year, with an average projection of 26 per cent growth. However, the research was not all good news. [...]
Bitcoin advocates meet with US military to discuss terror financing September 29, 2014 The US military is paying increasing attention to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The Business Executives for National Security recently organised a meeting between officials from US Special Operations Command and leading figures in the Bitcoin community. Simply called the "Virtual Currency Workshop", the invitation-only meeting was the first time the Bitcoin industry had directly met [...]
Conservative Party Conference 2014: George Osborne outlines plans to freeze working-age benefits, abolish pension death tax and cut benefit cap September 29, 2014 Chancellor George Osborne has delivered a host of policy pledges to the Tory faithful at the party's conference in Birmingham today. The chancellor began his speech highlighting the UK's success in reducing unemployment and the deficit. However, Osborne told the conference hall that there was still much to be done, and the recovery faced [...]
Boris Johnson: Conservative MPs defecting to Ukip must be “utterly nuts” September 29, 2014 London Mayor Boris Johnson has blasted Tory MPs thinking about defecting to Ukip as "utterly nuts". Writing in the Telegraph, Johnson warned Conservative defectors could help the country "sleepwalk into a Labour government". The comments came after two Conservative MPs crossed the floor to Nigel Farage's eurosceptic party. The first was MP for Clacton Douglas [...]
Hong Kong democracy protest: Demonstrators face arrest and tear gas September 28, 2014 In Hong Kong, pro-democracy demonstrators have been met with tear gas and arrests by police attempting to clear a road being blocked by the protestors. Harcourt road in the city's government district turned into chaos as demonstrators and police engaged in sporadic clashes. The first attempts to move protestors using pepper spray were unsuccessful. The [...]
Air France strike over but negotiations continue September 28, 2014 The two-week long strike by Air France pilots has come to an end. A union spokesman said the decision to end the strike in order for negotiations to "continue in a calmer climate", Reuters reports. Ths strike has been hugely damaging for the loss-making airline which has faced intense competition from low-cost rivals. The dispute [...]
