Government ditches controversial ‘porn block’ plan in favour of wider online harms laws October 16, 2019 The government has quietly dropped plans to introduce strict age verification measures to prevent under-18s from viewing online pornography. The controversial proposals, which were hampered by a series of delays, would have forced commercial porn providers to verify their users’ age, or face being blocked in Britain. Read more: Minister apologises as UK porn laws [...]
Three arrests made over Blenheim Palace gold toilet heist October 16, 2019 Three people have been arrested in connection with the theft of a solid gold toilet from Blenheim Palace. Read more: Police arrest second man as hunt for Blenheim Palace thieves goes on Thames Valley police are investigating a burglary on 14 September during which thieves ripped the £4.8m art installation from Winston Churchill’s birthplace. Police [...]
Huawei posts revenue rise as US crackdown fails to halt growth October 16, 2019 Huawei has reported a sharp increase in revenue for the third quarter as US sanctions failed to hamper its smartphone shipments. The Chinese tech giant pulled in revenue of 610.8bn yuan (£67.2bn) in the first three quarters, up 24.4 per cent year-on-year. Revenue was up 27 per cent in the three-month period to the end [...]
AI health firm Healx bags $56m funding as it looks to fast track rare disease treatments October 16, 2019 Health tech firm Healx has secured $56m (£44m) in a Series B funding round as it looks to launch a new accelerator programme to find treatments for rare diseases. The Cambridge-based company said it raised the funds from European venture capital giant Atomico, Global Brain and Btov Partners, as well as its existing investors. Read [...]
Watchdog censures Boohoo and Missguided over ‘sexual’ adverts October 16, 2019 The advertising watchdog has censured retailers Boohoo and Missguided over adverts that contained “offensive” and “socially irresponsible” sexual references. In an online video ad for women’s fashion brand Missguided, young women in swimwear were depicted in “seductive poses”, including one shown with a strawberry between her lips. Read more: Deliveroo astronaut ad banned over misleading [...]
Google unveils new Pixel 4 phone as it looks to take on Apple October 15, 2019 Google has unveiled its new series of Pixel phones with a host of upgraded features as the tech giant looks to challenge the dominance of rival Apple in the smartphone market. Read more: Google Safari lawsuit: iPhone users win appeal to seek £3bn in damages The new Pixel 4 phones, which come in two sizes, [...]
Energy firm Eon to slash hundreds of UK jobs October 15, 2019 German energy firm Eon has said it will cut between 500 and 600 jobs in the UK as it battles with fierce competition and the impact of the energy price cap. Read more: Eon struggles against energy price cap but ploughs on with landmark German deal The company, which has roughly 9,000 employees in the [...]
Telegraph group suffers profit slump as ‘structural decline’ outweighs subscriber growth October 15, 2019 The Telegraph has suffered a huge decline in pre-tax profit for the year, as a rise in subscriber numbers failed to counteract a “structural decline” in print revenue. Telegraph Media Group (TMG) posted pre-tax profit of just £900,000 in 2018, a fall of 94 per cent on the previous year. Revenue also slipped three per [...]
Wework set to sack 2,000 employees as bosses weigh up rescue plans October 15, 2019 Wework is said to be preparing as many as 2,000 layoffs in the coming weeks as its new bosses battle to keep the company afloat. The troubled co-working giant is looking to cut roughly 13 per cent of its global workforce starting as early as this week, the Guardian reported. Read more: Softbank seeks control [...]
Royal Mail workers vote in favour of largest strike in a decade October 15, 2019 Royal Mail will face its first national postal strike in a decade after workers voted overwhelmingly in favour of a mass walkout. Read more: Parcel pandemonium: Royal Mail braces for Christmas strike chaos The motion was passed by more than 97 per cent of the votes following a ballot of roughly 110,000 Communication Workers Union [...]
