Food supply chains ‘on edge of failing’, meat industry warns July 21, 2021 The country’s food supply chains are “on the edge of failing” as the so-called “pingdemic” aggravates a critical shortage of labour, a sector body said tonight. The British Meat Processors’ Association (BMPA) said the shortage of skills was so critical, some plants had reported vacancies of 10 per cent to 16 per cent of permanent [...]
US drops opposition to Nord Stream 2 pipeline July 21, 2021 The US and Germany have today struck a deal allowing the completion of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which has long been a bone of contention between the two countries. In return for the $11bn pipeline being finished, the two will invest $200m into energy security in Ukraine, as well as renewable energy [...]
BP closes small number of petrol stations due to lorry driver shortage July 21, 2021 BP said that the current shortage of lorry drivers meant that it had had to close a small number of its UK petrol stations. The oil giant said that the majority of its shortages of petrol and diesel were being resolved within a day. But the warning is yet another sign of how deeply the [...]
Government confirms 3 per cent pay rise for NHS staff in England July 21, 2021 The government has this evening announced a 3.0 per cent payrise for NHS staff in England after apparently failing to do so earlier today. In a statement tonight the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that it had accepted the recommendations of NHS independent pay review bodies in full. The pay rise covers [...]
Steve Jobs’ 1973 application to be auctioned in original format AND as an NFT July 21, 2021 Steve Jobs’ hand-written 1973 job application is set to challenge the traditional perceptions of value in a landmark auction that may prove the acid test for the NFT (Non-Fungible Token) market.
Labour comes out against vaccine passport plans for nightclubs July 21, 2021 The Labour Party has this afternoon come out against plans for vaccine passports to be used to allow people access to venues like nightclubs. On Monday Boris Johnson announced that from September it will be mandatory for people to show proof that they have been fully vaccinated in order to access such venues, as well [...]
British man linked to 2020 Twitter hack arrested in Spain July 21, 2021 Spanish police have arrested a 22-year-old British citizen in the southern city of Estepona for his alleged involvement in the July 2020 Twitter hack. The US requested his arrest on multiple charges connected to the cyberscam. Joseph O’Connor is also accused in a criminal complaint of computer intrusions linked with TikTok and Snapchat accounts takeovers, [...]
Covid lockdowns cost UK creative industries £12bn July 21, 2021 Repeated coronavirus lockdowns have cost the UK’s creative industries an estimated £12bn and more than 110,000 jobs, new figures have revealed. Data released today by Oxford Economics showed businesses in the creative sector generated around £104bn in gross value added value in 2020, down from £116bn the previous year. This was also well below the [...]
Media freedom: Hong Kong police arrest ex-editor of squashed Apple Daily July 21, 2021 Hong Kong police have detained two former senior staff of stifled pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, just hours after they arrested the paper’s former executive editor-in-chief. Apple Daily’s former deputy chief editor Chan Pui-Man and managing editor Fung Wai-Kong were arrested for a second time, according to local media reports. The pair had already been arrested [...]
Riders of Justice review – Mads Mikkelsen is brilliant… again July 21, 2021 Tragedy, probability, and Mads Mikkelsen meet in comedy Riders of Justice. The Danish film beat Mikkelsen’s Oscar winner, Another Round, to claim the highest opening weekend for a homegrown film in 2020. As it turns out, the two films could not be more different. Anders Thomas Jensen directs this dark, humorous tale of the aftermath [...]
