Boris and Carrie Johnson expecting second baby July 31, 2021 Prime minister Boris Johnson and wife Carrie are expecting their second child, months after a miscarriage that left her “heartbroken”. The prime minister’s wife announced the news on Instagram. The arrival is expected around Christmas. Read more: Boris Johnson marries Carrie Symonds in secret wedding The pair welcomed their first child, Wilfred, in April last [...]
Boohoo chief summoned to US court to explain ‘fake’ sales promotions claim July 31, 2021 The head of online fashion retailer Boohoo has been summoned to give evidence in a US court over allegations that the company promoted fake sales to attract customers. Mahmud Kamani will give evidence to a Los Angeles court remotely on or before 15 August in a four-hour deposition. Boohoo is accused of tricking customers into [...]
Morrisons takeover could trigger breakup, analysts warn July 31, 2021 Analysts have warned that British supermarket chain Morrisons could be broken up if it is taken over by buyout firms. Analysts at Bernstein said they “struggle to see” how Morrisons’ assets would not be stripped if the takeover proceeds at the current or a higher offer price. Read more: Morrisons: Singapore’s wealth fund GIC joins [...]
A cultural mea culpa: a fragile over-reliance on freelancers and insecurity in the creative arts cannot continue July 31, 2021 In March 2020, I was midway through lecturing at the Sorbonne on plagues and portents in ancient Rome, Meanwhile, it was becoming increasingly clear that something alarming was happening in our own world. The night before I left Paris, I took an evening trip through the Louvre. It was practically empty – no queues by [...]
DOJ orders IRS to release Trump tax returns July 31, 2021 The Internal Revenue Service has been ordered to turn over Donald Trump’s tax returns to a House committee by the US Department of Justice. The IRS was told to hand over the former US president’s tax returns after a House panel had “invoked sufficient reasons” for obtaining them. The order comes after the DOJ released [...]
Analysis: Is AI really set to transform the banking industry? July 31, 2021 The future, or a fad? Shameek Kundu, Head of Financial Services at TruEra, looks at whether AI’s credibility gap could hold back the banking industry. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is widely seen as key to the banking industry’s transformation. Industry surveys, including one from the Bank of England, suggest that two in every three financial institutions have adopted AI in [...]
Truss: UK has made ‘great progress’ in New Zealand free trade deal negotiations July 31, 2021 International trade secretary Liz Truss said the UK and New Zealand were “closing in” on a new free trade deal after the latest round of talks between the two countries concluded. Truss met with her Antipodean counterpart Damien O’Connor for a series of trade talks between 19 and 30 July, for a new free trade [...]
Covid case rates fall in every English local authority as R rate dips for first time in weeks July 30, 2021 Covid case rates have fallen in every local authority in England for the first time since comparable figures have been recorded, while the “R” rate has decreased for the first time in weeks. Not one of England’s 315 local authorities recorded a rise in Covid cases in the week to 26 July, according to analysis [...]
Sage advisers: Protection given from Covid vaccine ‘highly likely’ to wane over time July 30, 2021 Vaccine campaigns will likely have to continue for many years as the Covid immunity induced by the shots is ‘highly likely to wane over time’, according to scientific advisers to the government. “It is highly likely that vaccine induced immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and potentiallysevere disease (but probably to a lesser extent) will wane over [...]
Court rules Grant Shapps’ plan to build £1.7bn tunnel near Stonehenge is ‘unlawful’ July 30, 2021 Transport secretary Grant Shapps was found to have made a “material error of law” over his controversial road building plans that include a tunnel near Stonehenge. In a court ruling on Friday, Shapps’ decision to approve the £1.7bn scheme to overhaul eight miles of the A303 and build a two-mile tunnel near Stonehenge was ruled [...]
