Our ultimate guide to last-minute Christmas spirits, including our whiskies of the year December 21, 2020 Christmas may be ruined, but things always look better through the bottom of a bottle. If you were planning on stocking up on last-minute gifts before the big day, you may have to rethink. But the silver lining of this new lockdown means you can claw back a few days to pick up the ideal [...]
Congress in race against time to finalise $900bn US stimulus deal late tonight December 21, 2020 A stimulus deal for the US economy, including direct cheques of $600 to many Americans, is set to be voted on tonight in Washington. Bipartisan agreement was finally found over the weekend on the deal, which has been the subject of tortuous negotiation and delay over recent weeks. The deal must be signed by midnight [...]
New: PM criticises border closure and is “working” to a solution December 21, 2020 The Prime Minister has criticised the French government’s decision to block freight from the UK, saying the risk of truck drivers transmitting the new mutant strain of Covid-19 is “very low.” He said he was “working to a solution” and had spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron. Read more: All EU countries ban UK travellers [...]
UK records 33,364 new coronavirus cases amid fears over new strain December 21, 2020 The UK recorded 33,364 new cases of coronavirus on Monday as markets panicked and countries blocked travel from Britain over fears of a new strain of Covid. The figure was lower than the 35,928 cases recorded on Sunday, which was the highest total seen during the Covid pandemic. But it was up from 20,263 cases [...]
New: All EU countries ban UK travellers for 48 hours amid mutant strain scare December 21, 2020 The EU has followed many of its countries in enforcing a BAN on all British travellers to the Continent and Ireland until midnight tomorrow. A unilateral French decision has caused chaos at the port of Dover today but other countries soon joined. Spain made the call to close its borders to the UK, with the [...]
Next year brings hope, but we’re not out of the woods yet December 21, 2020 As we approach the end of a year most of us would prefer to forget, Londoners have been dealt a fresh blow with news that the capital has been placed under the highest level of coronavirus restrictions. The new Tier 4 rules mean people should only go out for exercise or to travel for work, [...]
Banned: The full list of countries that have banned UK travellers December 21, 2020 The new mutant strain of Covid-19 which is said to be spreading widely in the UK has seen a number of countries crack down on British arrivals. The French decision to block the border has caused chaos at UK ports, but many other countries have made similar decisions. The full list: France India Italy Belgium [...]
US charges former Libyan intelligence officer in relation to Lockerbie bombing December 21, 2020 US Attorney General William Barr has announced former Libyan intelligence officer Abu Agila Masud will be charged in relation to the Lockerbie bombing. The announcement came on the 32nd anniversary of the attack, when a Boeing 747 from London to New York exploded in mid-air. Former Libyan leader Mohammad Gaddafi accepted his country’s responsibility for [...]
EU regulator gives green light to Pfizer/Biontech coronavirus vaccine December 21, 2020 Countries in the European Union could be rolling out coronavirus jabs within a week after the EU regulator approved the use of the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) today recommended the EU should authorise the vaccine after finding it safe and effective. A decision from the European Commission is expected later today. The [...]
Why knowledge sharing is key to DeFi’s long-term security December 21, 2020 Interoperability and collaboration are key issues in order for blockchain technology to be adopted as a trusted global platform in supporting peer to peer immutable business transactions and exchange of value. However, the recent surge in proposed and actual uses of the technology to enable decentralised finance, or ‘De-Fi’, has revealed vulnerabilities in some blockchain [...]
