Rio Ferdinand invests in ‘Spotify of overseas payments’ app Sokin February 25, 2021 Former England footballer Rio Ferdinand is dipping his toe into the fintech world investing in a new overseas payments app launching this summer. He spoke to City A.M. about why the partnership with Sokin is in large part because of his experiences through childhood and what he’s learned about investment. The ‘Spotify of payments’ Sokin, [...]
Labour proposes law to give UK councils power to take over empty shops February 24, 2021 Labour is proposing a new law that would allow councils to take over empty shops and reopen them without consent from the property’s owners in a bid to revive the UK’s struggling High Streets. The policy – being dubbed the “empty shops order” – would see councils work with owners to bring empty shops back [...]
UK-EU meeting on Northern Ireland fails to produce breakthrough February 24, 2021 Frustrations all around as Arlene Foster's talks with the EU end with no breakthrough over trade issues
Nuns broke lockdown rules to perform exorcism in front of 70 people February 24, 2021 Two nuns have been caught breaking covid-19 lockdown rules after they performed a public exorcism in front of the Irish parliament. Mother Irene Gibson and Sister Anne Marie reportedly attended the exorcism, on 8 December of last year, of the Dáil in Hebert Park, Dublin. A video was later posted online which showed the exorcism, [...]
More than a dozen companies exit $11bn Nord Stream 2 project to avoid US sanctions February 24, 2021 Baker Hughes Co, AXA group and 16 other companies have stopped working on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline to avoid US sanctions, according to multiple media reports this evening. Russian energy company Gazprom and its partners are in the process of building an $11bn pipeline that will supply natural gas from Russia directly [...]
German accounting watchdog head to step down in wake of Wirecard scandal February 24, 2021 The head of Germany’s accounting watchdog in stepping down, after coming under fire for failing to spot wrongdoing ahead of the collapse of the payments company Wirecard. The agency, formally known as the Financial Reporting Enforcement Panel (FREP), said in a statement on Wednesday that President Edgar Ernst is leaving his post at his own [...]
Govt should step back and let free markets drive pandemic recovery, says CPS February 24, 2021 Centre for Policy Studies report argues for less government intervention by spending less.
Covid-19: Hospitalisation risk 64 per cent higher with British variant February 24, 2021 People infected with the more contagious British mutation of the coronavirus, first discovered in Kent, have a much higher risk of being hospitalised, according to a new study. The data, published this evening by Denmark’s Serum Institute, which is part of the country’s Ministry of Health, monitored 2,155 people infected with the British variant. Of [...]
European bank giants plot payment network to rival Visa and Mastercard February 24, 2021 Members of the European Payments Initiative (EPI), a project launched with the help of 22 banks, said today that a pan-European payment network can be in place by 2025, making the continent “master of its own destiny.” The 22 banks, which include names such as Deutsche Bank, UniCredit and ING, are shareholders in the EPI [...]
Best of travel: Why Panama is Latin America’s hot holiday destination February 24, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Alex Dymoke’s trip to Panama to see if it really is all hats and canals. ••• In Britain, Panama is famous for two things: the canal and canoe man. Back in 2002, John Darwin [...]
