Trump to allow oil drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for first time in 30 years August 17, 2020 The Trump administration today finalised plans to auction off the rights to drill for oil and gas in one of the country’s most iconic wild places. The 1.6m acre coastal plain at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will be leased to the highest bidder in a move that sees US President Donald Trump continue to [...]
UK needs 10m tests a week, says Premier League’s coronavirus adviser August 17, 2020 The company behind the Premier League’s coronavirus testing efforts has backed calls for the government to introduce a UK-wide testing scheme by the end of the year. Avi Lasarow, chief executive of testing firm Prenetics, has called on the government to swap its half-price restaurant scheme for a universal testing service across the UK. He [...]
Coronavirus infection rate remains stable across England August 14, 2020 Coronavirus infections across England are levelling off according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In its latest update, the ONS said the “small increase” seen in the rate of infection in July had stabilised. Current estimates suggest that 1 in 1,900 people have coronavirus, or 28,300 people in England. The [...]
What are the new lockdown rules as casinos and theatres prepare to reopen? August 14, 2020 Lockdown rules are set to be eased further across England on Saturday as the country continues to tentatively open back up. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced to postpone the latest phase of a recovery on August 1 amid concerns the rate of coronavirus infection had increased slightly. However, data from the Office for National [...]
River Island to cut a further 350 jobs in management restructure August 14, 2020 River Island is set to cut up to 350 more jobs in a management shake-up. It comes a month after the high street retailer unveiled plans to let go 250 head office staff as a cost-cutting measure due to the coronavirus pandemic and a significant reduction in footfall. The company is now set to target [...]
REC: Post-lockdown record rise in vacancies hints at UK jobs recovery August 14, 2020 More new vacancies for UK jobs were advertised last week than at any other time since the lockdown began, a new report has found. Around 126,000 new UK-based jobs were posted in the week 3-9 August, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). It brought the total number of vacancies across the UK to [...]
Raise sick pay and extend furlough, Royal Society urges government August 14, 2020 Statutory sick pay should be increased and the furlough scheme extended, according to a new report by the Royal Society. The research has suggested it would be the best trade-off between public health and economic risk moving forward. It argues that health and economic data should be combined to produce the best economic outcome at [...]
Sadiq Khan admits empty offices are a ‘big problem for central London’ August 13, 2020 Sadiq Khan has warned for the first time that empty offices in central London are causing a “big problem” for the economy. The mayor of London admitted that small businesses were struggling with the dramatically reduced footfall as huge numbers of people continue to work from home. He urged big firms to reconsider decisions to [...]
Michael Jordan’s ‘rarest’ trainers set to auction for more than $500,000 August 13, 2020 A rare pair of Michael Jordan’s trainers are set to fetch more than $500,000 (£420,000) at an online auction on Thursday. The basketball legend used the Nike Air Jordan 1 High sneakers in an exhibition game in 1985 and famously shattered the glass backboard with a dunk. British auction house Christies is auctioning 11 pairs [...]
Carlsberg warns on profit as sales slump August 13, 2020 Carlsberg has issued a profit warning for 2020 as it forecasts disappointing sales in the second half of the year. The Danish brewer saw a fall of 8.9 per cent in operating profits for the first half of 2020 and is expecting an overall drop of between 10 and 15 per cent for the whole [...]
