Coronavirus: UK death toll rises by 338 to reach 36,042 May 21, 2020 A further 338 people have died of coronavirus in the UK, the Department of Health has announced this afternoon. In total, the death toll has now reached 36,042, as of 5pm yesterday evening. There were also 2,615 more confirmed cases of the virus, taking the total number of cases in the UK to 250, 908. [...]
Historic department store Macy’s set for $1bn first quarter loss May 21, 2020 Historic US department store Macy’s warned today that it could see first quarter losses of over $1bn (£820m) due to the coronavirus lockdowns. Retail outlets around the world have been battered by the stringent restrictions, which has seen many shops shut their doors for over a month on governmental instruction. In a release, Macy’s said [...]
NHS workers begin coronavirus hydroxychloroquine trial May 21, 2020 Healthcare workers are taking part in a University of Oxford-led trial of two anti-malarial drugs, including hydroxychloroquine, to see if they can prevent Coronavirus. The “Copcov” study will involve more than 40,000 frontline healthcare workers from Europe, Africa, Asia and South America to determine if chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are effective in preventing Covid-19. The trial [...]
US sees 2.4m new jobless claims as total nears 40m amid coronavirus May 21, 2020 More than 2.4m Americans made new jobless claims last week, data has shown, as the world’s largest economy continues to shed jobs at a momentous pace during the coronavirus crisis. The latest figure means that roughly 39m new claims for unemployment insurance have been made in the US since March 21. Unemployment has soared to [...]
Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook is in fake news ‘arms race’ against rival states May 21, 2020 Mark Zuckerberg has said that Facebook is in an “arms race” to prevent misinformation from state actors as he defended his company’s crackdown on fake news about the Covid-19 crisis. The social media boss said his firm was battling to prevent interference from countries such as Russia, Iran and China, and admitted it was “behind” [...]
Amazon UK boss tipped as candidate for BBC director general role May 21, 2020 Amazon’s UK chief is said to be one of the frontrunners to take over as director general of the BBC amid concerns the job hunt could be pushed back due to Covid-19. Douglas Gurr, who has led the tech giant’s operations in the UK and Ireland since 2016, is one of four candidates on the [...]
Khan and Bailey clash over congestion charge hike May 21, 2020 A row has erupted between Sadiq Khan and one of his challengers to be the next Mayor of London over the conditions of the government’s bailout of struggling Transport for London. Yesterday, the Mayor said that the government had forced him to reinstate and expand the congestion charge as a condition of the £1.6bn rescue [...]
Boris Johnson will not face criminal investigation over Jennifer Arcuri relationship May 21, 2020 Boris Johnson will not face criminal charges over his relationship with US entrepreneur Jennifer Arcuri. A probe by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the police watchdog, found there were no grounds to criminally investigate the Prime Minister. It had been alleged that Johnson had used his position of power to allow Arcuri to [...]
Astrazeneca set to supply potential coronavirus vaccine in September May 21, 2020 Pharmaceuticals giant Astrazeneca has confirmed it is prepared to deliver the first 400m doses of its potential coronavirus vaccine from September. In total, the drugmaker, which is the delivery partner for the University of Oxford, has secured the capacity to manufacture 1bn doses of the treatment over the next two years. Of the doses, 100m [...]
UK factories suffer biggest drop in output on record, survey shows May 21, 2020 Manufacturing output plunged at the fastest pace since at least 1975 in the three months to May, a survey has shown, as more than 80 per cent of the UK’s factories were hit by the coronavirus lockdown. The CBI’s industrial trends gauge, based on a survey of more than 800 manufacturers, plunged to minus 51 [...]
