Twitter bans Donald Trump’s presidential campaign over coronavirus fake news August 6, 2020 Twitter last night banned Donald Trump’s presidential campaign from tweeting until it agreed to remove a video spouting fake news about coronavirus. In the most sweeping action taken by the social media platform in its 14-year history, Twitter last night temporarily froze the President’s Team Trump campaign account after it was found to breach company [...]
UK workers slowest in Europe to return to the office August 6, 2020 British office workers have been much slower to return to their desks than counterparts in France, Germany, Italy and Spain as they continue to work from home, according to new research. Just over one-third of UK white-collar employees have returned to work since the lockdown, compared to almost three-quarters of staff in Europe, according to [...]
Tiktok faces EU privacy review over data collection methods August 5, 2020 Tiktok’s attempts to restructure its European operations are facing a review from EU privacy watchdogs, as the video sharing app prepares to sell its US arm to Microsoft. Last week, Tiktok shifted data about its UK, EU and Swiss users from computer servers in the US to holding bases in the UK and Ireland, as [...]
Lockdown reimposed in Aberdeen after coronavirus outbreak August 5, 2020 Lockdown restrictions are being reimposed in Aberdeen following a sharp spike in infections in the region, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced today. Pubs and restaurants will be among venues to close from 5pm today as part of the containment measures. Aberdeen residents will be told not to go to one another’s houses, as Scotland [...]
Lords urge government to protect UK creative industries in post-Brexit trade deal August 5, 2020 A House of Lords committee has written to the culture secretary demanding clarification on how a post-Brexit trade deal will affect the UK’s “overlooked” creative industries, as Britain edges towards the Brexit transition period deadline. In a letter to Oliver Dowden, the House of Lords EU Services sub-committee urged the government to provide a comprehensive [...]
BBC hires 800 agents to quell pensioner revolt over licence fee August 5, 2020 The BBC has hired 800 agents to curb a growing revolt over the end of the over-75s licence fee, as it today prepares to send out millions of letters to affected households. The public service broadcaster last week scrapped the free TV licence for pensioners, arguing that the freebie was costing the BBC £745m a [...]
Coronavirus: Screen time soars as adults spend half their day on devices August 5, 2020 A surge in screen time during lockdown saw adults in the UK glued to their devices for more than 40 per cent of the waking day, according to new research. In its annual study of the nation’s media habits, industry watchdog Ofcom found that adults in the UK spent an average of six hours and [...]
Coronavirus: MPs slam ‘serious mistake’ over UK border policy August 5, 2020 The spread of coronavirus in the UK could have been curbed if the government had not made the “serious mistake” of failing to impose quarantine restrictions on international arrivals, a group of MPs has said. The Home Affairs committee said ministers had underestimated the threat of importing the virus from Europe, as opposed to Asia, [...]
Legal & General profit slumps two-thirds amid ‘unprecedented’ pandemic August 5, 2020 Legal & General’s (L&G) profit for the six months to June slumped two-thirds as the insurance giant cited the “unprecedented impact” of the pandemic on its balance sheet. The results Profit after tax plunged 67 per cent to £290m, down from £874m year on year. Operating profit sank six per cent to £946m, down from [...]
Thousands injured as explosion rocks central Beirut August 4, 2020 A huge explosion has rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut leaving thousands injured and more than 50 dead. Videos circulating on social media showed the aftermath of an explosion from the Lebanese capital’s port area, with doors and windows blown out in buildings across the city. The port is near Mar Mikhael — a neighbourhood popular [...]
