EU prepared to soften state aid demand to reach Brexit deal August 3, 2020 The European Union is reportedly willing to soften its demand that Britain follow EU state aid rules after it leaves the bloc, in order to break the Brexit impasse. Diplomatic sources told Reuters that Brussels may seek a compromise involving a dispute-settling mechanism on state aid in order to resolve the Brexit deadlock. They said [...]
Pubs may have to shut to keep schools open, hints Number 10 August 3, 2020 Pubs may have to close in order to meet the government’s promise to reopen schools in September, Downing Street hinted today. The government is “planning for all people to return to school from the beginning of the autumn term”, and this may require venues to temporarily close in order to contain local outbreaks, said the [...]
Sewage testing for coronavirus begins across England August 3, 2020 Sewage testing is being rolled out across England today as part of plans to get a “head start” on new outbreaks of coronavirus, following a sharp spike in infections. Early on in the pandemic, scientists discovered that people infected with Covid-19 “shed” the virus in their faeces within hours of contracting the virus. It is [...]
Downing Street admits it could impose M25 quarantine ring August 3, 2020 Plans to introduce a quarantine ring around the M25 to halt travel in and out of London are “within the government’s contain strategy”, Downing Street said today. The admission came as the Prime Minister scrambles to curb a spike in infections across the country. Boris Johnson is said to have held a “war game” session [...]
Activist investor ups stake in Pearson ahead of boardroom grab August 3, 2020 Europe’s largest activist investor has upped its stake in education publisher Pearson to almost nine per cent, signalling plans to push for a seat on the board. Swedish-based Cevian now owns 8.5 per cent of the FTSE-listed education firm, up from seven per cent a fortnight ago and making it Pearson’s third-largest investor. Cevian scours [...]
Chief whip ‘told about Tory MP rape claims four months ago’ August 3, 2020 The government’s chief whip was last night accused of failing to act for four months on allegations against a Tory MP and former minister arrested for suspected rape over the weekend. Tory chief whip Mark Spencer is understood to have spoken with the complainant in April, but failed to launch an investigation into the allegations. [...]
The City View: Thames Clippers’ CEO on getting London back to work August 3, 2020 Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Christian is joined by Sean Collins, co-founder and CEO of London’s riverboat service, Thames Clippers, as the transport provider grapples with life under lockdown. Last year the company carried nearly 5 million passengers, many of them commuters, and today they’re operating at around 25 per cent of that. Despite the [...]
Uber launches first commuter boat service on the Thames August 3, 2020 Uber’s first ever UK boat service will set sail on the River Thames today in a new partnership that will see Thames Clippers’ commuter service rebranded by the global ride-hailing giant. Twenty boats will take to the water today as part of the fresh collaboration, with departures from 23 piers across London from Putney to [...]
Trump vows action on Chinese companies ‘in coming days’ August 2, 2020 US President Donald Trump will take action against Chinese companies sharing data with the Beijing government “in the coming days”, secretary of state Mike Pompeo said today. “President Trump has said ‘enough’ and we’re going to fix it,” Pompeo said on Fox News this afternoon. “He will take action in the coming days with respect [...]
Microsoft shelves plans to buy US arm of Tiktok August 2, 2020 A potential sale of video platform Tiktok to Microsoft is reportedly on hold after US President Donald Trump vowed to ban the Chinese-owned app over national security concerns. Tiktok owner Bytedance yesterday told the White House it was seeking a sale of its US operations to Microsoft, in a bid to curb restrictions on the [...]
