Johnson calls anti-vaxxers ‘nuts’ as fears mount over second wave of coronavirus July 24, 2020 Boris Johnson has described vaccine opponents as “nuts”, as the Prime Minister warned that coronavirus “could come back again” in the winter. “There’s all these anti-vaxxers now,” Boris Johnson told nurses at GP surgery in London today. “They are nuts, they are nuts.” Speaking on the first anniversary of his premiership, the PM said he believes that [...]
Top 10 most shorted UK stocks: Hedge funds bet against Metro Bank, Royal Mail and Cineworld July 23, 2020 Metro Bank, Royal Mail and Cineworld are among the UK’s most shorted stocks, new analysis has revealed, as financial uncertainty amid the coronavirus crisis continues to weigh on industry heavy-weights. How does short selling work? Short sellers place bets on stocks that they expect to fall in price. Investors pay a fee to borrow shares [...]
Belgium tightens coronavirus measures following spike in infections July 23, 2020 Belgium is set to tighten its coronavirus containment measures following a sharp spike in infections, Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes announced today, with face masks and tracing measures set to be made compulsory. The European country reported a 91 per cent hike in new infections last week, forcing the government to U-turn on plans to relax [...]
Daily Mail owner DMGT reports plunge in profit as coronavirus hammers publishing sector July 23, 2020 The publisher of the Daily Mail newspaper has reported a 44 per cent plunge in operating profit for the nine months to June after growth in the first five months of the year was wiped out by the Covid-19 pandemic. Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) reported adjusted operating profit of £63m for the nine [...]
Government announces £100m funding for new coronavirus vaccine centre July 23, 2020 The government has announced it will invest £100m into a new state-of-the-art centre to scale up a potential coronavirus vaccine currently being developed by the University of Oxford, amid mounting fears of a second wave of the virus in the winter. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) today announced it will plug [...]
People more likely to contract coronavirus at home, new study finds July 23, 2020 People are more likely to contract coronavirus from members of their own households than from contacts outside the home, a new study has found, as the global race for a vaccine ramps up ahead of a potential second wave in the winter. In a study of around 65,000 people published by the US Centers for Disease [...]
High-profile Twitter users’ private messages hacked in cyber attack July 23, 2020 Twitter has admitted that at least 36 users have had their private messages hacked in a cyber attack connected to last week’s high-profile bitcoin-related hack, raising concerns that well-known victims could be extorted. Hackers last week took over the official Twitter accounts of more than 130 blue-ticked users, including politicians such as Joe Biden and [...]
BBC reaches record global audience in 2020 despite cash crunch July 23, 2020 The BBC reached its highest ever audience in 2020, the broadcaster announced today, as it faces the most serious financial difficulty in its 97-year history amid the coronavirus pandemic. The public service broadcaster announced it reached 468.2m people a week in 2020, with BBC News scooping up the bulk of the share with 438.3m weekly [...]
Phone masts as tall as Nelson’s Column will be allowed under new guidelines to speed up 5G rollout July 23, 2020 Mobile phone masts as tall as Nelson’s Column will be allowed without full planning permission, as the government last night ripped up guidelines in an effort to speed up the UK rollout of 5G and eliminate connectivity “not spots”. MPs yesterday scrapped rules requiring phone masts higher than 25 metres, or 20 metres in national [...]
Ofcom orders TV, phone and internet providers to stop preying on vulnerable customers July 23, 2020 Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom has ordered phone, broadband and pay-TV companies to stop threatening to disconnect vulnerable customers struggling to pay their bills amid financial uncertainty during the coronavirus pandemic. In new guidance issued this morning, Ofcom said the coronavirus pandemic has increased the likelihood of customers’ circumstances changing suddenly, making it more likely some customers [...]
