Eastbourne Pier fire: Pictures of East Sussex landmark show devastation July 30, 2014 A huge fire has engulfed an arcades building at Eastbourne Pier in East Sussex, and thick plumes of smoke are currently spreading across the seafront. Eight crews of firefighters have been sent to the site after East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service was alerted to the incident shortly before 3.15pm. There are approximately 60 fighters [...]
HSBC to close accounts of Muslim organisations July 30, 2014 HSBC has written to Muslim organisations across the UK to inform them that it is closing their bank accounts. The letters say that continuing to provide services to them would be beyond the bank's “risk appetite”, and that it made the decision because it was "applying a programme of strategic assessments to all of [...]
North Korea has fired four new missiles, South Korea says July 30, 2014 North Korea has launched four missiles off its east coast, according to South Korean officials. The short-range projectiles were fired from Mount Myohyang, northeast of the North Korean capital Pyongyang, an anonymous official from the South Korean Defence Ministry said. They added that two of the them were fired off in the morning [...]
Twitter reports net loss but growth in users July 29, 2014 Twitter has reported a net loss of $145m (£86m) in its second-quarter earnings for the three months to June. The social micro-blogging platform's loss was three times larger than for the equivalent period in 2013. However, shares went up by over 26 per cent following the news because Twitter also reported that it [...]
Ebola epidemic gains momentum: number of deaths doubles in July July 29, 2014 The Ebola epidemic currently spreading across parts of west Africa is proving to be the most devastating in the disease's history. No known cure for the disease exists, and so far the five month epidemic has resulted in 672 deaths. Over half of these occurred in the last month alone. Since the start [...]
Iain Conn named new boss of Centrica July 29, 2014 Iain Conn has been appointed chief executive of Centrica, the company that owns British Gas. He will take up the position at start of next year, after current chief executive Sam Laidlaw retires from the board. Conn is currently the head of refining and marketing at BP, and has been appointed by Centrica [...]
Scottish independence: Undecided voters lean towards yes vote, but separation unlikely July 29, 2014 An increasing number undecided voters are shifting towards backing an independent Scotland when it comes to casting their votes on 18 September, new figures show. Data from the British Election Study reveals that between March and June this year, 25 per cent of voters who were originally undecided had shifted to being in favour [...]
Migrant benefit changes will “put Britain first”, says Prime Minister July 29, 2014 The amount of time that EU migrants can claim benefits in the UK while having no realistic job prospects is set to halve. At present, EU migrants can claim unemployment benefits for six months without any clear work opportunities, but a new rule would see this time reduced to three months. Prime Minister David [...]
Bankers should have to swear an oath after scandals, says think tank July 28, 2014 Bankers should have to swear an oath following scandals, think tank ResPublica has said in a report. It argues that the introduction of such an oath would raise banking standards and make bankers more accountable for their actions, encouraging them to "fulfil their proper moral and economic purpose". The suggestion comes in the aftermath [...]
IMF warns that “overvalued” pound is detrimental to economy July 28, 2014 Today, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the pound is “overvalued”, and that this is causing the economy to rely too heavily on spending and imports. In its annual assessment of the UK economy, it said that the sterling is between five and ten per cent overvalued, and that it has strengthened by [...]
