Crown court trials to be suspended after lawyers push back on health fears March 17, 2020 Crown court trials expected to last longer than three days have been put on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak after sustained pressure from lawyers. Tonight, the Lord Chief Justice released a statement announcing the adjournment of all cases of this length expected to begin in April. The move came after the head of the [...]
Coronavirus: Jury trials ‘Russian roulette’ says QC chief as she calls for their suspension March 17, 2020 The head of the barristers body for England and Wales today called for the government to halt jury trials which she said were a “game of Russian roulette with the participants’ health” during the current coronavirus crisis. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is insisting that the business of the courts continue, despite the Prime Minister [...]
‘My goal is to return to Red Bull’: Pierre Gasly ready to bounce back after rollercoaster 2019 March 11, 2020 Few will have experienced the emotional rollercoaster that Formula One driver Pierre Gasly did in 2019. Six months into his first season with Red Bull the Frenchman was demoted back to their junior team, Toro Rosso. The same weekend his close friend, Anthoine Hubert, was killed in a horrific crash in Formula Two. “Last year [...]
Ultra’s profits soar after increase in defence spending at home and abroad March 10, 2020 Electronics group Ultra has posted a 113 per cent increase in profits due to new orders. Shares in the company have risen 10.81 per cent as a result to 2,112p. The FTSE 250 listed company released its results for year ending 2019 showing profit before tax had risen to £91m in 2019 from £42.6m in [...]
Oil prices reaction: All the fallout as OPEC sends prices spiralling March 9, 2020 Oil prices fell to a four-year low today after Russia and Saudi Arabia began a price war that triggered major stock market sell-offs. The two oil-producing titans were in talks over a further production cut to protect oil prices against the coronavirus outbreak. But Russia blanched at the prospect of slashing another 1.5m barrels per [...]
Trial over downing of flight MH17 begins without suspects March 9, 2020 A trial against the four individuals charged with the murder of 298 people and the downing of flight MH17 will begin in the Netherlands today. Last year, arrest warrants were issued for three Russians and a Ukrainian identified by a Dutch-led joint investigation team. Russians Sergey Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov and Igor Girkin, and Ukrainian Leonid [...]
Elbow bumps and the Wuhan shake: How coronavirus killed the handshake March 6, 2020 Coronavirus fears have prompted a variety of novel greetings as people around the world avoid shaking hands, chief among them the so-called Wuhan shake. In Wuhan, the Chinese city at the epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak, a new way of saying hello has gone viral. Nicknamed the Wuhan shake, the allegedly coronavirus-proof greeting involves participants [...]
The Independent claims $1bn valuation as it hails ‘unicorn’ status March 5, 2020 The Independent today posted its third consecutive year of profit thanks to a successful shift to digital, prompting its chairman to hail its “unicorn” status. The newspaper’s turnover grew nine per cent to £27m in the last financial year, while advertising revenue grew 10 per cent. Operating profit for the year was £2.3m, down from [...]
Opec mulls further cuts of up to 1m barrels as coronavirus weighs on oil prices March 4, 2020 Oil prices tiptoed up today as oil producer group Opec was considering additional cuts of up to 1m barrels in an attempt to stabilise prices, which have taken a battering from the coronavirus outbreak. If cuts of this size are enacted, it will take total output curbs of over 3.1m barrels per day, equivalent to [...]
What is the coronavirus and how dangerous is it? March 2, 2020 Since it emerged in China at the turn of the New Year, a deadly new strain of coronavirus has spread across the world and claimed hundreds of lives. The number of coronavirus cases globally is nearing 90,000, with fears of a possible pandemic. Read more: 14 Diamond Princess passengers evacuated to US test positive for [...]