Week in Sportbiz: England Netball weighing up approaches from private investors; plus Manchester City’s humble new partner club and ‘super spikes’ February 18, 2021 Netball’s prodigious growth has not gone unnoticed by the private investors who have embarked on a trolley dash of sporting properties. England Netball successfully launched its Covid-adapted 2021 Superleague season last weekend – another feather in the cap of an organisation that has doubled participation in a decade. The governing has renewed its broadcast deal [...]
Best of travel: A feast for the senses in Zanzibar February 18, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Noo Saro-Wiwa’s extravagent journey to the island of Zanzibar. ••• Visiting tropical islands usually involves sacrificing the richness and depth of continental culture for the simplicity of ravishing sun, sea and sand. Zanzibar, however, [...]
To Olivia review – Roald Dahl biopic is a little bit too cosy February 18, 2021 Despite the number of adaptations of his work, To Olivia is the first major portrayal of author Roald Dahl on screen. Hugh Bonneville plays Dahl in the period after the death of his daughter Olivia, and the growing divide between he and his wife, American movie star Patricia Neal (Keeley Hawes). Battling through mental health [...]
Vaccine passports mean no nightclubs until autumn, warn industry figures February 17, 2021 Vaccine passports will likely shut young people away from venues such as nightclubs, theatres and cinemas until the autumn, hospitality chiefs have warned. The Prime Minister announced on Monday that the government will prioritise rapid Covid tests to reopen “those bits [of the economy] that have been the toughest nuts to crack”. He said a [...]
All Premier League games to be televised until fans return to stadiums February 17, 2021 The Premier League has committed to televising every match until clubs are allowed to reopen stadiums to supporters. All games have been available on Sky Sports, BT Sport, the BBC or Amazon Prime Video for most of the pandemic – save for short-lived experiment with pay-per-view. That arrangement has now been extended indefinitely, with a [...]
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp strikes news partnership deal with Google February 17, 2021 Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has inked a three-year deal with Google that will see the US tech giant pay to use the publisher’s news content. New Corp, which owns titles such as the Times, the Sun and the Wall Street Journal, said it will provide “trusted journalism from its news sites around the world in [...]
Breaking: Entire UK population will ‘probably’ receive two Covid vaccine doses by August February 16, 2021 Every adult in the UK will “probably” receive both doses of a coronavirus vaccine by August, according to the head of the UK’s vaccine taskforce. Clive Dix, who runs C4X — the body that buys vaccines on behalf of the UK government — said the entire UK adult population would likely be fully vaccinated within [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Ho Ready to Conquer all February 16, 2021 BETTORS must have been on good terms with themselves following the results of the Chinese New Year meeting at Sha Tin on Sunday. On what is the biggest turnover day of the Hong Kong racing calendar, with a record £180 million bet, the majority of winners were well supported, leaving punters in good spirits for [...]
Best of travel: Gorilla conservation in Uganda February 16, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Noo Saro-Wiwa’s examination of gorilla conservation in Uganda ••• Standing in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in south-western Uganda, I’m dodging a light hail of fruits being thrown down by gorillas in the trees above. The [...]
All eyes on dividends: What to expect from Barclays and Natwest this week February 16, 2021 Barclays and Natwest will be the first of the major high street banks to report full year results this week. It has been a difficult 12 months with Brexit weighing on sentiment in addition to the fallout from the pandemic. All eyes will be on dividend payments after the Prudential Regulation Authority effectively banned payouts [...]