The City View: Faith in the City of London – from Roman temples to Wren masterpieces June 22, 2020 In this episode Christian is joined by photographer Niki Gorick whose new book, Faith in the City of London, explores the history and diversity of the Square Mile’s places of worship. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS From Roman temples to Wren masterpieces, the history of faith in the City stretches back thousands of years but [...]
Government trials new ‘no-swab’ saliva test for coronavirus June 22, 2020 A new “no-swab” coronavirus test using patients’ saliva is set to be piloted in Southampton starting this week, the government has announced. More than 14,000 GP staff, essential workers and university staff will participate in the first phase of the trial, which they will be able to complete at home using their own saliva, the [...]
Amazon chief to oversee government website overhaul June 21, 2020 The government has reportedly recruited Amazon’s UK chief executive Doug Gurr to oversee upgrades to the gov.uk website, as millions flock online for support services during the coronavirus crisis. Gurr, who last week announced he is stepping down from Amazon after four years at the helm, will take a temporary role as an adviser to [...]
Government to roll out new measures to scrutinise foreign takeovers June 21, 2020 The government is set to introduce new measures to protect UK businesses critical to combating coronavirus from foreign takeovers. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) today set it will set out changes to the 2002 Enterprise Act tomorrow to allow the government to scrutinise foreign takeovers to ensure they do not threaten [...]
Apple says government had not told it about coronavirus app plans June 19, 2020 Apple has said that it was not aware that the UK was developing an NHS contact tracing app using technology the firm built with Google. Yesterday the government announced that it was dropping its own app in favour of using the Apple/Google technology, which is already in use in countries such as Germany. However, speaking [...]
Facebook announces $200m for businesses owned by black people June 18, 2020 Facebook today announced that it will commit $200m towards businesses owned by black people, the latest in a string of tech giants to announce such initiatives. In a post, chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg revealed the plan, saying that the firm needed to take action. She wrote; “The past few weeks have compelled us to [...]
Softbank Vision Fund expands minority founder programme to Europe June 18, 2020 Softbank’s Vision Fund has today said it will be expanding its programme to uplift minority founders to Europe, after completing its first cohort in the US. Launched in partnership with Wework Labs, the Emerge programme is an eight-week intensive startup accelerator designed to help early-stage founders from underrepresented backgrounds. Each participating startup must have at [...]
Privacy U-turn: NHS tracing app shifted to Apple and Google model June 18, 2020 The government has announced it will abandon its previous work on its coronavirus-tracing app to move towards a more privacy-focused model, based on technology developed by Apple and Google. The UK will follow in the footsteps of others such as Germany in chasing a more decentralised approach. While it has been argued to be more [...]
US dashes hopes of global deal on digital tax June 17, 2020 US officials have reportedly suspended talks with European countries over plans for a global digital tax framework, and continue to threaten to impose sanctions should they go ahead with individual proposals. US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin last week told four European finance ministers that discussions had reached an “impasse”, in a letter seen by the [...]
Apple’s diversity chief exits as pressure mounts on Cook to testify June 17, 2020 Apple’s head of diversity and inclusion Christie Smith has stepped away from the firm, following the launch of its $100m fund to tackle racism. Smith is said to have officially left her role this week, though her move was planned two months ago, Bloomberg reported. Apple committed $100m to a new programme dedicated to racial [...]