British Airways pilots applauded for landing ‘horror film’ smoke-filled plane August 6, 2019 The pilots of a British Airways (BA) plane which sparked terror as it filled with smoke on the way to Spain yesterday have been praised for landing passengers under “extremely challenging” conditions. Yesterday afternoon, 175 passengers on BA flight 422 were forced to slide down emergency chutes to the runway at Valencia airport, after the [...]
Facebook ‘still flooded with fake reviews’ despite regulator warning August 6, 2019 Facebook is failing to crack down on a “thriving” marketplace of fake reviews on its website, despite being told by regulators to tackle the problem, a new investigation has revealed. Consumer group Which found dozens of groups on the social media site that recruit people to write fake reviews on ecommerce sites such as Amazon [...]
Britain will join US to protect ships from Iranian attack August 5, 2019 Britain plans to work with the US to ensure the safety of commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian attack, defence secretary Ben Wallace said today amid escalating tensions in the region. However the UK will not join US sanctions against Iran, Wallace said after President Donald Trump ripped up a nuclear [...]
Ofcom clears Channel 4 News over Jon Snow’s ‘white people’ comment August 5, 2019 Ofcom has cleared Channel 4 News of wrongdoing after presenter Jon Snow remarked he had “never seen so many white people in one place” during a Brexit rally. The regulator received 2,600 complaints that Snow’s comment, made at the end of the programme, was racist and offensive. Read more: BBC gets Ofcom approval to stream [...]
Hong Kong protests: General strike brings city to standstill August 5, 2019 Hong Kong was brought to a standstill today by a general strike and protests targeting the transport system as the city continued to be rocked by protests which began two months ago. Read more: Protestors face tear gas as Hong Kong prepares for a general strike The city’s Beijing-backed leader Carrie Lam spoke to the [...]
Why has the weaker pound failed to turbocharge the economy? August 5, 2019 The sharp fall in the pound in the wake of the 2016 Brexit referendum would help “rebalance the UK economy”, in the words of Mervyn King, former governor of the Bank of England. But since then, the UK has struggled to improve its trade position and has certainly not seen any boost to GDP growth. [...]
BBC accused of ‘pulling a fast one’ on producers over Britbox plans August 4, 2019 The BBC has been accused of “pulling a fast one” on independent production companies over new rules that could give Britbox an advantage over streaming rivals. The broadcaster has proposed new regulations meaning producers can sell their rights to streaming services after 12 months, but only subject to conditions that would be tougher for competitors [...]
Iran seizes another tanker over fuel smuggling, state media reports August 4, 2019 Iranian authorities have boarded another international oil tanker after weeks of tensions around one of the world’s most important shipping routes. The Revolutionary Guard said today that it had seized a tanker in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday night, according to Iran’s Press TV. “The foreign vessel was receiving fuel from other ships and was [...]
With Boris onside, we can boost connectivity across the country August 2, 2019 The successful economies of the future will be those that effectively seize the potential of digital technology. It is particularly important that we in the UK take heed of this message, as businesses face ongoing uncertainty in the approach to the government’s Halloween Brexit deadline. So what progress is being made to realise this potential? [...]
Chinese army in Hong Kong releases anti-protest video August 1, 2019 China’s army in Hong Kong has released a video that shows its forces engaged in riot control, in what has been seen as a warning to protesters in Hong Kong. The video, which was released yesterday and is now circulating on social media, contains captions such as “All consequences are taken at your own risk” [...]