Author: LoveWorld UK

Britain is urging businesses and individuals to prepare for the Dec. 31 end of the Brexit transition period with an information campaign titled: “The UK’s new start: let’s get going. Britain left the European Union on Jan. 31, three and a half years after a referendum, but a transition period has delayed any major change in the relationship. The two sides have been working to agree a trade deal ahead of that period expiring at the end of the year. Cabinet Minister Michael Gove said on Sunday progress was being made in talks but there were still divisions. “At the…

Theatres in England will be able to hold outdoor performances from this weekend and beauticians can reopen next week in a further easing of the coronavirus lockdown, culture minister Oliver Dowden said on Thursday. Indoor gyms and swimming pools in England will also be able to reopen from July 25. The latest moves follow the reopening of non-essential shops on June 15 and last weekend’s reopening of pubs, restaurants, cafes and hairdressers. Dowden told a news conference that from July 11 theatres, opera and dance groups can put on outdoor performances to socially distancing audiences. He said that meant for…

The four Champions League round of 16 second-leg ties postponed because of COVID-19 in March will be played next month in the stadiums of the home teams providing travelling is possible without restrictions, UEFA said on Thursday. European soccer’s governing body added in a statement that the same arrangements would apply to the outstanding second-leg matches in the Europa League round of 16 ties. UEFA also said that all matches in European club competition would be played without spectators until further notice, a measure it described as prudent. The Champions League ties still to be completed are Manchester City v…

British shoppers returned to the high street in June as the coronavirus lockdown eased, but overall numbers were much lower than normal for the time of year, an industry survey showed on Friday. The monthly report from the British Retail Consortium trade body and market research firm ShopperTrak showed footfall was down 63% in annual terms in June, although this was 19 percentage points above May’s reading. Non-essential stores were allowed to reopen on June 15 in England, but shopper numbers were still 53% lower than normal in the second half the month, compared with a 77% shortfall in the…

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on the highest ranking Chinese official yet targeted over alleged human rights abuses against the Uighur Muslim minority, a move likely to further ratchet up tensions between Washington and Beijing. Washington blacklisted Xinjiang region’s Communist Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, a member of China’s powerful Politburo, and three other officials. The highly anticipated action followed months of Washington’s hostility toward Beijing over China’s handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak and its tightening grip on Hong Kong. A senior administration official who briefed reporters after the announcements described Chen as the highest-ranking Chinese official ever…

Stress in financial markets could yet make a comeback, Britain’s finance industry warned the Bank of England last month, with Brexit and global political risks auguring for a difficult end to the year. Minutes published on Thursday from a June 2 meeting of the BoE’s UK Money Markets Committee (MMC), which includes major banks, showed unease about a possible repeat of market chaos that struck in March when the COVID-19 pandemic escalated. “While it was clear that liquidity had now returned… some members were more pessimistic about the potential recovery and noted the potential for stress to return,” the minutes…

The victory kept Liverpool on target to secure a record Premier League points tally, with Juergen Klopp’s side needing nine from their remaining four games to beat the mark set by Manchester City, who amassed 100 points in 2017-18. Liverpool were 2-0 up within eight minutes after Brighton paid heavily for sloppy work in their attempt to play the ball out from the back. Naby Keita robbed Davy Propper and slipped the ball to Salah who confidently drove home to open the scoring in the sixth minute. Two minutes later and Brighton were caught out again by Liverpool’s pressing, this…

Rishi Sunak is perfecting his Santa act. Nearly four months after announcing 30 billion pounds of extra spending, Britain’s finance minister on Wednesday unveiled new measures worth up to the same amount to help the economy. The best of them aim to avoid deep scars in the labour market. Sunak will offer employers a 1,000 pound bonus for every furloughed worker who stays on the payroll until the end of January 2021. The furlough scheme, which has so far cost over 27 billion pounds and is supporting 9.4 million jobs, winds up in October. Extending it indefinitely is infeasible. But…

Australia said on Thursday it was suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and announced measures to attract people and businesses from the Asian financial hub, after Beijing imposed a new security law there. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the new national security law introduced last week in Hong Kong was a fundamental change of circumstances and Australia would suspend the extradition agreement. “There will be citizens of Hong Kong who may be looking to move elsewhere, to start a new life somewhere else, to take their skills, their businesses,” Morrison said. New Zealand said it was also reviewing its…

British finance minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday said he would act to put public finances back on a sustainable footing in the medium term, when he has a clearer view of the economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. Sunak said that interventions to support the economy would cost an extraordinary amount of money, but the cost of not acting would have been far greater in the long run. “We can’t sustainably live like this, of course we can’t, and over the medium term we can and we will return our public finances to a sustainable position,” Sunak told the BBC.…