Author: LoveWorld UK

British financial institutions that benefited from slavery such as Lloyd’s of London should go further than saying sorry for their role in the Atlantic slave trade and atone for their sins by funding Caribbean development, the region’s countries said. More than 10 million Africans were shackled into the Atlantic slave trade by European nations between the 15th and 19th centuries. Those who survived the often brutal voyage, ended up toiling on plantations in the Americas. While the history of Europe’s scramble for African slaves has been widely known for centuries, the death of George Floyd in the United States has…

A senior French official said on Friday she could not rule out the European Union’s trade talks with departed ex-member Britain ending without a deal though it was in the British interest to reach one. “I am not ruling out anything,” Junior European Affairs Minister Amelie de Montchalin told Europe 1 radio, when asked if she could rule out a no-deal Brexit. “Those who need a deal the most are the British. They cannot withstand a second shock after the epidemic. They wouldn’t have access to the security net that is Europe, they wouldn’t have access to the stimulus fund,”…

Britain’s markets watchdog on Friday proposed enabling consumers to extend a payment freeze on their credit cards by a further three months, as part of measures to support borrowers in difficulties due to the coronavirus pandemic. Those who had not yet asked for a payment freeze on credit cards or for an interest-free overdraft of up to 500 pounds could also seek one up until Oct 31, the Financial Conduct Authority said in a statement. The extension to the payment holiday, which was introduced in April, would also enable customers to ask for a reduced interest rate on any overdraft…

London shares rose on Friday as a sharp rebound in retail sales in May bolstered hopes of a swift economic recovery from a pandemic-driven slump, while energy shares tracked a gain in oil prices. The FTSE 100 .FTSE was up 0.5% and on course to rise for the fourth week in five as optimism around the revival in business activity overshadowed concerns of further lockdowns following a surge in infections in the United States and China. Data on Friday showed retail sales volumes in May surged by a record 12% amid an easing in the nationwide shutdown imposed to contain the spread…

A newly discovered spyware effort attacked users through 32 million downloads of extensions to Google’s market-leading Chrome web browser, researchers at Awake Security told Reuters, highlighting the tech industry’s failure to protect browsers as they are used more for email, payroll and other sensitive functions. Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google said it removed more than 70 of the malicious add-ons from its official Chrome Web Store after being alerted by the researchers last month. “When we are alerted of extensions in the Web Store that violate our policies, we take action and use those incidents as training material to improve our…

President Emmanuel Macron visits London on Thursday to mark the 80th anniversary of General de Gaulle’s appeal to the French resistance and to discuss Brexit with Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Macron, who will be hosted by heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, will mark de Gaulle’s June 18, 1940 “Appel” from BBC headquarters in London for resistance to the Nazi occupation of France during World War Two. It is Macron’s first trip outside France since a lockdown to control the coronavirus. He and Johnson will discuss the response to the pandemic, including Britain’s quarantine of travellers from abroad, as well as Brexit. Britain,…

The Bank of England is expected to build back its war-chest for fighting the coronavirus crisis on Thursday by announcing an increase of at least 100 billion pounds in its bond-buying programme. The British central bank has already spent most of the 200 billion pounds of fresh firepower it gave itself in March as it soaks up much of the government’s COVID-19 borrowing. With its key interest rate at just 0.1%, Governor Andrew Bailey has said the BoE will contemplate going below zero for the first time, but the review will take time. That leaves bond-buying as the central bank’s…

The European Union is ready to go it alone with taxing digital services of firms like Google, Amazon, Facebook or Apple if there is no global deal on such a tax this year, European Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on Thursday. He was responding to the decision by the United States to pull out of negotiations on a global solution to taxing digital services on Wednesday. “I very much regret the U.S.’ move to put the brakes on international talks on taxation of the digital economy. I hope that this will be a temporary setback rather than a definitive stop,”…

The Lloyd’s of London insurance market has apologised for its “shameful” role in the 18th and 19th Century Atlantic slave trade and has agreed to fund charities and organisations promoting opportunities for black and ethnic minority groups. About 17 million African men, women and children were torn from their homes and shackled into one of the world’s most brutal globalised trades between the 15th and 19th centuries. Many died in merciless conditions. “We are sorry for the role played by the Lloyd’s market in the 18th and 19th Century slave trade – an appalling and shameful period of English history,…

India impatiently awaited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s response on Wednesday to the death of at least 20 soldiers in a border clash with Chinese troops as the country’s media vented its fury and political rivals goaded Modi over his silence. China’s said it does not want to see any more clashes on the border with India following Monday’s violence. Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian reiterated that China was not to be blamed for the clash and said the overall situation at the border was stable and controllable. According to Indian officials no shots were fired, but soldiers were hit with…