Author: LoveWorld UK

More than 300 Hong Kong passengers on the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess will be sent to a newly-built public housing estate for quarantine when they arrive in the city from Japan, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said at a news conference. The government is sending aircraft to bring back its residents, after which they will have to do a further 14-day quarantine. They are among some 3,700 passengers and crew on the cruise ship, owned by Carnival Corp., which has been quarantined in Yokohama since Feb 3. The coronavirus has killed more than 1,800 people across the border in…

The World Health Organization has reported on the trends related to the coronavirus spread. The latest data provided by China on people infected with coronavirus indicates a decline in new cases, but “every scenario is still on the table” in terms of the epidemic’s evolution. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva that China’s detailed paper on more than 44,000 confirmed cases provided insight into the age range of infections, disease severity and mortality rates. Asked whether the outbreak was a pandemic, Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s emergencies programme, said: “The real issue is whether we…

Clothing and furnishing retailer Laura Ashley (ALY.L) said on Monday its main banking lender and majority shareholder were in talks regarding the company’s immediate funding needs, as it reported a drop in half-year revenue. The fashion house, a favourite of Princess Diana in its 1980s heyday, is the latest victim of a troubled couple of years for British retailers, its sales hit by store closures, weakness in its home furnishings business and a worsening consumer mood. The company said on Monday recent movements in its stock and customer deposit levels had led to a reduction in the amount it can…

The U.S. government’s decision to raise tariffs on European-built aircraft will hit U.S. airlines already facing a shortage of aircraft and complicate efforts to reach a negotiated settlement with the European Union, Airbus (AIR.PA) said. The European planemaker said it would continue discussions with its U.S. customers to “mitigate effects of tariffs insofar as possible” and hoped the U.S. Trade Representative’s office would change its position. “USTR’s decision ignores the many submissions made by U.S. airlines, highlighting the fact that they – and the U.S. flying public – ultimately have to pay these tariffs,” the company said in a statement.

Communities across Britain are facing another day of flooding and travel chaos, following the torrential rain brought by Storm Dennis. More than 300 flood warnings are still in place across the UK, including five severe warnings in England, which mean there is a danger to life. Rescue teams worked into the early hours to get stranded residents out of their homes by boat in Worcestershire. Natural Resources Wales said the scale of the flooding was “unprecedented”. Travel continues to be disrupted across the UK, with A-roads closed in Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire in England, and Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales. Roads…

U.S. prosecutors on Thursday accused Huawei of stealing trade secrets and helping Iran track protesters in its latest indictment against the Chinese company, escalating the U.S. battle with the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker. In the indictment, which supersedes one unsealed last year in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, Huawei Technologies Co was charged with conspiring to steal trade secrets from six U.S. technology companies and to violate a racketeering law typically used to combat organized crime. It also contains new allegations about the company’s involvement in countries subject to sanctions. Among other accusations, it says Huawei installed surveillance…

Britain’s Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) said on Tuesday it had tightened restrictions on project finance and general lending for high-carbon energy projects and companies, joining other banks like HSBC (HSBA.L) in shoring up its climate policies. RBS said it would no longer directly finance new coal-fired power stations or thermal coal mines, oil sands or Arctic oil projects and unsustainable vegetation or peatland clearance projects. It also said it would no longer lend money to mining companies that generate more than 40 percent of their revenues from thermal coal or power companies that generate more than 40 percent of…

Finance minister Sajid Javid resigned on Thursday, British media reported, a surprise move that shattered Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s choreographed reshuffle of his government and raised questions over his leadership team. Johnson’s team had wanted to keep Britain’s biggest-hitting ministers in post, but Javid’s reported resignation over what one political editor said was a disagreement over his advisers has thrown the prime minister’s plans off kilter. “He has turned down the job of Chancellor of the Exchequer,” the Mirror newspaper quoted a source close to Javid as saying. “The PM said he had to fire all his special advisers and…

The timekeepers at Elizabeth Tower had to abandon attempts to renovate its clock because they lacked the expertise, one of a litany of blunders over its restoration. Parliamentary authorities admitted last night that the cost of the project, which doubled two years ago, had again risen, from £61.1 million to £79.7 million. The total is £50 million more than the original estimate. The House of Commons Commission blamed “the discovery of extensive Second World War damage, pollution and asbestos”. A breakdown of the overrun is understood to have identified a failed attempt by the Commons’ specialist clock team to restore…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sacked the minister who helped end three years of political stalemate in Northern Ireland, in a wider reshuffle as Johnson reshapes his cabinet. Julian Smith was central to restoring Northern Ireland’s devolved government, a key element of the 1998 Good Friday peace accord. He won him praise at the time from all sides of the political divide. Business Minister Andrea Leadsom,  Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, and Junior Minister for Housing Esther McVey were among the ministers to confirm their sacking from the cabinet on Twitter. Environment Minister Theresa Villiers confirmed on Facebook she had also…