Author: Loveworld UK

One of the UK’s biggest independently owned IT hosting providers is laying the groundwork for a £350m public flotation amid booming‎ demand for cloud-based services. Sky News understands that UKFast, which was founded in 1999 by Lawrence Jones and his wife Gail, has appointed the investment bank GCA Altium to lead a review of its strategic options.The process, which is expected to be announced on Monday, will pave the way for the public market debut of another leading British cloud-hosting business.UKFast directly employs 325 people, and last year reported 18%‎ organic revenue growth alongside profit margins not far short of…

The owner of Ladbrokes and Coral will unveil a $200m (£153m) tie-up with the world’s biggest casino operator next week in a bid to dominate what is poised to become a multibillion dollar US sports betting market. Sky News can reveal that GVC Holdings is this weekend finalising the details of a long-term joint venture with MGM Resorts International, owner of famous Las Vegas brands including the MGM Grand, Bellagio and The Mirage.City sources said the deal, which will ultimately encompass online sports betting and other interactive gaming services across the US, could be announced as soon as Monday.Although the…

A monster wildfire is raging out of control in northern California after killing two firefighters. Tens of thousands of residents have been forced to flee the blaze which has destroyed hundreds of buildings as it ripped through Shasta County, some 160 miles north of Sacramento.Around 3,400 firefighters are on the ground battling the inferno, covering 48,300 acres (19,500 hectares), while helicopters and planes attempt to tackle the flames from the air. Image: Around 3,400 firefighters are on the ground battling the devastating inferno The fire, which is just 3% contained after starting six days ago, has been fuelled by high…

The body of a teenager who went missing near Clacton Pier in Essex on Thursday has been found. He has been identified by Essex Police as 15-year-old Ben Quartermaine.The teenager went missing around 6.30pm on 26 July.”We were called following reports that a body had been found near to Clacton Pier shortly before 8am this morning,” police said.The force said the death is not being treated as suspicious, but the cause of death is still being investigated. Image: Ben Quartermaine has been identified by police as the teenager who has died in Essex Police were called following concerns about two…

Taliban militants say they have held their first direct talks with a US official about future peace negotiations aimed at ending America’s longest war. The insurgent group’s meeting with Alice Wells, America’s top diplomat for South Asia, was a bid to kick-start talks on ending the 17-year conflict, an unnamed senior Taliban official said.US officials neither confirmed nor denied a meeting took place, but noted Ms Wells had been in the Qatari capital Doha this week, where she met with government officials “to discuss recent progress towards an Afghan-owned, and Afghan-led peace process”. Image: Alice Wells is said to have…

Passengers are experiencing four-hour delays at Eurotunnel because of “extreme” weather conditions. Holidaymakers face a long wait at Folkestone as the shuttle service deals with “restricted shuttle capacity” because air conditioning on some of its trains has failed.At Stansted, restrictions placed on flights overnight due to thundery weather have had a knock-on effect into the morning, leading to delays and cancellations. The current on site delay is approx 2 hours and a half for low vehicles travelling on the double deck part of the shuttle and up to 5 hours for high vehicles. Our teams are working hard to improve…

After days of delays on the railways caused by the weather, passengers on two networks are facing fresh disruption because of strikes. Staff who work for South Western Railway (SWR) and Eurostar are walking out for 24 hours over separate disputes.Eurostar staff who work at London’s St Pancras station, which offers services to continental Europe, are striking over “shocking and dangerous” working conditions caused by repeated breakdowns and service failures.Meanwhile, the SWR walkout is the latest in a long-running dispute over the role of guards.SWR has described the industrial action, which involves members of the RMT union, as “frustrating and…

Vladimir Putin has invited Donald Trump to Moscow for a face-to-face meeting. The Russian president was speaking during a trip to Johannesburg when he revealed that he had made the offer, but added that the conditions for his US counterpart to visit “need to be right”.He also said said he was “ready to go to Washington” in light of an invitation from Mr Trump. Image: Mr Putin was speaking from a summit in South Africa Mr Putin was in the South African capital for a meeting of the BRICS nations.BRICS is made up of five of the major developing global…

Twitter shares plunged up to 20% in premarket trading after the social media platform said monthly active users had fallen by one million. The company had been under pressure to suspend users for hate speech, abusive content and the spread of misinformation. It has been purging automated and spam accounts.Monthly users fell to 335 million in the second quarter and came in well below Wall Street’s expectations of 339 million.The San Francisco-based company warned user numbers would continue to decline in the third quarter.”We continue to invest in improving the health of the public conversation on Twitter, making the service…

A speedboat owner who has been jailed for six years after his date died in a crash failed to show up for his sentencing due to “cowardice”. An international manhunt is underway to find Jack Shepherd, whose barrister Stephen Vullo QC made the comments before his client was handed the jail term at the Old Bailey in London.The 30-year-old, originally from Exeter, Devon, had been convicted in his absence of manslaughter by gross negligence over the death of 24-year-old Charlotte Brown in December 2015.It can now be reported that Shepherd skipped bail and failed to attend his trial, giving instructions…