Elon Musk sets sights on October opening for new Tesla Berlin factory August 13, 2021 Tesla hopes to make the first cars at its new gigafactory near Berlin in October or soon afterwards, boss Elon Musk has said. The electric car giant has pushed back its planned opening of the plant to late 2021, blaming German bureaucratic hurdles. The £5bn project has also come under fire from locals due to [...]
UK competition watchdog investigating ‘immediate’ government action on PCR test prices August 13, 2021 The UK competition regulator has said it is exploring what immediate action the government can take to quash the hugely variable prices charged by private providers of Covid PCR tests for travel, after the health secretary, MPs and the travel industry called for an intervention. In a statement published yesterday, the Competition and Markets Authority [...]
Russia launches criminal probe into two allies of Kremlin critic Navalny August 10, 2021 Russian authorities have launched a criminal investigation into two top allies of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, for raising money for his political network – which has been labelled extremist. Allies Leonid Volkov and Ivan Zhdanov, who have already been exiled from the country, are at the centre of the investigation which was opened after a [...]
Bezos-backed miner invests in Aim-listed Bluejay Mining, sending shares flying August 9, 2021 Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos-backed battery minerals venture KoBold Metals is set to develop a new major nickel, copper and cobalt project with AIM-listed Bluejay Mining. The news sent Bluejay’s shares soaring 20.6 per cent at 11.2p per share in its afternoon trading. KoBold Metals will earn 51 per cent of Bluejay’s licence for the [...]
Cabinet ministers plan big push to get civil servants back to Whitehall August 9, 2021 Cabinet ministers are planning a big drive to get civil servants back to the office after concerns grow regarding the lack of staff at desks. Senior cabinet ministers have expressed their concern at the number of those still working from home, with one telling The Times that career prospects should be mentioned in the drive [...]
Huawei revenues collapse nearly a third as it peddles against US sanctions August 6, 2021 Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies has watched its revenue collapse by almost a third so far this year, as it peddles against the waters of US sanctions. Revenue hit $49.5bn in the six months to June, down 29 per cent, the group reported today. With its handset business struck by US sanctions, the UK’s decision [...]
Mike Ashley to hand reins of Sports Direct retail empire to future son-in-law August 5, 2021 The board of Frasers Group confirmed suspicions that CEO Mike Ashley will be replaced next year by his daughter’s fiancé, Michael Murray, in the group’s financial update. 31-year-old Murray is currently the firm’s “head of elevation” and has been in charge of modernise the owner of Sports Direct and House of Fraser, as well as [...]
Mike Ashley ‘set to step down’ as chief exec of Frasers Group August 3, 2021 Mike Ashley is reportedly set to hand control of his retail empire to his prospective son-in-laww after nearly 40 years in charge of Sports Direct. The Telegraph reported that the Frasers Group chief executive could confirm the decision alongside the firm’s results on Thursday. It is expected that he will become the deputy chairman of [...]
Johnson meets with Lukashenko’s opposition after disputed election August 3, 2021 Prime minister Boris Johnson met with the leader of the Belarusian opposition party today as tension between the country, its people and the rest of Europe swells. Meeting at Downing Street earlier today, Johnson condemned current leader Alexander Lukashenko’s regime and persecution of opposition voices like Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and her husband. Tikhanovskaya ran as the [...]
Judge dismisses lawyer’s harassment claim warning against ‘a culture of hyper-sensitivity’ August 3, 2021 A lawyer, who claimed she was unfairly dismissed from her £100,000-a-year job after being sexually harassed, has lost her case after a judge warned against “encouraging a culture of hyper-sensitivity”. Nirosha Sithirapathy, who worked as legal counsel at pharmaceutical research company PSI CRO UK, claimed that she was discriminated against because of her age and [...]