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Showing posts from January, 2020

UK Border Force team searching for 2000 people who flew in from Wuhan suspected of having the deadly coronavirus

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Border Force teams have joined the search for around 2,000 people who have flown to the #UK from the Chinese region hit by the deadly coronavirus outbreak. It is understood they have been recruited to help speed up the search for passengers as testing for the virus continues. Thirty-one people have been tested and given the all-clear, while the illness has reached Europe after three cases were confirmed in France on Friday. Tests on a patient in Northern Ireland have come back negative for the virus, the Department of Health (DoH) has confirmed. All 14 people tested in the UK are thought to have visited Wuhan, the Chinese city where the outbreak originated. Four out of five patients tested in Scotland were from China, Downing Street said.

Harry and Meghan to drop HRH titles

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Prince Harry and Meghan will lose royal funds and no longer use their HRH titles from spring, Buckingham Palace has confirmed. The couple will become known as Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Harry, who was born a prince of Wales, will remain a prince. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will also repay £2.4m of taxpayer's money spent on renovating their Berkshire home - Frogmore Cottage. The announcement marks the conclusion of talks about their future with senior members of the family and royal aides. The palace statement said: "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are grateful to Her Majesty and the Royal Family for their ongoing support as they embark on the next chapter of their lives. "As agreed in this new arrangement, they understand that they are required to step back from Royal duties, including official military appointments. They will no longer receive public funds for Royal duties.

Global economy braced for a challenging 2020

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After a year in which global business was buffeted by macroeconomic concerns and geopolitical factors, the outlook for 2020 is likely to be dominated by the very same considerations. However, with a presidential election looming in the US and a host of “black swans” (such as the killing on Friday of Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top general) on the international horizon, the potential for further economic volatility is, arguably, greater than in 2019. For the Middle East and Saudi Arabia, the challenge will be to maintain economic growth while simultaneously staging the big events planned for this year — the G20 gathering of world leaders in Riyadh in November and the Dubai Expo at about the same time.

Three UK companies are going to pay £10.5m compensation

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Three UK companies are going to pay £10.5m in redress after power cuts last summer caused travel chaos. An investigation by the energy regulator Ofgem found that more than one million customers were affected when two large generators were taken offline by lightning strikes. Ofgem's executive director, Jonathan Brearley, said: "Consumers and businesses rely on generators and network companies to provide a secure and stable power supply. "August 9 showed how much disruption and distress is caused to consumers across the UK when this does not happen.