Pandemic

As we adjust to life outside the EU, the government is busy positioning the UK as an outward-looking nation, creating international products and selling them around the world. Britain's music industry is already a genuine global leader – the world’s second biggest exporter of music, a major plank in our cultural identity and economy. The pandemic has devastated many musicians' livelihoods, particularly those heavily reliant on live performance. But for the industry’s sake the UK’s resilient recorded music sector must continue growing and punching above its weight on the world stage. Supplying one in 10 songs streamed worldwide, British artists are already overrepresented in music streaming, with a market share four times greater than the UK's overall share of global GDP. Stars like Ed Sheeran, Lewis Capaldi, Adele, Harry Styles, Dua Lipa and Stormzy contributed to the 155 million albums (or their equivalent) streamed or bought in 2020 in the UK. The 139 billion individual audio … [Read more...] about We need British music to thrive after the pandemic – now is not the time to regulate success

‘Good evening, my name is Harry…’ begins the planet’s biggest male pop star as he swaggers into the spotlight at O2 Brixton Academy, tongue surely lodged in cheek. After all, this is a chap who doesn’t need an introduction. At this point, Hazza is a religion with an obsessive fanbase of (mostly female) diehard devotees. Outside the venue, anguished teenage girls desperately brandish boards begging for tickets to his sold-out One Night Only show – and it’d genuinely come as no surprise if they were also clutching the heads of sacrificial lambs to help the cause. It is easy to see why folks bow down at the altar of the former 1D heartthrob. From the moment he steps up to the mic stand, wearing white flared trousers, a polka-dot top and pearls, Styles has the audience eating out of the palm of his hand. Every single song on the setlist is ‘remixed’ with the deafening screams of a practically orgasmic crowd, piercingly punctuated by interchangeable iterations of ‘I love … [Read more...] about One Night Only with Harry Styles review: ‘Swoon levels were pandemic high’

As the head of the civil service, Simon Case is the highest ranking public official to be implicated in the partygate scandal . Aged 43 and with a PhD in political history, the civil servant’s roles have included director of strategy for GCHQ and principal private secretary to David Cameron and Theresa May. He left Government in 2018 to take up a role as private secretary to the Duke of Cambridge but was drafted back into Whitehall in April 2020 to help with the Government’s pandemic response efforts. His deployment to the Cabinet Office at the height of the first national lockdown - which was initially intended as a temporary secondment from his royal duties - led to his rapid promotion through the ranks of the civil service high command. In June 2020, just three months after his return to Government, he was promoted to the role of permanent secretary to run 10 Downing Street. And in September of the same year he was appointed to lead the civil service, becoming the … [Read more...] about Meet Simon Case: The highest ranking public official to be implicated in the partygate scandal

Boris Johnson has opened the door for Heathrow to build its third runway as ministers commit to support necessary airport expansion. Mr Johnson once pledged to “lie down in front of the bulldozers” to prevent construction going ahead. missed a Commons vote on Heathrow’s expansion in 2018 that rubber-stamped the project. Last year Robert Jenrick, the then housing secretary, backed London Mayor Sadiq Khan ’s building plan for the capital that opposed expansion at Heathrow airport. Taking aviation back to the skies By Robert Courts MP, aviation minister For over 100 years, aviation has been at the very centre of British life, from the famous military aircraft which helped us win two world wars, to commercial flight connecting us with the rest of the world. Today, we are explaining how this vital industry will move into the future; a future which is greener, but a future that is one of flying nonetheless With every take-off, every world leading airport or … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson revives hopes for Heathrow’s third runway

Technology companies are living through a market rout not seen since the embers of the dotcom crash. The Nasdaq has fallen for seven consecutive weeks, the longest losing streak since 2002, and is down 30pc this year. Investment bankers who were busier than ever this time last year during the Spac frenzy are twiddling their thumbs. Bitcoin, once marketed as a hedge against inflation, has crashed too. Elon Musk’s $44bn (£35bn) agreement to buy Twitter a month ago is looking more ill-timed by the day . The superstars at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week are not youthful internet entrepreneurs but nonagenarian diplomats and financiers. A combination of a global inflationary crisis and the subsequent rise in interest rates has been a sharp rejoinder to any tech worker under the age of 35, who has only ever experienced their employers becoming richer and more powerful. Such an environment is starting to take its toll on most. This week, Snapchat’s parent company warned … [Read more...] about Inflation crisis will give tech titans even more power

A life-size sculpture of the Queen riding her favourite horse, Burmese, is to be unveiled at Sandhurst to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee . The bronze sculpture, by sculptor Caroline Wallace, was designed to celebrate the links between Her Majesty and the Army and has been almost two years in the making. It will be the first sculpture of the Queen at the Royal Military Academy. The monarch was given Burmese by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1969 and rode the mare at Trooping the Colour for 18 consecutive years. The sculpture depicts her in the uniform of the Grenadier Guards at Trooping in 1984. “It’s the most interesting, and most challenging, commission I’ve had,” Wallace said. Given the brief, she added: “It had to be military. The Grenadier Guards was the first regiment her father gave her and the most important of the foot regiments. “If the Queen was in uniform, she had to be on Burmese and so in my mind, we couldn’t do anything else.” The … [Read more...] about Statue of the Queen on her favourite horse to be unveiled at Sandhurst

Princess Beatrice , the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson most known for her outlandish choice of hat for the royal wedding in 2011, seems now to be following the fashion lead of cousin-in-law Kate Middleton . Beatrice, tenth in line to the British throne, was present at a Buckingham Palace garden party on Wednesday presided over by Kate and Prince William , who acted as hosts in place of Queen Elizabeth II . The princess and her sister Eugenie are both granddaughters of the queen and have in recent years been undertaking increased charity work—though both do not officially undertake duties on behalf of the queen and are not considered "working royals." To the garden party on Wednesday, Beatrice wore a check patterned midi dress in pale pink and black from Self-Portrait, with a white belt and black accessories. The brand is closely associated with Kate who has been patronizing the designers often over the course of her married life. Most recently … [Read more...] about How Kate Middleton’s fashion inspired Queen’s granddaughter at garden party

The cost of new and used vehicles has risen during the pandemic, though recent high used car prices have begun to level out according to Cox Automotive. New cars continue to be sold with thousands of dollars of premiums attached. The rise in price has made many newer models, chock full of safety and with a high level of predicted reliability, economically unreachable for families with teen drivers. That reality has caused the number of vehicles recommended for teen drivers by Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) to decrease in 2022. Just 49 models were recommended this year compared to 61 last year. Twenty-one new models are recommended, down from 29. The used vehicles recommended are priced from $6,000 to $19,000. New vehicle pricing ranges from a base price of $21,200 to $38,900. "As the pandemic has altered both the way people travel and the way they spend, demand for reliable used cars is notably high — meaning it may be more challenging to … [Read more...] about Consumer Reports releases list of best cars, SUVs for teens

Dover: Heavy traffic as Easter weekend begins Sign up for FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info The line of lorries waiting to get to Dover has reached such disastrous proportions that a charity used to working to provide relief to earthquake victims has been forced to intervene. RE:ACT Disaster Response has agreed a £180,000 six-month contract with Kent County Council (KCC) to ease stuck truckers’ nightmare waits to board ferries and Eurotunnel shuttles. Related articles Fury over plan to build huge Berlin Wall-style fence next to main road British car production plummets AGAIN: drops 11 percent KCC warned that lockdowns imposed due to the … [Read more...] about Angry lorry drivers trapped in post-Brexit lines beg for help as disaster charity steps in

Russian oil ban not enough to stop them funding war says expert Sign up for our news briefing, including a daily special Russia-Ukraine edition SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info It means there will be no respite for drivers struggling with record fuel prices along with the ongoing cost of living crisis. It comes as US refineries have increased production to levels not seen since before the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Related articles BP pledges to pump £18bn into UK's homegrown energy Hungary wields the knife on EU Russian oil ban The increase in production is a response to a dip in supplies. Last week US crude stockpiles fell by one million barrels. Flagship Brent Crude prices … [Read more...] about Oil price surge: Devastating blow for UK motorists as barrel prices hit £90