Thailand joins Nordic countries in halting Astrazeneca vaccine rollout March 12, 2021 Thailand has joined a list of countries in delaying the rollout of the Astrazeneca vaccine over reports of blood clots among patients, as scepticism over the Oxford vaccine continues to spread across the globe. Denmark, Iceland and Norway suspended vaccinations using the Astrazeneca jab yesterday during an investigation into a blood clot-related death of a patient in [...]
Travel influencers get a bad rep – but don’t judge too soon March 26, 2021 What’s your first thought when you hear the word ‘influencers’? If it’s anything like many members of the general public, it’s not too positive. Just the mere mention of ‘influencer’ evokes eye rolls, tuts and head shakes. Of course, the recent news stories haven’t helped. Hordes of influencers have been flocking to far-flung places like [...]
Exclusive: Pandemic has exposed lack of data literacy amid growing digital skills gap October 5, 2021 Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, key decisions have been made hastily and without the use of data, according to a new survey among thousands of key decision makers across the UK. which was shared exclusively with City A.M. The study shows widespread concerns about data skills despite the vast majority of C-suite executives (75 per cent) [...]
Facebook: personalised advertising isn’t all bad – it can support bricks and mortar retail April 13, 2021 There has been much talk in recent years about “bricks versus clicks” and the threat that the rise of online shopping would ultimately mark the downfall of the Great British High Street. The strongest small to medium sized businesses are those that make the most of all the channels available to them to reach their [...]
George the Poet interview: George Mpanga on how to change the world April 7, 2022 It seems almost unbelievable that Harry and Megan’s wedding – global audience: 1.9 billion – was opened by… a podcaster. But George Mpanga, better known as George the Poet, is no ordinary podcaster; he’s a musician and a thinker, pushing the boundaries of the medium so far he’s created a genre all of his own. [...]
Mark Zuckerberg ‘threatened to pull UK investment’ in meeting with Matt Hancock December 8, 2020 Mark Zuckerberg reportedly threatened to pull Facebook’s investment from the UK in a meeting with Matt Hancock amid a regulation row. Secret minutes from a meeting in 2018, obtained by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, reveal Hancock, who was the Culture Secretary at the time, offered a “new beginning” for the government’s relationship with the [...]
Are politicians tech-savvy enough to tackle social media giants? February 22, 2021 The news has been full of tech stories in what little we’ve seen of 2021: Facebook’s decision to ban news content on its site in Australia, Google’s threat to withdraw its service altogether from Australian users in light of legislation which would oblige tech platforms to pay for news, and Twitter’s intervention by suspending former [...]
COP26: The wine industry joins the Race To Zero November 10, 2021 COP26 is well underway in Glasgow, bringing 197 countries together to present their updated plans to act against carbon emissions, and the wine industry has its own, albeit relatively small, part to play. Wine itself creates relatively low carbon emissions but even so the International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) exists. It was founded three [...]
Bank of England targeted by Extinction Rebellion activists April 1, 2021 Climate activist group Extinction Rebellion has this morning targeted the Bank of England, spraying the building with fake oil. The demonstrators were protesting investments in fossil fuels, accusing the Bank of “funding destruction in a climate crisis”. Activists, some dressed as jesters, sprayed the dye at the building, known as “the Old Lady of Threadneedle [...]
Trust is at an all-time low, but we need journalism now more than ever August 21, 2020 Last month, a YovGov poll found that over 50 percent of adults in the UK now see the British media as a “force for bad”. This is an alarming statistic. It is the first time the monthly tracker has found that the majority of Brits hold this view, and the speed at which this trend [...]