Failure to curb peat use across Britain caused millions of tonnes of CO2 in last three decades February 18, 2022 A failure to curb the use of peat in horticulture has caused millions of tonnes of carbon emissions since calls for action began three decades ago, campaigners said. The Wildlife Trusts is calling for an immediate ban on all uses of peat for amateur gardeners and professional horticulture, warning a voluntary approach has been wholly [...]
Phoenix Group buys Standard Life name February 23, 2021 Standard Life Aberdeen has sold the historic Standard Life name to insurance group Phoenix for an undisclosed sum. The firms have agreed Phoenix will buy the Standard Life name over the course of the year, in what both parties claim is a “simplification” of the partnership. Employees who work on the Standard Life brand are [...]
Asos billionaire’s petition to stop spaceport plans scrapped by judge August 20, 2021 Danish billionaire Anders Povlsen’s attempt to stop approved plans for a spaceport in Scotland has been scrapped by a court judge. Povlsen, Asos’ largest shareholder and Scotland’s richest man, has reportedly been against the building of the spaceport after investing in a rival project. The Sutherland spaceport will be the UK’s first vertical launch facility, [...]
Rwanda: Mother nature’s bootcamp, with wild chimpanzees as your trainer January 24, 2022 I’m on my hands and knees, mud-caked and scratched to pieces, while a sticky-legged insect is meandering its way down the back of my neck. Somewhere in front of me, I can hear the gentle snick snick of machetes slicing through corkscrew ferns and above me murky sunlight bleeds through the thick forest canopy. I [...]
Tony Blair: Ditch the expensive ‘raincoats’ and just cut energy bills in half with mandatory green homes May 31, 2022 Free energy plans should be offered to every home in the UK to lower emissions while reducing energy bills before making them mandatory in the mid-2030s, according to a report by the Tony Blair Institute, shared with City A.M. this morning. The recommendation is one of a number of measures the report says could halve [...]
Beach Bum Rum: How a Scotsman is making Mauritius’ favourite tipple January 10, 2022 A Scotsman living in Dubai is behind two award-winning rums made on Mauritius, the last home of the dodo. He is now hoping they will give the island’s long-established Pink Pigeon a run for its money. Born in Macduff in Aberdeenshire, David Adamson swapped wine making in England for rum-making, with some success: his Beach Bum [...]
‘Adapt or die’ warns UK Environment Agency, as IEA cautions world’s coal reliance October 13, 2021 Amid a global gas crisis, countries are turning to coal, which has been pushing up carbon emissions that drive climate change, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned. In its latest World Energy Outlook report, the IEA has forecast that annual investment in renewable energy and infrastructure needs to swell to some £2.9 trillion by [...]
Shares in Angry Birds maker Rovio crash as it lowers outlook September 12, 2019 Shares in the company behind hit video game Angry Birds dropped more than 20 per cent this morning after it lowered its revenue forecast for the full year. Read more: Angry Birds maker Rovio predicts bumper 2019 despite halved profits Rovio said it now expected to post revenue of between €295m (£264m) and €310m, down [...]
Ed Warner: Kicked off, tipped off, switched off September 8, 2022 One of the joys of writing Sport inc. is the flow of suggestions from readers of subjects to cover. In the past week alone: the highly leveraged balance sheets of Premiership rugby clubs ahead of the new season, the continuing scandal of the lack of financial support for Britain’s international basketball teams, the prohibitive cost [...]
Vampire hunting in Transylvania October 31, 2022 It’s been 125 years since Bram Stoker published Dracula, the novel partially set in the vast, untouched landscapes of Transylvania. Much has changed since then, but the destination remains—as one character puts it—”one of the wildest and least known portions of Europe.” With hillsides darkened by dense forests, pastoral farms toiled by horse and cart [...]