Plus500 share price rises as Playtech buys trading platform for £460m June 1, 2015 Playtech has snapped up trading platform Plus500 for £460m, adding the spreadbetting platform to its online betting and gaming software business. Unperturbed by Plus500's recent headaches, which have seen UK customers' accounts frozen and its market value fall, Playtech chief Mor Weizer said the acquisition will help his company expand its wider offering. Plus500's share [...]
Clegg calls for Israel arms exports ban as Warsi resigns August 5, 2014 DEPUTY Prime Minister Nick Clegg has called on the government to ban all arms exports to Israel amid concern that a 72-hour ceasefire agreed by Hamas and the Israeli government yesterday could break down at any time. Clegg was joined in his call to stop all UK exports of military equipment and arms to Israel [...]
Iran nuclear deal: After the nuclear deal, Iran is our “frenemy” July 17, 2015 Tuesday’s agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme is a momentous achievement, but only if it can be enforced and verified. Following the diplomatic deal in Vienna, Western governments should engage with Tehran, but also help to contain Iran’s growing influence in the region. While Tehran celebrates the upcoming removal of international sanctions, its neighbours are anxious; [...]
Israel and Hamas both think they won in Gaza: This crisis is doomed to fester August 5, 2014 After four weeks, the guns over Gaza have been stilled, at least temporarily, as a three-day ceasefire has gone into effect. Further, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) – satisfied that, in destroying 32 tunnels, it has significantly (if temporarily) degraded Hamas’s ability to directly strike Israel proper – has announced it is leaving the Palestinian [...]
Mike Huckabee joins 2016 US presidential race for White House May 5, 2015 Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee became the latest US politician to announce he is running for president yesterday. In doing so, Huckabee joined an ever-growing list of Republicans seeking their party’s nomination in the 2016 presidential contest. Senators Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio have all thrown their hats into the ring, as have [...]
Iran nuclear talks: These UK sectors will be in a seriously good place if a deal is reached tomorrow July 6, 2015 Tomorrow is the deadline for a nuclear deal between Iran and other foreign powers, which would involve the removal of economic sanctions against Iran in return for a curbing of its uranium enrichment programme. Read more: Iran will limit uranium enrichment but deal remains unlikely, officials say At the moment, the country's economy is [...]
Netanyahu wants to kill the US-Iran nuclear deal: Obama must not let him March 9, 2015 For all the clouds of controversy that perpetually swirl around him, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu possesses two great qualities that wholly elude the timid and colourless European leaders I am fated to spend so much of my time writing about: he has a gambler’s heart and he is eloquent. Both these admirable traits were [...]
Israel flights to resume after ban lifted by US authorities July 24, 2014 Flights to Israel’s Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv have been allowed to resume by US air regulators lifting a ban on air travel to the country it opposed on Tuesday. The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) lifted its restrictions after assessing the security situation in the country it said in a statement. “Before making this [...]
US extends flight ban to Israel for another 24 hours July 23, 2014 The United States has renewed its ban on airlines flying to Tel Aviv for a further 24 hours, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said. A host of major US and European carriers suspended flights to Ben Gurion airport in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Tuesday, after a rocket strike on Tuesday is reported to [...]
Cineworld predicts Star Wars and James Bond to deliver further box office growth May 26, 2015 The figures Online streaming may be on the rise, but the lure of the silver screen is still strong if Cineworld's last 19 weeks are anything to go by. The UK cinema operator saw total group revenue rise 26.8 per cent for the 19 weeks ended May 14, with the biggest growth enjoyed in central [...]