Author: News Desk

Harrods will shut its doors at 7 PM (GMT) tonight. The luxury store in Knightsbridge, London, which stayed open throughout the bombing of the capital during World War II, announced today that it was closing its doors. However, it will keep its Food Halls and pharmacy open to the public, but the rest of the Knightsbridge based iconic department store in will be closed. [WPSM_AC id=33488] Harrods will shut it doors “The welfare of our community of colleagues, customers and partners has been our absolute priority throughout this time of uncertainty,” managing director Michael Ward said in a statement. “With…

Netflix cuts streaming quality in Europe Netflix will reduce its video quality in Europe for the next 30 days, to reduce the strain on internet service providers.  Since large parts of Europe has been asked to self-isolate, Netflix has seen the demand for streaming increase.  They will lower the picture quality which will reduce Netflix data consumption by 25%. But they said viewers will still have good picture quality. The change appears to include the UK, although it has not yet been confirmed.  https://twitter.com/FergalBowers/status/1240757233702576128 Video quality Netflix will cut its streaming bitrates, which influence how clear and smooth videos look when…

Train services to be cut amid falling demand On Monday trains operating across Britain will start to reduce its services due to a falling demand sparked by the coronavirus crisis.  The government has agreed on the plan with the rail industry and said vital services will continue running. The core services will run to ensure key workers can get to their jobs and the flow of goods continues.  Prime Minister Boris Johnson has advised people to avoid “non-essential” travel. Train operators had begun to cancel services due to staff being off sick, self-isolation and a collapse in demand.  Up to 40 Underground…

BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING In today’s briefing update, The headlines are – UK, thousands of retired NHS staff are being asked to return to the NHS to help tackle the coronavirus.  US, the California governor has issued a statewide stay at home order for all residents, claiming 56% of the state could get coronavirus within eight weeks. France, the county’s 14-day lockdown may be extended to try to stop the spreading of the pandemic. The country’s interior minister blasted the “idiots” who have ignored the stay at home order. India, four men have been executed for the 2012 gang…

Italy’s death Toll passes China, On Thursday it surpassed China for the most number of deaths related to COVID-19. The number of deaths in Italy reached 3,405. The total number of cases in the country rose to 41,035 on Thursday, which includes 5,322 new cases, the Italian Civil Protection Agency said in a press conference. As China’s current number of deaths is 3,242, according to the World Health Organization, Italy has become the deadliest centre of the COVID-19 outbreak. Italy is still in a Nationwide lockdown UN and Italian health authorities have cited a variety of reasons for Italy’s high…

All elite English football will be suspended until at least 30 April because of the continued threat of coronavirus. All of the Premier League games, EFL, Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship, and all fixtures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, are currently postponed. The Football Association has also agreed that the current season can be “extended indefinitely” beyond the original end date of 1 June. So Liverpool will still have to play at least 2 more games to win the Premier League. https://twitter.com/FA/status/1240624133400117251 The UK government has attempted to play down the prospect of an imminent lockdown in London,…

The US could see a massive rise of 20% in unemployment in a ‘worst-case scenario’ due to the coronavirus pandemic according to information provided by President Trump and his taskforce.  However, Donald Trump pushed back against his treasury chief’s estimate that 20% of people could become unemployed due to the pandemic, saying that was only “an absolute, total worst-case scenario”. Two weeks ago he believed the virus would disappear American President Donald Trump and his coronavirus taskforce have been delivering another update on the state of the country amid the coronavirus crisis.  And so far this is what we heard…

The world is facing a public health crisis that may be the worst for over a century. All other news stories have been pushed to the sidelines, as the world scrambles to contain the coronavirus outbreak. But how will global affairs change in the wake of this health crisis? Will the pandemic offer US-Iran relations a glimmer of hope?  Iran and the United States The US and Iran have had a troubled relationship since 1953. As they both struggle to confront this emergency, will the pandemic offer a glimmer of hope for US-Iran to have a better relationship in the…

BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING In today’s briefing update, The headlines are – UK, schools and universities are calling for urgent clarity from the government after the announcement that GCSEs and A-Levels will be cancelled amid the coronavirus crisis.   India, poor testing rates in the world’s second-most populous country may have hidden the true number of coronavirus cases. India has said it will not expand its testing, despite the WHO calling on nations to test, test, test. Italy, despite a severe lockdown Italy is threatening to ban outdoor exercise as frustrations grow over the number of people ignoring the…

LIVE: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has begun the daily press conference on the coronavirus inside No 10 after the announcement that English schools will close to all but children of key workers and the most vulnerable. He is joined by two government scientific and medical advisers, Sir Patrick Vallance and Dr Jenny Harries. England’s schools to close ‘until further notice’ on Friday The benefits of schools remaining as open are changing swiftly, Williamson says. He says schools are finding it difficult to continue as normal, as staff levels drop. He says schools will shut their gates on Friday afternoon…