More than half of the workforce at Byron, the upmarket burger chain, will this weekend join the army of hospitality industry employees being made redundant because of the COVID-19 crisis. Sky News has learnt that only 20 of Byron’s 51 restaurants will transfer to its new owner, Calveton UK – with just 550 of its
The honeymoon is over. Gone is the optimistic tone of normality returning by Christmas as the scales of influence tip back from the economists to the scientists. So the brakes have been put on. But what could come next? In a hint at a new strategy, we now hear of the need for “trade-offs” with
The planned easing of lockdown restrictions in England has been postponed for at least a fortnight – with face masks to become mandatory by law in most public indoor settings on 8 August. Boris Johnson told a Downing Street briefing that the decision to “squeeze that brake pedal” on changes had been taken due to
This isn’t how Mrs Lee imagined her middle age in Hong Kong: doing an anonymous interview, using a pseudonym, as she prepares to leave her home. “I am a traditional Hong Konger,” she tells Sky News. “I believe there ought to be justice.” “I’m not young. I’m 48 and my husband is in his fifties.
Elections for Hong Kong’s parliament – previously scheduled for September 2020 – will be postponed due to a spike in coronavirus cases. Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam said the election will now be held on 5 September 2021, and the decision is aimed at “safeguarding people’s health”. She said it was the “hardest choice”
Twitter has revealed how accounts belonging to celebrities including Barack Obama, Jeff Bezos and Kim Kardashian were hijacked by Bitcoin scammers two weeks ago. At the time the company confirmed that a “co-ordinated social engineering attack” had allowed criminals to post tweets from celebs’ accounts offering to send $2,000 for every $1,000 sent to a
Mars 2020, the spaceship carrying NASA’s new rover Perseverance to the Red Planet, is experiencing technical difficulties and is running on essential systems only, the agency said Thursday. “Data indicate the spacecraft had entered a state known as safe mode, likely because a part of the spacecraft was a little colder than expected while Mars
Dozens of new documents have been unsealed relating to Ghislaine Maxwell’s dealings with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. It comes as she prepares to defend herself against accusations that she aided the financier’s sexual abuse of girls. Among the documents released is a series of email exchanges between Maxwell and Epstein said to date from January 2015
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he is taking antibiotics for an infection that left him feeling weak – having spent weeks in isolation after catching coronavirus. He appeared during a live broadcast and chuckled as he told viewers that he had “mould” in his lungs. The leader said: “I just did a blood test. I
Three of tonight’s BAFTAs nominees have urged the government to provide further funding for the arts sector during the coronavirus crisis. Best Female Comedy Performance nominees Sian Clifford, Gbemisola Ikumelo, and Sarah Kendall all called for further action from the UK government, ahead of tonight’s awards. When asked by Sky News at a Q&A about
Universal Credit is failing millions of people and driving the most vulnerable deeper into poverty, according to a new report. A House of Lords committee – including former Tory ministers – today calls for urgent reforms to make the benefit system “fit for purpose”, saying it is particularly harmful to women, disabled people and the
Jul 30, 2020 The remaining rounds of the Six Nations Championship will be played on Oct. 24 and 31 after World Rugby approved dates for the temporary 2020 COVID-19 calendar on Thursday. The World Rugby Council approved an adjustment to allow the release of players for new international windows after the pandemic forced the sport’s
Some of America’s biggest tech companies have defied the coronavirus pandemic to post better-than-expected financial results. Amazon posted the biggest profit in its 26-year history, while Facebook, Apple and Alphabet all beat estimates. Many brick-and-mortar retailers have struggled during the coronavirus pandemic, with most forced to shut down under rules intended to limit the spread
US civil rights hero John Lewis has been laid to rest, with three former presidents paying tribute to a man hailed as a “true American patriot”. Mr Lewis, a long-time member of the House of Representatives, died earlier this month at the age of 80. He had announced in December that he had been diagnosed
Separate households are banned from meeting indoors from today in Greater Manchester, East Lancashire and parts of West Yorkshire after a rise in coronavirus cases. The news comes after the UK saw its highest daily total of COVID-19 cases for more than a month. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned the virus was “bubbling up” in
COVID-19 has infected millions around the world since emerging in China late last year, claiming the lives of more than 660,000 people and changing our way of life for some time to come. Now, fears of a second wave of coronavirus are growing in many nations. Here, Sky News’ foreign correspondents across Asia, the US,