The government is to streamline HGV driver testing in an attempt to prevent a supply chain crisis at Christmas. Changes to the testing regime are expected to be announced in the coming days, perhaps as soon as Thursday, amid dire warnings from the industry about the impact of ongoing shortages. Sources with knowledge of talks
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Linda Kahn, a children’s TV executive for more than 40 years who also was a former board president of New York Women in Film & Television, has died. She was 72. NYWIFT said she died August 30 but did not provide details. “NYWIFT mourns the loss of longtime member & past Board President Linda Kahn,
Sir Martin Sorrell’s construction of a second global marketing services empire will take another step forward on Wednesday with the acquisition of a Los Angeles-based agency serving clients including Adidas, BMW and Google. Sky News understands that S4 Capital will announce to the London Stock Exchange that it has agreed a merger between Cashmere and
In a not-terribly-shocking development, Disney is raising prices at Hulu, following other increases in recent months at ESPN+ and Disney+. Effective October 8, the basic, ad-supported version of Hulu will go from $5.99 a month to $6.99, while the ad-free tier rises a dollar to $12.99. The changes, conveyed to subscribers this morning, do not
National Insurance contributions will rise by 1.25% to pay for the social care system in England in a bid to end the “unpredictable and catastrophic costs” faced by many. A social care package, which the prime minister has called “the biggest catch-up programme” in the NHS’s history, will be funded through a new, UK-wide 1.25%
EXCLUSIVE: Former Disney President of Marketing Ricky Strauss is one of five joining the advisory board of new entertainment app Binj. Binj is an app which provides recommendations from friends and family members on what to watch on TV or streaming. Industry vet Strauss, who previously served as President of Content & Marketing for Disney+ and
Restaurant spending edged higher for the first time since the start of the pandemic in August according data from Barclaycard pointing to a bumper month for the consumer economy. The figures showed overall consumer spending was ahead by 15.4% compared to the same period in 2019 before the coronavirus crisis – thanks to “socialising, shopping
Rickie Lee Reynolds, founding member and guitarist for Southern rock group Black Oak Arkansas, died on Sunday morning. He was 72 years old. His passing was both confirmed by current Black Oak Arkansas member Sammy Seauphine and Reynolds’ daughter Amber Lee. The Southern rock band achieved commercial success in the ’70s with three gold-certified albums,
A leading business lobby group has warned the government that the crisis resulting from the shortage of workers in key jobs could take up to two years to resolve, damaging the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The CBI said the impact was widespread – beyond the well-publicised 100,000 shortfall in HGV drivers which has
Disneyland released its 2021 holiday schedule last week as the dog days of summer roll into into magic of the holiday season. Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park will kick off their holiday season on November 12th and extend into the new year through January 9th. This will mark the first return of the holiday
Almost 50 stores per day closed down across the UK during the first half of the year, research suggests. Some 8,739 outlets went out of business across high streets, retail parks and shopping centres between January and June, figures from the Local Data Company suggest. But 3,488 opened during the same period, resulting a net
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Friday that could lead to the declassification of documents related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, with victims’ families having long sought to make public such information. “Today, I signed an executive order directing the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to oversee a declassification review of
Luke Johnson, one of Britain’s best-known leisure entrepreneurs, is adding to his collection of e-commerce businesses by snapping up a leading online retailer of musical instruments. Sky News understands that Risk Capital Partners, Mr Johnson’s investment vehicle, has agreed to buy GAK, which trades from a flagship store in Brighton, West Sussex. The terms of
Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association, has congratulated Fran Drescher on her election as president of SAG-AFTRA. “The last year and a half have demonstrated yet again how much we can get done as an industry when we work collaboratively together,” he said in a statement, “and I know that Fran
Street markets and pub marquees could become permanent features for the hospitality industry, under an extension of the pandemic regulations planned by the government. Additional seating for cafes and restaurants would also be part of a new government consultation, with hospitality venues forced to increase outdoor capacity earlier in the year in an effort to
In mid-August California’s Health Officer, Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, issued a new order meant to ensure rapidly-filling hospitals and ICUs had the support and flexibility they needed. At the time, Aragón announced: “California is currently experiencing the fastest increase in Covid-19 cases during the entire pandemic with 23.8 new cases per 100,000 people per day,
Manchester United Football Club is closing in on the appointment of an internal successor to Ed Woodward, its long-standing boss. Sky News has learnt that the club’s New York-listed parent company could announce within weeks that Richard Arnold, Manchester United’s group managing director, will take over from Mr Woodward. One insider said that a statement
Dr. Anthony Fauci on Thursday said U.S. public health officials are “keeping a very close eye” on a new variant of Covid-19 that was first detected in Colombia. Known as B.1.621 or the “Mu variant” according to the World Health Organization nomenclature, it has “a constellation of mutations that indicate potential properties of immune escape,”
The US added far fewer new jobs this past month than anticipated, as a resurgent COVID-19 fuelled by the more transmissible Delta variant strikes hard across less vaccinated states. According to data published on Friday, American employers added 235,000 jobs in August, well short of the 728,000 expected by economists – and down from just
Jacob Chansley, nicknamed the “QAnon shaman” as one of the most visible figures who stormed the Capitol and the Senate chamber in the January 6 riot, entered a guilty plea for his role in the siege. Chansley, also known as Jacob Angeli, entered a guilty plea of obstruction of a federal proceeding, a felony, in