Tag: Britain

Technology

Amazon, Meta make ‘fair competition’ vows to UK regulator

Amazon and Facebook owner Meta have both voluntarily committed to changes to their retail platforms to help "protect fair competition", Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on Friday.The US online giants accepted the "sets of commitments" following separate investigations by the UK regulator into "competition concerns" over their use of advertising data, the CMA said. We are now on WhatsApp. Click to join. It opened the probe into Amazon in July 2022 amid fears the firm was abusing its dominant position as the UK's leading online retail platform by giving its own seller business "an unfair advantage" over independent competitors.Amazon was also accused of favouring sellers that use its own warehousing and delivery services rather than rival logistics businesses, ...
Technology

The Virtue of Inertia Has Kept the UK Sane

In the novels of Thomas Hardy, small lapses have dire consequences. In Jude the Obscure it is the cerebral Jude Fawley's ill-advised lust for the vacuous Arabella Donn that dooms his ambition to become a “Christminster” scholar. Gabriel Oak's misfortunes in Far from the Madding Crowd begin with a novice sheepdog and end with an amoral sergeant. The plot of The Mayor of Casterbridge hinges on a moment of drunken bravado.There is something very Hardy-esque about Britain today. Nearly seven years ago, a majority of voters — 51.9% of the 72.2% who voted — opted to take their country out of the European Union. A significant number of those who voted “Leave” now seem to feel the same way about Brexit as Jude felt about Arabella. It was a terrible mistake. According to a YouGov poll conducte...
Latest

King Charles III’s Record As Environmentalist May Appeal To Young Britons

At Highgrove, King Charles has cultivated a garden as well as a fully organic farm.London: Britain's new King Charles III is a committed environmentalist with a long history of campaigning for better conservation, organic farming and tackling climate change, which is likely to sit well with more eco-conscious younger Britons.Interspersed between photos of official meetings and other royal duties, his Instagram account as Prince of Wales typically featured pictures showing him furthering environmental causes in Britain and beyond.They included planting trees, showing off organic fruit and vegetables from his Clarence House residence and colourful flowers growing in the garden at his beloved Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, western England.One photo even captured Charles -- who has now...
Latest

“Promise With Destiny Kept”: King Charles’s Top Quotes From First Address

King Charles addressed the UK for the first time as sovereign on Friday.London: Britain's new monarch King Charles delivered his first address to the nation on Friday following the death of Queen Elizabeth. Here are the top quotes from his King Charles's first speech"I speak to you today with feelings of profound sorrow. Throughout her life, Her Majesty The Queen - my beloved Mother - was an inspiration and example to me and to all my family, and we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family can owe to their mother; for her love, affection, guidance, understanding and example.""Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived. Throughout her life, Queen was an inspiration. A promise with destiny kept and she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of ...
Latest

Souvenir Sales Rise Near Buckingham Palace As UK Mourns Queen’s Death

Souvenir sales are expected to rise by $69 million as a result of the funeral, an analyst said.London: British business paid tribute Friday to Queen Elizabeth II, with department stores shut, flags lowered, clocks stopped and meetings postponed, but souvenir sales boomed near Buckingham Palace as well-wishers thronged.London's iconic Selfridges, on the capital's Oxford Street shopping thoroughfare, and nearby Liberty on Regent Street closed out of respect for the nation's longest-serving monarch who died Thursday.Many company headquarters lowered flags, while the Bank of England has delayed an interest rate meeting until after the funeral.Fortnum and Mason, the Royal Family's tea supplier, was shuttered and even stopped the clock on the front of its luxury department store in London's P...
Latest

Charles: The Outspoken And Understated New King

Charles has seen it as his duty to help improve the lives of his mother's subjects.(File)London: Charles has spent virtually his entire life waiting to succeed his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, even as he took on more of her duties and responsibilities as she aged.But the late monarch's eldest son, 73, made the most of his record-breaking time as the longest-serving heir to the throne by forging his own path."The trouble is, there isn't a job description, so you have to rather make it up as you go along," he once said.Manically active on a range of topics -- though often under the radar -- Charles sees himself as a "dissident" working against the prevailing political consensus, an ex-aide revealed in 2006.Shouldering the burden of expectation, his life has been plagued by low self-esteem ...
Latest

In Britain And Beyond, Money, Anthems Change With Incoming King

The new monarch will start to appear on coins and banknotes in Britain and around the world.London: From the national anthem to notes, coins, stamps, postboxes and passports: many aspects of life in Britain and beyond will change with the accession of Charles to the throne.The demise of Queen Elizabeth II means changes to the names of institutions throughout Britain and the wider Commonwealth realms.Meanwhile, her effigy on currency and cypher on insignia will also be replaced with those of the new king.All changeThe effigy of the new monarch will start to appear on coins and banknotes in Britain and around the world.It appears on several currencies, including the obverse of coins of the East Caribbean dollar, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.The British crown dependencies of Jersey, G...
Latest

Sex Pistols To “The Simpsons”: The Many Appearances of The Queen In Pop Culture

The cover of "God Save The Queen" is one of the most iconic images of the punk movement. (File)London: From a Sex Pistols single to "The Simpsons", "The Crown" and Andy Warhol works, Queen Elizabeth's pop culture cameos were frequent and often unforgettable.Some depictions were affectionate, others more hostile, but the monarch's indelible image in art, music and film cemented her status as one of the most recognisable people in the world.Here are some of her most memorable appearances:- 'God Save The Queen' -With her eyes and mouth covered with collaged words, the cover of the 1977 Sex Pistols single "God Save The Queen" is one of the most iconic images of the punk movement -- and of Elizabeth II.The artist, Jamie Reid, also created a version depicting the queen with a safety pin thro...
Latest

Queen Elizabeth’s Year Of Ill Health

Buckingham Palace issues a highly unusual bulletin on the monarch's health.London: Queen Elizabeth II has been dogged by health problems since spending a night in hospital last October. The 96-year-old monarch has since cancelled a series of public engagements on medical advice. - October 2021 -The queen is seen using walking stick at Westminster Abbey service on October 12, the first time she has done so at a major public event.She pulls out of two-day trip to Northern Ireland, advised to rest on medical grounds, Buckingham Palace announces on October 20.The next day the Palace said the queen has attended a private London hospital for "preliminary investigations" and stayed in overnight. On October 26, the Palace says she has resumed "light duties".- November 2021 -The queen is seen dr...
Latest

Britain’s Prince Charles Now With Queen Elizabeth: Report

The 96-year-old monarch has been dogged by health problems since October last year.(File)London: Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, is now with Queen Elizabeth after she was placed under medical supervision, the BBC reported on Thursday.The queen, Britain's longest-reigning sovereign and the world's oldest monarch, has been suffering from what Buckingham Palace has called "episodic mobility problems" since the end of last year."Following further evaluation this morning, The Queen's doctors are concerned for Her Majesty's health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision," the palace said in a statement.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) Source link