DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ A 111-year-old is now the world's oldest living man. Here are his 3 tips for living a long, happy life.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Serafina Kenny | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Also registered in Liverpool in 1912 was the birth of John Tinniswood, who has just become the world's oldest man. Guinness World Records declared him the world's oldest man earlier this month, after the titleholder, Venezuelan Juan Vicente Pérez Mora, died at the age of 114 and 311 days. AdvertisementThe staff at his residential home describe Tinniswood as a "big chatterbox," according to Guinness World Records. Tinniswood is unphased by his new title, and told the Guinness World Records it "doesn't make any difference to me at all. AdvertisementBut no matter what you're doing, "always do the best you can, whether you're learning something or whether you're teaching someone," he told Guinness World Records.

Persons: —, John Tinniswood, Tinniswood, Venezuelan Juan Vicente Pérez Mora, Blodwen, it's, you've, Elizabeth Francis Organizations: Service, Guinness World Records, Business, British Army Pay Corps, Royal Mail, Shell, BP, Guinness, Records, BBC, BBC News Locations: Liverpool, Southport, Venezuelan

☆ This notorious Russian hacking group is threatening to release Trump court documents
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Hackers are threatening to leak stolen Trump court documents unless they get a ransom. LockBit is a Russia-based ransomware group that's made millions already by hacking victims. AdvertisementLockBit, a group of notorious Russian hackers, is threatening to release court documents it claims it stole from Georgia officials unless it gets paid a ransom. It's the latest scheme from a group that's frustrated international authorities and dodged shutdown attempts. LockBit is threatening to release Trump court documents it stole from the Fulton County, Georgia, election interference case unless the county paid up.

Persons: Trump, LockBit, —, Biden, that's, It's, aren't, Donald Trump's Organizations: Service, Trump, US Department of, Treasury, Treasury Department, Justice Department, Infrastructure Security Agency, Boeing, National Health Service, Royal Mail, Commercial Bank of China, Business, Fulton, FBI, Crime Agency Locations: Russia, Georgia, Fulton County , Georgia

☆ Mail 3 Days a Week? Idea Meets Resistance in Britain
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Jenny Gross | More About Jenny Gross | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Britain’s postal service should consider cutting deliveries to five days a week, or even three, from six, the country’s regulator said on Wednesday, drawing resistance from lawmakers and businesses. The Royal Mail, like the U.S. Postal Service, has been increasingly plagued by service issues and financial pressures. Reducing delivery to just three days a week would save the Royal Mail up to 650 million pounds ($830 million) a year, the report found. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose Conservatives hold a majority, said on Wednesday that he remained “absolutely committed” to ensuring that the Royal Mail delivered six days a week.

Persons: “, Rishi Sunak Organizations: Royal, U.S . Postal Service, Ofcom, Royal Mail Locations: U.S, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium

☆ Royal Mail is on the brink. Cutting letter deliveries to 3 days a week could save it
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Royal Mail could ditch its near-daily deliveries of letters as the centuries-old British institution attempts to modernize its service and plug a growing hole in its finances. Ofcom, the UK regulator overseeing the postal service, published proposals to rescue the beleaguered company Wednesday. It said Royal Mail could save as much as £650 million ($828 million) a year if it cut letter deliveries to three days a week from the current six. The number of letters sent via the Royal Mail network had halved since 2011, and financial losses have ballooned. Among its other proposals, Ofcom suggested that Royal Mail could save up to £200 million ($255 million) a year by cutting its letter deliveries down to five days a week, or by extending the time it takes to get mail to customers.

Persons: “ Something’s, ” Melanie Dawes, Kevin Hollinrake, Martin Seidenberg Organizations: London CNN — Royal, Ofcom, Royal Mail, BBC, United, Services, CNN, Royal, International Distribution Services Locations: ”

NatWest Group bank logo and decreasing stock graph are seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. "I will explore options for a NatWest retail share offer in the next 12 months subject to supportive market conditions and achieving value for money," Hunt said on Wednesday. NatWest shares dipped on Hunt's comments and were last down 1.1% at 204.7 pence, compared with a 0.2% fall in the FTSE 100 (.FTSE) index. The stock is the worst performing FTSE 100 British bank stock this year, down more than a fifth, according to Eikon data. That investment turned sour for many and shares in the renamed holding company International Distributions Service (IDSI.L) are now worth 25% less than its 330 pence offer price.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, Sid, Alasdair Haynes, Nigel Farage, Alison Rose, Iain Withers, Sinead Cruise, David Milliken, Sarah Young, William James, Elaine Hardcastle, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: NatWest Group, REUTERS, Companies, NatWest, Aquis, Royal Mail, Distributions Service, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson

☆ Britain’s Royal Mail can’t deliver letters and parcels on time
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —An entire museum in London is dedicated to celebrating the 500-year-long history of British postal services. Royal Mail, the official postal service of the United Kingdom, cannot deliver letters and parcels on time, according to the country’s communications regulator. Royal Mail has struggled with falling demand for parcel deliveries as hard-pressed consumers cut spending and as a surge in online shopping during the Covid-19 pandemic has faded. “Last year was uniquely challenging for Royal Mail,” the postal and delivery services group said in a statement Monday. It’s the second time in three-and-a-half years that Ofcom has fined Royal Mail for late deliveries.

Persons: “, ”, Ian Strawhorne, King Henry VIII, “ rightsize, hasn’t, Strawhorne Organizations: London CNN, Mail, Ofcom, London, Royal Mail, Royal, International Distributions Services, Stansted Airport, Services Locations: London, United Kingdom, British

☆ Law firm Allen & Overy hit by 'data incident'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Files Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Allen & Overy has suffered a "data incident", the London-founded law firm said on Thursday, after social media posts suggested it had been hacked by the Lockbit cybercrime gang. An Allen & Overy spokesperson said the firm had "experienced a data incident impacting a small number of storage servers", but its email and document management system had not been affected. The spokesperson also said Allen & Overy has suffered "some disruption", but that it continued to operate normally. Lockbit took credit for the hack and gave a deadline of Nov. 28 for Allen & Overy to negotiate, according to the criminal group's website on the dark web. The cyber attack on Allen & Overy follows last month's confirmation of its merger with U.S. law firm Shearman & Sterling, to create one of the world's largest legal practices.

Persons: Kacper, Overy, Lockbit, Allen, Wales –, Shearman, Sam Tobin, James Pearson, Sarah Young, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Allen, Financial Times, Overy, Overy's, Boeing, Royal, Authority, Wales, U.S, Sterling, Thomson Locations: Warsaw, London, United States, Britain, England

☆ Royal Mail's owner picks international parcels boss as group CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 20 (Reuters) - Royal Mail's parent group International Distributions Services (IDS) (IDSI.L) appointed Martin Seidenberg, CEO of the group's international parcels network, as its new group CEO on Thursday. Seidenberg will be tasked with mending relationships with labour union CWU and driving the group and the loss-making UK business back to profitability. He will be appointing CEOs for the two units - its UK business Royal Mail and GLS - in due course, the company said. Seidenberg said Royal Mail has "plenty of opportunity ahead" given its brand and scale. Simon Thompson, the current CEO of Royal Mail announced his resignation earlier this year after months of labour strife.

Persons: Martin Seidenberg, Seidenberg, Simon Thompson, GLS, Yadarisa, Dhanya Ann Thoppil, Janane Venkatraman, Sonali Paul Organizations: International, Services, GLS, IDS, Royal Mail, Deutsche Post DHL, Royal, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ RideTandem organizes transport for rural workers at companies like Lidl and Next. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck it used to raise $3 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The London-based startup just raised $3 million to grow the company and enter Germany. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck it used to raise the fresh funds. A mobility startup that organizes commuter bus routes for staffers at companies like supermarket chain Lidl, clothing retailer Next, and British postal service Royal Mail has raised £2.3 million (around $3 million) in fresh funds. Opportunities a 20-minute drive away are difficult to access for a person who can't drive or can't afford to drive, living in a town where the bus route has been cut, Shapland-Howes said. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck the startup used to raise the fresh funds.

Persons: Alex Shapland, Howes, RideTandem Organizations: Royal, Shapland, Employers, UN, Blackfinch Ventures, FirstMonday, Venture, Innovation Fund Locations: London, Germany, England

☆ UK workers at Royal Mail accept pay deal, ending long dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Muvija M | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A Royal Mail sign is pictured on a delivery lorry at the Mount Pleasant mail centre in London, Britain, February 2, 2023. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/File PhotoLONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - British postal workers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a three-year pay deal with employer Royal Mail, ending a long dispute that has cost the company hundreds of millions of pounds and prompted the departure of its boss. "This has been the most challenging period in both the history of the union and the company," Communication Workers Union (CWU) General Secretary Dave Ward said in a statement on Tuesday. Simon Thompson, who took over as Royal Mail's CEO in early 2021, drew heavy criticism from the CWU over his handling of the pay dispute. Royal Mail's parent, International Distributions Services Plc (IDS) (IDSI.L), said the agreement provided Royal Mail a platform for the next phase of "stabilising the business whilst continuing to drive efficiencies and change".

Persons: Peter Cziborra, Dave Ward, Simon Thompson, Muvija, William James, Mark Potter Organizations: Mount, REUTERS, Royal Mail, Communication Workers Union, Royal, International, Services, IDS, Thomson Locations: Mount Pleasant, London, Britain

☆ The Windrush generation still struggling to be compensated after Home Office failings
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Caolán Magee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

In 2018, the Windrush Compensation Scheme was set up to provide compensation to victims of the scandal. The Home Office has not yet responded to CNN’s request for comment on these cases and its wider handling of the Windrush Compensation Scheme. The Windrush Compensation Scheme is an extension of a hostile environment for Black and Brown people.”For some people, any compensation awarded is too late. “We were told compensation was on the way so we could get a carer for my dad – but it was too late,” Abiona told CNN. He is now making a Windrush compensation claim through the Home Office to save up for a headstone for his father’s grave.

Persons: London CNN — Carl Nwazota, Nwazota, –, ”, “, I’m, it’s, Windrush, Britain’s, Theresa May, ” Nwazota, Anna Steiner, ” Steiner, Charlotte Tobierre, Charlotte Tobierre “, you’ve, Thomas Tobierre, Caroline, ” Tobierre, Thomas ’, ” Thomas Tobierre, Steiner, Zita Holbourne, ” Holbourne, Anthony Bryan, Bryan, Chris J Ratcliffe, Janet, Suella Braverman, Alex Cavendish, NurPhoto, Subira Cameron, Goppy, Brown, Ramya, Taiwo Abiona, Stella, Kemi Abiona, ” Abiona, Abiona Organizations: London CNN, Home Office, CNN, Office, British Home Office, Daily Herald, NGO Human Rights Watch, Home, “, Protesters, Windrush, Clinic, Conservative, Royal Mail Locations: London, Wembley, Jamaica, Nigeria, British, Britain, South Asia, Africa, Tilbury, Essex, –

☆ UK's IDS targets return to profit after Royal Mail beats expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The economic climate remains challenging, and Royal Mail faces the task of rebuilding business from the damage caused by industrial action," Chairman Keith Williams said in a statement. International Distributions Services (IDS) is targeting a group adjusted operating profit in this financial year, said the group, which is still looking for a replacement for Royal Mail CEO Simon Thompson. IDS, which includes Royal Mail UK and international operations GLS, reported a group adjusted operating loss of 71 million pounds for the year ended March 26, compared with a profit of 758 million pounds a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected a loss of 114 million pounds, according to a company-compiled consensus. Analysts on average had expected Royal Mail UK's adjusted operating loss to come in at 449 million pounds for the year.

☆ King Charles' coronation: what changes has UK seen under new monarch?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

God save the King! Send him victorious, Happy and glorious, Long to reign over us, God save the King." In Australia, where the British monarch is also head of state, the country has decided not to have the image of King Charles on its new $5 note. ROYAL CYPHERThe Royal Cypher is the monogram used by the monarch. Charles' cypher features his initial, title, Rex – Latin for King, and III, alongside a representation of the crown.

☆ LockBit ransomware group threatens to publish stolen Royal Mail data - TechCrunch
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 7 (Reuters) - UK's Royal Mail, which has been grappling with a cyberattack for about a month now, was added to ransomware group LockBit's dark web leak site this week, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. LockBit was threatening to publish "all available (Royal Mail) data" on Thursday, according to the report. Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK set for biggest strike action in years as teachers, civil servants walk out
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Michael Holden | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

On Wednesday, about 300,000 teachers will take action, along with 100,000 civil servants from more than 120 government departments, and tens of thousands of university lecturers and rail workers. 'MOST DAYS LOST FOR 30 YEARS'Between June and November, more days were lost to industrial action than in any six months for over 30 years, according to official data. An Ipsos poll released on Wednesday suggested the public was divided on the multiple strike action, with 40% supporting the action and 38% opposed. It put the estimated impact of the teachers' strikes at about 20 million pounds a day. ($1 = 0.8130 pound)Reporting by Michael Holden, Alistair Smout and William Schomberg; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Royal mail resumes more services after cyber incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - British postal firm Royal Mail is restarting some of its international export services, the company said on Thursday, two weeks after its operations were disrupted by what it called a "cyber incident." Royal Mail will be resuming its International Tracked and Signed, and International Signed services to all destinations for business account customers and customers buying postage online from Jan. 26, the company said in an update posted on its website. Parcel, large letter and letter formats of these services will be restarted, said the company, which is part of London-listed International Distributions Services Plc (IDSI.L). We are using alternative solutions and systems, which are not affected by the recent cyber incident," Royal Mail said. Royal Mail, one of the world's largest post and parcel firms, started to move limited volumes of export parcels last week, following an announcement on Jan. 11 that its international export services was severely disrupted by a cyber incident.

☆ Britain's Royal Mail begins moving some export parcels after cyber incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Britain's Royal Mail said on Wednesday it had begun moving limited volumes of export parcels as it trials "operational workarounds", after a cyber incident severely disrupted its international export services last week. However it said that while it trials the workarounds, it was continuing to ask customers not to submit new export parcels. "Our initial focus will be to clear mail that has already been processed and is waiting to be despatched," Royal Mail said in a statement. Royal Mail, one of the world's largest post and parcel firms, said it was still working with external experts, security authorities and regulators to mitigate the impact of the incident. Royal Mail declined to comment on the report.

☆ Ransomware group with links in Russia behind UK Royal Mail incident -Telegraph
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - A cyber incident that led to severe disruption to Royal Mail's international export services was caused by Lockbit, a ransomware group which some cybersecurity experts say has members in Russia, Britain's Telegraph newspaper reported. To prevent a build-up of export items in its network, the British postal company, which is part of part of International Distributions Services (IDSI.L), has advised customers not to post international export items until further notice. Royal Mail, which declined to comment on the Telegraph report, earlier said it had engaged external experts and notified security authorities as it investigates the incident. Lockbit, which some cybersecurity experts say has members in Russia, also claimed to have attacked a French cosmetics firm called Nuxe, Le Parisien newspaper reported on Thursday. Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar, additional reporting by Tassilo Hummel in Paris; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Royal Mail export services severely disrupted after 'cyber incident'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Sachin Ravikumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Britain's Royal Mail said on Wednesday it was facing severe disruption to its international export services following what it described as "a cyber incident". "We are temporarily unable to despatch items to overseas destinations," Royal Mail, one of the world's largest post and parcel firms, said in a service update on its website. It advised customers to temporarily hold any export mail items while it works to resolve the issue. The "cyber incident" is the latest in a growing list of high-profile cybersecurity events in Britain. Royal Mail said its import services remained operational, albeit with minor delays.

☆ Royal Mail's export services disrupted after 'cyber incident'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Britain's Royal Mail said on Wednesday it was facing severe disruption to its international export services following what it described as "a cyber incident". "We are temporarily unable to despatch items to overseas destinations," Royal Mail, one of the world's largest post and parcel firms, said in a service update on its website. It advised customers to temporarily hold any export mail items while it works to resolve the issue. The company, part of International Distributions Services Plc , said it was working with external experts to investigate the incident and had also reported it to regulators and security authorities. Royal Mail said its import services remained operational, albeit with minor delays.

☆ Britain's new 'winter of discontent' deepens as widespread strikes mount over festive period
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In recent weeks, upcoming strike actions have been announced by nurses, rail workers, postal workers, ambulance workers, airport staff, Border Force agents, highway workers, Eurostar staff, civil servants, bus drivers, firefighters, charity workers, meteorologists and offshore workers. For the public sector, real earnings were 5 percentage points lower, and Hollingsworth suggested that the growing gap had become "unsustainable." "I think there's clearly a lot of pressure here for some catch-up on the public sector side of things, and it's clear that there is that labor bargaining power there." "However, the gap between private and public sector pay narrowed slightly, with private sector pay up 6.9%, while public sector pay is up by 2.7%." However, with negotiations remaining fraught and unions showing no signs of backing down, he said some catch-up on public sector pay growth will likely be required to prevent further disruption.

☆ UK's FTSE boosted higher by healthcare sector
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 rose 0.1%, FTSE 250 falls 0.2%GSK escapes U.S. lawsuit on Zantac allegationsMoonpig drops to bottom of FTMCDec 7 (Reuters) - UK's export-oriented FTSE 100 climbed on Wednesday as the healthcare sector was boosted by shares of GSK after the drugmaker escaped U.S. lawsuits over its heartburn drug Zantac. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) edged 0.1% higher by 0930 GMT. The pharmaceutical sector (.FTNMX201030) rose 3.3% in its biggest one-day percentage gain since late February. A nearly 10% jump in shares of GSK Plc (GSK.L) boosted the index after the drugmaker was spared thousands of U.S. lawsuits claiming that Zantac caused cancer. The real estate sector (.FTUB3510) fell 0.2% and is down 34% year-to-date and is heading towards its biggest fall since 2008.

☆ UK strikes to hit ambulance services, hospitals and trains in the run up to Christmas
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

More than 10,000 ambulance workers represented by the GMB Union will strike again on December 28. Ambulance workers, like others in the UK National Health Service (NHS), “are on their knees,” according to GMB national secretary Rachel Harrison. According to The Times, one million UK workers are set to strike in December and January. The union said that critical care will be exempt from strike action but non-critical services will have lower staffing levels. The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents 115,000 postal workers, has notified Royal Mail of additional walkouts on December 9, 11, 14 and 15.

☆ Britain's Currys to avoid using Royal Mail 'for now' over strikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - British electricals retailer Currys (CURY.L) will not use Royal Mail as a delivery provider "for now" to reduce any impact from strike action, the company's chief executive officer Alex Baldock said on Sunday. Asked whether the report was true, Baldock said: "For now, yes. We plan for this sort of thing all the time and the relatively few, smaller parcels that we distribute through Royal Mail are pretty easily switchable to another provider." Postal workers have already staged walk outs and plan another wave of strikes later this month over pay and conditions, arguing that they want a rise that matches increasing prices and the cost of living. Reporting by Elizabeth Piper Editing by Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK could use military to ease strikes, Conservative chairman says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Britain's government is looking at bringing in the military to help keep public services running if key workers, including in the state-run National Health Service, take strike action, the chairman of the governing Conservative Party said on Sunday. "We're looking at the military, we're looking at a specialist response force... a surge capacity," he said, adding that the military could be brought in to drive ambulances. Workers at post and parcel company Royal Mail have held several rounds of strikes this year in a dispute over pay and working conditions and more strikes are planned this month. Zahawi again blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine for fuelling energy price rises and double-digit inflation, calling on public sector workers to "come together". "There is a minimum safety level of delivery in place already, but the NHS will look at all contingency planning," he said.

Search resuls for: "Royal Mail"

25 mentions found