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☆ In the spotlight: London hosts Olivier Awards for theatre
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Paul Mescal arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party after the 95th Academy Awards, known as the Oscars, in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., March 12, 2023. The London theatre community will gather at the Royal Albert Hall for the annual ceremony, named after the famed British actor Laurence Olivier and which celebrates the best productions in the capital. These include nods for best entertainment or comedy play, choreography, directing, costume design and music, as well as a best actress nomination for Mei Mac, who plays younger sibling, four-year-old Mei. Paul Mescal, who was nominated at this year's Oscars, has been recognised in the best actor category for playing Stanley Kowalski in a revival of Tennessee Williams' “A Streetcar Named Desire”. "Killing Eve" star Comer is up for best actress in one-woman play "Prima Facie", in which she portrays a barrister who defends men accused of sexual assault before herself being assaulted.

☆ Humza Yousaf sworn in as Scotland's leader as bid for unity falters
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Newly elected leader of the Scottish National Party, Humza Yousaf (centre), signs the nomination form to become First Minister for Scotland, with his proposer Shona Robison and seconder Neil Gray, at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. MSPs will vote on Mr Yousaf's nomination to be Scotland's sixth First Minister later today. Yousaf had been expected to offer his leadership rival, whom he only defeated by only about 2,000 votes, a more senior role. During his leadership campaign, Yousaf had said he would depart from Sturgeon's "inner circle" style of leadership in favour of a "big tent" approach. Yousaf said on Tuesday that Shona Robison - a close friend of Sturgeon - will serve as his deputy first minister.

☆ Humza Yousaf wins leadership election of Scotland’s ruling party, set to lead the country
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Newly appointed leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Humza Yousaf, speaks following the SNP Leadership election result announcement at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on March 27, 2023. Humza Yousaf on Monday was elected the new head of the Scottish National Party, promising in a speech to bring the party together, support citizens with the cost-of-living crisis and deliver independence from the United Kingdom. He is slated to assume political leadership in Scotland following his nomination in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday. He told BBC Scotland that his leadership style compared to his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon would be "less inner circle and more big tent." If approved on Tuesday, he will be the country's sixth leader since the establishment of the Scottish parliament in 1999.

☆ Scotland's next leader to be announced with independence movement in crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Scotland's Health Minister Humza Yousaf and Scotland's Finance Minister Kate Forbes, contenders to become the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Scotland's First Minister, attend the SNP leadership hustings, in Aberdeen, Scotland, Britain, March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Craig Brough/PoolLONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - The next leader of Scotland will be announced on Monday with the victor facing the challenge of uniting a country divided over its future and revitalising an independence movement that dreams of ending its three-centuries-long union with England. The Scottish National Party (SNP), which runs Scotland's semi-autonomous government, has been plunged into crisis since Nicola Sturgeon, the country's longest-serving leader, announced last month she was standing down after eight years, saying she had become too divisive to lead the nation to independence. Britain's vote to leave the European Union two years later when a majority of Scots wanted to stay, and Scotland's handling of the coronavirus pandemic brought new support for independence. However, an opinion poll showed the backing for independence dropped to 39% this month after touching a record 58% in 2020.

MILAN, March 25 (Reuters) - Italy's Treasury said it would confirm Luigi Lovaglio as chief executive of Monte dei Paschi di Siena , keeping the veteran banker in charge of the bank as turmoil shakes the industry. Monte dei Paschi (MPS) is due to appoint a new board of directors on April 20 and the Treasury, which owns 64% of MPS following a 2017 bailout, on Saturday said it had filed its slate of nominees for the board. He arrived at MPS just over a year ago, when the Treasury pushed out his predecessor. A merger also remains the preferred option of banking supervisors to buttress MPS' fragile profitability, a second source said. A failed attempt to sell MPS to UniCredit has forced Italy to seek more time from the EU to cut its stake.

☆ Italy to hand Monte dei Paschi CEO Lovaglio new mandate - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, March 25 (Reuters) - Italy's Treasury is set to hand veteran banker Luigi Lovaglio a new mandate as chief executive of state-owned lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena , two people with knowledge of the matter said. Lovaglio, who built his career at UniCredit (CRDI.MI) where he eventually rose to lead the group's former Polish unit Bank Pekao, arrived at Monte dei Paschi (MPS) just over a year ago, when the Treasury pushed out his predecessor. The state owns 64% of MPS following a 2017 bailout. Lovaglio, one of Italy's most experienced commercial bankers, in November oversaw a make-or-break 2.5 billion euro ($2.7 billion) capital raise which allowed MPS to bolster capital and fund voluntary layoffs. ($1 = 0.9295 euros)Reporting by Valentina Za and Valentina Za; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The ‘Fork Police.’ Offices Crack Down—Over Missing Utensils
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Rebecca Feng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

As people return to workplaces all over the world, they’re discovering something else has disappeared—the office cutlery. At the London office of PEI Group, a global financial-media company, forks and teaspoons go missing at an alarming rate, said Nicola Williams, its office manager. She said she orders a new batch of roughly 100 new pieces of cutlery every six months to fill three communal drawers.

☆ Scottish National Party chief executive quits after membership numbers dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 18 (Reuters) - The chief executive of the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP), Peter Murrell, said on Saturday that he was resigning with immediate effect after accepting responsibility for a misleading statement about SNP membership numbers. "Responsibility for the SNP's responses to media queries about our membership number lies with me as Chief Executive. While there was no intent to mislead, I accept that this has been the outcome," Murrell said in a statement issued by the SNP. Murrell is the husband of outgoing SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, who announced on Feb. 15 that she was stepping down as Scotland's first minister, triggering an SNP leadership contest which is yet to conclude. Murrell said he had intended to stay as SNP chief executive until after the leadership contest was over.

The row overshadowed a migration deal struck between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron, with the BBC accused of bowing to political pressure. "Gary Lineker off air is an assault on free speech in the face of political pressure," the opposition Labour party said, calling for the BBC to re-think its decision. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: "Individual cases are a matter for the BBC." MOTD commentator Steve Wilson later tweeted that the show's commentators had also pulled out from Saturday's broadcast, leaving BBC management reliant on World Feed commentary. But the BBC said it considered his recent social media activity to be a breach of its guidelines.

☆ Reaction to Lineker being pulled from presenting by the BBC
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But the decision to take Gary Lineker off air is indefensible. LABOUR PARTY LEADER KEIR STARMER"The BBC is not acting impartially by caving in to Tory MPs who are complaining about Gary Lineker." FORMER LABOUR LEADER JEREMY CORBYN"Well done Gary Lineker for standing up for refugees. FORMER CULTURE SECRETARY NADINE DORRIES"News that Gary Lineker has been stood down for investigation is welcome and shows BBC are serious about impartiality." "The perception out there is going to be that Gary Lineker, a much-loved television presenter, was taken off air after government pressure on a particular issue."

☆ In economics, women's voices still struggle to be heard
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Maria Martinez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

There seems to be a lot to celebrate on International Women's Day in the field of economics. Women head the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, the U.S. Treasury and the European Central Bank. "The pervasive underrepresentation of women in economics is systemic and structural," Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman to head the World Trade Organization, told Reuters. "There are no women in the textbooks and most big names in economics are men," said Sandra Kretschmer, economics researcher and member of the Women in Economics Initiative. Women and men tend to have different research interests, said Alisa Weinberger, economics researcher at Goethe.

☆ Meta has massively revamped its ads division. Here are the 21 most powerful execs tasked with saving the company's biggest revenue stream.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Ryan Joe | Lara O'Reilly | Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Nicola Mendelsohn and Justin Osofsky are Meta's top ad execs after Marne Levine stepped down. After Meta's ad revenue took a series of hits, the company banking on an overhauled ad offering powered by AI. Insider identified Meta's 21 top ad execs tasked with reviving its most crucial revenue stream. Here are the 21 most powerful and important advertising execs still at the company, listed alphabetically. Their roles span ad sales, strategy, marketing and product across Meta's portfolio.

☆ NASA to name solar scientist as agency's science chief, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - NASA has picked a longtime solar scientist who heads its heliophysics division to become the U.S. space agency's science chief, according two people familiar with the decision. Nicola Fox, former top scientist on the Parker Solar Probe mission studying the sun, will be named this week as NASA's associate administrator for the agency's Science Mission Directorate, said the two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the official announcement. Fox will lead NASA's science directorate, a unit with an annual budget of roughly $7 billion that oversees some of the agency's best-known programs from the robotic hunts for past life on Mars to exploring distant galaxies with the James Webb Space Telescope. Fox will succeed Thomas Zurbuchen, a Swiss-American astrophysicist who had led the directorate since 2016 before his retirement in December. Sandra Connelly, formerly Zurbuchen's deputy, has been leading the directorate in an acting capacity.

Sturgeon, in office since 2014, unexpectedly announced last week she was resigning as first minister of Scotland’s semi-autonomous government, saying she had become too divisive. The frontrunner to succeed her and become the next leader of her Scottish National Party (SNP) is Humza Yousaf, a Sturgeon loyalist who faces criticism for his record in government. The campaign so far has been dominated by a debate about views on social issues such as gay marriage, transgender rights and abortion. "The big fundamental question of facing the party... is how it's going to acquire majority support in Scotland for independence: That question has not been addressed." Reporting by Alistair Smout, Andrew MacAskill and Elizabeth Piper; editing by John StonestreetOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Flu experts gather with H5N1 risk on the agenda
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Jennifer Rigby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But it is also a chance to discuss the risk of animal viruses spilling over to humans and causing a pandemic. At this week's meeting, H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b was a key topic, the World Health Organization (WHO) and global flu experts told Reuters. They will brief reporters on both the seasonal flu vaccine composition and spillover risks later on Friday. "We need to really continue the efforts for a flu pandemic." A number of companies that produce seasonal flu vaccines can also make pandemic flu vaccines.

☆ Italy approves clampdown on migrant rescue ships
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Angelo Amante | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The new set of rules is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's efforts to crack down on the rescue vessels, which her government says encourage people to make the perilous trip across the Mediterranean from northern Africa. Charities deny this, saying migrants set to sea regardless of whether rescue boats are in the vicinity. Under the new law, ships have to request access to a port and sail to it "without delay" after a rescue, rather than remain at sea looking for other migrant boats in distress, and disclose detailed information about their rescue activities. The Roman Catholic Church in Italy last month said the new measures violated international law and should be scrapped. Government data shows 12,667 people have reached Italy so far this year, more than double the same period of 2022.

☆ 'It's a huge concern': Senior-level women are calling it quits after decades climbing the career ladder
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Jennifer Liu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Some of the world's most powerful women are calling it quits. To give some context, for every woman stepping into a director-level leadership role, two are choosing to leave, says Alexis Krivkovich, McKinsey senior partner and an author of the joint Lean In and McKinsey "Women in the Workplace" report. The pattern has the potential to unwind decades of progress toward gender equity and increased female leadership in the workplace, she tells CNBC Make It. "They're meeting their goals and being successful, and some are choosing to leave before they get burned out," Workman adds. The problem remains that there are too few women in high levels of leadership, Krivkovich says: "Lots of men leave their positions, but we analyze and scrutinize when women leaders do in a different way.

☆ Scottish finance minister Kate Forbes to run for country's leadership
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Scottish finance minister Kate Forbes said on Monday she would run in the leadership contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon as Scottish National Party (SNP) leader and Scotland's first minister. Forbes, who was elected to the Scottish parliament in 2016 and became finance secretary in 2020, is the third candidate to enter the race since Sturgeon's surprise resignation last week. Forbes, a Christian, was among senior politicians who urged the Scottish government in 2019 not to rush into gender reform legislation. Health minister Humza Yousaf and former minister Ash Regan have said they will run in the contest to replace Sturgeon. Two other possible contenders, 53-year-old culture minister Angus Robertson, a former deputy leader of the party, and John Swinney, the 58-year-old deputy first minister, have ruled themselves out.

☆ Meet the British composer living with a rare type of epilepsy that is triggered by music
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Determined to carry on with their love of music, Bec found a way to overcome their condition. Liza Bec, a professional composer, discovered in 2008 that music — the very thing they had devoted their life to — was causing their epilepsy. "It was complete horror," Bec told Insider: "I just thought: 'I'm going to die. A condition that affects one in 10 million peopleLiza Bec, playing their roborecorder. Doctors told Bec they should go on medication and avoid playing music to avoid damaging their brain further.

☆ UK police identify body found in river as Nicola Bulley
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - British police on Monday identified a body found in the River Wyre in northern England as Nicola Bulley, a mother of two who went missing last month sparking a large search that captured media and public attention. "Sadly we are now able to confirm that yesterday we recovered Nicola Bulley from the River Wyre," Lancashire Police Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson told a news conference. Bulley, 45, was last seen walking her dog near the river in Lancashire on Jan. 27. Lancashire Police said an underwater search team and specialist officers had recovered a body from the water on Sunday. The family statement went on to heavily criticise media intrusion during the search.

☆ Scotland's health minister Humza Yousaf to run for country's leadership
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Scottish Health Minister Humza Yousaf said on Saturday he would run in the leadership contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon as Scottish National Party (SNP) leader and first minister. Yousaf becomes the first to publicly announce his intention to stand in the race after Sturgeon's surprise resignation earlier in the week saying she had become too divisive and too tired to carry on. loadingThe SNP has said it will choose a new leader within six weeks through a ballot of its members, which will close on March 27. Sturgeon, 52, said she was not leaving politics and that she would stay on until a successor has been picked. Reporting by Muvija M, additional reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu; Editing by Kylie MacLellan and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK police find body near where woman went missing in late January
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MANCHESTER, England, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Police in the north of England said on Sunday they had found a body near where a woman went missing last month. Nicola Bulley, 45, was last seen walking her dog near a river in Lancashire, northwest England, on Jan. 27. Twenty-five minutes later her mobile phone, still connected to a work Teams call, was found on a bench. Lancashire Police said they were called at 1136 GMT on Sunday to reports of a body in the River Wyre. "No formal identification has yet been carried out, so we are unable to say whether this is Nicola Bulley at this time."

☆ As accomplished, high-profile female leaders step back from their careers, I wonder whether any woman can have it all
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Marguerite Ward | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

I don't fault them; they're women who achieved much and then, it appears, made the best decision for themselves. Women face bias when they're leaders. McKinsey & Company recently said it found that "compared with men, senior women leaders report higher rates of burnout, chronic stress, and exhaustion." A report last year from LeanIn.org and McKinsey said women leaders were leaving their companies at the highest rate ever; the organizations started tracking the data in 2015. "You're not promoting enough women into the leadership ranks, and now you have more women leaving leadership roles," Thomas told CNBC Make It in October.

☆ We're 'quite cheerful' and positive on China, says portfolio manager
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWe're 'quite cheerful' and positive on China, says portfolio managerMary Nicola of PineBridge Investments says as the rest of the world slows down, China is "picking up," and the company has been shifting into emerging markets.

☆ Scottish politics are in turmoil, but it's small fry for the pound
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Naomi Rovnick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Any prospect of Scotland breaking away from the United Kingdom used to have momentous implications for U.K. markets. The lack of any discernable reaction in the pound, gilts or London blue-chips to the resignation on Wednesday of pro-independence Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon's resignation showed. "Ten years ago it was a real risk, it was quite close," said Jon Day, global bond portfolio manager at UK-based asset manager Newton Investment Management. Reuters GraphicsThe Scottish independence discourse "doesn't have much of an impact on the pound these days", said George Brown, economist at fund manager Schroders. The U.K. market chaos following former Prime Minister Liz Truss's badly received mini-budget collided with heightened anxiety among investors in general as the U.S. Fed raised interest rates.

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