HMRC admits missing all call waiting time targets this year as inquiries surged amid the pandemic HM Revenue & Customs ‘did not deliver customer service we would have liked’ It conceded these problems were likely to continue to hamper service next year Call wait times started rising in March and peaked at 14 minutes 59 … Read more
‘You can ride a horse on the road so why not an e-scooter?,’ asks Halfords boss as the sales of the vehicle surge 450% amid growing calls for legalisation The privately-owned use of e-scooters remains illegal on public roads in Britain Rental e-scooters are permitted though, offering a loophole that many exploit Halfords said the … Read more
Hundreds of hot tub buyers have complained about faults and not receiving refunds in the last six months after they became a popular buy in lockdown. With Britons confined to their homes and seeking to maximise the spring and early summer sunshine, the plug-in pools were snapped up in vast numbers – but this has gone … Read more
Sales of bunk beds surge by 60% over lockdown as parents turn children’s bedrooms into offices while working from home during pandemic Bunk bed sales were up 60 per cent in the past six months compared to last year John Lewis reveals new figures as lockdown leaves families needing extra space Office chairs, desks and … Read more
Stillbirths have surged up to 50 percent amid lockdowns in the coronavirus pandemic as pregnant women avoid seeking care, global research reveals Swedish researchers found that the stillbirth rate increased from seven per 1,000 births to 21 per 1,000 births after pandemic lockdowns The number of births at hospitals declined as women avoided health care … Read more
Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife MacKenzie Scott has become the world’s richest woman after Amazon shares surged amid coronavirus lockdowns. Scott, who owns a 4 percent stake in the ecommerce giant, has added another $30.3 billion to her bank balance in the last year, taking her net worth to a staggering $67.4 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires … Read more
Melting glaciers caused by climate change are responsible for a 48 per cent surge in the amount of water trapped in unstable glacial lakes over 30 years, scientists have discovered. Researchers tracked glacial lake volume since 1990 using more than a quarter of a million NASA satellite images to create a ‘near-global database’ of glacial … Read more
Shoppers tired of being holed up at home helped retail sales rise to pre-pandemic levels last month, new official figures have revealed. Retail sales volumes swelled by 3.6 per cent between June and July, which is 3 per cent higher than levels seen in February. But, in a sign of how hard enforced temporary closures … Read more
Internet searches for two anti-malaria drugs soared after high-profile endorsements from President Donald Trump and Elon Musk as potential treatments for the novel coronavirus, a new study finds. Because there are no treatments approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), people may end up searching for unproven therapies. Two of them are chloroquine … Read more
Broadband switching in Britain surged by 30 per cent in March as lockdown restrictions came into force and the nation started working from home 30% surge in people switching internet provider from March 1 to March 31 Many people are opting for new plans that give them quicker speeds Comes during coronavirus lockdown with millions of adults … Read more