UK cyclist killed in Menorca road accident named as IQE executive Phillip Rasmussen

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A man has been arrested in connection with the crash
Technology company IQE has confirmed its finance chief, Phillip Rasmussen, was killed in an accident while on holiday over the weekend.
Mr Rasmussen, 47, was hit by a car while cycling in Menorca, Spain.
A 25-year-old American man has been arrested on suspicion of drink driving, after failing a roadside breath test.
“The news of Phil’s death has shocked and distressed all of us at IQE. The tragedy, of course, will be most deeply felt by Phil’s family, who we send our heartfelt condolences to at this terrible time.
“It is also a tragedy for so many of us who considered Phil a friend as much as a colleague,” said IQE’s president and chief executive, Drew Nelson.
“Phil was a great colleague and an accomplished CFO. He made the role his own, contributing so much over his ten years with us to IQE’s current strength; to the detailed and principled way we do things; to the potential we see before us as a firm.
“It has been my gre..

UK manufacturing activity softens in early 2018, says new survey

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The Purchasing Managers’ Index came in at 55.1 in the month with the average reading for the first quarter of 2018 was the lowest in a year
Britain’s manufacturers saw activity soften in early 2018 according to the latest survey snapshot of the sector.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index came in at 55.1 in the month, above the 50 point that separates contraction from expansion and up slightly from the 55 reading registered in February.
However, the average reading for the first quarter of 2018 was the lowest in a year.
“The latest PMI survey provided further evidence that UK manufacturing has entered a softer growth phase so far this year,” said Rob Dobson of IHS Markit, which compiles the survey.
The Office for National Statistics estimates that manufacturing, which accounts for around 10 per cent of UK GDP, expanded by 1.3 per cent in the final quarter of 2017 and by 2.5 per cent over the year as a whole.
Exports were helped by the weakness of pound and also strong demand from the r..

De La Rue will appeal decision to give blue British passport contract to Franco-Dutch firm

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Decision to award passport contract to a non-British firm provoked outcry last month
De La Rue has confirmed it will appeal the decision to award the contract for the blue British passports to a Franco-Dutch firm after Brexit.
The group’s current contract, worth £400m, comes to an end in July, and from that point on, British passports are set to be produced by Gemalto.
De La Rue said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process.
Read more What the blue passport row tells us about our economy after Brexit However, a De La Rue spokesperson said: “Based on our knowledge of the market, it’s our view that ours was the highest quality and technically most secure bid.”
The group’s appeal follows a campaign by the Daily Mail, including a petition which gathered more than 227,000 signatures, to overturn the government’s decision to award Gemalto the contract.
The announcemen..

Singapore fines Airbnb hosts for unauthorised letting in first case under new rules

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Under the state's new rules, private homes can only be rented to a minimum of three consecutive months
A Singapore court fined two Airbnb hosts a total of S$60,000 (£32,540) each on Tuesday for unauthorised short-term letting in the first such case under the city-state’s rules on short-term property rentals introduced last year.
The two men had pleaded guilty to letting four flats in a condominium for less than six months without permission from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
They faced a fine of up to S$200,000 per offence under Singapore law.
Read more Joanna Dai, the ex-banker taking on the world of women’s fashion Prosecutors sought fines of S$20,000 per charge for a total of S$80,000 for each of the two defendants. Defence lawyers sought fines of S$5,000 per charge.
Judge Kenneth Choo on Tuesday fined the two hosts S$15,000 per charge each. He said the fines would serve as a signal to deter others from pursuing such business to make a quick profit.
Private ..

South Africa Says Australia Retracted Claim of ‘Persecuted’ White Farmers

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South Africa Says Australia Retracted Claim of ‘Persecuted’ White Farmers Photo Peter Dutton, Australia’s home affairs minister, in Canberra in February. In March, Mr. Dutton said that “persecuted” white South African farmers deserved the protection of a “civilized country” and said he would explore the possibility of fast-tracking refugee visas. Credit Michael Masters/Getty Images MELBOURNE, Australia — South Africa’s foreign minister said Monday that the Australian government had retracted comments by its home affairs minister suggesting that South Africa was not a “civilized country” because of its treatment of white farmers.
In March, the minister, Peter Dutton, said that “persecuted” South African farmers deserved the protection of a “civilized country” — alluding to Australia — and said he would explore the possibility of fast-tracking refugee visas for them. The South African government has been considering a constitutional amendment to expropriate farmland without compensation ..