London's Oxford Street to go traffic-free in shopping area makeover, says mayor
LONDON, June 18 — London's Oxford Street, one of Britain's busiest and most famous shopping districts, will be pedestrianised, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said on Tuesday, in a move designed to smarten up the area and create a new public space to help drive growth.
The plan to rid Oxford Street of cars and buses, which has been over twenty years in the making, looks set to become a reality after consultations on proposals published in September showed a majority of Londoners and businesses back the idea.
Supporters of pedestrianising the mile-long stretch in central London say similar traffic-free schemes for Times Square in New York and La Rambla in Barcelona have breathed new life into tired areas.
'We want to rejuvenate Oxford Street; establish it as a global leader for shopping, leisure and outdoor events with a world-class, accessible, pedestrianised avenue,' Khan said in a statement announcing the results of the public consultation.
Oxford Street attracts around half a million visitors every day, according to the mayor's office, but many flagship stores including House of Fraser and Topshop have shut in recent years, and Khan said the area had been neglected.
He will now work with the government on legislation to go traffic-free, which would happen 'as quickly as possible'. That will require finding new routes for the dozens of buses which travel down it each hour.
The government has said Khan's plan for a new 'beautiful public space' which will attract more tourists, drive new investment in the area and create jobs. — Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
12 hours ago
- The Star
Australia social media teen ban software trial organisers say the tech works
FILE PHOTO: Two school students pose with their mobile showing social media applications in Melbourne, Australia, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) -Some age-checking applications collect too much data and no product works 100% of the time, but using software to enforce a teenage social media ban can work in Australia, the head of the world's biggest trial of the technology said on Friday. The view from the government-commissioned Age Assurance Technology Trial of more than 1,000 Australian school students and hundreds of adults is a boost to the country's plan to keep under 16s off social media. From December, in a world first ban, companies like Facebook and Instagram owner Meta, Snapchat and TikTok must prove they are taking reasonable steps to block young people from their platforms or face a fine of up A$49.5 million ($32 million). Since the Australian government announced the legislation last year, child protection advocates, tech industry groups and children themselves have questioned whether the ban can be enforced due to workarounds like Virtual Private Networks, which obscure an internet user's location. "Age assurance can be done in Australia privately, efficiently and effectively," said Tony Allen, CEO of the Age Check Certification Scheme, the UK-based organisation overseeing the Australian trial. The trial found "no significant tech barriers" to rolling out a software-based scheme in Australia, although there was "no one-size-fits-all solution, and no solution that worked perfectly in all deployments," Allen added in an online presentation. Allen noted that some age-assurance software firms "don't really know at this stage what data they may need to be able to support law enforcement and regulators in the future. "There's a risk there that they could be inadvertently over-collecting information that wouldn't be used or needed." Organisers of the trial, which concluded earlier this month, gave no data findings and offered only a broad overview which did not name individual products. They will deliver a report to the government next month which officials have said will inform an industry consultation ahead of the December deadline. A spokesperson for the office of the eSafety Commissioner, which will advise the government on how to implement the ban, said the preliminary findings were a "useful indication of the likely outcomes from the trial. "We are pleased to see the trial suggests that age assurance technologies, when deployed the right way and likely in conjunction with other techniques and methods, can be private, robust and effective," the spokesperson said. The Australian ban is being watched closely around the world with several governments exploring ways to limit children's exposure to social media. ($1 = 1.5427 Australian dollars) (Additional reporting by Cordelia Hsu; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
Malay Mail
15 hours ago
- Malay Mail
War, rates and trade — triple threat hits global markets
LONDON, June 20 — Stock markets mostly fell yesterday while oil prices rose as the Israel-Iran conflict added to fears over a renewed spike in inflation that could dent economic growth in major countries. Investors had already taken a cautious stance after the US Federal Reserve kept its interest rates unchanged and warned Wednesday that President Donald Trump's trade war could reignite inflation and dampen economic growth. 'Equity markets were in the red across Europe and most of Asia,' noted Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, adding that investors were 'spooked' by the escalating Israel-Iran conflict. 'Oil prices have shot up in recent days and any disruptions to Middle East supplies could put them even higher and stoke inflation,' he said. After gaining more than 1 per cent in Asian trading hours, crude futures fell back but remained higher compared with levels on Wednesday. As fears grow of direct US participation in the strikes on Iran, analysts said there was a risk that Tehran could shut the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane through which an estimated fifth of global oil supply flows. 'We don't see it as a likely scenario at this time, but... I think everybody should be watching,' American Petroleum Institute president Mike Sommers told Bloomberg. The concerns over potential supply constraints boosted share prices of major energy companies yesterday. French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies topped the Paris CAC 40 blue-chip index, closing with a gain of 2.1 per cent, while British energy group BP advanced 1.4 per cent in London. US stock and bond markets are closed yesterday for the Juneteenth holiday, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States in 1865. 'Highly unpredictable' In Europe, several central banks took interest rate decisions yesterday, warning that the risk of slowing growth was rising even as inflation slows. The Swiss National Bank cut rates by a quarter point to zero per cent, a move aimed at taming the Swiss franc, a haven that has soared against the dollar since Trump launched his tariff onslaught in April. For many investors that raised the prospect of a return to negative interest rates in Switzerland, to lower the franc but also encourage investment and spending to avert an economic slump. Despite the rate cut, the franc rose slightly against the dollar after the rate cut. 'There are also significant downside risks to inflation from trade tensions as well as heightened geopolitical uncertainty, which could push up the value of the franc further,' said Adrian Prettejohn, an economist at Capital Economics. Norway's central bank meanwhile made an unexpected cut to its benchmark rate, saying economic uncertainty was 'greater than normal' because of escalating conflicts and trade tensions. And as widely expected, the Bank of England held its benchmark rate steady at 4.25 per cent but its governor Andrew Bailey indicated that further cuts were coming as the UK economy slows. 'Interest rates remain on a gradual downward path,' Bailey said, adding that 'the world is highly unpredictable'. The dollar traded mixed against main rivals yesterday after the Fed kept rates unchanged for a fourth consecutive meeting despite Trump's pressure on the central bank to lower borrowing costs. It cut its 2025 forecast for US economic growth and raised inflation and unemployment expectations, in its first updated projections since Trump unveiled in April his levies on imports. Fed chief Jerome Powell called the economy 'still solid' but warned that 'increases in tariffs this year are likely to push up prices and weigh on economic activity'. Hong Kong led stock market losses in Asia, closing down 2 per cent, while Tokyo shed 1 per cent. Bangkok retreated as a political crisis involving Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra put her government on the brink of collapse. — AFP
Free Malaysia Today
16 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Hays shares dive as permanent hiring falters amid fewer new job openings
Hays' shares fell as much as 20% to a 13-year low early today. (Shutterstock pic) LONDON : Recruiter Hays warned today that a reduction in new job openings recently and ongoing delays in hiring decisions would lead to a bigger-than-expected drop in profit for the year, knocking down its shares and those of European rivals. Hays said its profit for the year through June would fall more than 57% to around £45 million (US$60.3 million), hurt by broad weakness in permanent hiring as confidence among employers and job seekers was low due to economic uncertainty. Analysts were expecting £56.4 million, according to a company-compiled poll. US President Donald Trump has announced wide-ranging tariffs on trade partners, including the EU, and wants to reduce the US goods trade deficit with the EU that are making hiring decisions more challenging, even as trade talks continue. 'In previous quarters we've talked about softer markets and longer time to hire, but we have seen through this quarter a reduction in the new number of jobs coming through, as well as continued length and time to hire,' Hays CFO James Hilton said on a call with analysts. He added the British company's permanent business was probably about 10% behind where it was expected to be in the quarter. 'All in all, not a good start for earnings season of the staffing sector as the weakness in (permanent hiring) could impact also the gross margins of the other players,' ING analyst Marc Zwartsenburg said in a note. Hays' shares fell as much as 20% to a 13-year low early today before recovering some loses to trade 12.2% lower by 8.41am. Shares of rival recruiters PageGroup, Randstand, Robert Walters and Adecco fell between 3.5% and 8%. 'While Hays' biggest market, Germany, and the UK were the most challenging with permanent hiring, regions such as France, Belgium and Netherlands, also remained subdued,' Hilton said. However, temporary hiring and contracting was more resilient broadly, with the exception of Germany where temporary hiring was also weak because of exposure to the autos sector. Trump's levies are projected to slow Germany's growth in the near term and result in the loss of 90,000 jobs within a year. The country's auto sector, which relies heavily on exports to the American market, had already been in decline due to weak European demand and foreign competition.
