List of All Articles with Tag 'f'

ZURICH (Reuters) -Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer on Monday reported a jump in money inflows and hiring in the months

A restaurant in London has sparked criticism over its decision to introduce a minimum spend next month that will see solo diners charged double for their meals. In August, Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal, which boasts two Michelin stars, will increase the prices of its tasting menus. Currently, a five-course tasting menu costs £125 per person, while it’s £175 for seven courses. However, from 17 August, the restaurant will increase its prices by 11 per cent, bringing five courses to £165 and seven courses to £195. This is due to an increase in supplier costs and rising staff shortages in London, due to Brexit, that has put pressure on the business. For those dining alone, though, the new minimum spend means solo visitors could be charged a minimum of £330 to visit the restaurant due to the volume of requests they receive. However, the restaurant confirmed that they keep one to two tables for solo diners for every service without the minimum spend. So solo diners who book within 24 to 48 hours of their required booking time could be able to swerve the minimum spend depending on whether those tables are available at the time. Nonetheless, the initiative sparked outrage on Twitter, with commenters quick to point out the joys of dining alone, and how solo diners are often stigmatised. “F*** the Hotel Café Royal then… Solo dining is one of life’s great pleasures,” tweeted one person. “Oh great news. Yet another penalty for being single,” another added. Hugh Smithson-Write, who works in restaurant PR, tweeted: “A classic example of making the customer the problem, rather than finding a solution. “If you get ‘many solo diner requests’ how about you reconfigure your dining room to accommodate that and maximise the revenue? This is the very opposite of hospitality!” Victoria Sheppard, chief executive at Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal, told The Independent: “Since achieving our two Michelin stars the demand for solo dining has increased dramatically and whilst we make every effort to accommodate solo diners, we also have to be considerate to the running costs of our business. “That said, we are increasing our opening hours from 17 August and will be able to accommodate more solo diners (without any discretionary minimum spend). 95 per cent of our solo diners requesting tables since we implemented a discretionary minimum spend when we are at capacity for solo diners have been more that happy to proceed with their booking, enjoying wine pairings or champagne of wine alongside their meal. “Nightclubs in our local vicinity have minimum spends for tables or hotels you pay the same price whether one guest or two which is never under dispute.” Read More Michelin star chef Marcus Wareing gives controversial answer to the best pizza in London Tom Kerridge addresses backlash to his £35 fish and chips at Harrods: ‘They shout at me’ Chef defends viral chicken recipe after TikTok backlash: ‘PSA to the seasoning police’ Restaurant with ‘tips are a privilege’ policy sparks intense backlash on social media Cher is launching a gelato brand called ‘Cherlato’ Popeyes widely mocked for attempt to join ‘girl dinner’ trend

A ninth-tier Scottish club could lose its home ground if it pursues an interest in disgraced striker David Goodwillie. The 34-year-old former Scotland international was found in a civil case at the Court of Session in Edinburgh in 2017 to have raped a woman. Goodwillie reportedly played as a trialist for West of Scotland Football League side Glasgow United in a friendly last week, and the city council is now threatening to ban the club from the Greenfield Football Centre in Shettleston if he joins them. In a statement on Glasgow City Council’s official Twitter account, leader Susan Aitken said: “David Goodwillie has been found, in court, to be a rapist. However, in more than 12 years, he has never once shown any kind of contrition or remorse. Any club that signs him is making a very clear statement about its attitude to the safety of women and girls - both in sport and in its community. “It would be an outrageous decision, wholly at odds with how community facilities like Greenfield should be run. I’ve asked officers to look at the council’s agreement with Glasgow United and made it clear that I’m ready for the city to walk away.” Goodwillie – who continues to protest his innocence - and his former Dundee United team-mate, David Robertson, were judged to have raped Denise Clair. The two men, who have never faced criminal charges in relation to the allegation, were ordered to pay damages of £100,000 to Ms Clair, who waived her right to anonymity. Goodwillie left Plymouth by mutual consent in the wake of the court ruling and spent almost five years at Clyde despite criticism of the club’s decision to offer him employment. However, subsequent moves to Raith Rovers, Northern Premier League Radcliffe and Australian outfit FC Sorrento collapsed amid fierce criticism.

The euro-area private-sector economy contracted more than anticipated in July, with order inflows and output expectations pointing to

LONDON A downturn in euro zone business activity deepened much more than expected in July as demand in

ESPN presenter and former Premier League goalkeeper Shaka Hislop collapsed live on air in a scary moment during the channel’s coverage of a pre-season friendly between Real Madrid and AC Milan The game was being played in around 30-degree heat in Pasadena, California, with Hislop providing coverage from the touchline alongside host Dan Thomas. The frightening incident happened during the build-up to the game. As seen in the video above, the 54-year-old Hislop began wobbling before falling forward into Thomas and on to the ground. This sparked immediate concern on the touchline as a couple of nearby workers rushed over and Thomas can be heard saying “ Shak. Shak. We need some help.” ESPN quickly cut to a break after Hislop’s collapse but later had good news for viewers, with an update on the former Trinidad and Tobago international’s condition. “My mate, Shaka, not here, but as it stands, it’s good news,” Thomas stated at half-time. “He’s conscious, he’s talking, I think he’s a little embarrassed about it all. He’s apologised profusely. Not a man who likes people to make a fuss of him. “Obviously far too early to make any sort of diagnosis, but the important thing is, that Shaka’s conscious and we spoke to his family as well, because you imagine seeing that happen live. We spoke to his wife and things are looking OK.” Hislop, played over 250 Premier League matches for Newcastle, West Ham and Portsmouth during a distinguished playing career and has become a popular pundit in the USA since his retirement. AC Milan led 2-0 at half-time, when Thomas delivered the update on Hislop’s condition, with Fikayo Tomori and Luka Romero netting their goals. Real Madrid made eight changes at the break and Federico Valverde scored a quick-fire double to level things up before Vinicius Jr’s 84-minute goal ensured it ended 3-2 to the Spanish side. Read More Carlo Ancelotti hails Jude Bellingham as ‘complete midfielder’ after Real debut Tottenham consider Brazil striker with Harry Kane’s future in the balance

Monday's football transfer rumours include Joshua Kimmich, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku, Marcel Sabitzer, Marco Verratti & more.

Iranian authorities have shut down one of the offices of the country’s biggest e-commerce company and launched judicial procedures over the publication of photos showing female employees not wearing the Islamic headscarf

Plunging margins for petrochemicals are set to take a bite out of Big Oil’s quarterly profits, adding to

Football heavyweights Brazil and Germany both get their Women’s World Cup campaigns underway on Monday as they look to lay down an early marker in pursuit of the trophy at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand. Germany are generally seen among the top five most likely winners and Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s side boast plenty of world-class quality in the likes of Alexandra Popp, Sara Dabritz and Lea Schuller. They face big underdogs Morocco in their opening game and the Atlas Lionesses will make history as the first Arab team to play at a Women’s World Cup, having shown their class during a surprise run to the final of last year’s Africa Cup of Nations. Monday also sees Brazil and their 37-year-old superstar Marta kick things off with a clash against Panama, while Italy and Argentina do battle in the first game of the day. Elsewhere, France suffered a blow early in their campaign as they were held to a 0-0 draw by a battling Jamaica, who earned a first-ever Women’s World Cup point. That came a day after England began with a win but the Lionesses were pushed all the way by Haiti in what was a close contest in Brisbane. Georgia Stanway’s retaken penalty in the first half was enough to earn England a narrow victory, but goalkeeper Mary Earps had to make a big stop to protect their lead late on. Follow the latest World Cup scores, updates and news in today’s live blog Read More Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today Women’s football world rankings: Who could take No 1 at the World Cup? Women’s World Cup 2023 LIVE: Jamaica brilliantly draw with France and reaction as Lionesses defeat Haiti

By Clare Jim HONG KONG (Reuters) -A Hong Kong court on Monday said it will hold sanction hearings on Sept.

Germany and France kicked off the third quarter with contractions in their private-sector economies, with sustained weakness in