Apple has backed up last year's 20% hike in laptop and computer prices with a sharp rise in app costs.
The move will mean - for the first time - that there is price parity between the dollar and the pound as an App Store product that used to cost 79p in the UK will now be 99p. US customers pay 99 cents.
The price shift reflects the fall of up to 20% in the pound versus the dollar since the EU referendum and signals Apple was unwilling to effectively earn less, in value terms, from an app purchased in the UK.
The technology firm said: "Price tiers on the App Store are set internationally on the basis of several factors, including currency exchange rates, business practices, taxes, and the cost of doing business.
"These factors vary from region to region and over time."
It is understood that the price rises will take effect within a week unless a specific app developer actively chooses to move to a lower pricing structure.
Apple made the announcement almost two weeks after it revealed the App Store had generated more than $20bn (£16bn) in revenue for developers last year - up 40% on 2015. Pokemon Go was the big success story.
The company revealed in October that its new MacBook Pro, Macbook Air and Mac Mini would rise in price by up to a quarter.
Sterling's slump was cited as the core reason at the time.
Rising prices are set to become the norm for UK consumers over the coming months as everyday goods become more expensive amid pressure on retailers to pass on higher import costs.
The scenario was reflected in the latest inflation figures which showed an impact from fuel and higher food and air fares while factory gate data suggested further price pressure is on the way with input costs growing almost 16% annually last month.
The car industry has been among the other voices warning of rising costs for UK consumers ahead, reflecting demands in their European supply chain despite benefits from a weaker pound which make their vehicles more competitive abroad.
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Thousands of UK tourists set to be flown out of The Gambia
Thousands of UK holidaymakers are set to be flown home from The Gambia due to growing political unrest.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is warning against "all non-essential travel" to the west African nation due to potential military intervention following presidential elections on 1 December.
With fears the main international airport could be shut at short notice, holiday company Thomas Cook will lay on additional flights from the capital Banjul today to bring 985 package trip customers home.
Thomas Cook said a flight scheduled from Manchester will leave the UK without passengers and bring the first group of tourists home. A further four flights have been arranged from Banjul back to the UK later - two flying to Manchester and two to Gatwick.
An additional 2,500 "flight-only" customers will then be contacted and offered the earliest possible flights back to the UK.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is warning against "all non-essential travel" to the west African nation due to potential military intervention following presidential elections on 1 December.
With fears the main international airport could be shut at short notice, holiday company Thomas Cook will lay on additional flights from the capital Banjul today to bring 985 package trip customers home.
Thomas Cook said a flight scheduled from Manchester will leave the UK without passengers and bring the first group of tourists home. A further four flights have been arranged from Banjul back to the UK later - two flying to Manchester and two to Gatwick.
An additional 2,500 "flight-only" customers will then be contacted and offered the earliest possible flights back to the UK.
Former US president George HW Bush in hospital
Former US president George HW Bush has been taken to hospital, according to local media reports.
The 92-year-old is said to be in a stable condition and is "doing fine", his chief of staff, Jean Becker, told KHOU 11 News.
She said he was expecting to return home in a few days but did not give details about why the former commander-in-chief is being looked after at Houston Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center.
It is understood Mr Bush - the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 - was not expecting to attend Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday due to his health.
He has twice before been admitted to the same hospital.
Mr Bush spent two months there in November 2012 for bronchitis and was admitted again in November 2014 for breathing problems.
He received treatment at a hospital in Maine in 2015 after falling at his summer home and breaking a bone in his neck.
He is the father of former president George W Bush and ex-Florida governor Jeb Bush, who sought the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
The 92-year-old is said to be in a stable condition and is "doing fine", his chief of staff, Jean Becker, told KHOU 11 News.
She said he was expecting to return home in a few days but did not give details about why the former commander-in-chief is being looked after at Houston Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center.
It is understood Mr Bush - the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 - was not expecting to attend Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday due to his health.
He has twice before been admitted to the same hospital.
Mr Bush spent two months there in November 2012 for bronchitis and was admitted again in November 2014 for breathing problems.
He received treatment at a hospital in Maine in 2015 after falling at his summer home and breaking a bone in his neck.
He is the father of former president George W Bush and ex-Florida governor Jeb Bush, who sought the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
Three 'strong' earthquakes felt in Rome and central Italy region
Three strong earthquakes have been felt in central Italy in the space of an hour, with people in Rome saying they experienced the tremors.
The first quake at around 10.30am local time on Wednesday measured a magnitude of 5.4 and hit the region north of Amatrice, around 62 miles north of Rome, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said.
A second quake with a magnitude of 5.7 hit the same area about 50 minutes later, and 10 minutes later a third was measured at a magnitude of 5.3.
The Metro in Rome has been evacuated, rail services are suspended and schools closed following the second quake after people reported feeling tremors there.
Antonio Tajani, an Italian politician who is president of the European Parliament, said tremors were "felt as far as Rome but it appears there are no victims".
The quakes are the latest to hit the region after 300 people died in August when the town of Amatrice was flattened.
Two further quakes rattled the region in October, with the most powerful measuring 6.5 magnitude.
The first quake at around 10.30am local time on Wednesday measured a magnitude of 5.4 and hit the region north of Amatrice, around 62 miles north of Rome, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said.
A second quake with a magnitude of 5.7 hit the same area about 50 minutes later, and 10 minutes later a third was measured at a magnitude of 5.3.
The Metro in Rome has been evacuated, rail services are suspended and schools closed following the second quake after people reported feeling tremors there.
Antonio Tajani, an Italian politician who is president of the European Parliament, said tremors were "felt as far as Rome but it appears there are no victims".
The quakes are the latest to hit the region after 300 people died in August when the town of Amatrice was flattened.
Two further quakes rattled the region in October, with the most powerful measuring 6.5 magnitude.
Cancun: Second shooting in two days in Mexico tourist hotspot
Two shootings in as many days have left nine people dead in a major Mexico tourist destination and triggered a warning to visitors from the US government.
Three gunmen and a police officer died during a gun battle at a state prosecutor's office in Cancun on Tuesday, Governor Carlos Joaquin Gonzalez said.
It comes a day after three tourists and two Mexicans were killed in a shooting at an electronic music festival in the nearby resort of Playa del Carmen.
It is not known if the two shootings were linked, but the attacks have spread panic in the Caribbean coastal city, which has avoided some of the drug-related violence that has hit parts of Mexico.
The Gambia's Yahya Jammeh's term extended by parliament
The Gambia's parliament has extended President Yahya Jammeh's term, which is due to end on Thursday following his defeat in elections, by 90 days.
It also approved his decision to declare a 90-day state of emergency in the tiny West African state.
Regional leaders have threatened to use military force to oust Mr Jammeh if he refuses to hand power to President-elect Adama Barrow on Thursday.
Thousands of UK and Dutch tourists are being evacuated from The Gambia.
The country is popular with European holidaymakers because of its beaches.
What happens next?
Holidaymakers to be returned
Adama Barrow: From estate agent to president
The Gambia was plunged into crisis after Mr Jammeh rejected Mr Barrow's shock victory in the 1 December election.
Regional leaders have been unsuccessfully trying to persuade him to step down.
Nigeria has deployed a warship to put further pressure on Mr Jammeh to step down.
Regional bloc Ecowas, the Economic Community of West African States, has prepared a Senegal-led force but maintains that military intervention would be a last resort.
In his televised announcement on Tuesday, Mr Jammeh said "any acts of disobedience to the laws of The Gambia, incitement of violence and acts intended to disturb public order and peace" were banned under the state of emergency.
He said security forces were instructed to "maintain absolute peace, law and order".
The parliament passed a motion condemning what it called the "unlawful and malicious interference" of the African Union and neighbouring Senegal in The Gambia's affairs.
It also approved his decision to declare a 90-day state of emergency in the tiny West African state.
Regional leaders have threatened to use military force to oust Mr Jammeh if he refuses to hand power to President-elect Adama Barrow on Thursday.
Thousands of UK and Dutch tourists are being evacuated from The Gambia.
The country is popular with European holidaymakers because of its beaches.
What happens next?
Holidaymakers to be returned
Adama Barrow: From estate agent to president
The Gambia was plunged into crisis after Mr Jammeh rejected Mr Barrow's shock victory in the 1 December election.
Regional leaders have been unsuccessfully trying to persuade him to step down.
Nigeria has deployed a warship to put further pressure on Mr Jammeh to step down.
Regional bloc Ecowas, the Economic Community of West African States, has prepared a Senegal-led force but maintains that military intervention would be a last resort.
In his televised announcement on Tuesday, Mr Jammeh said "any acts of disobedience to the laws of The Gambia, incitement of violence and acts intended to disturb public order and peace" were banned under the state of emergency.
He said security forces were instructed to "maintain absolute peace, law and order".
The parliament passed a motion condemning what it called the "unlawful and malicious interference" of the African Union and neighbouring Senegal in The Gambia's affairs.
US Tells Yahya Jammeh: Leave Power Now
The U.S. has warned the embattled President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia, saying he is losing opportunities to peacefully handover to President-elect Adama Barrow and avoid the consequences of his actions.
Jammeh’s tenure ends tomorrow 19 January, the same day that Barrow is expected to be sworn in as his successor. Both the African Union and ECOWAS have said that Jammeh will cease to be recognised as Gambian President from the date.
Spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State, Mr John Kirby, said at a press briefing on Tuesday that Jammeh is putting his legacy and The Gambia in peril.
“President Jammeh is losing opportunities to respect the will of the Gambian people and to peacefully hand over power to the president-elect, which is supposed to happen on Thursday.
“Doing so would allow him to leave office with his head held high and to protect the Gambian people from potential chaos.
“Failure to do so will put his legacy – and, more importantly, the Gambia – in peril, and we have been clear about this,” he said.
According to him, the accusation by Jammeh of external interference in The Gambia’s internal affairs is not tenable.
“I don’t know what interference he’s referring to, but we obviously want to see the Gambia succeed.
“And we want to see the president-elect properly installed and to have in place a government, which is responsible for and responsive to the needs of the Gambian people.”
The U.S. had on Friday, indicated support for ECOWAS to take all necessary action on Jammeh if he fails to handover to Barrow.
The U.S. had regretted that Jammeh’s action had made the situation in The Gambia to become “very uncertain”.
“We call on President Jammeh to listen to his own people, to listen to the Gambian people who have clearly called on him to accept the results of the December 1st election.
“And to again agree to what he already agreed to, which is a peaceful handover of power to President-elect Barrow.”
Kirby, however, said the U.S. “believes that ECOWAS can certainly play an important role in providing for security and addressing some of the concerns that there could be violence around the transition”.
He also said that the U.S. was not ruling out its support to a military action, saying: “We do, and I’m not trying to back away from that in any way, shape, or form.
“I just would say that we do, obviously, support ECOWAS as a force for peace and security in the region, and specifically in The Gambia.
“Well, again, I don’t want to speak to what possible actions they may take. I don’t want to get out in front of those decisions,” he said.
Kirby noted the unfortunate accidental airstrike on an internally displaced people’s camp in Rann locality of Borno.
According to him, the U.S. will continue providing the Nigerian Government with counter-terrorism assistance against the Boko Haram insurgents.
Jammeh’s tenure ends tomorrow 19 January, the same day that Barrow is expected to be sworn in as his successor. Both the African Union and ECOWAS have said that Jammeh will cease to be recognised as Gambian President from the date.
Spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State, Mr John Kirby, said at a press briefing on Tuesday that Jammeh is putting his legacy and The Gambia in peril.
“President Jammeh is losing opportunities to respect the will of the Gambian people and to peacefully hand over power to the president-elect, which is supposed to happen on Thursday.
“Doing so would allow him to leave office with his head held high and to protect the Gambian people from potential chaos.
“Failure to do so will put his legacy – and, more importantly, the Gambia – in peril, and we have been clear about this,” he said.
According to him, the accusation by Jammeh of external interference in The Gambia’s internal affairs is not tenable.
“I don’t know what interference he’s referring to, but we obviously want to see the Gambia succeed.
“And we want to see the president-elect properly installed and to have in place a government, which is responsible for and responsive to the needs of the Gambian people.”
The U.S. had on Friday, indicated support for ECOWAS to take all necessary action on Jammeh if he fails to handover to Barrow.
The U.S. had regretted that Jammeh’s action had made the situation in The Gambia to become “very uncertain”.
“We call on President Jammeh to listen to his own people, to listen to the Gambian people who have clearly called on him to accept the results of the December 1st election.
“And to again agree to what he already agreed to, which is a peaceful handover of power to President-elect Barrow.”
Kirby, however, said the U.S. “believes that ECOWAS can certainly play an important role in providing for security and addressing some of the concerns that there could be violence around the transition”.
He also said that the U.S. was not ruling out its support to a military action, saying: “We do, and I’m not trying to back away from that in any way, shape, or form.
“I just would say that we do, obviously, support ECOWAS as a force for peace and security in the region, and specifically in The Gambia.
“Well, again, I don’t want to speak to what possible actions they may take. I don’t want to get out in front of those decisions,” he said.
Kirby noted the unfortunate accidental airstrike on an internally displaced people’s camp in Rann locality of Borno.
According to him, the U.S. will continue providing the Nigerian Government with counter-terrorism assistance against the Boko Haram insurgents.
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