Siegfried Fischbacher, of Siegfried & Roy, dies age 81

Magician Siegfried Fischbacher, best known as one-half of the famous magician duo Siegfried & Roy, with Roy Horn, has reportedly died at the age of 81 after suffering from terminal pancreatic cancer.

This comes eight months after Horn died owing to complications after contracting Covid-19.

Siegfried's sister, 78, confirmed his death to German newspaper Bild, saying: "he fell asleep gently and peacefully".

Siegfried & Roy were an institution in Las Vegas, where they performed their magic in front of sold-out crowds. From February 1990 to October 2003, they performed six shows a week, 44 weeks per year at the Mirage Resort and Casino.

However, it was an horrific incident on October 2003 that the duo might be most remembered for, as Horn was critically injured by a tiger during a show. He had severe neck injuries and later suffered a stroke. The attack led to the end of their long-running show in Las Vegas.

In April 2010, the duo retired from show business.

Back in May 2020, it was announced that Horn had died from complications caused by the coronavirus. He was 75.

"The world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend," Fischbacher said at the time. “From the moment we met, I knew Roy and I, together, would change the world. There could be no Siegfried without Roy, and no Roy without Siegfried.”

What are NFTs?

Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.

You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”

However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.

This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”

This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.

New UK refugee system

A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds