Reuters: UK

Tottenham and Chelsea raise stakes on naming rights

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:36:48 GMT

CHIGWELL, England (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur and London arch-rivals Chelsea put the issue of stadium naming rights on the agenda this week after both clubs revealed plans to tap the sponsorship market in their bid to compete.

Brown warns Karzai he could lose backing

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:53:14 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai, winner of a fraud-tainted election, risks losing British and international support unless he acts decisively to fight corruption, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Friday.

Tens of thousands of Irish workers protest in streets

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:18:24 GMT

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish trade unions led tens of thousands of workers on Friday in street protests against government plans to cut spending in next month's budget for 2010.

Towering Valuev makes Haye look like a lightweight

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:15:35 GMT

BERLIN (Reuters) - Towering world heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev weighed in seven stones heavier than Britain's David Haye ahead of their WBA title bout in Nuremberg on Saturday.

Lottery firm Camelot for sale - bankers

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:50:35 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - National lottery operator Camelot's five shareholders have asked bidders to submit offers in around two weeks in a sale that could fetch more than 500 million pounds, two bankers said on Friday.

Capello inspired by unveiling bust of Ramsey at Wembley

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:06:52 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - England manager Fabio Capello said he dreamed of emulating Alf Ramsey by winning the World Cup for England when he unveiled a bust of his predecessor at Wembley Stadium on Friday.

Irn-Bru drink maker Barr to close Mansfield site

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:05:59 GMT

(Reuters) - Scottish drinks maker A.G. Barr Plc said on Friday it planned to close the Mansfield site in early 2011, affecting about 100 employees, while it would invest at Cumbernauld site to boost capacity.

Parents of nursery abuse victims "should get choice"

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:08:41 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Parents whose children might have been abused by nursery worker Vanessa George should be able to choose to know if their children were among her victims, a judge said on Friday.

Seasonal flu may hit Europe after H1N1 - experts

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:05:44 GMT

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The H1N1 pandemic flu virus could kill up to 40,000 people across Europe and be followed by seasonal flu waves that could kill the same number, European health experts said Friday.

Kroenke unlikely to thwart Wenger's plans for Arsenal

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:49:57 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - While Arsene Wenger's young Arsenal team are playing some stunning soccer on the pitch, the men in suits who run the club are playing an intriguing game behind the scenes at the Emirates Stadium.

G20 agree too early to remove stimulus - Darling

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:09:36 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - G20 policymakers are agreed that it is too early to pull the plug on economic life-support packages as the global recovery is still fragile, Chancellor Alistair Darling told Reuters in an interview.

Postal workers suspend strike action

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:19:31 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Postal workers said on Thursday they would suspend strike action until at least after Christmas under an interim agreement reached between unions and state-owned Royal Mail.

Mandelson calls for strong EU leadership

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:05:12 GMT

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Business Secretary Peter Mandelson will call Friday for strong leadership of the European Union and outline his vision for revamping its economic policies.

Postal workers suspend strike action

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:58:34 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Postal workers said on Thursday they would suspend strike action until at least after Christmas under an interim agreement reached between unions and Royal Mail.

UK to tighten Afghan police vetting after attack

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:47:53 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - The government said Thursday it was working to tighten up vetting of Afghan police recruits after a policeman shot dead five British soldiers, but faced growing calls to bring its 9,000 troops home.

Ministers deride Conservatives' EU plan

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:59:55 GMT

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - British and French government ministers criticised the Conservatives' policy plan for Europe on Thursday, saying it would leave Britain isolated in the European Union.

Threshers administrator to close nearly third of stores

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:56:40 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - KPMG, the administrators of First Quench Retailing, which owns off-licence chains Threshers and Wine Rack, said on Thursday that 373 stores within the group will close, leading to over 1,738 redundancies.

Fujitsu UK staff to hold nationwide 3-day strike

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:59:48 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - British workers at IT service firm Fujitsu Ltd will stage a three-day national strike from November 12 in a row over jobs, pay and pensions, union Unite said on Thursday.

Severe swine flu cases "snowballing"

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:25:46 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - The number of people needing hospital treatment for the H1N1 virus in England is "snowballing," although the rise in the overall number of estimated cases is slowing, health officials said on Thursday.

GM decision benefits taxpayers-Mandelson

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:40:44 GMT

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. carmaker General Motors' decision to keep its European unit Opel will benefit European taxpayers, especially in Britain, Germany and Spain, Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said Thursday.

E.ON and RWE to spend £15 billion on UK nuclear plants

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:22:08 GMT

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German utilities E.ON AG and RWE expect to spend over 15 billion pounds on planned nuclear power plants in Britain as the country renews its ageing suite of stations.

East Coast line to be renationalised

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:47:52 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - The East Coast main line rail franchise, which runs services from London to Edinburgh, will come under public ownership on November 13, the Department of Transport (DfT) said on Thursday.

Former MEP guilty of expenses fiddle

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:44:06 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - A former member of the European Parliament pleaded guilty on Thursday to carrying out an expenses fiddle costing almost 40,000 pounds.

Channel 4 appoints Lord Burns chairman

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:21:21 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Lord Terry Burns, a former permanent secretary to the Treasury, has been appointed the next chairman of Channel 4, to oversee the selection of a new chief executive and a possible partnership with the BBC.

Shannon Matthews' "aunt" jailed for benefit fraud

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:06:29 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - The "aunt" of schoolgirl Shannon Matthews, who was kidnapped by her mother to try and claim a newspaper reward, was jailed for a year on Thursday after she admitted benefit fraud amounting to more than 35,000 pounds.