Britain’s biggest carrier Monarch Airlines shuts, leaving thousands stranded

Monarch Airlines collapsed on Monday, the biggest ever failure of a British airline, stranding tens of thousands of travellers overseas and prompting the country’s biggest-ever peacetime repatriation effort. Monarch cancelled about 300,000 future bookings and apologised to customers and staff as it became the UK’s largest carrier to go into administration. “I am so sorry that thousands now face a cancelled holiday or trip, possible delays getting home and huge inconvenience as a result of our failure,” Monarch Chief Executive Andrew Swaffield told employees in a message. “I am truly…

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Ducks Gassed in Thousands as France Fights Bird Flu Virus

Workers wearing masks and protective clothes gassed thousands of ducks in southwest France on Friday, in a massive cull that was ordered in an attempt to prevent a spread of the H5N8 bird flu virus. At one farm in the village of Latrille, in the heartland of duck and geese rearing country, 8,000 ducks were taken by hand and put in coloured metal containers where carbon dioxide was piped in to kill them, normally within seconds. In scenes reminiscent of apocalypse-themed movies, workers clad in head-to-toe protective suits, face-visors and…

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Study finds UK sugar tax could save thousands from obesity, diabetes

File photograph of soft drinks bottles displayed on a shelf in a shop in London  (Copyright Reuters 2016) LONDON –  A planned levy on sugary drinks due to be introduced in Britain in April 2018 could significantly reduce the number of people who become obese and develop diabetes and tooth decay, scientists said on Thursday. In a study on the levy’s health impacts, researchers found the positive effect would be greatest if the drinks industry responds by reformulating products to cut sugar content, rather than keep the same formulations but…

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JPMorgan could move thousands of staff out of UK: Report

a JPMorgan Chase & Co could be forced to move thousands of staff out of Britain if the country loses its automatic right to sell financial services to the European Union after last month’s Brexit vote, bank CEO Jamie Dimon told an Italian newspaper. Currently, banks based in the UK can sell services freely across the EU under a “passporting” system, considered the most significant feature of the EU single market for financial firms. But that is now in doubt after Britons voted to leave the bloc. “The key issue…

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