Author: LoveWorld UK

DRUGMAKER GSK TO PAY  £1.7BN OVER ZANTAC CANCER CLAIMS – 80,000 cases alleging cancers were linked to drugs  British drugmaker GSK has struck an agreement to make a payment of up to $2.2bn (£1.7bn) to resolve litigation brought in the US over its heartburn treatment Zantac. The company said it had struck agreements with 10 plaintiff law firms who represent about 93%, roughly 80,000, of the US state court product liability cases pending against it. The claimants had alleged their cancers were linked to Zantac, known generically as ranitidine. GSK had argued there was no evidence to suggest an increased…

FRANCE PRODUCES 2025 BUDGET – Budget Minister proposes cutting 2,200 jobs in ministries and state operators France’s government delivered its 2025 budget on Thursday (October 10) with plans for 60 billion euros ($65.68 billion) worth of spending cuts and tax hikes on the wealthy and big companies to tackle a spiralling fiscal deficit. Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s new government is under increasing pressure from financial markets and France’s European Union partners to take action after tax revenues fell far short of expectations this year and spending exceeded them. But the budget squeeze, equivalent to two points of national output, has…

EU DELAYS NEW BIOMETRIC TRAVEL CHECKS – Germany, France and Netherlands say border computer systems are not yet ready The European Union has delayed the introduction of a new biometric entry-check system for non-EU citizens, which was due to be introduced on Nov. 10, after Germany, France and the Netherlands said border computer systems were not yet ready. The Entry/Exit System (EES) would create a digital record linking a travel document to biometric readings confirming a person’s identity, removing the need to manually stamp passports at the EU’s external border.  A spokesperson for the German interior ministry said the three…

KING CHARLES TO HOST QATAR’S EMIR FOR STATE VISIT-Qatari investment in the UK is estimated to be over £40 billion King Charles and Queen Camilla will host Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at Buckingham Palace for a state visit from Dec. 3-4. This comes after the King hosted a Commonwealth event at St James Palace last week ahead of his forthcoming visit to Samoa. London is seeking a trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council, of which Qatar is a member.  The government says a deal could boost the UK economy by some £1.6 billion ($2.1-billion) and…

AMAZON ALEXA SAYS HURRICANE HELENE WAS ARTIFICIALLY CREATED – Cloud seeding used to control and manipulate the weather  The US state of Florida faced back-to-back major hurricanes in September and October, which has led to many theories pinning the natural disasters on weather manipulation. Some social media users shared videos of their Amazon smart speakers appearing to confirm the claims about Hurricane Helene, but a company spokesperson said Alexa’s answers were incorrect and that it is working to resolve the issue. One user said online “I asked my daughter’s Alexa this question,” says an October 5, 2024 X post sharing…

MESSI TRAINS WITH ARGENTINA FOR QUALIFIER AGAINST VENEZUELA – Argentina captain Lionel Messi trained with his team in Fort Lauderdale Argentina captain Lionel Messi trained with his team in Fort Lauderdale a day before their match against Venezuela in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers. The team by the return of Messi for their World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia after Messi recovered from a right ankle injury, which he picked up during the Copa America final against Colombia in July. Argentina are set to face Venezuela at the Monumental Stadium of Maturin, and with the team training at Inter…

MAJOR MCDONALD’S CHIPS SUPPLIER CLOSES PLANT IN WASHINGTON – 375 employees, or 4% of Lamb Weston’s workforce, would be laid off A major chips supplier is cutting jobs as customers continue to count their pennies amid inflated prices at fast-food chains. Lamb Weston, the largest producer of chips in North America, announced last week it was closing its plant in Connell, Washington, meaning 375 employees, or 4% of its workforce, would be laid off, according to an earnings report released last week.  The company’s president and CEO, Tom Werner, said that restaurant traffic and the demand for frozen potatoes relative…

BROADBAND PROVIDERS SAID TO HAVE TO HAVE ‘MISLED’ CUSTOMERS – BT, EE, Plusnet, TalkTalk, O2 & Virgin Media Broadband accused of misleading ads The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said BT, EE, Plusnet, TalkTalk, O2 and Virgin Media Broadband misled consumers by placing important information about price rises separately to headline prices and in areas of less prominence on their websites. The ASA ruled the ads must not appear again and told all six providers to ensure they make sufficiently clear that their broadband contracts would be subject to mid-contract price increases, and that information about the nature of such rises…

DONALD TRUMP SAYS HE WILL SAVE DEMOCRACY – Pennsylvania is a swing state electoral votes are crucial to Nov. 5 election  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke at a rally in Pennsylvania on Wednesday. It was Trump’s second visit in just five days to Pennsylvania as he held rallies in regions heavily populated by the working class, who are seen as a key voting bloc. The two candidates are locked in a tight battle in Pennsylvania, a swing state whose 19 electoral votes are likely to prove crucial to who wins the Nov. 5 election. Trump also told the people…

FINAL CANDIDATES FOR UK CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP – New leader to be announced on Nov. 2  Former MPs will go head-to-head to win votes from members of the Conservative Party and become its next leader after making it through to the final round of a contest set to shape the future of Britain’s once dominant party. Wednesday’s vote by Conservative MPs was the penultimate step in a race that has been marked by the kind of in-fighting that some Conservatives blame for their party’s defeat in July’s national election. Party members nationwide will now choose between former business and trade minister…