Trump doubts he’ll have ‘a very good relationship’ with Cameron, Khan
Donald Trump doesn’t have high hopes for a good relationship with leading UK politicians.
The presumptive Republican nominee for the US presidency said he’s not likely to have a good relationship with David Cameron, according to a
New York Times report. Last year, the prime minister called Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US “stupid, ignorant and wrong,” and has refused to retract the statement despite demands from Trump’s campaign.
Trump told ITV Monday that he wouldn’t be forgetting that.
“It looks like we’re not going to have a very good relationship,” he said. “I hope to have a good relationship with him, but it sounds like he’s not willing to address the problem either.
Trump also hit back at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who accused the real estate mogul of being “ignorant” about Islam. Trump called Khan’s remarks “very nasty” and vowed to “remember those statements,” the
Times reported.
Polls yield conflicting results on Brexit
A pair of
Guardian/ICM polls on the EU referendum have yielded diametrically opposed results.
A poll conducted by phone showed a 10-point lead for remain, while a poll conducted over the internet showed the leave campaign with a four-point advantage.
There has been a consistent gap in results on the Brexit issue between phone and online surveys, the
Guardian reported.
“There could be biases running in both directions on the referendum question,” said Martin Boon of ICM Unlimited.” There is no definitive way of adjudicating between the two polls, but as good a guess as any is that the right answer lies somewhere in between.”
BBC Online to jettison ‘fluffy’ content for ‘high quality’ features
Faced with £15 million in cuts, BBC Online will axe recipes and “fluffy” content to focus on “high quality” features, according to an iNews report.
Faced with criticisms that it is crowding out commercial competitors, the BBC website will cut down on features that are not “distinctive.” That means recipes and travel advice are likely out the window and magazine-style content will be reduced. Long-form written content will show a greater focus on serious journalism,
iNews reported.
“These changes won’t be popular with all members of the public, but we think they are the right thing to do,” a BBC source told iNews.
National living wage may ravage fruit farmers
The national living wage could slash nearly 60% of strawberry growers’ profit in the coming year, rendering the British strawberry an “unaffordable luxury,” according to leading hospitality consultant Beacon.
Beacon has warned that farms face an unsustainable challenge after the introduction of the new minimum wage, the
Guardian reported. The company said suppliers expect wage pressure on UK farmers to send the price of strawberries up this year. Some even predict that British strawberries will become too unprofitable to sustain, leading to their replacement in supermarkets by cheaper imports, the
Guardian reported.
“It seems that strawberry fields may not be forever in the British countryside,” said Beacon managing director Paul Connelly. “Our suppliers are warning that the landscape of soft fruit farming and fresh produce is under threat with the possibility of cheaper foreign imports replacing British produce on supermarket shelves and on restaurant menus.”
Security company takes full responsibility for Man United bomb scare
A security company has taken full responsibility for the dummy bomb it inadvertently left behind at Old Trafford, sparking a security alert Sunday that caused the postponement of the final game of the Premier League season.
Manchester United’s game against Bournemouth was called off and the stadium evacuated after the device was discovered, according to a
Guardian report. It was only after the postponement that it was discovered that the device was a simulated bomb used in a training exercise four days earlier.
Christopher Reid, managing director of Security Search Management and Solutions, said he took personal responsibility for the mistake, which cost Manchester United £3 million, according to the
Guardian.
“I am absolutely devastated that a lapse in my working protocols has resulted in many people being disappointed, frightened and inconvenienced,” Reid said. “Nothing I can say will rectify that.”
New York man offers reward for runaway zebra
A New York man is offering a $1,000 reward for the return of his runaway zebra, according to
ABC News.
Richard Myer said his 5-month-old zebra, Zula, was spooked by a branch hitting a barn at the Bailiwick Animal Park and Riding Stables in Catskill, N.Y. The frightened zebra took off like, well, like a frightened zebra.
Myer drove around the wooded areas surrounding Catskill looking for Zula, who is about the size of a large pony, but to no avail. Local volunteers and police are also helping in the search.
On the upside, at least if searchers find a zebra they can be reasonably sure it’s the right one. “You can’t miss it,” Myer said. “You really can’t.”
Entrepreneur finds new way to tap coveted ‘rich idiot’ market
A London entrepreneur has discovered a new way to separate wealthy idiots from their money, according to a
Mirror report.
German-born Jakob Aungiers, a Brixton finance worker, is selling bottles of “fresh air” which he captures on skydives for £199 each.
Aungiers holds a glass bottle neck-downward while plunging from a plane, then corks the bottle just before opening his parachute. He said that the purity of high-altitude air should appeal to those living in polluted cities. Aungiers launched “Bottled At Altitude” two months ago. Currently, bottles are available for the introductory price of £99, but that’s soon to rise to £199, according to the
Mirror. Aungiers claims he has already made a few sales.
Aungiers said the air is worth the high price. “It’s not just a bottle of air,” he said. “Physically it is, but you are getting a premium product. It has got that little bit of spiritual and symbolic value.”
Air, we feel compelled to note, is free, by virtue of the fact that we live on a planet with an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere.
