General news

• Mini tumours grown in lab are breakthrough for medicine tests

  22-02-2018 23:57
  Scientists have successfully grown mini versions of patients' tumours in a lab - and then tested them against dozens of drugs to find the best possible treatment.The technique could mean patients get effective chemotherapy sooner - and are spared unnecessary side effects from drugs that do not work.Dr Nicola Valeri, the study leader and a consultant oncologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital, told Sky News: "At the moment doctors are blind to whether patients will respond or not.
  
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• Haiti suspends Oxfam GB's operating right amid misconduct probe

  22-02-2018 23:52
  PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haiti has temporarily revoked Oxfam Great Britain's right to operate in the Caribbean country after allegations of sexual misconduct by some of the charity's staff there, Planning and External Cooperation Minister Aviol Fleurant said on Thursday.The British aid organization has been rocked by allegations that staff, including a former Haiti country director, used prostitutes during a relief mission after a devastating earthquake hit the island nation in 2010.Fleurant s
  
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• Fire safety review prompted by Grenfell Tower blaze 'lacks transparency'

  22-02-2018 23:36
  The official review of fire safety regulations launched in response to the Grenfell Tower disaster has been heavily criticised by safety experts.A meeting organised by the All Party Parliamentary Fire Safety and Rescue Group in the House of Lords was told it has been shut out of Dame Judith Hackitt's Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety.The Hackitt Review was set up by the Government after 71 people died in Grenfell Tower in June 2017, when fire spread up the outside of the
  
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• Russian spy ship stalked by Navy

  22-02-2018 22:44
  HMS Mersey took a spy ship and two other Russian vessels through the English Channel as they left operations in Syria.
  
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• Brothers aged two and six die after hit-and-run in Coventry

  22-02-2018 22:22
  West Midlands Police have arrested a man and a woman following the crash on MacDonald Road.A 53-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman are being held on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and drink driving.
  
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• Royal Navy monitors Russian spy ship task group passing through English Channel

  22-02-2018 22:06
  A Royal Navy patrol ship broke off from patrol duties to monitor a Russian spy ship and two other vessels passing through the English Channel for three days.It is the third time in two months that the Navy has had to keep an eye on Russian ships passing the UK.Portsmouth-based HMS Mersey, which usually patrols home waters in fishery protection, was sent to follow the progress of the Russian spy ship Feodor Golovin, landing ship Alexander Ostrakovskiy and tanker Yelnya through the Channel.
  
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• Haiti suspends Oxfam Great Britain's operating right amid misconduct probe

  22-02-2018 22:02
  PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haiti has temporarily revoked Oxfam Great Britain's authorization to operate in the country after allegations of sexual misconduct by some of the charity's staff there, Planning and External Cooperation Minister Aviol Fleurant said on Thursday.Fleurant said the decision had been made on the grounds of "serious failings" by Oxfam Great Britain between 2010 and 2011, and that a definitive decision on the charity's right to operate in Haiti would be made in some two month
  
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• Second brother dies after hit-and-run killed boy, 2, in Coventry

  22-02-2018 20:05
  West Midlands Police have arrested a man and a woman following the crash on MacDonald Road.A 53-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman are being held on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and drink driving.Earlier, Detective Sergeant Paul Hughes from West Midland Police's collision investigation unit said: "We are still trying to establish how this tragic incident has happened and anyone who hasn't yet spoken to an officer should call us on 101.
  
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• Met police chief to visit Scotland for ideas to reduce knife crime

  22-02-2018 20:00
  Police and a forensics tent at the scene of a stabbing in Camden, north London, which took place on Tuesday night.The Metropolitan police commissioner is travelling to Scotland to seek a solution to London’s knife crime epidemic, after two men were stabbed to death within two hours of each other in Camden on Tuesday night.Cressida Dick will visit Glasgow on Friday to learn more about Police Scotland’s pioneering work on tackling knife crime in the city once known as the stabbing capi
  
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• Terror police probe 'racist' package sent to Royals at St James's Palace

  22-02-2018 19:36
  A package containing a suspicious white powder sent to Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle also included a "racist" letter.Counter-terror police are investigating the package which was sent to St James's Palace in central London and addressed to the Royal couple who are due to marry in Windsor on 19 May.Scotland Yard says it is being treated as a racist hate crime.
  
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• UNICEF chief Justin Forsyth resigns after 'inappropriate behaviour'

  22-02-2018 19:30
  A senior UNICEF figure has quit the organisation after he admitted "some personal mistakes" towards three women in a previous role.Justin Forsyth resigned from his position as deputy executive director following complaints about his behaviour during his time at Save The Children.Earlier this week, Save The Children confirmed concerns were raised about Mr Forsyth's "inappropriate behaviour and comments" in 2011 and 2015, while he was the charity's chief executive.
  
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• UNICEF deputy director Justin Forsyth resigns after 'mistakes'

  22-02-2018 19:25
  The deputy director of the United Nations children's agency UNICEF resigned on Thursday, saying he did not want coverage of past mistakes he had made to damage the organisation or other aid bodies.Save the Children UK said on Wednesday concerns were raised about inappropriate comments and behaviour by Justin Forsyth, the charity's then chief executive, in 2011 and 2015.In a statement, Forsyth said his decision to step down from UNICEF was not because of "the mistakes I made at Save the Children"
  
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• Ferrari death driver: 'I wasn't showing off' when boy was killed

  22-02-2018 19:15
  A man who flipped a £1.2m Ferrari in an incident that killed a 13-year-old boy has insisted he was not showing off and suggested it may have been caused by a jammed accelerator pedal.Alexander Worth died after being thrown from the car during a ride with Matthew Cobden on a farm access road on 22 August 2016.Cobden, 39, offered the teenager a go in the Ferrari F50 after the partner of the boy's mother asked for a photo when they visited his car storage business.
  
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• Unicef deputy quits after inappropriate behaviour claims

  22-02-2018 18:29
  Justin Forsyth has resigned from his role as deputy executive director of Unicef in the wake of accusations of inappropriate behaviour towards female staff while chief executive of Save the Children.Forsyth said he was not resigning because of the “mistakes” he made while at the charity, but because of attempts to damage aid organisations and humanitarian work.It emerged this week that Forsyth was accused of sending inappropriate texts and making comments to female staff about their
  
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• White powder letter sent to Meghan Markle treated as racist hate crime

  22-02-2018 18:26
  Police say they are treating as a racist hate crime a letter containing white powder sent to Meghan Markle, which sparked an anthrax scare.The letter was received this month at St James’s Palace in central London.It is understood the package contained a racist note and was received on 12 February.
  
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• UK to lose EU rebate in 2021 'in extended Brexit transition'

  22-02-2018 18:26
  Margaret Thatcher in 1984, the year she secured the EU rebate, which is now worth £4.5bn a year on average.The UK will lose its rebate from the EU at end of 2020 if it seeks to extend the Brexit transition beyond then, the Guardian has learned.The loss of the rebate, which to some has been a symbol of British influence in Europe since Margaret Thatcher demanded “our money back”, is expected to fuel Tory Brexiters’ demands to keep the transition period as short as possible
  
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• Sturgeon accuses UK ministers of threat to veto Scottish powers

  22-02-2018 18:25
  Nicola Sturgeon believes the UK wants to veto Scottish policymaking after Brexit.Nicola Sturgeon has accused UK ministers of threatening to veto Scottish policy-making as their talks over Brexit reached a critical stage.Ministers from the Scottish and Welsh assemblies are close to a final deal with the UK government over their new powers after Brexit, with time running out before the House of Lords votes on a key clause affecting these powers in mid-March.
  
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• Starling flyover is poetry in motion

  22-02-2018 18:25
  A murmuration of starlings at dusk. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA
  
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• Dating-site couple jailed for planning attacks on Britain

  22-02-2018 18:24
  A couple who met on a dating site and began researching how to make homemade explosives and the deadly poison ricin, were jailed on Thursday for plotting Islamic State-inspired chemical and bomb attacks on Britain.Munir Hassan Mohammed, 37, from Derby in central England,was sentenced to life in prison, to serve at least 14 years behind bars, and Rowaida El-Hassan, 33, was given a 12-year sentence."These were dangerous, calculated individuals, intent on causing harm to innocent people within our
  
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• Camden stabbings: Police probe links between murders a mile apart

  22-02-2018 18:23
  Police are still hunting for clues days after three men were stabbed - two to death - less than a mile apart in north London.Abdikarim Hassan, 17, and Sadiq Adnan Mohamed, 20, both died on Tuesday night in Camden within less than two hours of each other.Scotland Yard has launched a fresh appeal two days after their deaths as detectives continue to attempt to establish whether the two deaths and nearby non-fatal stabbing are linked.
  
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• Harvard students learn from McKinsey scandal in South Africa

  22-02-2018 18:08
  An ill-fated deal struck by global consultancy McKinsey in South Africa has been used by Harvard Business School as a case study for students.McKinsey had a local management consultancy, Trillian, as a partner when working on a big contract to advise South African state utility Eskom.
  
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• TV licence fee to rise for second year running

  22-02-2018 17:52
  The annual TV licence fee will rise for the second year in a row, from £147 to £150.50, it has been announced.The announcement comes as the BBC faces scrutiny over gender pay inequality, withChina editor Carrie Gracie having resignedandsix male presenters agreeing to a salary cut .Licence fee payers will receive a reminder of the new amount when they next need to renew, with anyone buying or renewing after 1 April made to pay the new higher fee.
  
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• Brexit blow for Theresa May before Cabinet meeting at Chequers

  22-02-2018 17:48
  The European Commission has appeared to reject the main thrust of the Prime Minister's Brexit strategy, just hours before she convened her "war Cabinet" at Chequers.In internal presentations given to representatives of the EU27 and published on Wednesday night, the European Commission argued the UK approach towards regulatory oversight in the future EU-UK relationship is "not compatible" with current guidelines set by the remaining member states.In further presentations, the European Commission
  
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• Boy, 2, dies in hit-and-run as brother fights for life in Coventry

  22-02-2018 17:48
  The child and his six-year-old brother were hit by the car on MacDonald Road, Stoke, at about 2pm, West Midlands Police said.A 22-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman were arrested after a black Ford Focus was found abandoned a short time after the crash.Detective Sergeant Paul Hughes, from West Midland Police's collision investigation unit, said: "We are still trying to establish how this tragic incident has happened and anyone who hasn't yet spoken to an officer should call us on 101.
  
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• Corporate Europe turns a corner with latest results

  22-02-2018 17:44
  MILAN/NEW YORK (Reuters) - European corporate earnings have turned a corner halfway through quarterly results season, accelerating quicker than the United States, in a surprising development that could signal how consensus forecasts are underrating growth potential.A report this week by Thomson Reuters analyst David Aurelio showed combined profits of companies in the pan-regional STOXX 600 indexare expected to have grown by 16.9 percent in the final three months of 2017.
  
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• Lecturers Begin First Day Of Strikes 'With A Heavy Heart' Over Pension Dispute

  22-02-2018 17:33
  Lecturers have told HuffPost why they are striking over cuts to their pensions, as 14 days of walkouts begin.
  
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• Johnson facing new questions over use of FCO room by thinktank

  22-02-2018 17:33
  Boris Johnson signed off up to £6,000 of lost income on the hire of a room to a hard Brexit group.Boris Johnson is facing new questions over his judgment after the Foreign Office rejected a request from the government’s head of ethics to charge for the launch of a hard Brexit-supporting thinktank on its premises.Documents show that Sue Gray, the Cabinet Office director general of propriety and ethics, suggested that the Institute for Free Trade (IFT) should pay a full commercial fee
  
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• British lecturers go on strike over pension changes

  22-02-2018 17:24
  Lecturers at universities across Britain began a strike on Thursday in a row over changes to pensions, the first of a series of walkouts their union said would affect more than one million students.The strike was the first planned over the next month which the University and College Union (UCU) said would hit more than 60 institutions, including the elite Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and lead to the loss of 575,000 hours of teaching.Tens of thousands of students, who pay up to 9,250 pounds
  
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• Siberian winds to bring 'significant snow' to UK

  22-02-2018 17:16
  Cold winds from Siberia are set to bring snow to Britain over the weekend, as temperatures drop in the coming days.A bright start earlier this week will continue over the weekend, but daytime temperatures will drop to 1C across parts of the country.Colder air originating from Siberia carries the threat of snow, with flurries forecast for coastal counties.
  
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• At country home, May hopes to settle Brexit divisions

  22-02-2018 17:11
  British Prime Minister Theresa May hopes on Thursday to settle disputes over her Brexit strategy that are dividing her cabinet and party, and frustrating her negotiating partners in the European Union.At a meeting at a 16th-century country residence that is expected to continue into the evening, May and her so-called Brexit war committee of ministers will try to come to agreement over their preferred vision for Britain outside the EU.Britain's prime minister is also feeling the heat from Brexit
  
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• Hoofing it: Goalkeeper injured after being clattered by cow

  22-02-2018 17:09
  Scottish side Queen of the South are facing a goalkeeping crisis after one of their players was injured by a runaway cow.Third-choice keeper Sam Henderson was at his father's farm when he was hit by the bovine, leaving him with a ruptured shoulder likely to keep him out of a Championship clash with Dunfermline on Saturday.Assistant manager Dougie Anderson said the 19-year-old had not trained all week as a result of the freakish accident.
  
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• Firefighters free man's genitals from spanner

  22-02-2018 16:36
  Firefighters have warned of the dangers of mishandling tools after a man's genitals became trapped in a ring spanner.Crews were called to assist A&E staff with a patient at Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, south Wales, on Wednesday.South Wales Fire and Rescue Service issued a warning on social media afterwards.
  
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• Devon town Ashburton joins the plastic-free movement

  22-02-2018 16:31 via bbc.co.uk
  Communities across Devon and Cornwall are signing up to a national plastic-free initiative.
  
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• Japan wins WTO dispute over South Korean bans on Fukushima-related food

  22-02-2018 16:24
  TOKYO/GENEVA (Reuters) - A World Trade Organization ruling on Thursday largely upheld a Japanese complaint against South Korea's import bans and additional testing requirements imposed on Japanese seafood because of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
  
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• Channel 5 Forced To Pay Damages To Couple Filmed Being Evicted For TV Show

  22-02-2018 16:05
  Channel 5 has had to pay out damages for breaching the privacy of a couple who were filmed being evicted for a documentary.
  
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• Heathrow and Stansted push for airports expansion to face down European rivals

  22-02-2018 15:30
  Britain's biggest airport Heathrow pressed the government togive the go-ahead to a new runway before the summer on Thursday while rival Stansted said it also wanted to expand as London's airports position themselves for more competition after Brexit.Britain backed a $22 billion expansion of Heathrow in 2016, ending 25 years of indecision.It is due to approve a third runway at Heathrow in the first half of 2018 and the airport's chief executive said he is concerned that any delay would cause it t
  
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• UK, Scotland edge towards deal on devolved powers after Brexit

  22-02-2018 15:15
  Scotland said on Thursday progress was being made towards a deal to ensure that all devolved powers transfer back to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland after Brexit.The Scottish and Welsh governments have accused the Westminster-based British government of staging a power grab with its European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, which will largely "copy and paste" EU legislation into British law."We have worked closely with the devolved administrations to find a way forward that
  
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• Lecturers at 64 UK universities go on strike in bitter row over pensions

  22-02-2018 15:11
  Thousands of students have joined their lecturers for the first in a planned series of strikes over proposed changes to university pensions.Walkouts affected 64 universities across the UK, with lecturers and other workers protesting against potential alterations to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).According to the University and College Union (UCU), the changes would leave a typical lecturer almost £10,000 a year worse off in retirement.
  
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• Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Suspicious Substance Scare Treated As Racist Hate Crime

  22-02-2018 15:10
  A letter containing a white power feared to be toxic was sent to Meghan Markle at Kensington Palace, reports claim.
  
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• Meghan Markle And Prince Harry In Suspicious Substance Scare

  22-02-2018 15:10
  A letter containing a white power feared to be toxic was sent to Meghan Markle at Kensington Palace, reports claim.
  
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• Net migration to UK still fading post-Brexit vote, businesses wary

  22-02-2018 15:09
  Net migration of European Union citizens into Britain almost halved in the 12 months to September, according to data that alarmed business groups who say Brexit is leaving companies without enough candidates to fill jobs.Official data on Thursday showed a net 244,000 people of all nationalities moved to Britain during the period, down 29,000 from the same point in 2016, official data showed on Thursday.While net migration to Britain from non-EU countries hit an almost six-year high, for EU citiz
  
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• Donald Trump's Latest 'Give Teachers Guns' Tweets Only Weaken His Fake News Claims

  22-02-2018 14:56
  Donald Trump has explained how he wants to give teachers guns in a series of tweets claiming he never said he wants to give teachers guns.
  
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• Staff shell-shocked after Huck the tortoise stolen from Edinburgh enclosure

  22-02-2018 14:53
  Police have launched a hunt for Huck the tortoise after he was stolen from a visitor attraction near Edinburgh.Huck, an 8 year-old red-footed tortoise, was taken from his enclosure at Edinburgh Butterfly and Insect World in Lasswade.Officers hunting for Huck have appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
  
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• Mental Health Charities Slam The Sun For Calling Anti-Depressants ‘Happy Pills’

  22-02-2018 14:27
  Mental health charities have criticised The Sun for describing anti-depressants as “happy pills”.
  
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• Stormzy rap: Theresa May reacts after star attacks PM over Grenfell

  22-02-2018 14:26
  Theresa May says she is "absolutely committed" to supporting victims of the Grenfell Tower fire after she was criticised by UK grime star Stormzy at the Brit Awards.Downing Street has insisted Mrs May has been "very clear that Grenfell was an unimaginable tragedy that should never have happened and must never happen again".At the award ceremony's closing performance, Stormzy rapped: "Yo Theresa May, where's the money for Grenfell?
  
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• May 'determined' to get fire disaster answers after Stormzy criticism

  22-02-2018 14:11
  British Prime Minister Theresa May is determined to find answers to last year's Grenfell tower block fire disaster, her spokesman said on Thursday after rapper Stormzy criticised the government response at the Brit music awards.May, who along with her government were called "criminals" by Stormzy, was very clear that the fire in the social housing block that killed 71 people in June should never have happened, the spokesman said."I think the PM has been very clear that Grenfell was an unimaginab
  
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• Slovakian man 'to plead guilty' to mugging 12-year-old girl for phone

  22-02-2018 14:10
  Patrik Gunar, 22, was arrested earlier this week and Derbyshire Police thanked celebrities such as Piers Morgan who had retweeted their appeal for information.Outlining the case at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court, prosecutor Peter Bettany said: "The defendant walked up to her and grabbed her mobile phone.
  
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• M20 body mystery: Man held on suspicion of murder

  22-02-2018 14:10
  Police have arrested a man on suspicion of murder after a body of a woman was found on the M20.Officers were alerted to the discovery between junctions 10 and 9 on the London-bound carriageway of the motorway, near Ashford in Kent, on Tuesday.Detectives said they are no longer looking for a silver Nissan Qashqai after a man attended a police station on Wednesday night.
  
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• Henry Bolton: It was worth losing UKIP job to be with lover Jo Marney

  22-02-2018 14:00
  Former UKIP leader Henry Bolton has said his relationship with a model who sent racist messages is worth losing his job over.The married 54-year-old confirmed earlier this week that he was back with 25-year-old Jo Marney, who was revealed to have sent offensive messages about Prince Harry's fiancee Meghan Markle.Speaking during a joint appearance on ITV's This Morning, Mr Bolton accused figures within UKIP of "exploiting" his relationship with Ms Marney to get rid of him.
  
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• EU court adviser finds against Dyson in vacuum cleaner dispute

  22-02-2018 13:56
  A top European court advisor has rejected a complaint by British vacuum cleaner firm Dyson that EU energy labels underplay the efficiency of its bagless devices, in an initial opinion that could sway a court ruling next month.Dyson, whose devices were the brainchild of billionaire British inventor James Dyson, says ordinary cleaners become less energy efficient as their bags become clogged with dust, unlike Dyson's bagless cleaner.It says the EU's energy efficiency labels fail to recognise this.
  
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