WUFOOB … (Apr – Jun 2013)

The British media ponders Sir Mervyn King’s legacy

ITV News, Tuesday 25 June 2013
As he approaches the end of his governorship which spanned the years of stable growth before the crisis of 2007 and the turmoil which followed, Sir Mervyn King said his biggest regret was “the way the financial crisis occurred and the way we responded to it”.

Putin berates the west over proposal to arm rebels

The Guardian, Monday 17 June 2013
Russian President Vladimir Putin said: “You will not deny that one does not really need to support the people who not only kill their enemies, but open up their bodies, eat their intestines in front of the public and cameras. Are these the people you want to support? Is it them who you want to supply with weapons? Then this probably has little relation to humanitarian values that have been preached in Europe for hundreds of years.”

Protesters set up camp as Enniskillen braces for violent clashes

4 News, Monday 17 June 2013
The Northern Ireland G8 summit has seen £50m put into security preparations. With 3,600 officers brought in from across the UK for back-up, protesters are saying the operation may be over the top.

Herald Scotland, Monday 17 June 2013
Security was tight with patrols in the air, on the water and roadsides while just six people and a dog had set up at a makeshift camp for protesters.

Cameron promises to cut taxes so companies move to Britain

The Telegraph, Monday 17 June 2013
David Cameron has promised to cut business taxes to encourage more companies to relocate to Britain as world leaders gathered to discuss reforms of the international system.

Cameron pledges support for ‘genuine’ Syrian opposition

The Guardian, Sunday 16 June 2013
David Cameron has welcomed President Obama’s announcement [on supplying arms to Syrian rebels], although he has yet to decide whether to follow the president’s lead. However, he said Britain would continue to offer non-lethal support to what he called the “genuine” opposition.

Nick Clegg pledges to clean up parliament

The Independent, Sunday 24 May 2013
Nick Clegg: Rebel with a cause to clean up Parliament. “We need to use this as a once-in-a-generation chance to clean politics up from top to toe,” says Clegg.

Russia sends anti-aircraft missiles to Syria as EU lifts arms embargo

Mail Online, Tuesday 28 May 2013
Russia says it will arm Syria with anti-aircraft missiles to prevent ‘some hotheads’ from intervening in the conflict. The announcement comes as Russia accused the European Union of ‘throwing fuel on the fire’ by letting its own arms embargo on Syria expire.

EU ban on refillable olive oil jugs and bowls

BBC News, Saturday 18 May 2013
The EU is to ban restaurants from using refillable bottles and dipping bowls of olive oil, citing hygiene and consumer protection.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor is named

BBC News, Thursday 9 May 2013
David Moyes will succeed Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager.

BBC News, Friday 26 April 2013
A supermarket chain has been forced to withdraw bags of nuts – for failing to declare they may contain nuts. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued an allergy alert saying the presence of peanuts was not declared on Booths’ own brand packets of monkey nuts.

Factory for Primark collapses in Bangladesh

Guardian, Thursday 25 April 2013
Primark is at loggerheads with campaigning organisations over signing up to an action plan that will prevent building collapses in Bangladesh in the wake of this week’s disaster at a factory in Dhaka.

Politicians are jumping on the Thatcher bandwagon

Daily Express, Monday 22 April 2013
Lady Thatcher’s death looks likely to spur a revival of Thatcherism. David Cameron in particular is wondering if he should be more like her and, according to our Chief Political Commentator Patrick O’Flynn has “rather late in the day some night say, been seized by the virtues of conviction politics and bold leadership”.

LSE anger at BBC over North Korea trip

BBC News, Sunday 14 April 2013
The London School of Economics said a Panorama reporter posed as one of its professors on a study trip in order to film undercover in North Korea. The student union’s Alex Peters-Day said the BBC used students “as a human shield”.

The Queen is to attend Maggie Thatcher’s funeral

Mail Online, Tuesday 9 April 2013
The Queen has decided to attend Baroness Thatcher’s funeral at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Former prime minister Tony Blair said the celebrations of her death were in poor taste.

The Telegraph, Sunday 31 March 2013
The prime minister became the hero of the hour when he plunged waist-deep into a swamp to save a ewe that got stuck in the mud. Cameron was on his way home from visiting a neighbouring farmer near his house in Chipping Norton when he heard a sheep bleating at around 6pm. After alerting the farmer, Cameron waded into the swamp, together with his two armed police guards, and proceeded to push the ewe, which has since been nicknamed Swampy, out of the mud to safety.