United Kingdom

    Fried chicken fans in the UK have been left confused after several KFC restaurants were forced to close due to running out of chicken. Restaurants are reported to be closed in Manchester, Plymouth, Newcastle, Berkshire, Suffolk and Surrey. The Manchester Evening News reports restaurants are placing the blame on delivery problems, with one location putting up a sign that said "hiccups" in the delivery process had forced the closure. Sorry we're closed. We deliver our chicken fresh into our restaurants but we've had a few hiccups with the delivery today, the sign read. We wouldn't want to open without offering our full menu, but we'll be back at the fryers as soon as we can. Apologies for the inconvenience. Customers weren't pleased, with many asking how a restaur...

    A former Czech spy has reportedly claimed that Jeremy Corbyn was a paid informant in the 1980's an allegation that the Labour Party leader has emphatically denied. Ján Sarkocy told Czech news outlet CT24 that he had met with the Labour leader before the fall of the Soviet Union, and that Corbyn was paid for information he provided. In a statement provided to Business Insider, a spokesperson for Corbyn denied the claim. The former Czechoslovak agent Jan Sarkocy's account of his meeting with Jeremy was false 30 years ago, is false now and has no credibility whatsoever. His story has more plot holes in it than a bad James Bond movie, they said. Earlier this week, The Sun reported that Corbyn had apparently unwittingly met multiple times with a Communist spy in the 198...

    A council is planning to offer free school meals 365 days a year to children from low income households to help tackle holiday hunger. North Lanarkshire Council proposes expanding its free meal entitlement beyond the school gate to cover the 175 days of the year when pupils are not at school during weekends and school holidays. The local authority’s leisure and culture facilities and community facilities could be used to help deliver the service which would cost around £500,000 a year. Councillor Frank McNally, convener of education, said: These proposals to tackle weekend and holiday hunger are the most ambitious in the country. Groups like the Trussell Trust are struggling to cope with demand from parents and research has suggested that pressure on food banks do...

    A new report calls on the government to give £10,000 to everyone under 55 years of age as part of a move towards a national universal basic income (UBI). The Royal Society for the encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) said the £10,000 Universal Basic Opportunity Fund" would "address an increasingly concerning reality of people cycling in and out of poverty, being subject to employment and financial insecurity and without adequate opportunities to reconfigure their lives as they wish. The RSA believes the money would help UK citizens through the 2020s, "as automation replaces many jobs, climate change hits and more people face balancing employment with social care". Payments would not be means tested and would come from a British sovereign wealt...

    Prince Harry may have just hinted on Prince William’s important role during his May 19 wedding to Meghan Markle. During his trip to Edinburgh, one fan asked Prince Harry what he will be doing for his stag party. The 33-year-old prince said that he’s sure his older brother is already planning something. Organizing the groom’s stag party is typically done by his best man. Last month, Prince William revealed that his brother has not asked him to be his best man yet. While speaking with U.K. radio host Roman Kemp (via People), Prince William said that his role at Prince Harry and Markle’s wedding is a sensitive subject. After all, the couple’s wedding will take place on the same day as the F.A. Cup Finals. When asked if he will miss the F.A. Cup so he could be at Princ...

    It started with a holiday. Five years ago Tori Gabriel and her husband went to Florida. The plan was one last big trip together before they started a family, so they took out an affordable loan to cover it. A £7,500 loan turned into a £10,000 loan, then there were the credit card costs on top. The couple found themselves with £11,000 of debt and an income of just £22,000 after tax. Our payments for the loan were about £200 a month we didn't have a lot left over at the end of each month but it was okay, Tori told The Sun But then my hours at worked were reduced and Jessica was born and it was a real struggle. Beating their debt On top of their existing debts and new childcare costs, Tori and Steve were hit with a new expense at the end of 2016. Their landlord d...

    The Queen has joked with two of England’s rugby stars about the fitness levels of the UK’s players as she celebrated the achievements of the Commonwealth. Brothers Billy and Mako Vunipola, who have Tongan heritage but were brought up in the UK, laughed when they said the Queen questioned the widely held view that today’s rugby sportsmen were tougher and fitter. Prime Minister Theresa May and husband Philip made a surprise appearance as did Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson who earlier in the day had given a major speech on Brexit. His brother quipped: I think she was calling us fat which is fair enough. Billy, who has missed out on Six Nations rugby due to a broken forearm, said: It’s a massive honour that we are here and a privilege, something we will probably brag...

    In an address in which Foreign Secretary outlined his vision for the country’s departure from the EU, he also quipped the right deal on aviation and on visa-free travel would allow Britons ever more intensively to go on cheapo flights to stag parties in ancient cities. Mr Johnson said: As I have just discovered we have more than a million who go to Thailand every year, where according to our superb consular services they get up to the most eye-popping things. If we get the right deal on aviation and on visa-free travel both of which are in our mutual interest this expansion of UK tourism will continue, not just beyond the EU, but within the EU itself; and we will continue ever more intensively to go on cheapo flights to stag parties in ancient cities, meet interesti...

    The party’s 50-point animal welfare draft policy also sets out plans to strengthen the Hunting Act to prevent illegal fox hunting, and enshrine the principle that animals are sentient in law. The plans, backed by conservation charity WWF, will be seen as an attempt to wrestle back political ground after the Conservative government announced a series of animal-friendly policies. The proposals also include exploring the potential for elderly and disabled people who move into care homes to keep their pets. Other measures proposed by Labour include mandatory labelling of domestic and imported meat including country of origin and production and slaughter methods, as it seeks to set out its position as the party of animal welfare. Under the plans, landlords would be con...

    The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge at the Dartford Crossing was closed after a World War Two bomb was found nearby. The device was discovered shortly before 9am on Tuesday and the Ministry of Defence bomb disposal team is on the way to the scene, Essex Police said. Motorists were caught up in huge queues on the roads surrounding the bridge following the discovery. The bridge has now re-opened but police said it could be closed again later so the bomb could be removed. It comes after a 500kg World War two bomb was discovered in Thames near London City Airport on Sunday. An Essex Police spokesman said: We are on scene at an industrial estate in Oliver Close, Grays after an unexploded World War II bomb was discovered. We were called at around 8.55am today. The Queen El...