Julia Kollewe 15 April 2014 theguardian.com Closure of Imperial’s last factory and distribution hub will put an end to cigarette manufacturing in mainland Britain The last cigarette factory in Britain is to close, with Imperial Tobacco shutting its Nottingham plant, as well as its biggest Gauloises-producing factory in France, at Nantes. The two closures put nearly 1,000 jobs at risk. Imperial employs 540 people in its factory and distribution centre in Nottingham, where it makes Lambert & Butler, Embassy, Regal, Superkings (known as John Player) and JPS (John Player Special). The planned closure of Imperial’s last factory means there will be no cigarette manufacturing left in Britain. The only other remaining factory in the UK is run by Japan Tobacco International in Northern Ireland. Unite, Britain’s largest union, accused Imperial of “social dumping” and shipping production to low-cost eastern Europe, and vowed to fight the proposed closures together with its…

APRIL 16, 2014 AAP TWO men have been nabbed over the theft of more than $12,000 worth of petrol across Melbourne. Police found more than 800 litres of petrol, a hydroponic cannabis set-up and weapons at a Melton address during raids on three properties in the western suburbs early on Wednesday. A Melton man, 32, and a Laverton man, 34, were arrested over the thefts, which date back to July 2013. They are expected to be charged later on Wednesday. Petrol was found stored in gallon drums at the Melton property and cannabis, other drugs, cars and trailers were also seized. The Australasian Association of Convenience Stores says it wants petrol theft punishable by heavy fines and loss of demerit points, saying it costs convenience stores more than $30 million in lost revenue annually.

Allister Heath 08 Apr 2014 The Telegraph UK Abolishing Sunday trading laws in today’s 24/7 digital world is a no-brainer for the Coalition It’s time for the Coalition to allow consenting adults to shop freely on Sundays. It is ridiculous, at a time of 24/7 online shopping and late-night weekend home deliveries, that the state still restricts the opening hours of all but the smallest of stores in most of the UK. Ending the unpleasant absurdity that is Sunday chucking-out time in our supermarkets and shopping centres is a policy that ought to tick all the right boxes for the Coalition. It would be hugely popular across all demographic groups, could be implemented quickly and would create tens of thousands of jobs, including in the more depressed regions. It would also do wonders for the Government’s image: shopping, loved by millions but hated by snobs, would no longer be officially…