In what likely amounts to a combination of headline-chasing and genuine frustration, members of the British Parliament sounded off this week on Google and the company’s tax practices.
Margaret Hodge, chair of the public accounts committee, told Matt Brittin, Google’s northern Europe boss, that Google’s behavior on taxes was “devious” and “unethical.”
She added, for posterity, that Google does indeed “do evil,” a reference to Google’s longstanding motto, “Don’t be evil [...]
Google Scolded on Taxes by British MPs
In what likely amounts to a combination of headline-chasing and genuine frustration, members of the British Parliament sounded off this week on Google and the company’s tax practices.
Margaret Hodge, chair of the public accounts committee, told Matt Brittin, Google’s northern Europe boss, that Google’s behavior on taxes was “devious” and “unethical.”
She added, for posterity, that Google does indeed “do evil,” a reference to Google’s longstanding motto, “Don’t be evil [...]
French same-sex marriage law signed by François Hollande
The French president, François Hollande, has signed a law authorising same-sex couples to marry and adopt children, after months of street protests, political slanging matches and a rise in homophobic attacks.
The move makes France the ninth country in Europe and the 14th globally to legalise same-sex marriage.
France’s official journal announced on Saturday that the bill had become law after the Constitutional Council rejected a challenge by the rightwing opposition on Friday.
The first same-sex marriage is due to be held in Montpe [...]
Ireland fly-half O’Gara retires
Ireland and Munster fly-half Ronan O’Gara will take up a coaching role with Racing Metro next season after announcing his retirement on Saturday.
The 36-year-old has been capped 128 times by Ireland and toured with the Lions on three occasions.
O’Gara made 240 appearances for Munster, winning two Heineken Cups and scoring 2,625 points.
O’Gara is set to become Metro’s kicking coach and will work alongside Irish fly-half Jonathan Sexton.
Leinster fly-half Sexton will move to the French outfit at [...]
On the road: Mazda6 2.2D Saloon Sport Nav Auto
We’re off to see my mum. “Navigate to Dorchester-on-Thames,” I command, to test out the state-of-the-art, voice-activated satnav. “Navigate to the nearest mountain pass – is that correct?” the car says. What? No! Dorchester-on-Thames. I try again. “Navigate to the nearest government office?” Maybe Mum’s village is too small. Let’s try Oxford – surely Mazda’s heard of that. “Navigate to the nearest opera – is that correct?”
Now, it’s possible I’m doing some [...]
Japan’s clubbing crackdown: don’t stop the dance | Lanre Bakare
Before Kevin Bacon was walking around in annoying adverts talking about himself and the 4G network, he was in a film called Footloose. It focuses on a teenager who is sent to live in the small town of Bomont, West Virginia, where rock music and dancing are banned. It’s debatable whether or not the film is any good but the basic premise – that the simple act of dancing could be banned – seemed like something that, well, could only happen in the movies. However, in Japan and especially the country’s third largest city, Osaka, th [...]
The Outnet’s MD offers her tips for your summer wardrobe
You might expect the party line from The Outnet, the discounted previous-season little sister of Net‑A-Porter, to be that women want classic, timeless pieces. Quite the contrary: what Stephanie Phair has learned from the site’s success is that “trends stick around longer than you’d think. When a good idea comes along, designers will play with it for several seasons.”
Right now, soft pink is hot news. “Anything in that colour is flying,” Phair says. “And that’s a key colour for next season.& [...]
N Korea ‘fires short-range missiles’
18 May 2013
Last updated at 05:35 ET
Earlier this year, North Korea threatened nuclear strikes and attacks on targets in the US and South Korea
North Korea has fired three short-range missiles from its east coast, South Korea’s defence ministry said.
Two missiles were fired on Saturday morning and one in the afternoon, the ministry said in a statement.
Officials at the ministry said they were “monitoring the situation and remain on alert”.
The launches come at a time of stalemate between the two neighbou [...]
The Atterley Road founder offers her tips for your summer wardrobe
“Every woman needs an item jacket,” Katie Starmer-Smith says: a posh-looking bouclé jacket that looks great with jeans or a dress. “It does that desk to dinner thing.”
At 34, and a working mother of one, Starmer-Smith is the embodiment of the Atterley Road customer. Albeit one with bouncier hair and a nine-year career in fashion buying at Jigsaw behind her. She started thinking about the website in 2011, after feeling that certain shops on the high street were looking too young for her, and frustrated that her favo [...]
UK backpacker dies from poisoned alcohol in Indonesia
A British backpacker has died after drinking poisoned alcohol in the Indonesian jungle.
Cheznye Emmons, 23, had bought a bottle labelled “gin” from a shop, which turned out to be deadly methanol. The beauty therapist from Essex had been trekking with her boyfriend and another man they met while travelling.
All three suffered health problems after drinking the methanol, which can cause kidney failure, blindness, seizures and death. Emmons lost her sight and was taken through the jungle to the nearest eye clinic. She was referre [...]
Moshi Monsters’ founder: the shift to mobile caught us by surprise
London-based Mind Candy was stalling five years ago, but took a punt on an idea for a social networking game site for children.
By 2013, the children’s game network had become ubiquitous at every supermarket checkout and at every toy store – a runaway brand extension success.
Founder Michael Acton-Smith insists that revenues are holding up, but admits the company has struggled with the speed at which children are switching to tablets and mobiles, and has yet to release its tablet app.
On the eve of Moshi’s fifth [...]
British girl drowns in Egyptian hotel pool
A five-year-old girl from south London has drowned in a hotel pool at an Egyptian resort in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Chloe Johnson, from Forest Hill in south London, died in a water park at the Coral Sea Waterworld hotel while on a family holiday.
Her grandmother told Sky News on Saturday that the family was devastated by her death.
A spokeswoman for the travel company First Choice said: “First Choice can sadly confirm that a child has died while staying at the Coral Sea Waterworld hotel in Egypt. The incident occurred in a pool in the hote [...]
The founder of my-wardrobe.com offers her tips for your summer wardrobe
Launched in 2006, my-wardobe.com has always been about offering a choice of aspirational, but not intimidating, clothes. “Everyday luxury” is the brand’s mantra. According to Curran, a “blended wardrobe” is how we dress now. “It’s not about a split between working and weekend,” she says. “It’s either dressed up or dressed down.”
For Curran, the “relaxed Riviera” look she’s wearing would take her from a board meeting to a business dinner. Printed palazzo pa [...]