US anti-terror spying powers expire

US anti-terror provisions that allow security services to bulk collect phone data expire after the Senate fails to reach a deal.

UK banks launch Fifa payment reviews

UK banks Barclays and Standard Chartered have begun internal reviews into whether they were used for corrupt payments by Fifa officials, the BBC understands.

European anger at Russian blacklist

The EU responds angrily to Russia's entry ban against 89 European politicians and top officials, calling the blacklist "arbitrary and unjustified".

No £100 fine for late tax returns

People who have filed late tax returns are to be let off paying a £100 fine for missing the deadline, HM Revenue and Customs has confirmed.

Fifa re-elects Blatter president

Fifa re-elects Sepp Blatter president as his rival withdraws after the first round of a vote overshadowed by allegations of corruption in world football.

Corfu gas deaths: Mother criticises Thomas Cook CEO for 'conscious clearing' charity donation

Mother Sharon Wood accuses CEO Harriet Green of 'abhorrent' behaviour following deaths of her children.

Blatter unity call before Fifa vote

Beleaguered Fifa president Sepp Blatter calls for unity in a fighting speech ahead of a vote to decide the next leader of football's world governing body.

Buhari sworn in as President of Nigeria

Muhammadu Buhari is sworn in as President of Nigeria, in the country's first democratic handover of power from a sitting leader to a rival. As Grace Pascoe reports he faces a number of challenges, including a slowing economy that's been hit hard by weak oil prices.

From MouthOff to Monument Valley: ustwo's path to apps fame

The inventive London-based studio is planning more games and music-industry moves, as well as investment in startups, in a drive to never be second-guessed

In January, creative studio ustwo made a splash by releasing sales figures for its Monument Valley mobile game.

The game and its Forgotten Shores expansion had cost $1.4m to make, but more than 2.4m sales generated revenue of nearly $5.9m, while the game scooped sackfuls of awards.

Related: The best apps of 2014 for Android, iPhone and iPad

Related: Dice gambles on shaking up gig tickets: 'We're getting rid of the friction'

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Embattled Fifa votes on presidency

Fifa is set to vote for a new president amid a corruption scandal, with Sepp Blatter seeking a fifth term but challenged by Jordan's Prince Ali.

Intel not bidding for Broadcom and close to buying smaller rival Altera for $15bn

Chipmaker Avago Technologies earlier agreed to buy rival Broadcom in cash-and-stock deal valued at $37bn.

Google makes Android more family-friendly with new features for parents

Apps for kids getting their own sections on the Google Play store, plus pages for Peppa Pig, Frozen, Star Wars and other brands

Google has launched new features for its Google Play store to make it easier for parents to find Android apps, games and videos for children.

They include a “Family” filter for the store’s apps, games and movies & TV sections; the ability to browse apps by age range plus a new system of “star badges” to display age ratings; and dedicated pages on the store for popular kids’ brands.

Related: The best Android apps for kids of 2014

Related: Apps' data collection from children comes under UK privacy review

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Apple publishes workaround for message bug that crashes iOS devices

Getting Siri to read unread messages then using voice-control features to reply fixes iMessage issue, in advance of full software update

Hey Siri, can you help me get access to my texts again after that strange message I received consisting of non-Latin characters crashed my iPhone? In advance of a software update to fix the bug, yes it can.

Apple has published a temporary workaround for iOS users affected by the bug, which was uncovered earlier in the week for iPhones, and subsequently revealed to be capable of affecting the Apple Watch, iPads and Macs.

Related: iPhone text message bug can crash Apple Watch, iPad and Mac too

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Google unveils Android 'M' software with focus on security and battery life

New version of Android software for smartphones, tablets, watches and TVs outlined at Google I/O developer conference and will be released later this year

Google’s next version of Android software for smartphones, tablets, watches and TVs is called “M” and will aim to beef up security while conserving battery life, the tech company announced on Thursday at I/O, its annual developer conference in San Francisco.

With Android M, Google is attempting to spread its mobile operating system far and wide, building on previous initiatives with last year’s Android “Lollipop” and its developing-world focused Android One for low-cost smartphones.

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Market round-up: Sports Direct and Kingfisher lift FTSE 100 with better than expected results

FTSE 100 rose 0.11% overall today

Breakingviews: Tackling FIFA

Breakingviews editors explain why U.S. enforcers have been able to indict FIFA officials and what the anti-corruption push means for Sepp Blatter, the world football organization's president.

Greece optimistic as G7 gets underway

As G7 finance ministers and central bank governors begin talks in Dresden on how to revive global growth, the Greek government says it hopes a debt deal will be reached by Sunday. Others, however believe default is imminent. Kirsty Basset reports.

Sponsors pressure FIFA to take action

Visa is calling on FIFA to take "swift and immediate" steps to address corruption claims. Other sponsors have expressed their disappointment, while consumers are threatening to boycott brands linked to FIFA. Ciara Lee reports.

Rail workers to strike next month

Rail workers in the RMT union are to hold 24-hour and 48-hour strikes next month after rejecting a pay offer from Network Rail.

Fifteen drivers to be prosecuted for filming lorry collision on A14

Figures show tenfold increase in six years in number of people facing charges for using a mobile phone behind the wheel

At least 15 motorists are to be prosecuted for using a mobile phone to take pictures or video of a four-lorry pile-up.

The collision happened on the A14 between Histon and Girton, in Cambridgeshire, at about 5.45am on Thursday and involved a lorry carrying seven and a half tonnes of teddy bears. Two of the lorry drivers suffered minor injuries.

This is what was left this morning after our crews rescued a casualty froma two-HGV collision on #A14 w/bound #girton pic.twitter.com/WmrRo0gvUw

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Applegreen: Petrol forecourt firm hopes to raise €70m from IPO

Applegreen will list on the AIM and ESM in June.

15 motorists to be prosecuted for filming multi-lorry traffic collision

Figures show tenfold increase in number of people prosecuted for using a mobile phone while driving in recent years

At least 15 motorists are to be prosecuted for using a mobile phone to take pictures or video of a four-lorry pile-up.

The collision happened on the A14 between Histon and Girton, in Cambridgeshire, at about 5.45am on Thursday and involved one lorry which was carrying seven and a half tonnes of teddy bears. Two of the lorry drivers suffered minor injuries.

This is what was left this morning after our crews rescued a casualty froma two-HGV collision on #A14 w/bound #girton pic.twitter.com/WmrRo0gvUw

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Fifa arrests spark sponsor concerns

Major sponsors express "serious concerns" after the US accuses Fifa officials of racketeering, fraud and money laundering.

Former Thomas Cook boss Harriet Green donates shares to charity for Bobby and Christi Shepherd

Children died from carbon monoxide poisoning at a Corfu hotel

Sponsors will stand by FIFA - Mike Bako

Mike Bako, sports editor at the Daily National, talks about the FIFA corruption scandal, and how it will impact the sponsors behind the world's top sport. Bobbi Rebell reports.

iOS bug lets anyone crash your iPhone with a text message

Glitch causes iOS to choke when certain non-Latin script is sent in a text message, causing the device to crash

A bug in Apple’s iOS means that anyone can crash an iPhone by simply sending it a certain string of characters in a message.

The bug – discovered by several Reddit users – means that when the message is received it instantly crashes the iPhone and causes it to reboot, as long as the recipient is not viewing their message history at the time.

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Swiss arrest top global soccer officials

Swiss police have arrested some of the most powerful figures in global soccer, announcing a criminal investigation into the awarding of the next two world cups. As Duarte Garrido reports it's plunged the world's most popular sport into turmoil.

Trader kept Libor 'artificially high'

The trader at the centre of the Libor rate-rigging trial tried to influence other banks to manipulate the key benchmark rate, a court hears.

Tiffany & Co sees share price soar after sales beat expectations

Sales fell in the first quarter but less severely than expected in good news for shareholders.

Fifa 'took bribes for 2010 World Cup'

US Fifa corruption inquiry covers bribes allegedly paid for 2010 World Cup in S Africa and Fifa presidency in 2011

JLR-parent Tata Motors shares drop after China troubles batter profit

Sales of JLR cars in China, the firm's biggest market, dropped 20% in the quarter ended March.

iPhone bug lets anyone crash your phone with a text message

Glitch in Apple’s iOS chokes when certain non-Latin script is sent in a text message, causing the device to crash

A bug in Apple’s iOS means that anyone can crash an iPhone by simply sending it a certain string of characters in a message.

The bug – discovered by several Reddit users – means that when the message is received it instantly crashes the iPhone and causes it to reboot, as long as the recipient is not viewing their message history at the time.

Continue reading...

Michael Kors reports slowest growth since public listing

Luxury clothes and accessories company's share price plummeted after disappointing results

Tax allowances to track minimum wage

Future increases in the income tax personal allowance will be linked to rises in the national minimum wage, the government announces.

The iPhone bug that lets anyone crash your phone with a text message

Glitch in Apple’s iOS chokes when certain non-Latin script is sent in a text message, causing the device to crash

A bug in Apple’s iOS means that anyone can crash an iPhone by simplysending it a certain string of characters in a message.

The bug – discovered by several Reddit users – means that when the message is received it instantly crashes the iPhone and causes it to reboot, as long as the recipient is not viewing their message history at the time.

Continue reading...

Asian markets round-up: Most bourses trade lower after weak Wall Street handover

Nikkei strikes a fresh 15-year high and the benchmark index has gained some 17.3% so far this year.

Royal Bank of Scotland considering £13bn bid for state-owned mortgage portfolio Granite

It would be RBS's first major purchase since it was bailed out with £45.5bn of taxpayers' money.

Baby hippopotamus swims with mother in San Diego Zoo

An eight-week old hippopotamus ventures into the deep waters of San Diego Zoo's pool with the guidance of her mother, attracting the attention of curious visitors. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

Could Jony Ive's promotion at Apple actually inch him closer to the exit door?

Industry watchers, who try in vain to decipher the secretive tech giant’s internal politics, are reading a lot into news of Sir Jonathan’s switch to chief design officer

The ever-growing group of people who scrutinise Apple’s internal politics are poring over the announcement that Sir Jonathan Ive has been promoted to chief design officer. For tech kremlinologists, it raises questions about the 48-year-old Briton. Is he on the way out as well as up? Is it his own choice? Or does it mean that he’s going to devote more time to a huge future project such as the rumoured Apple car?

Related: Forget the internet of things – we need an internet of people

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Breakingviews: Time Warner Cable cashes in

Jeffrey Goldfarb and Reynolds Holding discuss the company's $56 bln sale to smaller rival Charter and what made this deal more enticing than last year's rejected bid.

Charter Communications to pay $78.7bn for Time Warner Cable in mammoth US cable deal

Charter is also acquiring Bright House Networks for $10.4bn.

Samsung to merge units in restructure for next generation takeover

A £5.23bn merger of two of its units would help the struggling company re-establish itself in the market.

Asian markets round-up: Most bourses rise despite lack of fresh cues

Chinese billionaire Pan Sutong's Goldin Properties Holdings rockets 44.09% in Hong Kong trade.

Deadly tornado strikes Mexican city

At least 13 people die as a tornado strikes Mexico's Ciudad Acuna, with flooding over the border in Texas leaving three dead and 12 missing.

Markets uneasy as Polish opposition cheers presidential win

Polish markets dip as Andrzej Duda, seen as less business-friendly, wins presidency. Deborah Lutterbeck reports.