ENGLAND:

Budget hotel chain Travelodge announced the creation of 200 new jobs in the UK in the run-up to Christmas today.

Convenience foods group Uniq revealed a surge in pre-Christmas business today as it mirrored the revival of its biggest customer Marks & Spencer.

A group of British tourists escaped death by riding the tsunami on surfboards, they said today as they flew home from coastal areas of Sri Lanka.

Convenience foods group Uniq said today it was considering the closure of two UK factories as part of a shake-up at its dessert-making division.