UK house prices rise at slowest rate since January - Nationwide

LONDON (Reuters) - British house prices increased last month at the weakest annual rate since January, although there are signs that demand in the market is beginning to strengthen, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Thursday.

from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-houseprices-idUKKBN13Q3KE?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

South Korean opposition differs on Park impeachment with no end to crisis in sight

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean opposition parties differed on Thursday on when to bring an impeachment motion against scandal-tainted President Park Geun-hye and were far apart from her conservative party on her offer to quit.

from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-southkorea-politics-idUKKBN13Q39K?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

What are the top five printer brands in the UK?

Photo credit: flickr.com

Realistically speaking, the big brand printers are all as good as each other, even at the entry level, as printer manufacturers strive to produce machines that are reliable and give great quality printouts. You can’t go wrong with the bigger names – Epson, Hewlett Packard, Brother, Xerox and Canon – and they’ve certainly cornered the UK market.

What you need to think about is what functions you need the printer for and how often you’ll be using it, as well as what your budget going forwards. This is because the on-going costs – toner and ink – can vary widely.

Canon

Canon printers have great looks and usually have lots of features. This company produces a lot of multifunctional printers (MFPs) and is especially generous to home-users. You can get models with wi-fi so you can synch them to several mobile devices and laptops, and you can usually choose double-sided printing to save on paper.

Best of all is the fact that Canon is known for its low cost-per-page; additionally, some Canon printers come with five separate ink tanks so you’re not dumping out half-full cartridges just because one colour has run out.

Epson

Another camera manufacturer, like Canon, Epson is known for its brilliant photo printers. It also produces some fast and efficient scanners, too, so its MFPs are particularly popular.

When it comes to regular boring black and white document printing, most Epson machines are so-so, but if you’re a keen photographer, you’ll love this brand. Even better, you can get Epson cartridges from cartridgepeople.com at knock-down prices, so team them up with some glossy paper and you’ve got your own gallery!

Hewlett Packard

Absolutely the best all-rounder brand, HP is known for its MFPs and its innovation. This company has pioneered the miniature, portable and battery-powered printer so you can do your thing while on the road. Regular-sized HP printers are also known for being all-singing all-dancing, too, with wi-fi and Bluetooth networking, full-colour touchscreens and user-friendly interfaces. They also knock out a decent print or two when it comes down to it.

Brother

Brother printers are known for their sturdiness and reliability – after all, the company also makes sewing machines! Highly popular in the US, Brother machines are often described as workhorses and are usually found in offices, as they can handle large volumes of printouts. They also don’t need a huge amount of maintenance and rarely break down. The only downside is that the inks can be a bit on the pricey side compared to other brands.

Xerox

One of the lesser-known printer brands in the UK, but certainly deserving of its place on this list. Xerox printers are brilliant all-rounders – colour, black and white, photos, these machines can handle it all with aplomb. What’s more, the company has a reputation for great customer service and after-sales care, so whether you’re an office or a domestic user, you will be well-looked after. One downside with lower end models is that they can be slow to receive files for printing, but this is a trifling matter.

from Finance Girl http://www.financegirl.co.uk/what-are-the-top-five-printer-brands-in-the-uk/

Ukraine prepares missile test near Crimea, angering Russia

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine was due to start two days of missile tests on Thursday - a move that has angered Russia, prompting it to put its air defence forces on high alert on the annexed Crimea peninsula.

from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ukraine-crisis-missiles-idUKKBN13P2TJ?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Defence spending boost best answer to Trump - EU, NATO officials

BERLIN (Reuters) - Top NATO and European military officials called in Berlin on Wednesday for more military spending to deal with threats to Europe and said that would help address concerns raised by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-nato-trump-idUKKBN13P2RT?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Germany's Merkel says will work with Trump on climate policy

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Angela Merkel said on Wednesday she would try to work on climate policy with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has said he may pull out of a landmark international accord to fight global warming.

from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-merkel-trump-idUKKBN13P2O1?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

NATO nearing solution to continue Aegean migrant mission - UK general

BERLIN (Reuters) - Turkey will likely hand off responsibility for NATO's counter-migration mission in the Aegean Sea, averting tensions with Greece, when it takes command of a broader maritime mission in the region next year, a top British general said on Wednesday.

from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-migrants-nato-idUKKBN13P2LL?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Turkish and Russian leaders agree on need for Aleppo ceasefire - sources

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed the situation in Syria's Aleppo with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin by phone for the third time in a week on Wednesday and agreed on the need for a ceasefire, sources in Erdogan's office said.

from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-turkey-russia-idUKKBN13P2G7?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Sunni tribesmen battling Islamic State demand federalism in Iraq

SHAYYALAH AL-IMAM, Iraq (Reuters) - As mortar bombs landed ever closer, Sunni tribal fighters preparing to attack Islamic State seemed more preoccupied by the failures of Iraq's political class than the militants trying to kill them.

from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-mosul-sunnis-idUKKBN13P258?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

France's Fillon seen to beat Le Pen next year with 66 percent of vote - Elabe poll

PARIS (Reuters) - France's Francois Fillon will convincingly beat National Front leader Marine Le Pen in a presidential election runoff next May, taking 66 percent of the vote, a new opinion poll showed on Wednesday.

from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-election-poll-idUKKBN13P24V?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

OPEC agrees first output cut since 2008, Saudis to take 'big hit'

VIENNA (Reuters) - OPEC has agreed its first limit on oil output since 2008, sources in the producer group told Reuters, with Saudi Arabia accepting "a big hit" on its production and agreeing to arch-rival Iran freezing output at pre-sanctions levels.

from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opec-meeting-idUKKBN13P0JR?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

On West Bank hilltop, Israeli settlers hunker down in the face of eviction

AMONA, West Bank (Reuters) - On a hilltop in the occupied West Bank, Israeli teenagers are hammering stakes into the earth and erecting tent frames, preparing the ground for a confrontation with Israeli security forces.

from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-israel-palestinians-settlements-idUKKBN13P1XT?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Syrian rebels vow to resist army advances in Aleppo

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian government said it had recaptured a district of Aleppo on Wednesday, but rebels vowed to fight on despite losing a third of their sector of the city in recent days, bringing them to the brink of a catastrophic defeat.

from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-idUKKBN13P1W2?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

U.N. Security Council imposes new sanctions on North Korea

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Wednesday that aim to cut the Asian country's annual export revenue by more than a quarter in response to Pyongyang's fifth and largest nuclear test in September.

from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-nuclear-un-idUKKBN13P1VG?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews