Laying a table well is one of the best ways to make guests feel relaxed and cosy. Queen of tablescaping Laura Jackson’s advice? Forget the stiff old rules and have fun with it

* ITV make successful £80m bid for Nations Championship * TNT miss out after losing Champions League last month ITV is poised to win the rights to broadcast every England rugby union Test from next year after submitting a successful £80m bid for the inaugural Nations Championship. The terrestrial broadcaster has beaten off a rival bid from TNT Sports to secure a deal that will ensure that all of the home nations matches will be available free-to-air for at least the next three years, in a major boost for the exposure of the sport. Continue reading...

* Ifab may loosen approach to trials of new rules * World Cup could see first trial use of VAR for corners Football’s lawmakers are exploring the possibility of allowing tournaments to run their own trials of new rules, which could lead to VAR being used to adjudicate on corner kicks at next summer’s World Cup. Under the change the International Football Association Board (Ifab) would allow more short-term trials as an alternative to the system whereby major tournaments largely introduce measures only after they have been trialled, usually in minor leagues or tournaments. Continue reading...

Marketing boss says Prime generated €6mn in fare discounts, costing the airline ‘more money than it generates’

Exclusive: Rail regulator pulls Avanti service from timetable from mid-December but it is needed for staff travel The good news for rail travel between Manchester and London is that a morning train will continue to link England’s biggest cities in under two hours. The bad news: passengers will no longer be able to get onboard. The rail regulator has axed one of Britain’s fastest and most lucrative intercity services, the 7am Avanti West Coast from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston, as part of a timetable shake-up that will take effect in mid-December. Continue reading...

Immediate software change on ‘significant number’ of jets to result in disruption to half the global fleet Airbus said on Friday it was ordering an immediate software change on a “significant number” of its bestselling A320 family of aircraft in a move that industry sources said would bring disruption to half the global fleet, or thousands of jets. The move must be carried out before the next routine flight, according to a separate bulletin to airlines seen by Reuters, with the UK’s civil aviation authority warning of “some disruption and cancellations” to flights over the coming days. Continue reading...

Expert advisers likely to recommend only a few thousand men with genetic variant should be eligible for tests Prostate cancer screening will not be made routinely available for the vast majority of men across the UK, according to the expected recommendations from a panel of expert government health advisers. The UK national screening committee is expected to only recommend screening for men with the genetic variants BRCA1 and BRCA2 who are between the ages of 45 and 61. Continue reading...