The cash return equivalent to 115p a share will be by means of

The cash return, equivalent to 115p a share, will be by means of a B-share issue, and is expected to take place in July.William Hill and Stanley Leisure both declined to comment.. Plans to liberalise the UK gambling industry, allowing many more casinos to be opened, were watered down after opposition from both outside and within Government.However, the group’s strong balance sheet means it is unlikely to have any problem funding a take-over of Stanley’s betting shops, even after it has handed back the cash to shareholders. But he stayed for only an hour of cricket yesterday, and rushed off to two hours of talks with Mr Singh. It was General Musharraf’s first visit to India since an abortive summit in 2001, and it appeared to confirm a new warmth in relations. More than a week ago, the Line of Control that divides Indian and Pakistani Kashmir opened for a bus service allowing people to visit relatives on the other side.That was the first substantive result of peace talks and the signs were that General Musharraf and Mr Singh want more. They agreed to set up a joint council to improve trade links, start a rail link between Rajasthan in India and Sindh in Pakistan by December, and hand over to each other citizens who stray across the Line of Control.

India also agreed to release 156 Pakistani fishermen who were held for crossing into Indian waters to fish.”I am happy the talks were held in a positive atmosphere and with an optimistic note,” General Musharraf said. “In my view there has been progress on all issues.” Before the talks, there were colourful scenes at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla cricket ground, when General Musharraf walked on to the pitch to cheers, and met the teams. But David Harding, William Hill’s chief executive, said recently that he believes the group could add up to about 600 shops without falling foul of competition laws.Last month, the group announced it was to return £453m to shareholders after a Government U-turn over its latest Gambling Bill. On Friday, its shares closed at 472p, giving the company a market value of £609m.News of William Hill’s talks with Stanley are expected to prompt a number of other companies, such as Coral and Tote, the Government-owned bookmakers, to enter the bidding for the betting shops.William Hill could run into competition issues even if its bid is accepted by Stanley Leisure. “If it ain’t hollow, don’t swallow,” he added.Morels grow across most of America’s northern states and are honoured by spring festivals in many.

But if the forecasts of morel-mania in Alaska are true, the rush may soon be on to catch a plane, mushroom basket in hand, to Fairbanks.. Tens of thousands of Ecuadorians took to the streets over the weekend in an uprising against their President, former army colonel Luis Gutierrez, accusing him of assuming more dictatorial powers in a bid to stay in office. Thousands of citizens also gathered across the city, banging pots and pieces of wood and waving rolls of toilet paper, a symbol of their desire to clean up the “mess” of the Gutierrez presidency.The crisis, which has been fomenting for months but became critical only a few days ago, has taken on the quality of a Latin American uniformed farce. President Gutierrez first imposed a state of emergency in Quito – banning street protests and large political gatherings – then retracted it when the entire panoply of Ecuadorian political parties, along with the military brass and the US government, told him he had gone too far.At the root of the crisis is a decision, taken by the Ecuadorian Congress at the President’s prompting, to replace the Supreme Court last December. The new court promptly quashed all outstanding corruption charges against two former presidents, whose support Mr Gutierrez needed to maintain a slim majority in Congress.The two, both accused of looting the country for personal gain, returned from exile in Panama this month, provoking fury in the opposition and on the streets.But until a few days ago, it looked as if the President could weather the crisis.