Amazon gets gin on the act, Waitrose's cracker of a plastic ban, and more top news

The news professionals are talking about now, curated by LinkedIn’s editors. Join the conversation on today's stories in the comments. 

Amazon has launched its first premium spirits brand in the UK, in the online retailer’s latest push into the grocery market. Produced in Birmingham, Tovess Gin is the first of multiple spirits in the pipeline. Gin is proving big business in the UK with sales reaching ￡1.9bn last year. Flavoured and coloured gins have seen a particular boom, with sales up 751% in 2018. But experts warn the rise of novelty gins could signal the beginning of a decline, echoing vodka’s fall from fruity grace a decade ago. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Waitrose and John Lewis are banning plastic toys from their Christmas crackers, using toys made from recyclable materials instead. The move, which is part of the group's drive to cut down on the amount of single-use plastic it sells, will be introduced next year. The company has also reduced by two-thirds the amount of plastic glitter it uses in products such as Christmas wrapping paper, gift bags, advent calendars and crackers. Marks & Spencer has also been making strides in the same direction, removing glitter from its entire Christmas range this year. ? Here’s what people are saying.

The maker of Masterchef and Peaky Blinders is reportedly close to a ￡1.7bn takeover by French television company Banijay. Endemol Shine's joint owners, Disney and US private equity firm Apollo Global Management are expected to finalise the deal in the coming days, bringing to a close an 18-month saga to sell the Anglo-Dutch company, reports The Daily Telegraph. The Paris-based firm isn’t the only company attempting to cash in on the “Peaky effect”. A record 42.8 million tourists visited Birmingham last year amid the rise of TV-themed-festivals and fan experiences. ? Here’s what people are saying.

European regulators are expecting to give the green light to Boeing’s grounded 737 MAX in January at the earliest, reports Reuters. The head of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Patrick Ky, says test flights by European pilots are scheduled for mid-December. While the primary responsibility for lifting the ban falls to the US Federal Aviation Administration, EASA says it expects to follow suit within weeks. Meanwhile, airlines are weighing up how to tell passengers they’ll be flying on a Boeing 737 MAX once it returns to service. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Also… Boeing said it informed US regulators “multiple times” of changes to its system, in response to the Federal Aviation Administration’s claims that the airplane maker withheld messages from 2016, reports Bloomberg. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Could you work with someone you're romantically involved with? Amanda Major, head of clinical practice at the charity Relate, told the BBC that many couples can find a way to work successfully together, but others find such an arrangement "quite intense". To make it work, couples should put boundaries in place, figure out their respective strengths and agree clear areas of responsibility based on these, Major said. She also emphasised the importance of couples spending quality time together where they're not talking about office politics. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Idea of the Day: It’s important to have your employees travel, Greg Caplan, founder and CEO of Remote Year, tells Anna Auerbach, co-founder and co-CEO of Werk.

“You're more inspired and creative when you're in these new, different environments. You build a global perspective and understanding.”

What's your take on today’s stories? Share your thoughts in the comments.

— Natalie MacDonald and Emily Spaven