General news

• May launches review of high UK university fees, promising fairer deal

  18-02-2018 23:37
  Britain could reduce the burden of university fees on students and bring back grants for their living expenses, Prime Minister Theresa May will say on Monday, under pressure to lure younger voters a year after they cost her parliamentary majority.May's predecessor David Cameron, a fellow Conservative, tripled the cost of tuition for students from England and Wales to 9,000 pounds a year, many times higher than the fees other EU countries charge their citizens.
  
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• May warns universities over high cost of tuition fees

  18-02-2018 23:32
  The prime minister also hinted at the return of grants to help students from poorer families.Theresa May is to press ahead with attempts to force universities to charge less for some courses based on their costs and potential graduate earnings, despite critics within her own party and the higher education sector branding the move incoherent and unworkable.Announcing a long-awaited review of education funding for over-18s in England, the prime minister will say that reserving university for the m
  
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• Tuition fees: May's overhaul is 'clear, simple and wrong' answer

  18-02-2018 23:31
  Tuition fees account for less than half of many students’ debts – so cutting them still leaves a lot owing.On tuition fees and student debt in England, both Theresa May and her new education secretary, Damian Hinds, are going for the “clear, simple and wrong” option.May’s intuition is: why should students at Oxbridge and a former polytech have to pay the same £9,250 a year to study as undergraduates?
  
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• Angry 'move your van' note left on ambulance in Staffordshire

  18-02-2018 23:26
  The hand-written message was left on an ambulance in Tunstall, Staffordshire, while paramedics attended a 999 call and read: "If this van is for anyone but Number 14 then you have no right to be parked here.Ms Tudor added that the ambulance wasn't blocking the road and was in a parking space.
  
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• Survivors of the Florida school shooting are planning to march in cities across the US

  18-02-2018 20:07
  “March For Our Lives is created by, inspired by, and led by students across the country.”
  
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• BAFTAs 2018 CHAOS as leftie protesters storm red carpet shouting ‘Time’s Up Theresa’

  18-02-2018 19:17 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE BAFTAs 2018 red carpet descended into chaos this evening when security were forced to remove protestors by force.
  
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• Civility will only return when we learn to respect each others’ views again

  18-02-2018 18:18
  A stop Brexit protest in London last month. ‘I abstained from voting, being, to quote Clive James, “firmly in both camps”,’ writes Jill Rooney.James Graham (In this age of anger, civility has never been more essential, 17 February) is right about the conversation crisis in public and civic life.The mainstream media have a lot to answer for too, as they have never given intelligent, decent leavers a voice, playing up to the stereotypes at every opportunity, seeking ou
  
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• ‘We’re sophisticated!’ Jacob Rees-Mogg attacks Remain elite's swipes at Brexit voters

  18-02-2018 17:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  JACOB Rees-Mogg dismissed Remainers' claims Brexiteers did not know what they were voting for in the 2016 Referendum as "condescending".
  
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• 'That ship has sailed!' Labour MP says he'd rather STARVE than back Jeremy Corbyn

  18-02-2018 17:55 via feedproxy.google.com
  LABOUR Co-operative MP John Woodcock admitted he would rather starve than sing along to "Oh, Jeremy Corbyn" to have a share of the last coconut left on a desert island.
  
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• Boy with rare form of epilepsy denied cannabis oil treatment

  18-02-2018 17:43
  The government has refused to issue a licence for a six-year-old boy with a rare form of epilepsy to be treated with cannabis oil, despite evidence that it has eased his symptoms and support from MPs.Alfie Dingley, from Kenilworth, Warwickshire, can suffer up to 30 seizures a day.Members of the all-party parliamentary group for drug policy reform urged the Home Office to allow him to use it.
  
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• Old £10 Note Cut-Off Date Is Fast Approaching - Here's What You Need To Know

  18-02-2018 17:36
  If you’ve got any old £10 notes, it’s time to get spending, as you now have less than two weeks until they cease to be legal tender.
  
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• Man, 19, found stabbed to death in west London

  18-02-2018 17:10
  A murder investigation is under way after a 19-year-old man was found stabbed to death in west London.The man was discovered on Logan Place, just north of Earls Court, in the early hours of Sunday.Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell, from the Metropolitan Police, said a party was being held at a nearby address on Earls Court Road.
  
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• Farming businesses 'could be wiped out after Brexit transition'

  18-02-2018 16:53
  The dairy industry would be hit hardest by tariffs on the export front, said the committee.Food prices could rise sharply and farming businesses could be wiped out at the end of a Brexit transition period, a House of Commons committee has warned.The cross-party environment, food and rural affairs select committee said the timetable for concluding a new free trade deal with the EU by the end of 2020 was “extremely ambitious”.
  
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• Ambulances stuck at A&E 'unable to respond quickly to 999 calls'

  18-02-2018 16:48
  Patients who have a stroke or heart attack are at “risk of harm” because so many ambulances are stuck at A&E units that they cannot respond quickly enough to 999 calls, an NHS boss is warning.The admission, by a senior figure in the NHS ambulance service, has highlighted the growing number of seriously ill patients who are having to wait for several hours – far beyond the target response time of eight minutes – for paramedics to arrive and help them.Wayne Bartlett-Syr
  
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• Gerard Batten Defends Describing Islam As A 'Death Cult'

  18-02-2018 16:45
  Ukip’s acting leader has defended labelling Islam a “death cult”.
  
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• 'All aspects' of university funding to be looked at in higher education review

  18-02-2018 16:38
  A long-awaited review into higher education funding will look at "all aspects" of the system, the universities minister has told Sky News.Speaking on the Sunday with Niall Paterson show, Sam Gyimah said it would "look at the evidence dispassionately", amid suggestions fees for some courses could be cut.Students are currently charged up to £9,250 a year in tuition fees.
  
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• How can we regulate our savage market for instant news?

  18-02-2018 16:27
  Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school student Emma Gonzalez speaks at a rally for gun control.Bullet holes in a computer screen, filmed by a cowering high school student sheltering in a classroom where a gunman was on the loose: just one of the images in the visual market created for those watching the news of the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Florida.Grabbed and recycled from mobile phone screens, they circulated through television channels, radio and websites almost in
  
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• Alfie Dingley: Boy with severe epilepsy denied cannabis treatment by Home Office

  18-02-2018 16:21
  A six-year-old boy who can suffer up to 30 seizures a day has been denied permission to use cannabis.Alfie Dingley, from Warwickshire, has a rare and extreme form of epilepsy.In September, he and his parents, Hannah Deacon and Drew Dingley, went to the Netherlands so he could take a cannabis-based medicine prescribed by paediatric neurologist.
  
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• Universities may be able to offer two-year degrees

  18-02-2018 16:20
  Universities may be able to offer two-year degrees
  
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• ‘Conservative leaning, gun-owning’ man gives up his weapon to make a stand on semi-automatic rifles

  18-02-2018 16:17
  Ben Dickmann decided it was time to take a stand.
  
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• Cutting tuition fees would backfire, Justine Greening warns PM

  18-02-2018 16:01
  Justine Greening’s comments on ITV’s Robert Peston suggest the Conservatives are still divided over how to handle rising student debt.The government’s desire to cut tuition fees for students on courses with lower graduate earnings is fraught with difficulty and unlikely to succeed, the former education secretary Justine Greening has warned.Speaking ahead of Theresa May’s announcement on Monday of a major review of higher education funding, Greening outlined her concern th
  
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• Emma Watson donates £1m to fight sexual harassment ahead of BAFTAs

  18-02-2018 15:45
  Emma Watson has donated £1m to a new fund aiming to tackle a "culture of harassment, abuse and impunity".Tom Hiddleston and Keira Knightley are also listed on the Go Fund Me page, donating £10,000 each.The Justice and Equality Fund has been set up by women working in the UK entertainment industry and aims to raise £2m to fight sexual harassment and discrimination.
  
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• Ukip's Gerard Batten reiterates his belief that Islam is a death cult

  18-02-2018 15:31
  Ukip’s interim leader, Gerard Batten, has reiterated his belief that Islam is a death cult and called for Muslims to be asked to sign a document renouncing parts of the Qur’an, in remarks that risk pushing the beleaguered party even further from the mainstream.Batten, an MEP for London, took over as party head on Saturday after Henry Bolton was removed at an emergency general meeting of party members, called when Bolton refused to step down following controversy about his personal af
  
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• Ukip's Gerard Batten reiterates his belief that Islam is a 'death cult'

  18-02-2018 15:31
  Ukip’s interim leader, Gerard Batten, has reiterated his belief that Islam is a “death cult” and called for Muslims to be asked to sign a document renouncing parts of the Qur’an, in remarks that risk pushing the beleaguered party even further from the mainstream.Batten, an MEP for London, took over as party head on Saturday after Henry Bolton was removed at an emergency general meeting of party members, called when Bolton refused to step down following controversy about h
  
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• ‘Momentum thickos!’ Dan Hannan attacks supporters standing by Corbyn over spy claims

  18-02-2018 15:02 via feedproxy.google.com
  A TORY MEP launched a stinging attack on “Momentum thickos” he says are failing to hold Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to account over his alleged meeting with a Czechoslovakian spy.
  
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• Britain wants degree fees to reflect choice of subject

  18-02-2018 14:45
  Students at British universities could be charged variable tuition rates that reflect the economic value of their degrees, Minister for Education Damian Hinds said on Sunday, before the launch of a review of higher education funding.University tuition fees in England are high compared with elsewhere in Europe at around 9,000 pounds a year, and the opposition Labour Party gained support from students in last year's election with a pledge to abolish fees in the future.Hinds defended tuition fees i
  
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• Rapist killer Keith Whitehouse recaptured after going on the run

  18-02-2018 14:23
  Keith Whitehouse, who killed and raped 21-year-old Suzanne Bromiley while on leave from a 30-month kidnapping sentence in 1991, failed to appear for a roll call at Leyhill open prison in south Gloucestershire on Saturday evening.It is the second time the 56-year-old has absconded from prison, having killed Ms Bromiley during five-days' leave from Risley jail in Warrington.Whitehouse - who was known to have a psychopathic personality disorder - also stabbed his victim in the head after meeting he
  
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• Dad’s outrage as hotel thinks he’s a paedophile for checking in with his daughter

  18-02-2018 14:22 via feedproxy.google.com
  A FATHER staying at a hotel with his teenage daughter while visiting his cancer-stricken mother has blasted staff who called police and told them he was a paedophile.
  
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• May's Brexit transition demand 'would penalise EU citizens'

  18-02-2018 13:59
  Theresa May’s demand that EU nationals coming to the UK during a Brexit transition deal should enjoy fewer rights than those already in the country would amount to “penalising citizens”, Guy Verhofstadt has said.Verhofstadt, the European parliament’s Brexit coordinator, said May was “not very serious” when she proposed the idea.
  
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• May's Brexit transition demand 'would demonise EU citizens'

  18-02-2018 13:59
  Guy Verhofstadt:‘That is not acceptable.Theresa May’s key demand over the terms of the transition period after Brexit would amount to a “demonisation” of EU citizens in the UK and will be rejected, the European parliament’s Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt has said.Speaking on BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show, the former Belgian prime minister argued it would be unacceptable for the UK government to have the freedom to treat citizens arriving during the 21-month
  
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• Brexit Causing A 'Non-Violent Civil War' But It Can Be Stopped, Says Sir Vince Cable

  18-02-2018 13:59
  Sir Vince Cable says the Lib Dem policy of holding a referendum on the final Brexit deal is now “much more appealing” to voters, despite the party not getting “any traction” with that message at the snap general election last year.
  
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• Two-year-old boy and 31-year-old woman killed in motorway crash in Warwickshire

  18-02-2018 13:57
  A two-year-old boy and a 31-year-old woman have died after a car and a lorry collided as they came off a motorway in Warwickshire.The victims were travelling in a blue Nissan Qashqai when the incident happened at 10.30pm on Saturday, as they came off the M6 at junction 1 and onto the A426 near Churchover.Warwickshire Police said the driver of the car - a 35-year-old man - and another passenger - a six-year-old girl - were both injured and taken to hospital.
  
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• Driving instructors could be struck off over sexual relationships with young students

  18-02-2018 13:53
  Driving instructors who have relationships with their young students could be struck off the official register.Jacqui Turland, registrar for the Government's Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), has said she will treat sexual relationships between instructors and students under 18 as exploitation, even if consensual.If the instructors are found to pose a high risk to learners then they could be removed from the Approved Driving Instructor register (ADI).
  
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• Royal Wedding: Councils urged to help street parties by waiving road closure fees

  18-02-2018 13:33
  Councils are being urged to waive road closure charges for people organising street parties for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding day.While local authorities vary in how much they usually charge residents to close their road, some have already committed to waiving fees for those planning to celebrate the Royal Wedding on 19 May.Thousands of people enjoyed street parties when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were married seven years ago, with Britons enjoying an extra Bank Holiday.
  
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• Homeless Man Who Died Outside Parliament 'Had Been Deported Twice From UK'

  18-02-2018 12:52
  A homeless Portuguese national who died outside Parliament had been deported from the UK twice, it has been reported.
  
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• Jo Cox's sister: We will support widower Brendan amid harassment claims

  18-02-2018 12:43
  The sister of murdered MP Jo Cox has said the family will support widower Brendan amid accusations of sexual harassment.Mr Cox has quit two charities set up in his wife's name following accusations of sexual harassment, apologising for the "hurt and offence" that some of his past behaviour had caused.In a statement, Kim Leadbeater said: "My priority is and always will be looking after Jo and Brendan's children and supporting my parents, who have already been through so much.
  
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• Rapist killer Keith Whitehouse 'on the loose' from prison in South Gloucestershire

  18-02-2018 12:30
  Keith Whitehouse, who killed and raped 21-year-old Suzanne Bromiley while on leave from a 30-month kidnapping sentence in 1991, failed to appear for a roll call at Leyhill open prison in south Gloucestershire on Saturday evening, police said.It is the second time the 56-year-old has absconded from prison, having killed Ms Bromiley during a five-days' leave period from Risley jail in Warrington.Nobody had looked for him during his absence from jail until he killed Ms Bromiley - more than four mon
  
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• Medical Cannabis Licence Urged For Six-Year-Old With Rare Form Of Epilepsy

  18-02-2018 11:42
  A little boy who suffers from a rare form of childhood epilepsy should be given a medical cannabis licence to help control his condition, MPs have said.
  
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• Brendan Cox resigns from charities amid sexual assault claims

  18-02-2018 11:03
  Brendan Cox said it had become ‘much more difficult’ to focus on his charity work after the allegations came to light.The husband of the murdered MP Jo Cox has resigned from the two charities he set up in her memory after being publicly accused of sexual assault.Brendan Cox has stepped down from his posts at More in Common and the Jo Cox Foundation after allegations, printed in the Mail on Sunday, that he assaulted a woman in her 30s at Harvard University in 2015.
  
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• Brendan Cox Quits Charity Roles After Sexual Assault Allegations Resurface

  18-02-2018 09:51
  The husband of murdered MP Jo Cox has quit two charities set up in her memory after sexual assault allegations from his past resurfaced.
  
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• Sexual ‘exploitation’ warning to driving instructors

  18-02-2018 09:08 via bbc.co.uk
  Instructors are warned over relationships with young learner drivers and could be removed from the approved register.
  
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• Affordable homes shortage 'equivalent to size of Leeds'

  18-02-2018 08:35 via bbc.co.uk
  The shortfall in England will soon be equivalent to a city the size of Leeds, a charity warns.
  
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• Actor Emma Watson donates £1m to anti-harassment campaign

  18-02-2018 08:05 via bbc.co.uk
  Emma Watson is among 200 stars calling for an end to sexual harassment at work ahead of the Baftas.
  
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• Newspaper headlines: Plans to cut student fees and Brendan Cox quits

  18-02-2018 06:51 via bbc.co.uk
  Sunday's papers contain a proposal to cut tuition fees for arts degrees, and an apprently tough Brexit stance by the PM.
  
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• MPs want Brexit fund for UK farmers

  18-02-2018 03:52 via bbc.co.uk
  The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee has criticised the lack of clarity for farmers post-Brexit
  
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• 'Cut student interest rates' say MPs

  18-02-2018 03:41 via bbc.co.uk
  Ahead of a review of university fees, MPs call for lower interest charges and a return to grants.
  
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• Driving through flood water 'risks lives'

  18-02-2018 03:25 via bbc.co.uk
  A survey finds two-thirds of drivers would drive through flood water.
  
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• How church steeples boost wifi connectivity in rural communities

  18-02-2018 02:37
  Rural communities with little or no wireless internet are getting an unlikely boost from churches hosting satellite dishes.St Giles Church in rural Essex is what you might expect of a 15th Century parish church.It is right in the middle of the village of Great Maplestead.
  
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• MPs call for boy with epilepsy to be given medical cannabis licence

  18-02-2018 02:23 via bbc.co.uk
  Alfie Dingley's parents say the seizures caused by his epilepsy improve after taking the drug.
  
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• Female stars call for end to sexual harassment at work

  18-02-2018 02:14 via bbc.co.uk
  Actors Emma Thompson and Claire Foy are among 200 women calling for an end to sexual harassment at work.
  
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