General news

• Adults with learning disabilities at risk of abuse, say charities

  07-12-2014 23:42
  
  Thousands of people suffering from autism and learning disabilities are being locked up and receiving inappropriate or dangerous treatment when they should be cared for in the community, campaigners have warned.
  
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• Cumberbatch Victory At Independent Film Awards

  07-12-2014 23:31
  
  Benedict Cumberbatch and Andrew Scott - the protagonist and antagonist stars of Sherlock - were among the winners of the British Independent Film Awards on Sunday night.
  
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• Falcao 'only fit for 20 minutes'

  07-12-2014 23:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Manchester United striker Radamel Falcao is only fit enough to play for 20 minutes, according to Louis van Gaal.
  
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• BIFA awards for Sherlock stars

  07-12-2014 23:30
  
  Sherlock stars Andrew Scott and Benedict Cumberbatch were both championed at the Moet British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) this evening.
  
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• Nadine Dorries interview: ‘I would say Labour are posher than us these days’

  07-12-2014 23:24
  
  Nadine Dorries produces her best work first thing. At night, she can’t muster more than 250 words before dropping off. But in the morning, it is a different story.
  
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• Homeless Veterans appeal: ‘It gives you somewhere to put your head down and gather yourself’

  07-12-2014 23:12
  
  When Keith Cooper lost his job at a call centre last Christmas, he didn’t expect to be facing homelessness in a matter of months. But his search for another job proved fruitless and, before long, eviction became inevitable – leaving him with no other option except the streets.
  
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• Former soldiers will be drafted into schools to help build pupils’ character

  07-12-2014 23:06
  
  Former soldiers are to be drafted into schools to help build character and resilience amongst today’s disadvantaged schoolchildren.
  
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• Band Aid 30: Artwork projected onto Houses of Parliament but single has ‘only got three weeks to make a difference’, says Bob Geldof

  07-12-2014 23:02
  The Band Aid 30 single will go on sale as a CD for the first time tomorrow; it also became the first video to be projected on to the Palace of Westminster last night.
  
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• Why China sees itself in Lowry's paintings of industrial Britain

  07-12-2014 22:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  LS Lowry's paintings of industrial, working-class Britain brought him popular fame in the UK, but his works were never the subject of a solo exhibition abroad - until now.
  
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• William And Kate In New York For First Visit

  07-12-2014 22:53
  
  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have arrived in New York, and have a hectic three-day schedule for their first visit to the Big Apple.
  
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• Labour warns of skills gap after exodus of senior nurses from NHS

  07-12-2014 22:37
  
  The NHS in England has lost more than a thousand matrons and 3,400 other senior nurses over the past four years, new figures have shown, leading to warnings that hospitals may be lacking “vital experience and knowledge” needed to cope with unprecedented levels of demand.
  
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• X Factor 2014 semi-final results: Lauren Platt sent home

  07-12-2014 21:58
  
  Lauren Platt has been voted off The X Factor 2014, leaving Fleur East, Ben Haenow and Andrea Faustini in the final.
  
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• Pierre Korkie and Luke Somers killings analysis: More failures than successes in hostage rescue attempts

  07-12-2014 21:40
  
  Successful saving of hostages, or operations to kill or capture an enemy target, get widespread publicity, spinning into books or even films. But they are few and far between: for every mission accomplished, there are many others which fail.
  
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• Farage Blames Immigration For UKIP Event No-Show

  07-12-2014 21:23
  
  Nigel Farage has blamed immigration for failing to turn up at a UKIP event in Wales at which 100 people had paid £25 each to meet him.
  
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• Farage Blames Immigation For UKIP Event No-Show

  07-12-2014 21:06
  
  Nigel Farage has blamed immigration for failing to turn up at a UKIP event in Wales at which 100 people had paid £25 each to meet him.
  
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• Pixie Lott kicked out of Strictly

  07-12-2014 21:03
  
  Pop princess Pixie Lott has made a surprise exit from Strictly Come Dancing when she became the tenth celebrity to leave the competition.
  
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• Britain braced for weather misery

  07-12-2014 21:03
  
  Blustery and wintry weather will sweep across Britain this week bringing fears of disruption and travel chaos.
  
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• Strictly Come Dancing 2014 results: Pixie Lott voted off after dance-off with Simon Webbe

  07-12-2014 21:00
  
  Pixie Lott has become the tenth celebrity to waltz off Strictly Come Dancing 2014, despite being called one of the best contestants of this series by the judges.
  
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• Israel elections: Vultures circle as Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to fight for his political life

  07-12-2014 20:42
  
  Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, is expected to vote tomorrow to dissolve itself, paving the way for new elections in March. And the next three months promise to be a struggle by the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for his political survival.
  
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• Sheeran returns to top of UK chart

  07-12-2014 20:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Singer Ed Sheeran has returned to number one in the UK singles chart with his track Thinking Out Loud.
  
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• Sheeran returns to number one spot

  07-12-2014 20:00
  
  Ed Sheeran has regained the number one position in the official singles chart with his song Thinking Out Loud.
  
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• Ed Sheeran returns to UK number one singles chart with 'Thinking Out Loud'

  07-12-2014 20:00
  
  Ed Sheeran has reached the top of the UK singles charts with his track ‘Thinking Out Loud’ again, knocking Take That’s These Days off number one.
  
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• Christmas dinner for reservists

  07-12-2014 19:50
  
  Army reservists have tucked into an early Christmas dinner served by their officers, a long-standing tradition.
  
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• Drone And Plane In 'Near Miss' Close To Heathrow

  07-12-2014 19:45
  
  Aviation experts are warning that it is only a matter of time before a drone causes a major accident with a passenger jet in the skies above Britain.
  
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• Farage blames immigrants for delay

  07-12-2014 19:44
  
  Nigel Farage has blamed his failure to turn up to a reception with supporters in Wales on "open-door" immigration.
  
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• Drones Could Cause Major Accident, Say Experts

  07-12-2014 19:34
  
  Aviation experts are warning that it is only a matter of time before a drone causes a major accident with a passenger jet in the skies above Britain.
  
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• Asylum judge faces race remark probe

  07-12-2014 19:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An immigration and asylum tribunal judge is being investigated over a remark he is alleged to have made about an Asian witness in a harassment case.
  
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• The most dangerous truck route in the world? A Mad Max-style endurance race from the Jordan border through the heart of Isis territory

  07-12-2014 19:17
  It might just be the most hairy truck route in the world – a nail-biting, long-haul, Mad Max-style endurance race from the Jordan border through the black heart of Isis territory.
  
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• Three-day rubbish fire smokes on

  07-12-2014 19:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A fire at an industrial estate in Newhaven where 200 tonnes of rubbish are alight continues for a third day, sending smoke across the town.
  
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• Najiba Ahmadi: The quiet revolutionary working to end violence against Afghan women

  07-12-2014 18:59
  
  Najiba Ahmadi is quiet and unassuming – mild-mannered even. She is far from your typical revolutionary. Last week, Ms Ahmadi was among the suited government officials gathered in Britain to discuss Afghanistan’s future.
  
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• Five Ohio police officers investigated for sending each other racist text messages

  07-12-2014 18:55
  
  Five US police officers are being investigated for allegedly sending text messages filled with racist comments.
  
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• Kreuzberg: Berlin’s hip district becomes a battleground between dealers and gentrification

  07-12-2014 18:53
  
  It has been called “Germany’s biggest drug-dealing centre”, and the description would appear to fit. Even on a grey midweek afternoon with temperatures below freezing, in Berlin’s Görlitzer park it takes a mere 90 seconds after entry before somebody asks the inevitable: “Want to score?”
  
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• Saira Blair: the youngest elected state politician in the US

  07-12-2014 18:48
  
  The youngest elected state politician in America has arrived home for the weekend.
  
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• Robert Fisk: Isn’t it important to realise who our enemies really are?

  07-12-2014 18:45
  
  Well, heaven preserve us: the most useless “peacemaker” on earth has just used an Arabic acronym for the greatest threat to civilisation since the last greatest threat. Yup, ol’ John Kerry called it “Daesh”, which is what the Arabs call it. It stands for the “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant”. We prefer Isis or Isil or the Islamic State or Islamic Caliphate. Most journos prefer Isis because – I suspect – it’s easier to remember. It’s the name of an Egyptian goddess, af
  
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• NYC cops on alert after death threat warning from notorious gang

  07-12-2014 18:41
  
  Police in New York have been told to be on high alert after officials learned of a possible plot by members of a notorious gang to try and kill on-duty officers.
  
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• Immigration judge Richard Hollingworth forced to resign after racial slur: 'With a name like Patel, she won't be working anywhere important'

  07-12-2014 18:41
  A senior immigration judge has been forced to resign after making a racial slur about a female Asian crime victim.
  
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• Warning Of Snow And Ice For Large Parts Of UK

  07-12-2014 18:37
  
  A blast of wintry conditions is expected for the UK this week – with the Met Office issuing severe weather warnings for snow and ice in large swathes of the country.
  
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• Typhoon Hagupit: Powerful pictures show the extent of the storm's devastation

  07-12-2014 18:31
  
  Typhoon Hagupit has knocked out power and left at least three people dead as nearly 900,000 people fled to shelters in central Philippines.
  
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• Nigel Farage blames late arrival at his own Ukip event on immigrants

  07-12-2014 18:29
  
  The Ukip leader Nigel Farage has blamed the fact that he missed a paid-for party event in Wales on immigrants.
  
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• Can Lebanon’s vineyards - a symbol of the country’s cosmopolitan, diverse culture - survive the spillover from Syria’s civil war?

  07-12-2014 18:18
  Listening to winemaker Fabrice Guiberteau enthuse about his terroir, you could almost be in Provence. Rows of golden-leaved vines stretch away in the autumn sun beneath a high ridge, cypress trees in the distance. The harvest for Guiberteau’s supple reds has gone well. But this isn’t Provence, it’s Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. And as the sound of a muezzin drifts across the vines from the nearby village of Kefraya, we’re grateful that it isn’t gunfire from the Syrian border, 20km east. T
  
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• JK Rowling to publish new Harry Potter material on Pottermore.com for Christmas

  07-12-2014 18:14
  
  Christmas has come early for Harry Potter fans.
  
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• Killer Mako shark found washed up dead on Welsh beach

  07-12-2014 17:49
  
  A killer 10ft-long Mako shark has been discovered washed up on a beach in north Wales.
  
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• Aston Villa v Leicester City: Premier League – live!

  07-12-2014 17:45
  
  Latest updates from the 4pm kick-off in the Premier LeagueKeep up with all today’s scores across EuropeEmail [email protected] or tweet @NickAmes82
  Follow Barcelona v Espanyol – live! 4.45pm GMT 45 min: Ciaran Clark absolutely THUNDERS in on Ulloa as he breaks down the right, but wins the ball emphatically. Bam. Ulloa is now down in a heap. Leicester’s players aren’t happy. That was very hard but very fair. 4.44pm GMT 44 min: Kieran Richardson comes on for Westwood, then.
  
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• Obama taken to hospital 'with a sore throat'

  07-12-2014 17:43
  
  Barack Obama was taken to Walter Reed military hospital in Washington suffering from a continual sore throat, the White House confirmed.
  
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• Barcelona v Espanyol: La Liga – live!

  07-12-2014 17:42
  
  Catalan derby updates from the match at Camp NouKeep up with all today’s scores across EuropeEmail: [email protected] Tweet: @michaelbutler18Follow Aston Villa v Leicester City here 4.42pm GMT 38 min: Great save by Casilla! Again it’s Messi operating from deep who creates the chance, floating a beautifully weighted ball over Espanyol’s defence and Alba cutting in from the left, cushions a first-time shot straight at Espanyol’s keeper. The rebound comes out to Alba again but
  
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• Judge resigns over 'racist' comment

  07-12-2014 17:36
  
  A district judge has resigned after he allegedly told a court that a victim of crime "won't be working anywhere important" because her surname is Patel.
  
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• Joanna Dunham: Actress best known for playing Mary Magdalen who could depict the innocent or the murderess with equal facility

  07-12-2014 17:30
  The beguiling Joanna Dunham never quite became a star, but none the less carved out a solid career on stage and screen which inexplicably petered out somewhat in later years. Her break came playing Juliet for Franco Zeffirelli with the Old Vic in 1962; when the production toured New York she was spotted by Marilyn Monroe, who recommended her to George Stevens for the part of Mary Magdalen in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965).
  
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• State schools can do without Tristram Hunt’s cynical Churchillisms

  07-12-2014 17:26
  
  It’s privilege, not ‘character’, that counts in our glorious country. The shadow education secretary, of all people, should know thatThere are many things I would like politicians to stop doing in 2015, but telling children to be more like Winston Churchill is certainly up there. Churchill was a great but flawed man (think of his more unpleasant traits, such as opposing votes for women, or colonialist jingoism, or a reported desire to machine-gun striking miners). The latest politician to
  
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• Michael Wolfers: Times reporter and author who translated poetry and worked with the Marxist government in Angola

  07-12-2014 17:22
  
  Michael Wolfers was a writer and political activist mainly in two former Portuguese colonies, Angola and Mozambique, after they became independent in 1975.
  
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• Israel accused of launching air strikes near Damascus in act of 'aggression against Syria'

  07-12-2014 17:20
  
  Syria has accused Israel of carrying out air strikes near its capital that have inflicted “widespread damage”, according to state media reports.
  
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