General news

• School closing over email threat

  22-01-2015 23:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An east Belfast primary school will be closed on Friday following a "malicious" threat via email.
  
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• 'Revised plans' for TV debates

  22-01-2015 23:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Broadcasters are expected to put forward new proposals for the live TV election debates which include the Greens, the SNP and Plaid Cymru.
  
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• French court convicts three over homophobic tweets, in case hailed as a 'significant victory' by LGBT rights campaigners

  22-01-2015 23:43
  A French court has handed out convictions for anti-gay hate crimes on Twitter for the first time, after three people used the hashtag “let’s burn the gays”.
  
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• Video: Crew Winched From Sinking Boat

  22-01-2015 23:36
  
  Dramatic footage has been released showing a fishing boat crew jumping off their vessel as it sinks - and then being rescued surrounded by debris.
  
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• Manchester United’s Louis van Gaal suffers twitchy bum time playing 4-4-2

  22-01-2015 23:30
  
  • Van Gaal defends reverting back to 3-5-2 with United
  • ‘I have twitched my ass on the bench because we were out of balance’
  • Daley Blind backs Louis van Gaal’s methods
  • Supporting Cambridge is like EastEnders marriage without the deathLouis van Gaal has come out fighting over supporters’ criticism of his 3-5-2 formation, accepting that the players might be more comfortable with 4-4-2 but pointing out that whenever Manchester United take the field that way they have thei
  
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• Cucumber, Banana and Tofu review – ‘gloriously, triumphantly, explicitly gay and the television event of the week’

  22-01-2015 23:30
  
  Three interconnected shows from Russell T Davies that are dead funny and very, very humanTo be honest I’ve never loved tofu – tasteless, textureless nothingness. But when you know it’s also a category of hard-on – the worst category, ie the least hard, and here it is flopping impotently down on the scales of the supermarket deli counter to prove it — then … well, it’s now officially off the menu in this house. If that makes me a flaccist, I don’t care.Next up, going from bad
  
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• Arsenal would have signed Ángel Di María as a teenager but for work permit flaw

  22-01-2015 23:30
  
  • Arsène Wenger: politically correct system should be abolished
  • ‘We wanted him to come but he could not get a work permit’
  • Club has ‘50/50 chance’ of signing Gabriel Paulista for £15mArsène Wenger has called for English football’s “politically correct” work permit system to be abolished in order to help Premier League clubs produce the best players in the world. The Arsenal manager said current regulations play into the hands of foreign clubs and revealed that, i
  
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• Frank Warren column: Music mogul Al Haymon calls tune with Deontay Wilder

  22-01-2015 23:30
  
  Deontay Wilder’s brilliant acquisition of the WBC heavyweight championship makes heavyweight boxing a whole new brawl game, both in the ring and outside the ropes.
  
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• Video: Fishermen Winched From Sinking Boat

  22-01-2015 23:26
  
  Dramatic footage has been released showing a fishing boat crew jumping off their vessel as it sinks - and then being rescued surrounded by debris.
  
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• Barrett Brown: Spokesman for Anonymous hacktivist group jailed for more than five years

  22-01-2015 23:23
  
  A man who acted as a spokesman for the ‘hactivist’ group Anonymous and whose prosecution raised concerns about the protections supposedly guaranteed to journalists under the constitution, has been jailed for more than five years.
  
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• O2 set for £10bn sale to Chinese company

  22-01-2015 23:21
  
  A £10bn deal to create the UK’s largest mobile group with the sale of O2 to Hutchison Whampoa, which owns Three, could be announced as early as tomorrow morning.
  
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• Toddler's Near Miss As Manhole Explodes

  22-01-2015 23:21
  
  Footage has captured the moment a manhole cover was blasted into air, narrowly missing a toddler.
  
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• The 'second life' of Gill Hicks, Australian survivor of London bombings

  22-01-2015 23:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Australian rebuilds her life after London bombings
  
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• Devolutionary road: Even the most ardent of independence campaigners must recognise the extent to which Scotland can now self-govern

  22-01-2015 23:16
  This newspaper welcomed the decision by the Scottish people against independence last year, but it recognised that there was a broad measure of support for changes to the 1998 devolution settlement that fall short of outright separation.
  
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• Plain packaging for cigarettes will see the end of some wickedly wonderful marketing

  22-01-2015 23:15
  
  Another nail in the coffin for the tobacco industry, then, if not for its untapped markets. Should the Government get its way, the ability to buy the smoke you prefer – already hampered in supermarkets by shuttered cabinets that prevent you from viewing the full range – will be further curtailed by the introduction of plain packaging for fags and baccy. The idea is not to make smokers feel like social lepers, though brown wrappers do rather smack of the Soho sex shop, but to weaken the bond
  
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• Obama to keep Netanyahu at arm's length during controversial US trip

  22-01-2015 23:11
  
  Announcement comes as Pelosi says Boehner ‘blundered’ when he invited Israeli prime minister amid sensitive negotiations about Iran’s nuclear programme
  Relations between Barack Obama and Binyamin Netanyahu neared a new low on Thursday as the White House revealed the president would not meet the Israeli prime minister when he visits Republican leaders of Congress in March.Obama administration officials insisted the reason for the apparent diplomatic snub was “long-standing practice and p
  
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• Ex Machina review – an elegant but limited artificial intelligence thriller

  22-01-2015 23:00
  
  Alex Garland’s AI thriller feels a bit like a decent short story bulked out to movie length, but it’s done with confidenceScreenwriter and novelist Alex Garland upgrades to full auteur status, directing his own original script. It’s a futurist thriller with classic generic antecedents, all about artificial intelligence becoming creepily indistinguishable from the human kind. Ex Machina feels like an elegant SF short story with a droll twist that has been pumped up and sexed up into an over
  
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• Champions Cup refreshes the parts the old Heineken could not reach

  22-01-2015 23:00
  
  The European competition reaches its final round of games with only one of the eight quarter-finalists already determinedTime for a round of applause. So stand up the architects of the Champions Cup. A bit of format tweaking, qualifying made more competitive with fewer easy rides, and hey presto. Not that there was much wrong with the Heineken Cup, but when it comes to the bottom line there can be little argument.Remarkably, as we enter the last round of pool matches, only one side, Toulon, are
  
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• Cucumber, TV review: Russell T Davies is on top form in this slice of gay life with universal appeal

  22-01-2015 23:00
  
  And so back to Canal Street. Sixteen years after Queer As Folk made his name and 10 years after he revived Doctor Who, top TV writer Russell T Davies has returned to Channel 4. He brings with him not one but three new series, the interlinked dramas Cucumber and Banana and a web documentary Tofu, all about the lives of gay men and women in Manchester
  
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• DR Congo’s Robert Kidiaba denies Cape Verde in Africa Cup of Nations

  22-01-2015 22:56
  
  • Cape Verde 0-0 DR Congo
  • Group B match report: Zambia 1-2 TunisiaKey saves in the final five minutes by Robert Kidiaba ensured Democratic Republic of Congo achieved a goalless draw with Cape Verde in the Africa Cup of Nations.Kidiaba, who turns 39 next month and is the oldest player at the tournament, made a double save in the 85th minute to deny Cape Verde the best chance of a bland match – and then again two minutes later from Heldon’s shot. Continue reading...
  
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• Barclays banking services interrupted

  22-01-2015 22:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Barclays Bank apologises for interruptions to its online and telephone banking services, saying it is looking into the issues on an urgent basis.
  
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• Robert Zuckerman's faces of Hollywood – 'let's make a photo together'

  22-01-2015 22:37
  
  Commissioned by the studios to shoot promotional stills, Zuckerman’s portraits transcended the genre – but when he got ill, the stars stopped callingPhotographer Robert Zuckerman doesn’t “take” pictures, “capture” images or even “shoot” film. “Photography traditionally has an aggressive and acquisitive language,” he says. “I learned early on to say ‘let’s make a photo together,’ so it’s people on both sides of the camera collaborating.” Collaborators in his curr
  
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• Stranded cargo ship arrives in port

  22-01-2015 22:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Hoegh Osaka cargo ship which has been stranded in the Solent since 3 January, arrives at Southampton Port.
  
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• Chicago artist wins Artes Mundi

  22-01-2015 22:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates wins the coveted Artes Mundi 6 award in Cardiff.
  
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• VIDEO: Pupil tells Holocaust story in Lego

  22-01-2015 22:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A Merseyside student has used Lego to create a timeline of the rise and fall of Hitler for a school history project.
  
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• Ajax manager Frank de Boer open to taking Newcastle job in the summer

  22-01-2015 22:12
  
  • De Boer drops hint but will not leave mid-season
  • Newcastle admit they may not have manager until summerFrank de Boer has opened the door to an approach from Newcastle United this summer.The Ajax manager is understood to be on the St James’ Park shortlist to succeed Alan Pardew but has made it clear he would not countenance leaving Amsterdam before the end of the season. Continue reading...
  
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• Revised plan for election TV debates proposes including seven parties

  22-01-2015 22:09
  
  Broadcasters suggest seven-way debate including Green party, Scottish National party and Plaid Cymru in two of three debatesPlans for televised election debates were thrown into fresh doubt when broadcasters tried to break the deadlock over the line-up by proposing to include the Green party, the Scottish National party and Plaid Cymru in two of three proposed debates – only to find their plans met with fierce objections from the Liberal Democrats and the Democratic Unionists.The broadcasters
  
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• Winston Churchill's grandson: The wartime leader was a founding father of the EU

  22-01-2015 22:06
  
  The grandson of Sir Winston Churchill is marking the 50th anniversary of his death today by launching a £6,000 prize to cement his legacy as a founding father of the European Union.
  
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• Why my grandfather Winston Churchill deserves a European legacy

  22-01-2015 22:06
  
  Fifty years ago on Saturday my grandfather died.
  
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• Secrets of longevity: Meet the five women whose lives span three centuries

  22-01-2015 22:05
  
  When Bernice Madigan died earlier this month, she was the fifth oldest person in the world.
  
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• Raif Badawi: Flogging case raised with Saudi ambassador

  22-01-2015 22:01
  
  The Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond yesterday raised the plight of the blogger sentenced to 1,000 lashes with the Saudi ambassador to the UK, as the international outcry against the sentence grew.
  
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• Sadistic pair jailed for ‘black magic’ rape of 11-year-old girl

  22-01-2015 22:01
  
  A sadistic couple who bullied a schoolgirl into submission with “black magic” threats before she was raped have been jailed for 17 years.
  
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• Winston Churchill anniversary: There are many events marking 50 years since the statesman's death ... and some are more tasteful than others

  22-01-2015 22:00
  Winston Churchill died 50 years ago on 24 January 1965. In the days that followed his death, 300,000 people filed past where he lay in state at Westminster. His coffin, draped with a Union Jack, was borne through London's streets on a gun carriage and ferried up the Thames in the barge Havengore. An especially touching detail was the salutation of the cranes – the Thames-side construction jibs were tilted forward, one by one, as the barge sailed by, as if bowing in respect.
  
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• Florida toddler fatally shoots himself with father's gun while parents load car

  22-01-2015 21:53
  
  Two-year-old Kaleb Ahles reportedly lifted gun from glove compartment in car and turned it so that it faced his chest and squeezed the triggerA two-year-old Florida boy died on Wednesday after accidentally shooting himself with his father’s .380 caliber handgun that he found in the family car.The toddler, Kaleb Ahles, climbed into the front seat of the family’s vehicle while his parents carried boxes to move out of their home in Tarpon Springs, located about 30 miles north-west of Tampa. Con
  
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• Young backpacker dies on same Thai island where Brit tourists were murdered last year

  22-01-2015 21:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A YOUNG backpacker has died on the same Thai Island where two British tourists were bludgeoned to death last year.
  
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• Hacking by Mirror ‘worse than at Murdoch papers’

  22-01-2015 21:50
  
  The scale of phone hacking inside Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) may have been larger than at rival tabloids owned by Rupert Murdoch, according to details given yesterday at a High Court hearing.
  
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• Victoria's Secret releases early Super Bowl ad

  22-01-2015 21:48
  
  The Super Bowl still may be more than one week away, but Super Bowl advertising is such big business that Victoria’s Secret already has released a commercial it plans to run during the big game on 1 February.
  
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• Steve Bell on the leader debates – cartoon

  22-01-2015 21:48
  
  Continue reading...
  
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• European Bank to buy $1.1 trillion in bonds to try and avert economic stagnation in eurozone

  22-01-2015 21:43
  
  The European Central Bank launched a programme of emergency sovereign bond purchases today in an attempt to pull the eurozone out of the grip of deflation and economic stagnation.
  
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• Lord Brittan dies: His final months were marred by smears and innuendo - but no charges that would stick

  22-01-2015 21:43
  
  Leon Brittan’s final months of life were dogged by lurid claims and controversy surrounding his involvement in a rumoured cover-up of Establishment child abuse that dated back to the 1980s.
  
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• Eurozone boost of €1.1tn in ‘shock and awe’ plan by Central Bank

  22-01-2015 21:38
  
  ECB president Mario Draghi pledges €60bn monthly top-up until September in quantitative easing move to save currency blocThe European Central Bank launched what City experts called a “shock and awe” plan to pump €1.1tn (£830bn) into the eurozone in a last-ditch attempt to prevent the single currency bloc sliding into an intractable slump.In the teeth of fierce political resistance from Germany, ECB president Mario Draghi said he would inject €60bn of new money into financial mark
  
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• Amputee wins humanitarian award

  22-01-2015 21:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An Edinburgh lawyer who lost her hands and feet following a serious illness is named winner of a global humanitarian award.
  
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• Making the normal abnormal: revolutionaries march into Paris

  22-01-2015 21:29
  
  Radicalising menswear is tough. It’s especially tough in a city like Paris which, while without the menswear traditions of London (spanning back to the birth of the three-piece suit in the seventeenth century) or Milan (to the birth of the sharp suit in the early twentieth century), nevertheless has a bourgeoise slant.
  
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• Falling oil price could hurt fight against Isis, warns Iraqi PM

  22-01-2015 21:28
  
  The fall in Iraqi oil revenues risks damaging the campaign against Isis, the country’s Prime Minister warned today.
  
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• VIDEO: Changing nature of policing in the UK

  22-01-2015 21:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The BBC's Mark Easton reports on the changing nature of policing, as crime remains at record low levels in England and Wales.
  
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• Former Ukip youth leader dies in Thailand

  22-01-2015 21:16
  
  A 23-year-old libertarian campaigner and Ukip supporter has died on a backpacking holiday in Thailand.
  
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• Florida toddler dies after shooting himself with father's handgun

  22-01-2015 21:13
  
  A toddler has died after he shot himself with his father's handgun, in what a local sheriff has called a "tragic situation".
  
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• New Scottish powers plan published

  22-01-2015 21:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The UK government outlines plans for new Scottish Parliament powers, but SNP ministers say they have been watered down.
  
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• Alex Garland's film Ex Machina explores the limits of artificial intelligence - but how close are we to machines outsmarting man?

  22-01-2015 21:00
  My girlfriend casually informed me, apropos of nothing, that she'd washed her hair using shower gel rather than shampoo. I raised an eyebrow. "Well, I guess it's all the same," I said. "It's all detergent, isn't it? Shampoo, shower gel…" "Cillit Bang," she added, prompting 30 seconds of sporadic giggling at the very idea. At that moment, I could be pretty certain that neither of us were robots. Such exchanges feel like the essence of being human: unpredictable behaviour, saying things that do
  
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• VIDEO: Farmer sells herd over milk prices

  22-01-2015 20:57 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A Monmouthshire farmer decides to sell all his dairy cows and turn to beef farming because of the falling price of milk.
  
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