General news

• Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool (agg 2-1)

  27-01-2015 23:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Chelsea reach the 2015 Capital One Cup final after Branislav Ivanovic's header earns a 2-1 aggregate win over Liverpool.
  
  Read more

• Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat turns spotlight on UK’s failure to take in more refugees

  27-01-2015 23:39
  
  The Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat has spent four decades on the front line of satire, skewering the evils of Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime, but now the Middle East’s most famous living satirist has turned his pen on the British Government’s failure to help more than a handful of Syria’s most vulnerable refugees.
  
  Read more

• Apple results: Company's 'blockbuster' numbers beat expectations as sales of new plus-sized iPhones boom

  27-01-2015 23:38
  
  Apple again exceeded analysts expectations with its first quarter results revealing that its new plus-sized iPhones helped the company smash sales records for the holiday season.
  
  Read more

• Ulster health strike 'to go ahead'

  27-01-2015 23:34
  
  A strike by health workers in Northern Ireland is set to go ahead on Thursday despite a proposed pay deal drawn up after lengthy talks between unions and the Government in Westminster.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Chelsea vs Liverpool match report: Branislav Ivanovic seals classic encounter with extra-time header to send Blues to Wembley

  27-01-2015 23:28
  Jose Mourinho did not even see the winning goal that decided this towering inferno of a League Cup semi-final, he was too busy arguing with the fourth official Phil Dowd, and once he been patted on the back by his staff, he went back to his argument.
  
  Read more

• Selfie-obsessed men may be narcissistic psychopaths, study finds

  27-01-2015 23:26
  
  Seemingly-harlmess selfies which clog up your social media newsfeed could actually be a sign that your friend has a more sinister problem, according to a new study.
  
  Read more

• Labour attacks Government for 'wasting' foreign aid budget

  27-01-2015 23:22
  
  Ministers will be accused of choosing to bankroll high-profile overseas aid projects at the expense of schemes designed to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and hunger.
  
  Read more

• TTIP: Vince Cable clashes with David Cameron over controversial international trade deal

  27-01-2015 23:22
  
  A Coalition split over a planned free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States has emerged after the Liberal Democrats demanded tough new safeguards for British jobs and industry to be written into the deal.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• In photos: Virgin Atlantic passengers trapped at JFK because of weather

  27-01-2015 23:10
  
  On the day after Winter Storm Juno mostly eluded New York, many in the city are calling it “the storm that wasn’t”, but for dozens of Virgin Atlantic airline passengers, it most certainly is the storm that was.
  
  Read more

• US museums consider London outpost

  27-01-2015 23:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The world's largest museum and research institution could be heading for London as part of a multi-million dollar redevelopment of the 2012 Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
  
  Read more

• David Cameron accused of trying to 'wriggle out' of TV debates

  27-01-2015 23:04
  
  David Cameron was accused of trying to “wriggle out” of televised election debates between the party leaders after he called for them to take place before the final stages of the campaign.
  
  Read more

• Chilcot inquiry delay: Chairman Sir John Chilcot admits publication of his report has taken 'longer than expected'

  27-01-2015 22:54
  
  The chairman of the Iraq inquiry has admitted that the publication of his report has taken "longer than expected" as he prepares to face MPs next week to explain its delay.
  
  Read more

• Yahoo reveals it will spin off Alibaba holdings to avoid taking tax hit

  27-01-2015 22:51
  
  Executives from Yahoo Inc on Tuesday said the company is planning a tax-free spinoff of its holdings in Chinese company Alibaba Holding Ltd during its fourth quarter earnings report.
  
  Read more

• VIDEO: Residents recall earthquake moments

  27-01-2015 22:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Regulars at the South Wonston Social Club in Hampshire describe the moment when an earthquake struck.
  
  Read more

• Litvinenko: Images Of Radiation Trail Revealed

  27-01-2015 22:50
  
  Images released as part of the public inquiry into the death of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London have laid bare the levels of radiation found in the hotel rooms of his suspected killers. They also reveal "very high" radiation in the locations where they met Mr Litvinenko, including on the teapot which was allegedly used to poison him in London's Millennium Hotel. Former KGB bodyguard Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun have been identified as the prime suspects. The imag
  
  Read more

• Dismay at council merger rejections

  27-01-2015 22:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Leaders of Welsh councils which volunteered to merge are disappointed by the rejection of their plans by the public services minister.
  
  Read more

• Earthquake shakes up Winchester

  27-01-2015 22:21
  
  An earthquake with a magnitude of 2.9 has been recorded in Winchester.
  
  Read more

• VIDEO: UK growth not across the board

  27-01-2015 22:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The latest GDP figures for the UK suggest there was growth of 2.6% last year, but the rate of growth slowed in the last quarter of 2014.
  
  Read more

• Alexander Litvinenko inquiry: Former spy's death was 'an act of nuclear terrorism that put thousands at risk,' court told

  27-01-2015 21:58
  Alexander Litvinenko was “eliminated” because he was exposing Vladimir Putin’s intimate links with organised crime, a public inquiry into one of the most chilling and extraordinary murders in recent British history heard today.
  
  Read more

• Donald Macintyre's Sketch: When it comes to Chilcot, Sir Jeremy Heywood is less Yes Minister, more Wolf Hall

  27-01-2015 21:53
  
  It’s just as well that Sir John Chilcot will be at the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee next month to try to explain why, at five years and counting, his inquiry has, as Sir John himself said, “taken longer than any of us expected”.
  
  Read more

• Costa Book Awards: H is for Hawk named book of the year

  27-01-2015 21:51
  
  The acclaimed memoir of a grief-stricken daughter who became obsessed with training a goshawk following her father's death has been named the Costa book of the year.
  
  Read more

• As the world of work changes, so must the way we plan our lives

  27-01-2015 21:46
  
  The age of insecurity is still firmly entrenched. The US economy is growing strongly, though only recently has it been generating really strong growth in jobs. The British economy is growing strongly, though there are quite reasonable doubts about the sustainability of that growth. But growth does not bring job security. Nor does size. We have had the start of a string of job cuts by the oil majors, which for obvious reasons have to cut costs. This has followed swathes of cuts by the big banks.
  
  Read more

• Russians suspected of trying to recruit bankers to spy for Moscow in 'a classic case of espionage'

  27-01-2015 21:43
  
  Moscow Centre is the home of the Russian intelligence service, the SVR. The last time most Americans heard the acronym was in July 2010 when the US convicted 10 of its agents, including redhead real estate agent Anna Chapman, who had been working undercover in the US.
  
  Read more

• Andy McSmith's Diary: Is that George Osborne I hear? Or Barry White?

  27-01-2015 21:30
  
  Something seems to have happened to George Osborne’s voice. He did not sound like the Chancellor we have come to know and love during a live appearance on the Today programme. The squeak was not there. Perhaps it was a trick of the acoustics, maybe he has a cold, or maybe, just maybe, he has been practising to lower his pitch and sound more authoritative. Today, answering questions in the Commons, he sounded more like his usual self, but that could be only a temporary reversion.
  
  Read more

• Disneyland measles outbreak: California scrambles to contain its most severe eruption of virus for 15 years

  27-01-2015 21:24
  A measles outbreak that began at Disneyland over the Christmas period has now spread to at least 87 patients in seven US states and Mexico. The highly contagious virus is believed to have infected several people at the theme park in Orange County, California between 17 and 20 December, before spreading into the wider community.
  
  Read more

• Tripoli hotel attack: At least eight dead after two gunmen stormed Libya's luxury Corinthia Hotel

  27-01-2015 21:14
  
  Two heavily armed gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Tripoli favoured by Libyan officials and visiting delegations on Tuesday, killing at least eight people including four foreigners before blowing themselves up, authorities said.
  
  Read more

• See how Brooklyn looked the morning after the 'blizzard'

  27-01-2015 21:05
  
  With Winter Storm Juno bearing down on New York on Monday afternoon, I was among the workers sent home early in hopes of avoiding the blizzard. By 3 pm, the streets were already partially deserted – and partially snow-covered – and the subways were rush-hour crowded.
  
  Read more

• Holocaust Memorial Day: Nazi victims remembered as spectre of prejudice reappears

  27-01-2015 20:47
  
  As night fell, 300 Holocaust survivors gathered at the “Death Gate” of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland to remember more than a million murdered souls of the camp – and warned of anti-Semitism again spreading across Europe on the 70th anniversary of the camp’s liberation.
  
  Read more

• Jay Chou and the draw of destination weddings: How Selby went global

  27-01-2015 20:32
  
  The post-pit town of Selby in Yorkshire is an unlikely place to see eager crowds of Taiwanese and Chinese tourists stepping off coaches. They tend to prefer the cobbled shopping streets of the Shambles in York or the delightful afternoon tea of Bettys Café Tea Rooms in Harrogate.
  
  Read more

• Broad sorry for minimum wage tweet

  27-01-2015 20:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  England fast bowler Stuart Broad has apologised after making comments about the minimum wage on Twitter.
  
  Read more

• Ukraine crisis: EU threatens Russia with new economic sanctions

  27-01-2015 20:29
  
  European Union heads of government have threatened Russia with an escalation of economic sanctions, saying they held Moscow responsible for supporting separatists who are accused of killing 30 civilians in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol over the weekend.
  
  Read more

• New York Juno storm: Teenager died while snowtubing

  27-01-2015 20:26
  
  Police say a 17-year-old boy snow-tubing down a New York street with friends has crashed into a light pole and died.
  
  Read more

• VIDEO: Up close: Britain's longest train

  27-01-2015 20:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A look at Britain's longest train, a ballast cleaner train, which is helping replace old ballast on rail tracks between Norwich and London.
  
  Read more

• Undercover food critics: How hard is it to remain anonymous?

  27-01-2015 20:22
  
  The "mystery masticator" is one of the odder aspects of restaurant reviewing. In the US, for instance, there are certain critics who pretend to judge food and service behind a mask of anonymity. I say "pretend" because they are often readily identifiable – despite donning the necessary wig and false moustache and assuming a fictitious identity.
  
  Read more

• Fortitude and the Arctic attraction: Our fascination with the last great wilderness

  27-01-2015 20:18
  
  When writer Simon Donald was a teenager in early 1980s Scotland, he used tell people that when he grew up he hoped to join the British Antarctic Survey team. He wasn't sure where this ambition came from but, he says: "Here was something about the extremes, the purity and the starkness. Everything is crystal, clear and defined… unlike adolescence". The poles answer many calls, it seems, including the confused yelps of pre-adulthood.
  
  Read more

• Argentinian President scraps intelligence service and accuses rogue agents of murder

  27-01-2015 20:13
  
  Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s increasingly erratic reaction to the mysterious death of the prosecutor Alberto Nisman has taken yet another unexpected turn. The Argentine President will now disband Argentina’s intelligence service after claiming rogue agents may have murdered Mr Nisman.
  
  Read more

• Prince Andrew 'sex slave' case: Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein denounces 'gossip media' for attacks on him and associates

  27-01-2015 20:12
  The billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has hit out at the media and claimed he and his associates have been the subject of “outlandish” attacks in his first formal statement since being accused of forcing a 17-year-old to have sex with Prince Andrew.
  
  Read more

• Prince Andrew sex claims case: Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein denounces 'gossip media' for attacks on him and associates

  27-01-2015 20:12
  The billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has hit out at the media and claimed he and his associates have been the subject of “outlandish” attacks in his first formal statement since being accused of forcing a 17-year-old to have sex with Prince Andrew.
  
  Read more

• Greece elections: In times like these, the EU has far more dangerous adversaries than Syriza

  27-01-2015 20:10
  
  In ancient Greece, city states often rebelled against their overlords, who then besieged them to punish those responsible and re-impose outside control. Modern Greeks have likewise rebelled against EU authority by choosing a government led by the anti-austerity Syriza party and now face an economic siege aimed at forcing them to abide by past agreements with the EU.
  
  Read more

• Africa Cup of Nations: Senegal v Algeria and South Africa v Ghana – live!

  27-01-2015 20:09
  
  All the latest action from the final two matches in Group C Senegal, Algeria, South Africa and Ghana can all still qualifyEmail [email protected] or tweet @ianmccourt
  7.09pm GMT Algeria win a free-kick wide on the left in the Senegal half. It looks like Taïder is going to lump it into the box but instead the play it short and pass it around a bit, much to the frustration of Senegal who will be a bit nervous right about now. Moments after that Taïder takes out Diouf and the ref
  
  Read more

• Chelsea v Liverpool: Capital One Cup semi-final – live!

  27-01-2015 20:03
  
  Capital One Cup semi-final second leg (first leg finished 1-1)Barney Ronay: Chelsea soft centre exposes defence – Mourinho knows itAnd email [email protected] or tweet @bglendenning 7.03pm GMT Chelsea: Courtois, Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Luis, Fabregas,
  Matic, Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Costa. Subs: Cech, Ake, Ramires, Drogba, Remy, Cahill, Azpilicueta.
  6.53pm GMT Kurt Zouma starts at centre-half for Chelsea, in favour of out-of-form Gary Cahill, who has been dropped to the b
  
  Read more

• RK Laxman: Cartoonist whose 'Common Man' shone a light on the absurdities of Indian politics for more than half a century

  27-01-2015 20:01
  RK Laxman was an acclaimed Indian cartoonist, creator of the innocuous character the Common Man, who held up a mirror to the absurdity and stupidity of Indian politicians. His almost daily "Common Man" cartoon was an insightful commentary on Indian society and politics that ran in the Times of India newspaper for more than five decades.
  
  Read more

• Alexander Litvinenko trial: A slow death from assassin’s dream drug

  27-01-2015 20:01
  
  It is the stuff of James Bond, 007: poisoned by a deadly radioactive isotope administered through a genteel cup of tea. Except the victim’s painful death – as the radiation travelled through his blood, coming to rest in his kidneys, liver, spleen, even his bone marrow, where it destroyed internal organs and sabotaged his body’s immune system – is too brutal for Hollywood.
  
  Read more

• Alexander Litvinenko inquiry: A slow death from assassin’s dream drug

  27-01-2015 20:01
  
  It is the stuff of James Bond, 007: poisoned by a deadly radioactive isotope administered through a genteel cup of tea. Except the victim’s painful death – as the radiation travelled through his blood, coming to rest in his kidneys, liver, spleen, even his bone marrow, where it destroyed internal organs and sabotaged his body’s immune system – is too brutal for Hollywood.
  
  Read more

• Pot of gold: tasting the world’s most expensive tea

  27-01-2015 20:00
  
  As I prepare to sample the world’s most expensive pot of tea, which has gone on the menu for the first time at the Royal China Club in central London, it is in fact the list of exotic, off-menu items I am told about – each with an eye-watering price tag – that piques my interest.
  
  Read more

• Edgar Froese : Leader of electronic band Tangerine Dream whose influence has been felt for more than four decades

  27-01-2015 19:59
  Edgar Froese was the founder and leader of Tangerine Dream, the pioneering German electronic music group whose unique career trajectory included performances at cathedrals in Reims, Liverpool and Coventry, as well as York Minster. These came in the mid-1970s, when they broke through with the acclaimed albums Phaedra and Rubicon, the first two of 15 on Richard Branson's Virgin label, and they went on to record haunting soundtracks for celebrated film directors like Kathryn Bigelow, William Fried
  
  Read more

• Thursday's NHS strike called off after improved pay offer

  27-01-2015 19:57
  
  Thursday’s planned NHS strike has been called off after the Government raised its pay offer to health workers.
  
  Read more

• DUP and Sinn Féin consider legal action over election debates exclusion

  27-01-2015 19:57
  
  Nationalist SDLP, which has three seats at Westminster, demands it too be included in leaders’ debatesNorthern Ireland’s two biggest parties, the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Féin, are separately considering legal action over broadcasters’ refusal to allow them to take part in two televised election debates.The DUP said it would consider legal action if the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky did not change their minds, and Sinn Féin said it was consulting its lawyers. Continue read
  
  Read more

• Critics of the Vagina Monologues must acknowledge its transformative powers

  27-01-2015 19:57
  
  This incredible piece of work continues to revolutionise life for women in poorer countriesWhen The Vagina Monologues opened in the Philippines in 2000, audiences in this Catholic, conservative society were welcoming and receptive. Fifteen years later the play has inspired and even changed the lives of many women. Given how politically and socially transformative the play has been for us, it feels disturbing that in 2015 students from Mount Holyoke University in the United States have just accus
  
  Read more

• Ena Baxter: Cook and businesswoman whose inventiveness and energy helped make Baxters soups a global brand

  27-01-2015 19:55
  
  Ena Baxter was the public face of the Scottish gourmet soup company Baxters and a driving force behind its success at home and abroad. Her cooking abilities, boundless energy and resourcefulness – exporting cock-a-leekie soup to Japan, minestrone to Italy, haggis to the Korean Army and Scotch broth to the Middle East – helped make the brand a household name.
  
  Read more

Follow @GeneralnewsUK on Twitter!