General news

• Prized artworks from Scottish National Gallery risked oblivion with bargain basement plan for nuclear attack

  01-02-2015 23:53
  Think of it less as Desert Island Discs and more as nuclear island artwork. At the height of Cold War tension, fearful that Soviet missiles raining down on the British Isles could destroy prized art treasures, Whitehall officials drew up secret plans to save the country’s finest paintings for anyone who survived the atomic apocalypse.
  
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• Super Bowl XLIX - LIVE: Follow all the action with the Seattle Seahawks leading the New England Patriots 24-14

  01-02-2015 23:32
  Hello and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of Super Bowl 49!
  
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• Super Bowl XLIX - LIVE: Follow all the action with the Seattle Seahawks leading the New England Patriots 17-14

  01-02-2015 23:32
  Hello and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of Super Bowl 49!
  
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• Super Bowl XLIX - LIVE: Follow all the action with the New England Patriots leading the Seattle Seahawks tied at 14-7 at half-time

  01-02-2015 23:32
  Hello and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of Super Bowl 49!
  
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• Super Bowl XLIX - LIVE: Follow all the action as the New England Patriots face the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL's flagship game in Phoenix

  01-02-2015 23:32
  Hello and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of Super Bowl 49!
  
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• Boots boss Stefano Pessina (who lives in Monaco) branded a 'disgrace' for attack on Ed Miliband

  01-02-2015 23:26
  
  The Labour Party has reacted angrily after Stefano Pessina, the multibillionaire boss of Boots who lives in Monaco, warned that a government under Ed Miliband would be a “catastrophe” for Britain.
  
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• Kenji Goto beheading video: Japan on high alert after 'cowardly' murder of hostage

  01-02-2015 23:10
  
  Japan has warned its citizens to be vigilant – as the country becomes thrust into the dangers of geopolitical entanglement with the second apparent murder by Isis of one of its own.
  
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• Labour hits at 'catastrophe' claim

  01-02-2015 23:04
  
  Labour has mounted a fightback after warnings by a leading business chief the party would be a "catastrophe" for Britain if it came to power and criticism from within its own fold.
  
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• Visit My Mosque Day: Muslims open doors with tea and cakes for the unbelievers

  01-02-2015 23:02
  
  The crowd gathered at East London Mosque were not its typical worshippers – there was a mixture of atheists, agnostics and those who simply “wanted to meet the sort of Muslims who aren’t on the television”.
  
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• Doubs by-election: Far right tops poll in litmus test of French opinion after Charlie Hebdo attacks

  01-02-2015 22:47
  
  The far-right Front National topped the poll in a parliamentary by-election in eastern France tonight but may struggle to win the seat in the second round next weekend.
  
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• Geraldine McEwen: Actress whose decades of triumphs on the stage were topped off by her acclaimed Miss Marple on television

  01-02-2015 22:35
  When Laurence Olivier invited Geraldine McEwan to join the National Theatre, his reassurance to her was “you can play comedy, so you can play anything”. And indeed, McEwan was everything one could wish for in a comic actress: sensitive to the text, precise in her timing, and with a versatility that constantly surprised. Olivier entrusted her with 11 mighty and diverse roles over a five-year period, contrasting highlights being a celebrated production of Feydeau’s A Flea in Her Ear (1966)
  
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• Leaked CIA role in killing of Hezbollah chief Imad Moughniyeh timed to undermine bluster

  01-02-2015 22:32
  
  The timing of media reports confirming the involvement of the CIA and Mossad in a plot to assassinate Hezbollah’s second-in-command Imad Moughniyeh in 2008 are likely to have a greater impact than the revelations themselves, Lebanese analysts said.
  
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• Hong Kong protesters revive calls for 'genuine democracy'

  01-02-2015 22:26
  
  Thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators marched through Hong Kong’s streets today in the first major rally since the mass protests last year.
  
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• Alan Barnes Meets Woman Behind £250K Campaign

  01-02-2015 22:24
  
  Alan Barnes, 67, said it felt "magic" to meet beautician Katie Cutler, who set up an online fundraising page after reading about the attack. Mr Barnes, who has disabilities from birth after his mother contracted German measles when she was pregnant, broke his collarbone when he was pushed over by his attacker. People were moved to help after hearing that Mr Barnes - who is 4ft 6ins tall and weighs less than six stone - was too afraid to return to his home in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.
  
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• Ivor Abrahams: Maverick artist acclaimed as an ‘interpreter of the suburban dream’ whose work celebrated England’s eccentricity and variety

  01-02-2015 22:22
  Ivor Abrahams was described by Andrew Lambirth as “our greatest interpreter of the suburban dream”. It was the eccentricity and variety of England he celebrated: “When you see the way other people do things in other places, they all seem to have it better organised than we do. And this is what makes this curious mixture so unique and English.”
  
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• NBC to make $350 million in ad revenue from the Super Bowl

  01-02-2015 22:17
  
  NBC is set to make about $350 million just from advertising revenue from the Super Bowl, which starts in just a couple of hours.
  
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• Freedman replaces Pearce at Forest

  01-02-2015 22:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Dougie Freedman is named Nottingham Forest manager after the club sack Stuart Pearce following a run of six defeats in seven games.
  
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• Peter Greste released: Australian Al Jazeera journalist deported by Egypt - but what of his colleagues?

  01-02-2015 21:57
  
  Egypt today released Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste, deporting him back to his native Australia after he spent 400 days in jail following his arrest alongside two others while on a temporary assignment. Reports suggested his colleague, dual Egyptian-Canadian citizen Mohamed Fahmy might soon follow. But the fate of Egyptian national Baher Mohamed remained uncertain.
  
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• Video shows New York police officer 'pulling gun on youngsters playing with snowballs'

  01-02-2015 21:56
  
  A New York police officer has been caught on camera apparently pointing his gun at at teenagers taking part in a snow ball fight.
  
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• Tufnell and Parker exit The Jump

  01-02-2015 21:56
  
  England cricket legend Phil Tufnell and Gogglebox star Dom Parker were the first celebrities to be knocked out as the second season of winter sports show The Jump got under way.
  
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• Turnell and Parker exit The Jump

  01-02-2015 21:55
  
  England cricket legend Phil Tufnell and Gogglebox star Dom Parker were the first celebrities to be knocked out as the second season of winter sports show The Jump got under way.
  
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• Pensioner dies in yacht sea plunge

  01-02-2015 21:55
  
  A pensioner has died after falling from a yacht into the sea.
  
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• Ivy League college bans liquor from campus in effort to curb sexual assault

  01-02-2015 21:55
  
  Dartmouth College last week revealed that it will be banning hard liquor from campus, becoming the latest US school to make a policy change in an effort to cut back on party culture and sexual assaults.
  
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• 'Mix-up, not sexism' as Channel 4 presenter Cathy Newman is turned away from a mosque on 'Visit My Mosque Day'

  01-02-2015 21:33
  
  A mix-up rather than sexism was to blame for Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman being turned away from a mosque on “Visit My Mosque Day”, an Islamic centre official said yesterday.
  
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• Shazam: The progress and appeal of the 'what's that song?' app that's now worth $1 billion

  01-02-2015 21:29
  
  More than half a billion people have now experienced that Shazam “moment”. Mine was at London’s Camden Roundhouse in November 2002, waiting for Michael Moore’s one-man show to start.
  
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• Fundraiser meets mugging victim

  01-02-2015 21:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A woman who set up a fundraising page for a man who was mugged outside his home meets the victim as donations top £250,000.
  
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• 'Relief' as Egypt deports reporter

  01-02-2015 21:11
  
  The deportation of Al-Jazeera and ex-BBC journalist Peter Greste from Egypt after 400 days in prison has been greeted as a "welcome relief" by human rights campaigners.
  
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• European Court to rule on 'whole life tariff' legality of triple murderer Arthur Hutchinson

  01-02-2015 21:08
  
  One of the UK’s most notorious killers will learn this week whether he has anything more than the faintest of hopes of ever leaving prison. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is set to rule whether triple murderer Arthur Hutchinson should be eligible for release from Frankland prison, Durham.
  
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• VIDEO: Man swept out to sea in Cornwall

  01-02-2015 21:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A 51-year-old man is missing after being swept out to sea while scattering his sister's ashes in North Cornwall.
  
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• Today’s connected consumers provide new challenges – and opportunities – in advertising

  01-02-2015 20:51
  
  In 1979 Silk Cut ran a cinema advert, set in “Mbongoland”, featuring a blacked-up John Bird talking to camera in a fake South African accent. The colonial scenario, which concluded with cigarette-puffing Brits casually bayoneting Zulu warriors, failed to prompt any notable expressions of outrage from audiences Ethical considerations, it’s fair to say, did not take up much time in the long “working” Soho lunches enjoyed by the buccaneering “Mad Men” of a previous advertising genera
  
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• Stargazing in February: Venus and Mars are all set for a celestial canoodle

  01-02-2015 20:37
  
  February is the month for couples to share a close moment – and Venus and Mars are no exception. They’re heading for a celestial canoodle just a week after Valentine’s Day. Venus is certainly no shy lass. You’ll spot her all month long, loitering in the western sky after sunset and outshining everything else in the night sky (except for the matchless Moon). Astronomers have found that she is truly hot stuff – and that she’s very adept at hiding her true nature.
  
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• Young Won't Stand For 'Same Old Rhetoric'

  01-02-2015 20:33
  
  Stand Up Be Counted contributors have challenged politicians to break from their usual lines when they take part in the Sky News Facebook #AskTheLeaders event. Student James Cantwell, who will be in the audience, said: "It's fantastic they're coming to us but we can't have the 'same old same old' rhetoric. Stand Up Be Counted (SUBC) is a Sky News initiative where 16 to 25-year-olds can speak out and share ideas. It is working with Facebook to give younger people the
  
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• Scottish climber dies on Andes peak

  01-02-2015 20:31
  
  A Scottish climber has died after falling ill while attempting to scale a mountain in the Andes.
  
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• 'Danger' landslip closes rail line

  01-02-2015 20:31
  
  Rail passengers will face at least a week of disruption after a major landslip left around 350,000 tonnes of earth dangerously close to a railway track.
  
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• Body identified as missing mother

  01-02-2015 20:31
  
  A body discovered in a lake has been formally identified as missing mother-of-four Samantha Henderson.
  
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• Sam Taylor-Johnson interview: Fifty Shades of Grey director on bringing the hit to the screen

  01-02-2015 20:28
  
  Sam Taylor-Johnson is knackered. The day before our interview, the 47-year-old film-maker finally finished the biggest job of her life, locking the last edit on her adaptation of 50 Shades of Grey, one of the most hotly, sweatily awaited movies of 2015. The shoot was intense, the weight of expectation even more so: earlier in the day, it was announced that advance tickets have sold faster than for any other R-rated film in US box office history.
  
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• Vicar's car insurance company threatens to void policy over Jesus Christ stickers

  01-02-2015 20:20
  
  An insurance company has denied claims it threatened to void a vicar's policy because she put religious stickers on her car.
  
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• Super Bowl 2015: It's the most ridiculous sporting event of the year, but I absolutely love it

  01-02-2015 20:16
  
  American football is an absurd sport. That is not why I love it, but it adds to the madness. I love it because it is a spectacle: a form of ritualised combat that actually looks like a fight, with complex team-work and planning.
  
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• Man in hospital after city stabbing

  01-02-2015 20:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A 57-year-old man is taken to hospital after being stabbed in west Belfast.
  
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• Ronson celebrates chart-topping run

  01-02-2015 20:00
  
  A stunned Mark Ronson is celebrating his seventh week at the top of the UK's official singles chart.
  
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• AirAsia flight QZ8501: Captain's behaviour 'very unusual' prior to crash, investigators learn

  01-02-2015 19:51
  
  The captain of the AirAsia jet that crashed into the sea off Indonesia in December was out of his seat conducting an unusual procedure when his co-pilot apparently lost control. 
  
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• What I learnt about inequality after spending time with some of the richest people in the world

  01-02-2015 19:49
  
  So what are the super-rich: are they bastards? Are they, as F Scott Fitzgerald put it, “just like us, but richer”? Are they going to save us? Destroy us? Are they corporate psychopaths who've channelled their murderous impulses into making money, not serial killing? Or are they just little old me misunderstood. Lonely and needing love but trapped in a gilded cage of Bentleys and Lear Jets?
  
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• Missing mum 'suffered head injuries'

  01-02-2015 19:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A mother of four whose body was found in a lake in Dorset had been violently attacked around the head and neck, post-mortem tests reveal.
  
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• Groundhog Day: Five absurd facts you didn't know about the mammal-based festival

  01-02-2015 19:37
  
  Every year since 1886, crowds as large of 40,000 have gathered in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on the morning of February 2 to watch a groundhog – a species of small, furry mammal – emerge from a burrow on Gobbler's Knob. According to folklore, if the groundhog sees his shadow, then winter will endure for six more weeks. If it is cloudy, then spring will come early that year.
  
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• Woman's Body Found In Dorset Lake Identified

  01-02-2015 19:33
  
  Police say a body found in a lake in Dorset has been formally identified as missing mother-of-four Samantha Henderson. Ms Henderson was violently attacked around the head and neck, a post-mortem examination showed. The 25-year-old, who had children aged six, four, two and one, was discovered in a lake at Ham Common in Poole on Friday. She was last seen leaving Corfe Castle Primary School on 21 January at 3pm and was reported missing the next morning.
  
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• Roadchef staff win 17-year pay battle

  01-02-2015 19:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Hundreds of Roadchef employees will receive thousands of pounds each after winning a legal row over shares promised to them by a former boss.
  
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• Alan Barnes: Disabled pensioner who was mugged outside his own home meets fundraiser Katie Cutler

  01-02-2015 19:23
  
  A disabled pensioner whose mugging prompted a global fundraising campaign met the young woman responsible for the first time today.
  
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• Woman who banned Muslims from gun range as 'safety' measure claims business is booming

  01-02-2015 19:10
  
  A woman who banned all Muslims from her shooting range in Arkansas, US, claims that business is booming since she took the decision as “a matter of public safety”.
  
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• Man, 72, dies after fall from boat

  01-02-2015 19:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A 72-year-old man dies after falling from a boat near Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan.
  
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• Homeless Veterans appeal: Entering civilian life can be like going into the jungle for soldiers, says ex-colonel

  01-02-2015 19:03
  Leaving the military and returning to civilian life can be like “going out into a jungle” without a guide, one of the UK’s former top commanders in Afghanistan has said.
  
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