General news

• Liverpool vs Besiktas match report: Balotelli steps up again to prove his worth for Liverpool

  19-02-2015 23:57
  
  Liverpool’s Europa League campaign began much as their brief season in the Champions League had done, with a narrow win and a goal from Mario Balotelli.
  
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• Council to outsource all services

  19-02-2015 23:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Northamptonshire County Council approves £68m of cuts and introduces plan to outsource all services and redeploy thousands of staff members.
  
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• Ukraine crisis: House of Lords criticises EU and Britain for 'sleepwalking into crisis' as Moscow and Nato remain on diplomatic collision course

  19-02-2015 23:41
  The fraught relationship between Russia and the West, which was supposed to improve following an agreement over Ukraine, has descended instead into renewed acrimony after a series of tense military and diplomatic confrontations.
  
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• Bobby Beale revealed as Lucy killer

  19-02-2015 23:14
  
  Bobby Beale has been revealed as the character who killed Lucy Beale in EastEnders.
  
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• Libya urges end to arms embargo

  19-02-2015 23:08
  
  The Western-backed Libyan government has formally requested an arms embargo be lifted so it can better tackle the growing threat from what the country’s Foreign Minister describes as “rampant terrorism”.
  
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• Banksy artwork given listed status

  19-02-2015 23:07
  
  An iconic piece of graffiti artwork by famous artist Banksy has been granted listed status by a council.
  
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• Ukraine crisis: Inhabitants of the Baltic states fear that they will be next in the firing-line

  19-02-2015 23:07
  
  In the shops, restaurants and bars of Riga, the largest city of the three Baltic states, the sounds of Russian and Latvian languages intermingled as they have done for years.
  
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• Ukraine crisis: A mood of relief, anger and mutiny prevails among retreating troops

  19-02-2015 23:06
  
  Nikolai Kozitsyn, the Cossack leader known by the nickname “Daddy”, made an unexpected return to the eastern Ukrainian frontlines yesterday. Widely assumed to have been withdrawn to Russia by his Kremlin handlers, Mr Kozitsyn was instead seen making victory loops in a military jeep around the desolate, wrecked streets of Debaltseve.
  
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• Banksy artwork gets protection

  19-02-2015 22:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A Banksy mural painted on a Cheltenham house gets protected after council planners agree to grant it retrospective planning permission.
  
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• VIDEO: London cyclist killed by tipper truck

  19-02-2015 22:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Cycling safety campaigners say vehicles designed for construction sites should be banned from London's roads following the death of a cyclist during rush hour.
  
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• HIV strain found in Cuba could be most aggressive ever studied in humans

  19-02-2015 22:01
  
  Researchers recently identified an aggressive new strain of human immunodeficiency virus in Cuba that advances to Aids much faster than the average strain, but this variant of the virus may be the most aggressive ever studied in humans.
  
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• The age-old art of musical page turning is under threat from the accursed iPad

  19-02-2015 22:00
  
  Sam Haywood, a leading British concert pianist, was in dazzling command of a particularly challenging piece when the chair to his left "got too close to the edge of the stage," he recalls. The unnamed woman, who had been sitting on it with rapt attention, dressed inconspicuously in black, "just… disappeared. One moment she was there and the next she wasn't".
  
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• Lucy Beale killer: Jane finally revealed as culprit after year-long EastEnders whodunit

  19-02-2015 21:55
  
  It’s a guessing game that has had EastEnders fans on their toes for almost a year – and now the identity of Lucy Beale’s killer has finally been revealed.
  
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• Lucy Beale killer: Bobby finally revealed as culprit after year-long EastEnders whodunit

  19-02-2015 21:55
  
  It’s a guessing game that has had EastEnders fans on their toes for almost a year – and now the identity of Lucy Beale’s killer has finally been revealed.
  
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• Acclaimed photographer Sebastian Rich: 'I've been covering conflict for 30 years, but my camera is almost like a time machine.'

  19-02-2015 21:30
  Sebastian Rich admits that it's hard not to be cynical or fall into despair in the face of the human misery at the United Nation's Azraq refugee camp in Jordan, home to 11,000 people who have fled the conflict in Syria.
  
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• Same-sex marriage: Texas attorney general asks state Supreme Court to reaffirm ban on gay marriage

  19-02-2015 21:25
  
  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked the state’s Supreme Court to reaffirm the state’s ban on gay marriage after a probate judge declared the ban unconstitutional earlier this week.
  
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• EastEnders to reveal Lucy's killer

  19-02-2015 21:21
  
  The waiting is almost over for EastEnders fans desperate to discover who killed Lucy Beale.
  
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• How to win the election: Political speeches are no longer delivered but 'framed' to ensure you hear the core message

  19-02-2015 21:15
  Looking over various lists of Great British Speeches, you spot something interesting. Almost none has been delivered during an election campaign.
  
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• Ellen Pao discrimination case: Silicon Valley's sexist culture goes on trial

  19-02-2015 21:11
  
  Silicon Valley – or at least its allegedly sexist, male-dominated culture – is in the dock.
  
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• Ukraine crisis: Can the UK handle the Bear threat from Russia?

  19-02-2015 21:00
  
  The presence of Bears in the sky off the coast of Cornwall is nothing new. Russian warplanes, especially the bombers with that name, have been probing Britain, and Western Europe’s, air defences regularly as relations with Vladimir Putin have deteriorated: Nato flew no fewer than 400 intercepts last year: a 400 per cent increase from 2013.
  
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• Wealthy Scottish voters could offer Ed Miliband a route to No 10

  19-02-2015 20:53
  
  Middle-class voters in some of Scotland’s most prosperous constituencies could rescue Ed Miliband and improve his chances of making it to Downing Street, according to unpublished doorstep canvassing revealed to The Independent.
  
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• First Army soldier to join fight against Isis

  19-02-2015 20:47
  
  A teenager is believed to have become the first serving soldier in the British Army to travel to the Middle East to fight against Isis.
  
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• Pete Doherty crucified - for art

  19-02-2015 20:46
  
  John Lennon made headlines worldwide in 1966 when he said The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus” and musicians have been comparing themselves to Christ ever since.
  
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• Ewan McGregor to take on Philip Roth's classic novel American Pastoral in directorial debut

  19-02-2015 20:45
  
  A screen version of Philip Roth’s masterwork American Pastoral would be a major challenge for any director, let alone a first-timer. But apparently that does not deter Scottish actor Ewan McGregor, who plans to make his directorial debut with an adaptation of the novel.
  
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• From second-rate schoolboy to world's most wanted man: the rise of the caliph of terror

  19-02-2015 20:43
  
  He is the most wanted terrorist in the world, with a $10m (£6.5m) bounty on his head. But 44-year-old Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the feared Isis terror organisation, was less than outstanding in his youth, according to information unearthed by researchers in Germany.
  
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• Police gave journalist investigating fraudster a harassment warning

  19-02-2015 20:37
  
  A journalist told by Scotland Yard that he could be arrested for trying to interview a convicted fraudster has warned that press freedom is under threat after launching an appeal to clear his name.
  
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• Julie McCabe death: Mother may have died because hair dye reacted with her henna tattoo

  19-02-2015 20:33
  
  The cosmetics industry must do more to investigate potentially fatal allergic reactions to common hair dyes, a coroner demanded as he ruled on the death of a mother of two.
  
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• Julie McCabe death: Coroner’s warning to cosmetics industry after fatal reaction to hair dye

  19-02-2015 20:33
  
  The cosmetics industry must do more to investigate potentially fatal allergic reactions to common hair dyes, a coroner demanded as he ruled on the death of a mother of two.
  
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• Newcastle fans united against anti-Islamic group Pegida

  19-02-2015 20:31
  
  Newcastle United fans have urged far-right activists to stay away from their city, amid growing tensions over the anti-Islamic movement Pegida’s first rally in Britain.
  
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• Kasabian among T in the Park acts

  19-02-2015 20:29
  
  Kasabian, The Prodigy, Twin Atlantic and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds have been unveiled as headline acts at this year's T in the Park festival.
  
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• VIDEO: Egyptian bronze cat found in bin

  19-02-2015 20:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A 2,500-year-old bronze cat bust has been found in a bin in Penzance, Cornwall.
  
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• VIDEO: Are we building enough homes?

  19-02-2015 20:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Mark Easton reports on the English housing crisis, as new figures are released showing a drop in new home builds.
  
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• Ukraine crisis: Putin is counting on fact West has no desire for war

  19-02-2015 20:13
  
  Russia, once wrote George Kennan, author of the doctrine of “containment” of the Soviet Union at the start of the Cold War, “can have at its borders only vassals or enemies”. The Soviet Union is long gone, but with its behaviour in Ukraine today, Georgia yesterday, and perhaps the Baltic states tomorrow, post-Soviet Russia is posing the self-same question. How can Vladimir Putin, who seems bent on a new Cold War, be contained?
  
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• A 'wriggle' or a 'Trojan Horse'? Greece's olive branch to creditors gets short shrift

  19-02-2015 20:13
  
  Germany appeared to slap away an olive branch from Greece yesterday, raising fears that the Mediterranean country could crash out of the single currency within weeks.
  
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• Death of cyclist leads to calls for safer roads

  19-02-2015 20:11
  
  Cyclists have demanded urgent steps to provide them with better protection on Britain’s roads, following the death of a female cyclist who was crushed by a tipper truck in central London.
  
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• Vanilla Ice held on theft charge

  19-02-2015 20:09
  
  Vanilla Ice has insisted that his arrest this week in connection with a burglary was all just “a misunderstanding”.
  
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• PWC, the accountancy giant that promoted tax avoidance, gave £386,605 to Labour

  19-02-2015 20:08
  
  Labour has faced charges of hypocrisy after it accepted nearly £400,000 from an accountancy giant accused of promoting widespread tax avoidance.
  
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• 'Evening after' sunscreen mulled

  19-02-2015 20:00
  
  A day spent sweltering on the beach can trigger potentially cancer-causing damage to DNA that occurs long after the sun has set, research has shown.
  
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• When will the West own up to the role it's played in the implosion of Libya?

  19-02-2015 19:55
  
  The scenes witnessed this week – of the 21 Christians being marched along the beach in Libya, in their orange jumpsuits, and their subsequent beheadings – which I pointedly refused to watch online – marked a new low point in the advance of Isis.
  
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• Chelsea Suspends Three Fans Over Racist Chant

  19-02-2015 19:54
  
  Chelsea have suspended three supporters as the club investigates racist chanting and a black man being pushed on the Paris Metro. The man appeared to be stopped from getting on the train by fans travelling to a Champions League game against Paris St Germain.
  
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• Club suspends trio in Metro probe

  19-02-2015 19:54
  
  Chelsea Football Club has suspended three people from its Stamford Bridge ground following investigations into an apparent racist incident on the Paris Metro.
  
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• Nobel winners urge European Commission not to cut funds for science

  19-02-2015 19:54
  
  Dozens of Nobel prize-winners have written to the President of the European Commission urging him to reverse his plan to slash EU spending on research and innovation by €2.7bn (£2bn).
  
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• Qatar pulls diplomat in terror support row

  19-02-2015 19:51
  
  Qatar has recalled its ambassador to Cairo to protest comments made by an Egyptian official over his country’s decision to carry out air strikes in neighbouring Libya.
  
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• Jeb Bush is ‘unelectable’, says major conservative group in video

  19-02-2015 19:46
  
  Conservative group ForAmerica has said potential Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush is “unelectable” and sent a video denouncing him to about 8 million supporters.
  
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• Chelsea racism video: Three supporters suspended from Stamford Bridge following shocking scenes on Paris Metro

  19-02-2015 19:46
  Chelsea have taken the first steps towards punishing those supporters responsible for racist behaviour on the Paris Metro on Tuesday evening by suspending three fans from attending home games while they are investigated.
  
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• The typo that turned Tory donor Alisa Swidler into 'Mrs Swindler'

  19-02-2015 19:42
  
  It was, to say the least, an unfortunate typo. Diligently recording a generous donation to the Conservative Party by Alisa Swidler, a wealthy American philanthropist who has lived in the UK since 2002, someone at the Electoral Commission accidentally inserted a rogue “n”.
  
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• Tougher inspections prompt a quarter of headteachers to leave academies in 2014

  19-02-2015 19:35
  
  One in four academies have seen their headteachers depart during the past year – prompting fears of a leadership recruitment crisis, according to finance experts.
  
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• Complaints from small firms trigger inquiry into Capita deal

  19-02-2015 19:28
  
  Claims that small businesses were left facing ruin as a result of a contract between the outsourcing giant Capita and the Government are to be investigated by the public spending watchdog.
  
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• Catholic pressure group launches legal action against website promoting extra-marital sex

  19-02-2015 19:22
  
  A Catholic pressure group has started legal action against a French-based website which promotes extra-marital sex as a cheap “anti-depressant”.
  
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• Cordoba mayors accuse Church of 'seizing' city's mosque-cathedral

  19-02-2015 19:20
  
  Five former mayors of Cordoba have accused the Catholic Church of wrongly claiming ownership of the Mezquita, the city’s Unesco-listed cathedral, as part of a continuing effort to stamp out the site’s Muslim past.
  
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