General news

• Madonna Falls Backwards Down Stairs At Brits

  25-02-2015 23:56
  
  Madonna has taken a nasty tumble down some stairs after a costume malfunction during her first performance at the Brit Awards in 20 years. She fell down three steps onto the floor before getting back on her feet to continue the performance where she was surrounded by dancers dressed as devils. Sky’s Richard Suchet, at the event at the O2 Arena in London, said journalists winced as the Queen of Pop fell in front of thousands of fans. User Louise Houghton wrote: "Big respect to @Madonna @BR
  
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• Golden boys carry off Brit honours

  25-02-2015 23:56
  
  Golden boys of British pop Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith have shared the honours on what was a muted night - literally in the case of Kanye West - at the Brit Awards, while another of its biggest stars fell flat.
  
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• Afghanistan v Scotland highlights - Daily Mail

  25-02-2015 23:52 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Mirror.co.uk
  Afghanistan v Scotland highlights
  Daily Mail
  2nd over - Calum MacLeod fails to get over the top of a short delivery from Dawlat Zadran and cuts firmly to Najibullah Zadran at backward point for a duck. SCO: 7-1. 3rd over - Kyle Coetzer hammers the first boundary off the bat with a square cut from ...
  World Cup, Afghanistan vs Scotland Live: Machan, Mommsen depart, Scotland ...Firstpost
  Afghanistan vs Scotland — Fortunes of well-matched teams to divergeDaily Times
  Afghanistan
  
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• HSBC chiefs say sorry to MPs – but it may be too little, too late

  25-02-2015 23:51
  
  The men at the top of HSBC lamented the “horrible reputational damage” their bank has suffered over revelations about its Swiss unit’s role in helping wealthy clients to avoid paying their tax as they faced MPs yesterday.
  
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• Missing Girls: MPs To Question Airline Boss

  25-02-2015 23:49
  
  Turkey's ambassador and the boss of the country's national airline have been summoned before MPs over the disappearance of three teenage girls who are thought to have joined Islamic State in Syria. The Commons' Home Affairs Committee wants them to give evidence over the problem of young people using Turkey as a thoroughfare to the war-torn country. Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and 15-year-old Amira Abase are believed to have crossed into Syria after flying to Istanbul la
  
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• Apple Loses Patent Case Against Smartflash And Is Asked to Pay $532.9 Million ... - Science Times

  25-02-2015 23:48 via sciencetimes.com
  
  Apple Loses Patent Case Against Smartflash And Is Asked to Pay $532.9 Million ...
  Science Times
  Though many believed that technology powerhouse Apple would prevail against what the company is calling a "patent troll", this week Apple was ordered to pay $532.9 million in fines as a result of patent infringements. And while the petitioner, Smartflash ...
  
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• Rahm Emanuel: He conquered Washington, but Obama’s former chief of staff is having a nightmare in Chicago

  25-02-2015 23:48
  
  There is no record of what Rahm Emanuel said when he learned that he had failed to win the 50 per cent of votes he needed to avoid a run-off in his bid for re-election as mayor of Chicago. It surely wasn’t pretty – he is known for his purple language.
  
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• Brits 2015: Pharrell Williams only non-white winner as British music awards follows Oscars 'white wash'

  25-02-2015 23:47
  Pharrell Williams might be “Happy” to have taken the international solo artist at the Brits 2015 but he is also the only non-white artist to win an award this year.
  
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• Henri Lansbury fires Nottingham Forest to victory over Bournemouth - The Guardian

  25-02-2015 23:40 via theguardian.com
  
  The Guardian
  Henri Lansbury fires Nottingham Forest to victory over Bournemouth
  The Guardian
  Henri Lansbury curls home a free-kick for Nottingham Forest's winner against Bournemouth. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Action Images. Press Association. Wednesday 25 February 2015 17.34 EST Last modified on Wednesday 25 February 2015 17.38 EST.
  Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth match report: Bournemouth run out of steam ...The Independent
  Championship: Nottingham Forest boss Dougie Freedman hails playe
  
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• Madonna falls during Brits show

  25-02-2015 23:34
  
  Madonna suffered an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction at the Brits after she was dragged off the stage by her own cloak.
  
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• Madonna steals the show at the Brit Awards with epic tumble down the stairs

  25-02-2015 23:27
  
  This year’s Brit awards ceremony looked set to fade from memory like so many others in recent history until Madonna fell down the stairs after a serious wardrobe malfunction.
  
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• Brits 2015: Madonna steals the show with epic tumble down the stairs

  25-02-2015 23:27
  
  This year’s Brit awards ceremony looked set to fade from memory like so many others in recent history until Madonna fell down the stairs after a serious wardrobe malfunction.
  
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• Martin Clunes interview: The actor stars as the Sherlock Holmes creator in Arthur & George

  25-02-2015 23:25
  
  "When I tell people I'm playing Arthur Conan Doyle on TV, some of them ask, 'Oh, is Benedict Cumberbatch in it?'," says Martin Clunes, illustrating a common blurring of distinction between the creator of Sherlock Holmes and his creation. Sitting in a carriage on a steam train on the Bluebell Railway line in Sussex (the same locomotives used in Downton Abbey, as it happens), with Clunes suited, booted and cloaked in full Victorian-Holmesian outwear, it's easy to understand the confusion. "London
  
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• Brits 2015: Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith share top prizes as Brit Awards play it safe

  25-02-2015 23:17
  
  They are both earnest singer-songwriters whose emotive anthems have returned UK music to the top of the global charts. In the end, the Brit Awards could not split Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran, as the two solo stars shared the top prizes at the music industry’s annual showcase.
  
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• Rabbis from across Europe take self defense class after anti-Semitic attacks

  25-02-2015 23:14
  
  Rabbis from across Europe gathered in Prague this week for a conference which included self-defence and first aid training, in response to a recent spike in anti-Semitic attacks on the continent.
  
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• Rabbis from across Europe take self defence class after anti-Semitic attacks

  25-02-2015 23:14
  
  Rabbis from across Europe gathered in Prague this week for a conference which included self-defence and first aid training, in response to a recent spike in anti-Semitic attacks on the continent.
  
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• MPs Vote Against Labour's Second-Job Ban Bid

  25-02-2015 23:11
  
  A Labour move to ban MPs from holding paid directorships or consultancies has been defeated in the Commons after a day dominated by a furious row over second jobs. Voting was 287 to 219, a majority of 68, after an ill-tempered debate which followed an angry clash on the issue between David Cameron and Ed Miliband at Prime Minister's questions. During PMQs, the Labour leader appeared to surprise Mr Cameron by pledging that Labour would extend its proposed ban to include MPs serving as paid t
  
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• The girl who gets gifts from birds

  25-02-2015 23:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Lots of people give food to the birds in their garden and get nothing in return - but when one girl feeds the crows outside her house, they show their affection with tiny presents.
  
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• Wolf Hall finale, review: Simply brilliant TV

  25-02-2015 23:00
  
  ‘She kneels’, says the executioner. ‘There is no block.’ The executioner who later would slip off his shoes so that Anne could not hear his footsteps behind her. Subtle, brutal, elegant – Wolf Hall embodied in one moment. Cromwell said nothing, moved not a single muscle in his face, but his eyes spoke of indescribable sorrow. The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen.
  
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• When should summer-born children enter the classroom?

  25-02-2015 23:00
  
  Belle McLoughlin is enjoying her first year of "big school". She started in the reception class in September and loves learning and making new friends. But Belle is already five-and-a-half and would normally be half way through Year 1.
  
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• Sheen shines in Bake Off marquee

  25-02-2015 22:49
  
  Hollywood actor Michael Sheen beat stiff competition from his fellow celebrity bakers to take home the star baker award on tonight's episode of The Great Comic Relief Bake Off.
  
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• Balls denies rift over fees policy

  25-02-2015 22:49
  
  Ed Balls has denied having a "big bust-up" with Labour leader Ed Miliband over the party's tuition fees policy, which is expected to finally be announced this week.
  
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• Arsenal vs Monaco match report: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain goal provides little consolation as Berbatov and Monaco stun Gunners

  25-02-2015 22:47
  Arsenal's Champions League hopes hang by a thread after they slumped to a dreadful 3-1 home defeat to Monaco.
  
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• Brit Awards 2015: Jessie Ware confesses she is unhappy with where her Fifty ... - Mirror.co.uk

  25-02-2015 22:38 via mirror.co.uk
  
  Mirror.co.uk
  Brit Awards 2015: Jessie Ware confesses she is unhappy with where her Fifty ...
  Mirror.co.uk
  Jessie Ware has said she's not at all happy about where her song appeared during the Fifty Shades of Grey film. The brunette star's song XX features on the soundtrack and she says she was disappointed to find out exactly where her track pops up during the ...
  Fifty Shades of Grey: Jamie Dornan to reprise his role as Christian Grey in movie ...International Business Times UK
  Is
  
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• Most British Muslims 'oppose Muhammad cartoons reprisals' - BBC News

  25-02-2015 22:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News
  Most British Muslims 'oppose Muhammad cartoons reprisals'
  BBC News
  The majority of British Muslims oppose violence against people who publish images depicting the Prophet Muhammad, a poll for the BBC suggests. The survey also indicates most have no sympathy with those who want to fight against Western interests.
  A quarter of British Muslims have sympathy for motives behind Charlie Hebdo ...Daily Mail
  Why are we questioning the loyalty of British Muslims? We never ask anyone els
  
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• The Great Comic Relief Bake Off 2015, TV review: David Mitchell rustles up some hideous-looking but delicious-tasting treats

  25-02-2015 22:22
  Four more hopefuls entered the tent tonight in hopes of baking glory. Comedian David Mitchell, Radio 1 DJ Jameela Jamil, Hollywood star Michael Sheen and education campaigner Sarah Brown put on the aprons and got their mixing bowls at the ready.
  
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• NYPD using Patrick Swayze movie Road House to train police officers

  25-02-2015 22:15
  
  The New York Police Department (NYPD) is teaching trainee cops how to stay cool under pressure, by showing recruits what they believe is a particularly persuasive Patrick Swayze movie.
  
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• Wesleyan University students arrested after mass Molly overdose

  25-02-2015 22:12
  
  Four students at Wesleyan University have been arrested in connection with a mass overdose of the designer drug known as Molly that sent 12 students to the hospital. Two of the students remain in the hospital.
  
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• Cliff Richard Police Inquiry Expanded

  25-02-2015 22:04
  
  A police investigation into Sir Cliff Richard has "increased significantly in size" with the singer facing a number of allegations.
  
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• Too much sleep linked to strokes

  25-02-2015 22:00
  
  Getting too much sleep may increase the risk of having a stroke, scientists have said.
  
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• Mayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman: I’m not a fraudster

  25-02-2015 22:00
  
  A mayor accused of electoral fraud has insisted to a special High Court hearing he is not a “liar and a fraudster”.
  
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• People who sleep more than eight hours are more likely to have a stroke, research shows

  25-02-2015 22:00
  People who sleep for more than eight hours a day are more likely to have a stroke, research has shown – but experts do not know the reason why.
  
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• Brits 2015: Paloma Faith wins British solo female gong on third attempt

  25-02-2015 21:57
  
  Paloma Faith scooped a significant success tonight by taking the Brit Award for best female artist, beating previous winner Lily Allen as well as of-the-moment singer FKA Twigs.
  
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• Isabelle Prime kidnap: French aid consultant snatched in Yemen was due to fly home this week

  25-02-2015 21:53
  
  A French national kidnapped in Yemen had been planning to return to France this week, after staying in the country to wrap up the aid programme she was working on, according to her employer.
  
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• The Sound of Music 50th anniversary: Elizabeth Von Trapp reveals why the musical is so timeless

  25-02-2015 21:46
  Fifty years ago next month, the flight of the Von Trapp family across the Austrian Tyrol to avoid facing Nazi tyranny became universally known through the film The Sound of Music.
  
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• Boko Haram in Nigeria: Goodluck Jonathan using fear of Islamists to manipulate election, says opposition

  25-02-2015 21:34
  
  Goodluck Jonathan is attempting to exploit the West’s fear of Islamist terrorism to subvert democracy in Nigeria, the President’s main opponent in the coming election is to declare during a visit to London.
  
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• Will a crackdown on zero-hours contracts harm the economy?

  25-02-2015 21:32
  
  Is the number of people hired on zero-hours contracts increasing? It’s a difficult question to answer, using the latest statistics. Yes, the headline numbers are up over the past year, but the figures are based on surveys, and more people might now recognise the “zero hours” tag than in the past.
  
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• Isis in Syria: Aided by US air strikes, Kurds cut terrorists' supply line linking Syria and Iraq

  25-02-2015 21:31
  
  Syrian Kurdish fighters have cut an important Isis supply line from Syria to Iraq as they expand an offensive launched in north-east Syria at the weekend that is receiving heavy support from American air strikes. The seizure of at least 90 Christian hostages from Assyrian villages by Isis may be its response to the Kurdish attack.
  
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• Old military hands are using Putin as a bogeyman

  25-02-2015 21:25
  
  It has been a long and less than proud tradition of British political life that retired military commanders still serve as Panzer divisions in Whitehall for public spats on behalf of their still serving former colleagues.
  
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• LeBron James says college scouts should stay away from his 10-year-old son

  25-02-2015 21:20
  
  This story sounds familiar. A young man named LeBron James is wowing people playing basketball in the state of Ohio, to the point that he is receiving national attention even though his age just crossed into double digits.
  
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• Charles reveals vision for business

  25-02-2015 21:13
  
  The Prince of Wales spoke of the need for a "sensitive transition from old to new" in business as he marked three decades as a charity patron.
  
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• Abercrombie and Fitch accused of civil rights discrimination after refusing to hire Muslim woman because of her head scarf

  25-02-2015 21:12
  America’s highest court has signalled its support for a young Muslim woman who claimed she was denied a job at Abercrombie & Fitch because she wore a head scarf.
  
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• Brits get off to Swift start

  25-02-2015 21:11
  
  Tonight's Brit Awards kicked off with a wave of dancing waiters welcoming hosts Ant and Dec to the stage before Taylor Swift became the first act to perform.
  
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• Police: Secret lovers of missing chef Claudia Lawrence are lying to us

  25-02-2015 21:09
  
  Detectives have accused suspected former lovers of missing chef Claudia Lawrence of lying and called for secret boyfriends to come forward before they are found and face arrest.
  
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• Labour proposal to ban MPs from taking second jobs thrown out by House of Common

  25-02-2015 21:08
  
  Banning MPs from holding second jobs would create a “low-achieving, shallow” Parliament, a former Conservative minister claimed yesterday, as a plan to cap members’ outside interests was thrown out in a Commons vote.
  
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• A quarter of British Muslims have sympathy for motives behind Charlie Hebdo ... - Daily Mail

  25-02-2015 21:01 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Daily Mail
  A quarter of British Muslims have sympathy for motives behind Charlie Hebdo ...
  Daily Mail
  More than a quarter of British Muslims have sympathy for the motives behind the attack on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, which left 12 people dead, a survey shows. The new poll also revealed that 32 per cent of respondents were ...
  Why are we questioning the loyalty of British Muslims? We never ask anyone elseThe Guardian
  'Charlie Hebdo' now has 25 times
  
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• MPs Reject Labour Demand For Second Jobs Ban

  25-02-2015 21:00
  
  The Prime Minister has rejected a call by Ed Miliband to "restore the reputation" of the House of Commons by stopping politicians from having second jobs. Around 100 MPs debated whether MPs should be banned from holding paid directorships, consultancies and trade union roles. But the Labour call for a ban was defeated in a Commons vote by 287 votes to 219 - a majority of 68. At Prime Minister's Questions Mr Miliband attempted to put pressure on Mr Cameron by offering a deal o
  
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• Dissent in Venezuela: Maduro regime looks on borrowed time as rising public anger meets political repression

  25-02-2015 20:45
  
  Henrique Capriles is just getting started on why the trampling of civil and human rights coupled with shortages of basic commodities means the end is surely nigh for President Nicolas Maduro, when something catches his eye through the window. “There you are, you see,” he says.
  
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• Shoreditch skyscrapers: Home of the hipsters is under threat from development plans

  25-02-2015 20:42
  
  Shoreditch, London, home of the hipster; tech start-up companies; pop-up cafes and extravagant facial hair is being threatened by developers who want to build two skyscrapers in its creative heart, it has been claimed.
  
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• PM backing for second jobs for MPs

  25-02-2015 20:37
  
  David Cameron has defended the right of MPs to do second jobs - insisting that extra work can be fitted in alongside constituency duties.
  
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