General news

• Russia calls on UN to block benefits for married gay staff

  23-03-2015 23:54
  
  Russia has put forward a proposal to the UN to stop its General Assembly from extending staff benefits to same-sex couples, according to diplomats.
  
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• UKIP's Atkinson expelled from party

  23-03-2015 23:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  MEP and general election candidate Janice Atkinson is expelled by UKIP for "bringing the party into disrepute".
  
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• UKIP Expels MEP Over Expense Fraud Allegations

  23-03-2015 23:49
  
  UKIP MEP Janice Atkinson has been expelled for bringing the party into disrepute over allegations of bogus expense claims. The politician's chief of staff Christine Hewitt has also been removed from the party. A UKIP spokesman said: "Janice Atkinson MEP and Christine Hewitt (assistant to Janice Atkinson) have been found to have brought the party into disrepute. "As a result they have been expelled from UK Independence Party.
  
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• DUP names its price for electoral deal with Tories or Labour: £1bn for Northern Ireland

  23-03-2015 23:49
  
  The Democratic Unionist Party will seek up to a billion pounds more funding for Northern Ireland as the price of keeping a Tory or Labour government in power, according to one of its leading MPs.
  
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• Missing schoolgirls: Families of three British schoolgirls travel to Turkey in bid to retrace their last steps

  23-03-2015 23:41
  
  The families of three British schoolgirls believed to be living in Syria after being lured there by Isis militants have travelled to Turkey in a bid to retrace their last steps.
  
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• Raised by Wolves episode 2, TV review: Caitlin Moran's sitcom has got joie de vivre to spare

  23-03-2015 23:36
  
  I have to confess, I was not at all expecting to enjoy Caroline and Caitlin Moran’s sitcom Raised By Wolves (not least because 2013’s pilot was severely undercooked). However the 2015 model is a show made with such enormous joie de vivre, such giddy chutzpah, and such BALLS that I am merrily eating my words. Who can argue with a programme that has ‘there’s no need to show anyone your bifurcated arse cheeks’ as one of its opening lines?
  
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• Ukip MEP Janice Atkinson expelled from party

  23-03-2015 23:17
  
  Ukip has expelled MEP Janice Atkinson,after her chief of staff was filmed apparently asking for an inflated invoice to claim on European expenses.
  
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• Ukip expels MEP over invoice row

  23-03-2015 23:16
  
  MEP Janice Atkinson has been expelled by Ukip after her chief of staff was filmed apparently asking for an inflated invoice to claim on European expenses.
  
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• Sketch: Who can self-flagellate his way to No 11? Both of them can

  23-03-2015 23:12
  
  If it really is “the economy, stupid”, then heaven help us. None of this was the fault of the Sky News political editor, Faisal Islam, or a decent group of questioners. But this was so not a “debate” between the Chancellor and his shadow, that even their separate appearances had a half-hour interval between them in case either of them actually met, let alone started arguing with each other. This did not make for riveting television.
  
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• Folio Prize 2015 goes to Akhil Sharma for Family Life, the novel which 'shattered' its author

  23-03-2015 23:08
  
  A semi-autobiographical novel, which was nine years overdue and “shattered” the author’s youth, has won the Folio Prize, the literary award set up to compete with the Man Booker Prize.
  
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• Andy McSmith's Diary: George Osborne's Agincourt gag costs him historian's vote

  23-03-2015 23:04
  
  While the polls imply that George Osborne’s Budget last week has had no measurable impact on public opinion, the din of battle still resounds around the remarks he cracked about Agincourt. In his Budget speech, the Chancellor described the battle, 600 years ago this October, as a story of how “a strong leader defeated an ill-judged alliance between the champion of a united Europe and a renegade force of Scottish nationalists.” Get it? David Cameron equals Henry V, Ed Miliband is Charles VI
  
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• Raleigh scaffolding collapse: Three workers killed and one seriously injured at high-rise building in North Carolina

  23-03-2015 22:40
  A collapsed scaffold on a high-rise building in North Carolina has killed three workers and hospitalised one other.
  
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• Families retrace Syria girls' steps

  23-03-2015 22:35
  
  The families of three London schoolgirls believed to be in Syria have travelled to Turkey and retraced the trio's steps.
  
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• PM Branded 'Arrogant' As Third Term Ruled Out

  23-03-2015 22:20
  
  David Cameron has been accused of arrogance and "taking the British public for granted" after ruling out seeking a third term as Prime Minister if he is returned to power in May. He also named three of his senior colleagues - Home Secretary Theresa May, Chancellor George Osborne and London mayor Boris Johnson - as potential successors as Conservative leader when he steps down. Following Mr Cameron's comments, Downing Street moved quickly to insist the PM was focused on the need t
  
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• Ex-BNP leader Nick Griffin tells right-wing conference Russia will save Europe

  23-03-2015 21:59
  
  Undeterred by his waning power over the extremist right-wing in the UK, Nick Griffin has kept with his cause by declaring that Russia will save “Christendom”.
  
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• New York fire: Father says seven children lost in fire were ‘so pure’

  23-03-2015 21:46
  
  A day after a fire claimed the lives of seven of his children, a Brooklyn father eulogized them at the funeral on Sunday, according to the Associated Press.
  
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• The future of GM: The greenhouses where Monsanto 'plays God' with the future of the planet

  23-03-2015 21:44
  
  If you travel from downtown St Louis at night on Highway 40 towards Kansas City and look out to your right you will see a strange bright white haze emanating from the horizon.
  
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• PM Branded 'Arrogant' As Rules Out Third Term

  23-03-2015 21:43
  
  David Cameron has been accused of arrogance and "taking the British public for granted" after ruling out seeking a third term as Prime Minister if he is returned to power in the May. He also named three of his senior colleagues - Home Secretary Theresa May, Chancellor George Osborne and London mayor Boris Johnson - as potential successors as Conservative leader when he steps down.
  
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• Blood test hope on prostate cancer

  23-03-2015 21:00
  
  A test that detects prostate cancer cells in the bloodstream could improve the treatment of men with advanced disease and speed up development of new therapies, experts have said.
  
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• Concerns over party fundraising

  23-03-2015 21:00
  
  A former sleaze watchdog has raised concerns about the potential influence a wealthy Russian Conservative donor could have on the party and suggested the Tories' glitzy fundraising ball should be more transparent.
  
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• Boy, 4, killed in shop mirror fall

  23-03-2015 20:48
  
  A four-year-old boy was crushed to death when an unstable shop mirror fell on him, an inquest heard.
  
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• Duke holds happy birthday singalong

  23-03-2015 20:48
  
  The Duke of York tonight surprised a room full of business leaders when he organised an impromptu Happy Birthday singalong for his daughter, Princess Eugenie.
  
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• North Carolina fraternity suspended after discovery of book of rape and racist quotes

  23-03-2015 20:41
  
  The Greek rabbit hole continues to go deeper in the US, as a fraternity at North Carolina State University has been suspended after the discovery of what appears to be a pledge book containing messages about race and rape, and a list of fraternity members.
  
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• PM rules out serving three terms

  23-03-2015 20:39
  
  David Cameron has ruled out a third term as Prime Minister if he remains in 10 Downing Street after the May 7 general election.
  
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• Monsanto chief admits ‘hubris’ is to blame for public fears over GM

  23-03-2015 20:39
  
  The American company that produced the world’s first genetically modified crop has admitted for the first time that its “hubris” in promoting the technology contributed to a consumer backlash against genetically modified food.
  
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• British D-Day landings veteran Ted Turner awarded French honour Legion d'Honneur

  23-03-2015 20:39
  
  An 89-year-old veteran of the D-Day landings has been awarded France's highest honour for his role in the Normandy invasion in the Second World War.
  
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• Why Ukhip is in no danger of being confused with Farage's party

  23-03-2015 20:33
  
  When Beth Granville's grandmother, Liz, spotted a promotion in a newspaper in the new year, she cut it out. The "Sail to France from just £1!" offer included a day in Calais, and a free bottle of P&O wine. Liz knew that Beth and her friend, David Charles, had visited Calais before and thought they might enjoy another jaunt on the cheap.
  
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• Ukip’s plan to save £25bn: Leave the EU and slash foreign aid spending

  23-03-2015 20:32
  
  Ukip shrugged off condemnation of its “British jobs for British workers” policy as it set out an economic platform underpinned by £25bn of savings from spending on the European Union, overseas aid, Scotland and the HS2 rail link. Nigel Farage’s party said the money would pay for cuts to taxes, a boost for the NHS and a sharp increase in defence spending.
  
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• Cameron says won't seek third term in power

  23-03-2015 20:30
  
  Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday ruled out seeking a third term in office if he won a second mandate in a tightly fought national election on May 7, saying it would then be time for a new leader of his right-leaning Conservatives. Cameron, whose party is neck-and-neck in opinion polls with the opposition Labour Party, also said he would like to serve a full five-year second term from 2015-2020 if re-elected, scotching persistent speculation that he would stand down after a possible Europea
  
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• US warship at anchor off Gosport

  23-03-2015 20:26
  
  One of the world's largest warships is currently at anchor off the UK's south coast as it is too big to enter one of the Royal Navy's major bases.
  
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• Alexis Tsipras meets Angela Merkel in Berlin as German‑Greek talks get under way

  23-03-2015 20:25
  
  Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin tonight for a tense encounter overshadowed by Athens’ mounting debt crisis and embarrassing claims that the German arms industry had paid millions in backhanders to win Greek weapons contracts.
  
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• University of Virginia: Police say they found no evidence of campus gang rape described in 'Rolling Stone' magazine article

  23-03-2015 20:23
  Police investigating an alleged university campus gang rape – reports of which sparked outcry across the country –have said they can find no evidence that the incident took place.
  
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• Voters view Ed Miliband as a toff, says Labour MP Simon Danczuk

  23-03-2015 20:22
  
  Ed Miliband’s attempts to improve his public image suffered a setback when one of his own MPs said that voters regard the Labour leader as more of a “toff” than David Cameron.
  
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• VIDEO: BBC exclusive: At home with Cameron

  23-03-2015 20:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The prime minister gives an exclusive and wide-ranging interview to James Landale.
  
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• How 'on fleek' went from zero to zeitgeist: It's about being fabulous

  23-03-2015 20:18
  
  For a few hours on 1 March, it seemed as if "on fleek" would bring down the music industry. Nicki Minaj called out fellow artist Christina Milian for selling T-shirts and sweatshirts emblazoned with "Pretty on fleek", words that Minaj raps on her latest album. "I was waitin on my percentage at the door! *tilts head*," Minaj wrote on Instagram.
  
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• Family saga wins literary prize

  23-03-2015 20:18
  
  A family saga that crosses continents from New Delhi to New York has won a leading literary prize.
  
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• England squad: Daniel Sturridge 'set to withdraw' from Euro 2016 qualifier against Lithuania

  23-03-2015 20:10
  
  Daniel Sturridge is on the brink of withdrawing from another England squad with a hip problem for which he underwent a scan at St George’s Park today ahead of the Euro 2016 qualifier against Lithuania on Friday.
  
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• England squad: Daniel Sturridge fit for Euro 2016 qualifier against Lithuania

  23-03-2015 20:10
  
  The Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has a hip injury picked up in the defeat to Manchester United but joined up with the England squad on Monday and so far is considered fit by the Football Association
  
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• Lee Kuan Yew dead: 'Bulldozer who built Singapore' leaves legacy that divides opinion

  23-03-2015 20:01
  
  They arrived from all parts of the island to sign a condolence book and pay their respects beneath a large portrait of the man known as “LKY”. “We are very proud of him and everything he has achieved,” said Winnie Koh, who brought a bus load of senior citizens to say farewell to the man who died on Monday morning local time.
  
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• French award for D-Day veteran

  23-03-2015 19:56
  
  An 89-year-old veteran of the D-Day landings has been awarded France's highest honour for his role in the Normandy invasion in the Second World War.
  
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• Police appeal over python thieves

  23-03-2015 19:54
  
  Almost 40 snakes have been stolen, including eight pregnant females.
  
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• David Cameron Will Not Seek Third Term As PM

  23-03-2015 19:42
  
  David Cameron has said he will not seek a third term as Prime Minister if he is returned to power in the May General Election. The PM named three of his front bench colleagues - Home Secretary Theresa May, Chancellor George Osborne and London mayor Boris Johnson - as potential replacements as Conservative leader when he steps down.
  
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• Instagram launches new layout app

  23-03-2015 19:42
  Photo-sharing service Instagram has launched a new app that will allow users to combine several photos into one.
  
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• Sexism and Silicon Valley: now Twitter faces gender discrimination lawsuit from software engineer Tina Huang

  23-03-2015 19:42
  Twitter has become the latest in a string of Silicon Valley firms to face a gender discrimination lawsuit, forcing the male-dominated technology industry to grapple with widespread accusations of sexism.
  
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• David Cameron rules out third term as PM and reveals his favourites for next Tory leader

  23-03-2015 19:39
  
  David Cameron has said he will not be Prime Minister beyond 2020 if he is re-elected for a second term in May, and has tipped George Osborne, Theresa May or Boris Johnson as potential successors.
  
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• David Cameron rules out a third term as PM and reveals his favourites for next Tory leader

  23-03-2015 19:39
  
  David Cameron has said he will not be Prime Minister beyond 2020 if he is re-elected for a second term in May, and has tipped George Osborne, Theresa May or Boris Johnson as potential successors.
  
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• David Cameron admits he won't serve beyond 2020

  23-03-2015 19:39
  
  David Cameron has said he will not be Prime Minister beyond 2020 if he is re-elected for a second term in May, and has tipped George Osborne, Theresa May or Boris Johnson as potential successors.
  
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• Saudi Arabia warns of Iranian-allied Houthi 'aggression' in Yemen

  23-03-2015 19:31
  
  The Sunni leaders of Saudi Arabia will take necessary measures to protect the region against “aggression” by Yemen’s Iranian-allied Houthi group, said the Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal.
  
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• A-level textbook Alain Anderton’s Economics most popular book at Bank of England

  23-03-2015 19:31
  
  The most-checked-out book amongst the tomes of the Bank of England library is a textbook written for college students, it has been revealed.
  
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• Cameron will not seek third term

  23-03-2015 19:31
  
  David Cameron has said he will not put himself forward for a third term as Prime Minister if he remains in 10 Downing Street after the May 7 general election.
  
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