General news

• British Nationals 'Likely' On Crashed Plane

  24-03-2015 23:44
  
  A number of British nationals are thought to have been on board the crashed Germanwings aircraft, says Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.
  
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• Banks To Carry On Closing Despite Cable Deal

  24-03-2015 23:33
  
  Britain's banks will pledge this week to continue investing in their branch networks "for decades to come" despite signing an agreement enabling them to close outlets even when they are the final one in a local community. Under the 'Access To Banking Protocol', a copy of which has been obtained by Sky News ahead of its release on Thursday, lenders will have to  provide 12 weeks’ notice of any branch closure and publish an assessment of the likely impact on its custome
  
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• Britons 'likely' on doomed flight

  24-03-2015 23:22
  
  "It is likely that there were some British nationals" on board the Germanwings flight that crashed today in the French Alps, with 150 people on board, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said.
  
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• Armed Officers Cleared Over Mark Duggan Death

  24-03-2015 22:45
  
  The armed officers were cleared by the police watchdog - the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) - following a three-and-a-half year investigation. It found a lack of audio or video material made it impossible to know with certainty exactly what happened when Mark Duggan died in Tottenham, north London, in August 2011. Violence and looting broke out across London, Birmingham, Manchester and other cities after 29-year-old Mr Duggan was shot. The shooting happened after Metropolitan Po
  
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• Search suspended at aircrash site

  24-03-2015 21:49
  
  French authorities have tonight called off searching the Alps where a passenger plane crashed with 150 people on board, including 16 schoolchildren, two babies, and two teachers.
  
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• Jeremy Clarkson says he hasn't heard 'a sausage' about BBC Top Gear investigation result

  24-03-2015 21:31
  
  Jeremy Clarkson has said he has not yet been told the results of an internal BBC investigation into his suspension following a “fracas” with Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon.
  
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• Germanwings crash: Rescuers discover a 'picture of horror' on a French mountainside

  24-03-2015 21:26
  
  Rescuers and officials last night spoke of the “picture of horror” on the French mountainside where a German airliner crashed in mysterious circumstances, killing all 150 people on board.
  
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• Darren Sharper: Former NFL star pleaded guilty to more sexual assault charges

  24-03-2015 21:25
  
  The day after he was sentenced to nine years in prison on sexual assault charges, former NFL star Darren Sharper pleaded guilty on Tuesday to more charges in Nevada that call for a prison sentence between three years and eight years, the Associated Press reported.
  
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• 'The election of Netanyahu is the best thing for the Palestinian people': An audience with Khaled al-Batsh the leader of Islamic Jihad

  24-03-2015 21:07
  The four-storey sand-coloured building where the political chief of Islamic Jihad in Gaza has his headquarters is surrounded by evidence of the war and siege the territory has endured.
  
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• JK Rowling responds to fan who tweeted she 'can't see' Dumbledore being gay

  24-03-2015 21:04
  
  A young Harry Potter fan has hailed JK Rowling as an “inspiration” after she asked her why Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore was gay.
  
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• Farage shrugs off ex-candidate jibe

  24-03-2015 20:59
  
  Nigel Farage has attempted to play down the resignation of a Ukip parliamentary hopeful as the party continued to shed candidates.
  
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• Top 40 moves from Sunday to Friday: A battle to preserve the relevance of the chart for a younger generation

  24-03-2015 20:54
  "And at number one for the ninth week running, it's Frankie Goes To Hollywood with Two Tribes." This information was as significant to my 12-year-old self as a hike in interest rates was for my mortgage-paying father. He didn't listen to the Sunday night chart rundown because he couldn't care less. But for me, surging hormonally into my teens, the rankings of 40 recently released pieces of music was of arse-clenching cultural importance. Then, at some point in 1987, I no longer cared and began
  
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• Ellen Pao discrimination case: Major Silicon Valley venture capital firm was 'run like a boys club', court told

  24-03-2015 20:52
  
  A former partner at a major Silicon Valley venture capital firm was judged by a different standard than male colleagues, her lawyers have claimed, as a landmark legal case case entered its final stages.
  
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• Philadelphia cops shoot blacks much more often than whites, report shows

  24-03-2015 20:47
  
  The Philadelphia Police Department is the subject of a troubling report from the US Department of Justice that found Philadelphia police too often shoot civilians and are poorly trained in when to use deadly force.
  
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• How the Greeks invented the modern idea of us as human beings

  24-03-2015 20:44
  
  A few weeks ago, the poet and playwright Tony Harrison received the David Cohen Prize, given for a lifetime's achievement in literature. Harrison – a working-class lad from Beeston – explained in an inspirational acceptance speech how, as a schoolboy, he would go off to see his favourite northern comics at the Leeds Empire. In his pocket nestled his grammar-school homework of classic Greek plays.
  
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• ‘Black box’ in car alerts insurers to crash and saves young driver’s life

  24-03-2015 20:41
  
  “Black box” technology designed to be fitted inside vehicles to help young drivers pay lower car insurance has been credited for saving the life of a 20-year-old student, after it sent out an alert that he had been involved in a serious accident.
  
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• Teresa Gilbertson who tried 'to boil her husband' jailed for four years - Daily Mail

  24-03-2015 20:35 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Daily Mail
  Teresa Gilbertson who tried 'to boil her husband' jailed for four years
  Daily Mail
  A woman who poured scalding water over her husband after he failed to satisfy her 'unrealistic' financial demands has been jailed for four years. Ken Gregory, 65, suffered horrific first and second degree burns to 14% of his body after the assault by his wife ...
  
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• Trials of GM ‘super spud’ scheduled after election due to public sensitivity

  24-03-2015 20:31
  
  British scientists are developing a genetically modified “super spud” free of fungal diseases and other pest problems, as well as being potentially healthier than conventionally grown potatoes.
  
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• Germanwings crash: Shocked passengers stared silently at the empty arrivals gate

  24-03-2015 20:29
  
  At the two airports there was little sign of the unfolding tragedy. Departure boards slowly changed, passengers milled, and flights steadily departed.
  
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• PM steams in to character debate

  24-03-2015 20:29
  
  He is described by some to be rude, a bad example to others, and the central character in "a national scandal".
  
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• Denis Coe: Labour MP who went on to found British Youth Opera and the National Bureau for Handicapped Students

  24-03-2015 20:19
  
  Denis Coe was one of the MPS who entered Parliament in March 1966, when Harold Wilson increased a working majority of two to a much healthier 96. Though Coe lasted only until 1970, when Edward Heath took the Conservatives back to power, he went on to make a significant contribution to the life of the nation, including founding British Youth Opera.
  
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• Rt Rev Michael Hare Duke: Admired Episcopal bishop unafraid of the controversy caused by his views on social and theological issues

  24-03-2015 20:15
  Michael Hare Duke was a brave and significant Church leader. Never did he shrink from controversy. His causes and issues were sometimes unpopular, but never trivial.
  
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• David Cameron may have hastened his own departure, warn truculent Tory MPs

  24-03-2015 20:13
  
  David Cameron has increased the chances of facing a post-election attempt to oust him as party leader by announcing that he would not seek a third term as prime minister, Conservative MPs have warned.
  
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• Hutchison Whampoa buys O2 for £10bn

  24-03-2015 20:11
  
  Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa will become the UK's largest mobile phone operator after agreeing a deal to buy O2.
  
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• Michael Brown: Singer who wrote 'Walk Away Renee', a tale of unrequited love, for his group Left Banke when he was 16 years old

  24-03-2015 20:10
  The history of pop and rock music is strewn with songs of unrequited love. Few combine the musical elegance and lyrical angst of "Walk Away Renee", which Michael Brown wrote for his group the Left Banke and which has resonated down the decades since reaching the top five in the US chart in 1966.
  
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• Andy McSmith's Diary: How 'hell on earth' thwarted a parliamentary career

  24-03-2015 20:04
  
  Nicky Morgan, the Education Secretary, has had a good idea: she has written a children’s activity book about the civil war in Loughborough, where she is the local MP.
  
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• Germanwings crash: A chain of problems may have contributed to disaster

  24-03-2015 20:02
  
  Flight 4U9525 from Barcelona to Düsseldorf had reached a cruising altitude of 38,000ft at 10.45am with 150 passengers and crew onboard. The Airbus A320 began an unexplained descent before dropping off radar screens at 10.53am. No distress call was issued and nobody on the Germanwings flight is thought to have survived the crash.
  
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• Germanwings crash Q&A: Is flying getting more dangerous?

  24-03-2015 19:55
  
  One of the questions asked of the travel desk of The Independent after the loss of Germanwings flight 4U 9525 was: “Is flying getting more dangerous?”
  
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• Man held over illegal gecko import

  24-03-2015 19:48
  
  A man has been arrested on suspicion of illegally importing a haul of critically endangered geckos into the country.
  
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• Why Hindu nationalists would rather honour Gandhi's assassin

  24-03-2015 19:48
  
  When David Cameron unveiled a bronze statue to honour India’s founding father, Mohandas Gandhi, he might not have realised it, but he gave an unintended shot in the arm to Indian Gandhians.
  
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• Eight years on, will Amanda Knox have to face Italian justice again?

  24-03-2015 19:46
  
  More than eight years after Meredith Kercher was murdered, Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito may be definitively condemned for the crime by the Italian Supreme Court on Wednesday.
  
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• Missing Claudia: Arrested Man Released On Bail

  24-03-2015 19:44
  
  A man arrested on suspicion of murdering Claudia Lawrence has been released on police bail, North Yorkshire Police said. The suspect, in his 50s and from the York area, was arrested yesterday in connection with Miss Lawrence's disappearance in 2009. A police spokesman said the man was released on bail to "allow detectives time to follow up lines of inquiry". Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn, of North Yorkshire Police, repeated his plea for people not to identify the suspect.
  
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• SNP 'will block Tory minority rule'

  24-03-2015 19:44
  
  The Scottish National Party would block any Conservative attempt to form a minority government by voting down a Tory Queen's Speech if it holds the balance of power after the general election, Alex Salmond has said.
  
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• Israel denies claims it spied on US-Iran nuclear negotiations

  24-03-2015 19:44
  
  The enmity between Washington and Jerusalem deepened yesterday as reports claimed Israel had spied on US-led talks on Iran’s nuclear programme.
  
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• The choice for Nigeria: a weak President or a former military dictator

  24-03-2015 19:42
  
  It is a sprawling mass of humanity. The streets are crowded, even at 2am.
  
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• Death by firing squad law approved in state of Utah, but only if the drugs run out

  24-03-2015 19:37
  
  Police sharpshooters in Utah will soon be asked to volunteer for firing squads after the state approved the method of execution as a “back-up” for when drugs used in lethal injections are not available.
  
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• Collapse of the universe is 'imminent': catastrophic event could explain mysteries of the universe, even if it’s not for billions of years

  24-03-2015 19:36
  The universe will collapse sooner than expected — and is, relative to the life of the universe, “imminent”. But thankfully it won’t happen for the next few tens of billions of years.
  
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• Now we know David Cameron is definitely going, we'll win back Ukip voters who hate him, says Tories

  24-03-2015 19:35
  David Cameron’s decision to rule out a third term as Prime Minister will help his party’s candidates battling against strong Ukip threats,  it was claimed by Tory MPs this afternoon.
  
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• Humble James Corden wins over US with 'The Great, Great Show'

  24-03-2015 19:34
  
  The English in America are often faulted for their excessive humility, and James Corden joked in one recent interview that he would be “a complete disaster” as the new host of The Late Late Show on CBS.
  
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• Bail for man held over missing chef

  24-03-2015 19:29
  
  A man arrested on suspicion of murdering missing chef Claudia Lawrence has been released on bail.
  
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• Google taps Wall Street’s most powerful female executive as new CFO

  24-03-2015 19:29
  
  Tech giant Google has appointed Ruth Porat, currently Chief Financial Officer at investment bank Morgan Stanley, to take over its finances. Ms Perot starts on May 26th and will replace Patrick Pichette, who announced his departure from Google abruptly earlier this month.
  
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• Telefonica finalises 10.25 billion-pound sale of UK unit to Hutchison

  24-03-2015 19:25
  
  Spain's Telefonica said it had finalised a deal to sell its British mobile business O2 to Li Ka-shing's Hutchison Whampoa for 10.25 billion pounds ($15.2 billion), confirming details announced earlier this year. Telefonica and Hutchison entered exclusive negotiations over O2 on January 23. Hutchison already operates the Three Mobile network in Britain, and buying second-ranked O2, which has about 22 million subscribers, will make it the top mobile operator in the country.
  
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• Humans 1, computers 0 as new Morrisons chief reinstates checkout staff

  24-03-2015 19:21
  
  Whether it is the humiliation of placing an unexpected item in the bagging area or fighting off the constant demands for a loyalty card, the modern experience of reaching the supermarket till can often be more stressful than the shopping itself.
  
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• Map of middle-class London reveals zones where only the super-rich can afford to buy property

  24-03-2015 19:17
  
  It seems a week doesn’t go by without a news story shaming landlords for advertising box rooms in the capital at eye-watering prices.
  
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• Sports days ‘rebranded’ so Whitehall staff can get day off

  24-03-2015 19:16
  
  It is a lazy habit when writing about the Civil Service to compare everything that happens in Whitehall with Yes Minister or The Thick of It.
  
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• The future of GM: A future decided by a rogue report and ill-health

  24-03-2015 19:15
  
  The journey across Kenya’s upper eastern province to the village of Mukuyuni is hot, dusty and unsettling. The further you drive, the less prosperous the villages seem. Roadside shops are shut or disused and groups of men hang around in small groups, some drunk on local hooch.
  
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• American Apparel’s model agency leaked casting call saying it wants ‘real models’ not ‘Instagram hoes’

  24-03-2015 18:53
  
  American Apparel seems to be steering the wheel by targeting real models instead of “regular people” for its upcoming campaigns as revealed in a leaked casting call issued by a modelling agency.
  
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• New museum exhibit for Richard III

  24-03-2015 18:52
  
  A new exhibit dedicated to King Richard III opens at the Science Museum tomorrow, the day before the monarch's remains are reinterred in Leicester Cathedral.
  
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• New York woman gets justice two years after her sexual assault was filmed on the subway

  24-03-2015 18:52
  
  Elisa Lopez was asleep on the New York City subway early in the morning on 20 October, 2012 when the stranger sitting next to her began to molest her. Ms Lopez awoke during the assault, punched her attacker in the face and got off the train.
  
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• Harmondsworth: Detained asylum-seeker sews up mouth in protest at conditions

  24-03-2015 18:51
  
  Conditions inside the UK’s largest immigration detention centre are “depressing” and “dirty” and one vulnerable asylum-seeker sewed his mouth together in protest at being held there for nine months, a report has revealed.
  
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