General news

• Bid to change Speaker election rules

  25-03-2015 23:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A last-minute bid to change the way the Speaker of the House of Commons is elected is to be debated by MPs.
  
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• This is how hard Zayn's been working

  25-03-2015 23:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  How hard did Zayn Malik work in five years with One Direction?
  
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• Hague accused over Bercow 'plot'

  25-03-2015 23:41
  
  William Hague has been accused of a "squalid" and "shabby" move to make it easier for Tory MPs to oust John Bercow as the Commons Speaker after the election.
  
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• Why teachers are so angry: Botched education reforms, increased workload, meddling ministers...you name it!

  25-03-2015 23:40
  
  Mary Bousted will be celebrating her 12th year at the helm of one of the big three teachers' unions as she makes her way to her annual conference this weekend.
  
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• FA plans contract talks with Hodgson

  25-03-2015 23:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Football Association chairman Greg Dyke plans contract talks with England boss Roy Hodgson within the next year.
  
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• Greg Dyke tries to dampen speculation on Roy Hodgson’s England future

  25-03-2015 23:30
  
  • FA chairman says he has not talked to Hodgson about contracts
  • England defender Phil Jagielka says players are behind the manager
  • Greg Dyke: Give young talent a chance … and we can win 2022 World CupThe Football Association chairman, Greg Dyke, has attempted to draw a line under speculation about Roy Hodgson’s future by saying it will not be discussed for at least another nine months.Hodgson’s contract runs until the end of Euro 2016 and although it is understood he wants to sta
  
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• Clarkson sacked: Piers Morgan writes open letter to ex-Top Gear presenter

  25-03-2015 23:25
  
  Former Mirror editor Piers Morgan has penned an open letter to his once-arch-enemy Jeremy Clarkson.
  
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• VIDEO: Met police 'monitored MPs'

  25-03-2015 23:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A former undercover police officer has told BBC News that Scotland Yard kept intelligence files on MPs during the 1990s.
  
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• US warplanes begin air strikes on Isis in Iraqi city of Tikrit

  25-03-2015 23:08
  
  Reversal from Pentagon puts American airpower close to a supporting role for the Iranian-backed militias on the ground, at request of Iraqi prime ministerUS military warplanes have begun targeting Islamic State positions in the Iraqi city of Tikrit on Wednesday, a reversal that has placed American airpower dramatically close to a supporting role for Iranian-backed militias on the ground.
  “I can confirm that the government of Iraq has requested coalition support for operations in Tikrit. Operat
  
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• Conservatives and Lib Dems plot secret vote against John Bercow

  25-03-2015 23:03
  
  William Hague will use his last day as MP putting forward motion that secret ballot should be held on Speaker’s future after general electionWilliam Hague has tabled a change to parliamentary procedures to make it easier for Tory opponents of the Commons Speaker, John Bercow, to unseat him after the election.In a move described by the shadow leader of the Commons, Angela Eagle, as a “grubby” plot, Hague will use his last day as an MP after 26 years at Westminster to allow MPs to vote on wh
  
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• Labour would end indefinite detention of refugees

  25-03-2015 23:02
  
  The indefinite detention of asylum-seekers and migrants would be ended by a Labour government, the party will announce today.
  
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• Labour vows to ban indefinite detention of asylum and immigration applicants

  25-03-2015 23:01
  
  Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper says current system is inefficient and ‘deeply scarring’ for detainees, and move would bring UK in line with most western countries
  Labour has promised to introduce new time limits on the detention of people trapped in the asylum and immigration system in a move that would bring Britain into line with most other western countries by banning indefinite detention.The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, described the current system as inefficient and “de
  
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• Lukas Podolski’s equaliser saves Germany’s blushes against Australia

  25-03-2015 22:57
  
  Substitute Lukas Podolski grabbed an 81st-minute equaliser to rescue a 2-2 draw for World Cup winners Germany in an entertaining friendly against Asian champions Australia on Wednesday.Podolski, who has been mainly on the bench for Inter recently, stroked the ball home from close range with his left foot nine minutes after coming on to score his 48th goal for his country. Continue reading...
  
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• MPs considering secret speaker vote

  25-03-2015 22:52
  
  MPs will vote tomorrow on whether the Speaker of the House of Commons should be elected in a secret ballot in what some may see as a bid to destabilise John Bercow.
  
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• Scotland and Christophe Berra leave it late to bag win against Northern Ireland

  25-03-2015 22:51
  
  In the grand catalogue of Gordon Strachan’s steady transformation of Scotland a narrow win over Northern Ireland will hardly register, but it was never meant to.The Scotland manager’s insistence beforehand that this match would act as preparation for Sunday’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Gibraltar following a four-month break was prescient because in truth little else could be taken from this performance. Continue reading...
  
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• Scotland 1-0 Northern Ireland

  25-03-2015 22:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Christophe Berra scores late winning goal for patient Scotland against a game and well-organised Northern Ireland side.
  
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• Styles in tears as Malik quits 1D

  25-03-2015 22:44
  
  Harry Styles appeared to break down in tears on stage as he apparently struggled to come to terms with Zayn Malik's sudden departure from boyband One Direction.
  
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• Hitler painting withdrawn from auction

  25-03-2015 22:43
  
  Los Angeles auction house declines to comment on decision but will still hawk signed two-volume set of Mein Kampf and change-of-address documentA Los Angeles auction house has withdrawn a still-life watercolor painted by a young Adolf Hitler, which was due to be auctioned on Thursday.Nate D Sanders, a Los Angeles-based memorabilia collector, confirmed it withdrew the painting but refused to comment on the decision. The auction was to be held online, and bidding for the canvas was set to start at
  
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• Scotland v Northern Ireland: International friendly – as it happened

  25-03-2015 22:39
  
  A late Christophe Berra header settled a dour game at Hampden. 9.39pm GMT And that’s that. A win’s a win’s a win, and there’s no shame in Scotland struggling to break through this resolute Irish defence. But both teams will need to raise their games a little on Sunday, when they face Gibraltar and Finland respectively. A pair of victories, please, and the Euro finals will be one step closer. 9.36pm GMT 90 min: There will be two added minutes of this. At 30 seconds per substitution, there
  
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• The woman who nearly married Henry VIII: Book claims the king almost took a seventh wife

  25-03-2015 22:30
  
  Everyone knows that Henry VIII had six wives, but could he also have had a seventh? The king, so far as we know, never considered marrying any of his many mistresses, but did entertain such thoughts towards the wife and (later) the widow of his closest friend. Unfortunately, when Henry was unattached, the object of his amour was married, and by the time she was widowed, Henry was himself again a husband. A sad story of what might have been then – if it is ever really possible to feel sorry fo
  
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• Jeremy Clarkson sacked: Ex-Top Gear presenter makes first public appearance since BBC verdict

  25-03-2015 22:20
  
  Former Top Gear presenter and self-confessed enemy to cyclists Jeremy Clarkson has made his first public appearance since he was sacked this afternoon in his signature mocking style, by riding out from his west London home on a bicycle.
  
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• Alps air crash 'killed three Britons'

  25-03-2015 22:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  At least three Britons died in the Alps air crash that killed 150 people, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond says.
  
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• Donald Macintyre's Sketch: PM on a roll after escaping Miliband's VAT trap

  25-03-2015 21:58
  
  The fox was not so much shot, as vaporised, atomised, pulverised, the molecular vestiges of what had nanoseconds earlier been its fur, teeth and ears sent careening into the upper atmosphere.
  
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• Yemen crisis: Western-backed President in peril amid rumours of a bounty on his head

  25-03-2015 21:52
  
  The country has been in chaos for many months, but any remaining semblance of order in Yemen collapsed yesterday as Houthi rebel forces drove the country’s President out of the compound in Aden where he had been sheltering since he fled the capital last year.
  
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• 'Tears and tantrums' fear for fans

  25-03-2015 21:46
  
  For many young One Direction fans the news of Zayn Malik's departure will be heartbreaking.
  
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• Capita and the great British food safety sell-off

  25-03-2015 21:42
  
  The sale of a key government research unit to the outsourcing giant Capita could undermine essential work on food safety and lead to commercial concerns being put before the public interest, a leading expert has warned.
  
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• How did China use more cement between 2011 and 2013 than the US used in the entire 20th century?

  25-03-2015 21:30
  
  It's a figure so mind-blowing that it stunned Bill Gates, who called it "the most staggering statistic" on Twitter. But can it be true that China used more cement between 2011 and 2013 than the US used in the entire 20th century? And if so, how?
  
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• VIDEO: Finance Bill second reading

  25-03-2015 21:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  MPs pass the Finance Bill at second reading.
  
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• Swallows And Amazons role for Spall

  25-03-2015 21:03
  
  Rafe Spall has landed the star role in the big-screen adaptation of Swallows And Amazons.
  
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• Iannucci plans Copperfield film

  25-03-2015 21:03
  
  The Thick Of It creator Armando Iannucci is adapting a new version of David Copperfield for the big screen.
  
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• Paris Metro Chelsea Fans Fight Banning Orders

  25-03-2015 21:00
  
  Five Chelsea fans suspected of involvement in a black man being prevented from boarding a Paris train will fight bids to impose football banning orders, a court has heard. The five men the Metropolitan Police want football banning orders imposed on for their alleged roles in the incident attended Waltham Forest Magistrates' Court in north east London for a preliminary hearing.
  
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• Irvin D Yalom interview: The grand old man of American psychiatry on what he has learnt about life (and death) in his still-flourishing career

  25-03-2015 21:00
  There are not too many writers who could include the phrase "the meaning of life" in the title of a book and actually go some way to delivering on that promise.
  
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• Sports Direct admits some 15,000 employed on zero hour contracts

  25-03-2015 20:58
  
  Answering questions from a British parliamentary committee over its employment practices and the administration of part of one of its fashion businesses, Sports Direct Chairman Keith Hellawell admitted some 15,000 UK staff were on zero hour deals, which do not specify set working hours or guaranteed income. Sports Direct, whose 4,300 permanent UK staff qualify for lucrative bonus share scheme payouts, had previously refused to confirm how many of its workers were on the contracts. Hellawell told
  
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• Andy McSmith's Diary: Who's staying and who's going - does anyone know?

  25-03-2015 20:42
  
  Some people are having problems keeping track of which MPs are standing down this week, and which are fighting on.
  
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• Met police 'had files on MPs in 90s'

  25-03-2015 20:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A former undercover police officer has told BBC News that Scotland Yard kept intelligence files on MPs during the 1990s.
  
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• Germanwings crash: German grief echoed by new friends in Spain

  25-03-2015 20:34
  
  Fifteen-year-old Philippa had to bite her bottom lip and fight back tears as she recalled how Elena, her best friend at the Joseph-Koenig school, sent her a text message just minutes before she boarded the ill-fated Germanwings Airbus A320 on Tuesday.
  
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• German grief echoed by new friends in Spain

  25-03-2015 20:34
  
  Fifteen-year-old Philippa had to bite her bottom lip and fight back tears as she recalled how Elena, her best friend at the Joseph-Koenig school, sent her a text message just minutes before she boarded the ill-fated Germanwings Airbus A320 on Tuesday.
  
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• Germanwings crash: What are the unanswered questions?

  25-03-2015 20:32
  
  “We’ll take all the time we need to understand and explain,” said Rémi Jouty, as the world’s media sought answers about what led to the crash of Germanwings flight 9525. The director of the French BEA - the Office of Investigation and Analysis for Aviation Safety - gave little away about initial findings.
  
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• General Election 2015: Ed Miliband and David Cameron go head-to-head tomorrow night

  25-03-2015 20:30
  
  Ed Miliband has won the first skirmish in the televised battle between the party leaders ahead of the May general election.
  
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• Producer's Death Threats From Top Gear Trolls

  25-03-2015 20:29
  
  The BBC producer assaulted by Jeremy Clarkson has received death threats on Twitter. Oisin Tymon got a massive amount of abuse from Top Gear fans who blame him for his sacking. In his report, BBC Director General Tony Hall said "no blame" was attached to Mr Tymon, who "behaved with huge integrity throughout" - while he said Clarkson had crossed a line.
  
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• 16 republicans pardoned since 2000

  25-03-2015 20:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sixteen republicans received royal pardons between 2000 and 2002, the Northern Ireland Office discloses.
  
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• Birmingham's two-tier grammar schools entrance plan wins support

  25-03-2015 20:24
  
  A radical plan which has seen a city’s grammar schools double the number of disadvantaged pupils they take in won support from education campaigners today.
  
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• Grant Shapps: Labour ‘has secret plan for new jobs tax’

  25-03-2015 20:18
  
  David Cameron unexpectedly ruled out raising VAT and the Labour leadership promised not to increase National Insurance rates as tax dominated the final parliamentary skirmishes before the general election.
  
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• Archaeologist's mission to find the Nazis' bunker hideout hidden deep in the Argentine jungle

  25-03-2015 20:18
  
  The five German coins minted between 1938 and 1941 and a fragment of porcelain plate bearing the inscription “Made in Germany” unearthed in the remote Argentine jungle was just the start.
  
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• VIDEO: Plane victim 'talented, hardworking'

  25-03-2015 20:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A close friend of Marina Bandres Lopez-Belio, who died in the Alps plane crash with her seven month old son, speaks to the BBC.
  
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• Jeremy Clarkson sacked from Top Gear: David Cameron believes he must 'face the consequences of abuse'

  25-03-2015 20:13
  
  Downing Street was forced to row back on David Cameron’s stated support of sacked Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson this afternoon.
  
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• Clarkson sacked: What next for Top Gear – and Jeremy himself – after BBC departure?

  25-03-2015 20:13
  
  Sacking Jeremy Clarkson was the easy part. Keeping the £150m global Top Gear brand on the road looks like a new headache for the BBC after the axed presenter’s colleagues suggested they could follow him out of the door.
  
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• Clarkson sacked: Top Gear in need of new driving force

  25-03-2015 20:13
  
  Sacking Jeremy Clarkson was the easy part. Keeping the £150m global Top Gear brand on the road looks like a new headache for the BBC after the axed presenter’s colleagues suggested they could follow him out of the door.
  
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• Penrose report: Blood scandal inquiry branded a ‘whitewash’

  25-03-2015 20:08
  
  All people in Scotland who had a blood transfusion before 1991 should be tested for hepatitis C, according to the sole recommendation of a six-year inquiry into one of the biggest treatment failures in NHS history.
  
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• General Election 2015: Lib Dems pledge global same-sex marriage rights

  25-03-2015 20:06
  
  British embassies around the world would be given the power to perform same-sex marriages – even if one partner was not a British citizen, under proposals to be included in the Liberal Democrat manifesto.
  
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