General news

• VIDEO: Will the SNP shake up the election?

  03-04-2015 23:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  As polls suggest there may be a hung parliament after the general election of 7 May, Scotland correspondent James Cook reports on the likely influence of the smaller political parties.
  
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• Philippines Good Friday crucifixions: Devotees nailed to crosses to re-enact suffering of Christ

  03-04-2015 23:30
  
  Crowds gathered in parts of the Philippines on Good Friday, to watch Catholic devotees nail themselves to wooden crosses in an act mimicking the suffering of Jesus Christ.
  
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• Six arrested in Syria terror probe

  03-04-2015 23:10
  
  Six people have been arrested in Dover on suspicion of Syria-related terrorism offences, West Midlands Police said.
  
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• Six arrested in Dover over Syria-related terrorism offences

  03-04-2015 22:50
  
  Six people were arrested yesterday morning in the departure zone of the port of Dover on suspicion of Syria-related terrorism offences.
  
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• Does the 'bossy, condescending Hampstead socialist' still exist?

  03-04-2015 22:13
  
  “Don’t come here and say we’re condescending. I’ll show you condescending!” Margaret Kabba-Sei exclaimed. “My goodness! Did he say that? We’re going to kick him out!”
  
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• General Election 2015: Tories win first week of campaigning as polls rise

  03-04-2015 21:38
  
  The Conservatives appear to have won the first week of the election campaign – but still have plenty to do if David Cameron is to remain in Downing Street after May 7.
  
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• Six Arrested In Dover In Syria Terror Probe

  03-04-2015 21:37
  
  Six people are in police custody after being arrested in Dover on suspicion of Syria-related terrorism offences.
  
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• Campaigners tear down part of 'mini Berlin wall' erected around London social housing estate

  03-04-2015 21:33
  
  A part of a “mini Berlin wall” erected around a social housing estate has been torn down by campaigners amid claims that residents were being forced to “live inside a cage”.
  
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• Horowitz: 'write up' for children

  03-04-2015 21:29
  
  Children's author Anthony Horowitz has called on his fellow writers to challenge their young readers and "write up" to them.
  
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• The grenade attack and a ‘fudge’ that exploded in a lawyer’s face

  03-04-2015 21:27
  
  A British lawyer who misled a High Court judge by allowing him to think a wealthy businessman was implicated in a terrorist attack is now facing disciplinary action himself.
  
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• Nigerian gay rights activist has her High Court asylum bid rejected - because judge doesn't believe she is lesbian

  03-04-2015 21:15
  A Nigerian gays right activist who fears imprisonment and death because of her sexuality has had her case for asylum rejected by the High Court – after a judge ruled that she was pretending to be lesbian.
  
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• Needless overuse of NHS services led to my mother's death, claims GP

  03-04-2015 21:08
  
  A GP whose mother died shortly after being turned down for an appointment at her local surgery has written a stinging attack on the needless overuse of health services, caused by a decline in community help for the vulnerable.
  
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• Shakil Ahmed: Police search home of Labour councillor whose 'Syria-bound' son was detained in Turkey

  03-04-2015 21:07
  Police have searched the home of a Labour councillor, after his son was arrested on the Turkish border with Syria as he allegedly attempted to illegally enter the war-torn country. 
  
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• VIDEO: TV debate views from a marginal seat

  03-04-2015 21:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  As discussion continues about who did best in the TV election debate on Thursday night, the BBC's Richard Bilton reports from Lincoln, the UK's oldest parliamentary constituency.
  
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• HIV sufferer slams Nigel Farage for 'deeply offensive' remarks

  03-04-2015 20:50
  
  Nigel Farage’s decision to use the TV debate to attack the number of foreign nationals receiving treatment for HIV has been attacked as “deeply offensive” by campaigners – including a Nigerian man whose life is being prolonged by the NHS.
  
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• Michele Bachmann compares President Obama to Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz

  03-04-2015 20:43
  
  In a statement that at best can be described as insensitive, former US Representative Michele Bachmann has compared Barack Obama to the Germanwings co-pilot that is believed to have deliberately crashed a jet into the French Alps, killing himself and 149 others.
  
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• After British pre-election TV debate, voting intentions little changed - poll

  03-04-2015 20:41
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - After the first major television debate and interview of the British election campaign, a poll published on Friday showed headline support for the Conservative and Labour parties was unchanged.
  
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• Big TV debate of British election campaign yields no clear winner

  03-04-2015 20:40
  
  SALFORD, England (Reuters) - The main TV debate of Britain's national election campaign yielded no clear victor with four opinion polls producing four different winners, but David Cameron's attempt to appear the most statesman-like appeared to have paid off.
  
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• Prominent fox hunting supporters step up Tory support – and expect repeal of ban in return

  03-04-2015 20:38
  
  Two of Britain’s most prominent fox hunting supporters have issued a call to arms for all their members to canvass on behalf of Conservative election candidates who back their campaign to overturn a ban on the blood sport, as two more Tories are revealed to be receiving direct backing.
  
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• General Election 2015: Grace Dent's guide to your ballot box options on 7 May

  03-04-2015 20:30
  
  David Cameron, Conservative
  
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• The secret diary of an MP: I am severed from the mothership and cast adrift from Parliament

  03-04-2015 20:27
  
  In early April 1940, there was brisk activity in the military planning bunkers deep below Whitehall, where purposeful people made important decisions. Above, at street level, the sun shone brightly and the phoney war left everyone else unaware of the frenzy below and the storm to come.
  
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• Lucy set to light up Voice final

  03-04-2015 20:24
  
  Tomorrow's final of The Voice is already set to be lit up by finalist Lucy - who will spend an hour being wired in to an electric dress for the show.
  
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• Ian Moir: United winger who helped Busby's rebuilding process after Munich

  03-04-2015 20:24
  
  To watch Ian Moir on Manchester United’s training pitch was to savour an irrepressible artist in all his impish glory.
  
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• General Election 2015: The campaign to unseat Nick Clegg

  03-04-2015 20:21
  
  O tempora! O mores! Oh fickle fate. There was a time, not so long ago, when everyone agreed with Nick. Now, on a glorious April morning, the sun shone on the terraced houses of Nick Clegg’s Sheffield Hallam constituency, just as it had in those heady days of the 2010 spring. Only this time it seemed to be shining for the bright-eyed young challenger, Labour’s Oliver Coppard.
  
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• Anthony Scrivener: Charismatic barrister who took many high-profile cases and was a reforming chairman of the Bar Council

  03-04-2015 20:21
  Anthony Scrivener was a forward-thinking judicial reformer and a one-time Labour Party supporter whose working class background helped make him a charismatic, combative barrister who became one of the best-paid in the country, the archetypal millionaire socialist.
  
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• Arthur Wyatt: Consul-General in Tehran who helped the US Embassy staff escape in 1979 but was sorely traduced by the film 'Argo'

  03-04-2015 20:18
  The six terrified Americans who had crept out of a side-exit from the US Embassy in Tehran to the street on 4 November 1979 had nowhere to run.
  
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• Trevor Noah: All the way from Soweto to the very biggest gig in comedy

  03-04-2015 20:13
  
  It took less than 24 hours and fewer than 140 characters for Comedy Central’s newest superstar to become its latest hot-button controversy.
  
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• 'Theft' of A-list clients sparks Hollywood talent agency battle

  03-04-2015 20:06
  
  Imagine the pitch meeting: “It’s Jerry Maguire meets Entourage!”
  
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• Iran nuclear deal: A powerful Tehran turned into America’s policeman in the Gulf? It could happen

  03-04-2015 20:05
  
  Iran was reborn as a major Middle East nation when it agreed to limit its nuclear ambitions. Despite the “ifs” (if Iran complies with the “key parameters”, if Iran’s Revolutionary Guards don’t try to wreck the agreement, if Israel does not batter Iran’s nuclear facilities in a rogue nation attack) the framework could one day return the 36-year-old Islamic Republic to the status of a regional superpower which last existed under the Shah.
  
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• The death row that ran out of cells

  03-04-2015 20:01
  
  Keith Doolin lives on death row at San Quentin state prison in California, about 20 miles north of San Francisco. Since his conviction for the murders of two women in 1995, when he was 22, he has spent most of his time in a cell with a slot window too high in the wall to see out.
  
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• Korean activists brave landmines in bid to spread peace message

  03-04-2015 19:58
  
  For more than 60 years, it has been among the most fearsome stretches of ground on earth: a little over two miles between two heavily fortified fences, littered with more than a million landmines.
  
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• General Election 2015: Tories under pressure to spell out whether they could strike a deal with Ukip in a hung parliament

  03-04-2015 19:57
  The Conservatives are under growing pressure to spell out clearly whether they could strike a deal with Ukip in a hung parliament.
  
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• Sailor survived on rain and raw fish during 66 days adrift on the Atlantic Ocean

  03-04-2015 19:54
  
  Louis Jordan wanted to go fishing. The 37-year-old had been living on his docked boat, the Angel, and told his mother he wanted to test it in the open ocean off the Carolinas.
  
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• Kenya Garissa University attack: President faces fury over 'failure to tackle terror threat'

  03-04-2015 19:51
  
  The embattled Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, faces mounting criticism over his government’s failure to tackle a growing domestic terror threat this weekend amid fears that the death toll from an attack by jihadists may yet increase beyond the official figure of 147.
  
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• Cameron clashes with Labour over deficit in pre-election TV debate

  03-04-2015 19:50
  
  SALFORD, England (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday accused his political rivals of wanting to raise taxes and borrow more after coming under pressure from six party leaders over his plans to tackle Britain's 1.5 trillion pound debt mountain.
  
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• An audience with Julius Malema - the man who would tear down South Africa

  03-04-2015 19:48
  
  Julius Malema is unequivocal about what he and his political party want to do with the statues of Cecil Rhodes and other imperialists dotted across South Africa.
  
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• Why are hockey stars in second tier?

  03-04-2015 19:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Why are hockey stars in the second tier?
  
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• Iran nuclear talks: Sceptics sound note of caution amid jubilation over deal

  03-04-2015 19:44
  After the breakthrough in talks with Iran on paring back its nuclear capabilities, a more sober reality has set in as both sides recognise that the road from Thursday’s framework understanding to nailing down a final agreement by the end of June is certain to be a contentious and perilous one.
  
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• Alabama death row inmate Anthony Ray Hinton released after 30 years in prison

  03-04-2015 19:31
  
  A man on death row who has spent thirty years protesting his innocence, has been freed from a prison in Alabama.
  
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• 'Concerns' About Behaviour Of Syria-Bound Brit

  03-04-2015 19:29
  
  There had reportedly been concerns in the UK about the behaviour of a British man arrested in Turkey after allegedly trying to cross illegally into Syria. Waheed Ahmed, 21, was among nine members of the same family who were detained on Wednesday and are set to be deported at the weekend. British police have been searching the home of his father Shakil Ahmed, who is a Labour councillor in Rochdale. Mohammed Shafiq, who is a friend of his father, said of Waheed: "There were concerns in the la
  
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• No action against sex probe rector

  03-04-2015 19:22
  
  No further action is to be taken by police against a village church rector accused of indecent assault dating back to the early 1990s.
  
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• Steam trains suspended after signal accident

  03-04-2015 19:22
  
  Network Rail has suspended a major steam train operator over safety fears after an engine and 13 carriages failed to stop at a signal.
  
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• Gay man 'rejected from London flatshare because of his sexuality'

  03-04-2015 19:18
  
  A man looking for a new flat in London has said he was "shocked" when he allegedly received a message from a potential housemate rejecting him because he was gay.
  
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• Isis: Philadelphia woman arrested for trying to join terror group

  03-04-2015 19:15
  
  A Philadelphia woman was arrested on Friday for allegedly plotting to travel abroad to join Isis in its fight in Syria, the Associated Press reported.
  
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• WWII 'Ghost Village' Open To The Public

  03-04-2015 19:12
  
  This is the so-called "ghost village" of Imber in Wiltshire, a former farming community before it was evacuated in 1943 and turned into a military training area. Easter weekend is one of the few occasions the public are allowed into the village, which has been uninhabitable for more than 70 years. Around 150 locals were given 47 days' notice to find new jobs and homes before having to leave Imber in December 1943, never to return.
  
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• Herdwick sheep’s Lake District habitat under threat from utility company

  03-04-2015 19:12
  
  For many hundreds of years the hardy and distinctive grey-fleeced Herdwick sheep have roamed freely on the Lake District’s rugged terrain, grazing on the largest patch of common ground in Europe unfettered by the interference of humans.
  
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• General Election 2015: Nicola Sturgeon suddenly a big player on the national stage

  03-04-2015 19:05
  
  Nicola Sturgeon moved to the heart of the general election campaign as the Conservatives warned that she could put Ed Miliband into power but Labour figures claimed the Tories could no longer portray her as a threat to English voters.
  
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• Young people 'diverted onto low-pay jobs' because of 'elitist' education reforms, teachers' leader warns

  03-04-2015 18:50
  
  Young people are being “diverted onto the dirt track of low-pay, zero-hours and dead-end jobs” because of the Coalition Government’s “narrow academic and elitist” education reforms, a teachers’ leader warned yesterday.
  
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• Going for a thong: Why Qantas are cracking down on scruffy frequent flyers

  03-04-2015 18:43
  
  Long-haul flights, like spells in hospital or prison, are experiences that a rational person wishes to end as quickly as possible. And Qantas flies the world’s longest non-stop air route, connecting Sydney with Dallas.
  
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• Firefighters Save Pig's Bacon After Pool Plunge

  03-04-2015 18:17
  
  Firefighters have been called to the rescue of a pig after it got stuck in a swimming pool. A second fire engine was also dispatched by the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service.
  
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