General news

• How to burst the Westminster bubble: Simple steps MPs could make to connect us all

  16-05-2015 23:58
  
  Our elected MPs are more unpopular than ever, but the following step-by-step guide could help connect the public with the way the country is run and regain some faith in politics.
  
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• Creator of Swedish sci-fi drama Real Humans disappointed Anglo-American adaption arriving on British screens instead of original

  16-05-2015 23:58
  The creator of the acclaimed Swedish sci-fi drama Real Humans says he is disappointed that British viewers’ first taste of the series will be an Anglo-American adaptation, rather than the original that has been bought by networks in 50 countries.
  
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• Hospital chiefs at UK's biggest mental health trust under fire after refusing to reveal findings into fraud investigation

  16-05-2015 23:48
  Hospital chiefs at the UK’s biggest mental health trust have been criticised for refusing to reveal if it will publish its findings into a year-long fraud investigation triggered by the discovery of a £4m black hole that led to the scrapping of several clinical projects.
  
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• We are Many: The new movie teaching us lessons to learn from the 2003 Iraq war protests

  16-05-2015 23:48
  
  The protests are coming. Polish your placard, stitch up your banner, wash the tear gas out of that old bandana. Get ready to rally over the coming weeks, months and years, because what else is there to do?
  
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• Lucy Saxon interview: 20-year-old author of The Almost King on surviving serious illness and letting fantasy fill her life

  16-05-2015 23:47
  Lucy Saxon is fixated on red Lycra. The 20-year-old author, who signed a three-book deal for a fantasy adventure series with Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury at the age of 17, has her second book The Almost King out next month. But before then, the “Cosplay” enthusiast has a Flash costume to perfect for a convention in Birmingham this weekend.
  
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• Despite regional conflict, Lebanon is planning to become a railway powerhouse once again

  16-05-2015 23:47
  
  Lebanon as a rail powerhouse for the rebuilding of post-war Syria, high-speed double-track trains running in tunnels through the Lebanese mountains above Beirut, sidings for the building-blocks of Syria’s new cities in the Bekaa Valley – do not think here, dear reader, of the Roman temples of Baalbek – and a link up with the great railways that will run from the Gulf to Europe via the new Iraq and the new Syria. Why, even pipelines may run alongside the tracks.
  
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• Lib Dems may look at axing party colour and 'liberty bird' logo

  16-05-2015 23:47
  
  The Liberal Democrats could look at changing their party colour and “liberty bird” logo as part of a review planned by Tim Farron, if he wins the party’s leadership contest.
  
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• Education Secretary unveils plans to extend the number of academies and free schools

  16-05-2015 23:47
  
  Superheads will be sent to turn around failing and “coasting” schools under powers to be introduced in the Queen’s Speech on 27 May, the Education Secretary Nicky Morgan will announce.
  
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• Sadiq Khan wins Blairite Baroness Oona King's support in race to be London mayor

  16-05-2015 23:47
  
  Left-leaning London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan is understood to have gained the support of a leading Blairite, as he builds a “big tent” of support to win the Labour nomination.
  
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• Medical union to seek legal advice on treatment of young doctors amid fear NHS is breaching Human Rights Act

  16-05-2015 23:47
  The country’s leading medical union is to seek legal advice on the treatment of young doctors by their NHS employers, amid concerns that it may be in breach of the Human Rights Act.
  
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• Campaigners lose battle to release cable detailing historic UK relations with Bahrain

  16-05-2015 23:47
  
  Human rights activists have lost their court battle to force the Government to release a 38-year-old diplomatic cable that could shed light on Britain’s relationship with the authoritarian regime in Bahrain. The ruling came as the king of the Gulf state came to Britain this weekend to attend the prestigious Royal Windsor Horse Show, a sign of continuing warm relations between the UK and Bahrain, where the Royal Navy is building a major new military base.
  
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• The time-pressed urbanites swapping suits for masonry and learning dry-stone walling

  16-05-2015 23:47
  
  In the shadow of London’s Shard, City consultants Daniel Hawkyard and Daniel Sammler are getting to grips with the latest must-have skill for time‑pressed urbanites – dry‑stone walling.
  
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• From roses to pretty sweet peas, growers join forces to bring native flora to UK florists

  16-05-2015 23:46
  
  British flowers are blooming. Demand for home-grown favourites such as peonies, stocks and hyacinths is soaring thanks to consumers’ desire for locally sourced goods and a trend towards less formal wedding arrangements.
  
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• Women in prison equals children without mothers, say justice groups

  16-05-2015 23:46
  
  Sam Green’s first thought when she got arrested for fraud was whether she would be home in time to greet her children from school.
  
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• A third of all paralysed Britons receive no help to get into work, says new research

  16-05-2015 23:46
  
  A third of all people in the UK who are permanently paralysed receive no help to get into work, according to new research. The revelation comes as the Government considers further cuts to its scheme designed to bring more disabled people into jobs.
  
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• Tens of thousands who work and look after relatives could be forced into unemployment under further cuts to care, campaigners warn

  16-05-2015 23:46
  Tens of thousands of people who juggle work with looking after ageing relatives could be forced into unemployment if care for the elderly is subjected to further cuts by the Government, campaigners have warned.
  
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• Dartmouth Park residents demand night-sky darkness be protected in the neighbourhood

  16-05-2015 23:46
  
  House-hunters scouting north London’s most rarefied streets once had a simple wish list for their perfect home: a south-facing garden, parking space for a 4x4, room to expand into the loft. Throw in a good school and a walk to Hampstead Heath.
  
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• Plans to elect mayors in cities such as Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle meets opposition by backbench Tories

  16-05-2015 23:46
  
  The Government could face its first significant rebellion of the new Parliament over plans to elect mayors in large English cities such as Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle.
  
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• Deva Ozenen: What it's like to be a transgender election candidate in Turkey

  16-05-2015 23:46
  
  When Deva Ozenen was campaigning on the streets of Izmir last month, a curious passer-by picked up some of her leaflets. Eager to win a voter, she began to explain her policies – but as soon as the woman heard Ms Ozenen’s deep voice, she threw the leaflets in her face, cursing and screaming as she walked away.
  
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• The Amazon tower that gives scientists the big picture of the rainforest

  16-05-2015 23:46
  
  The Amazon rainforest has an extraordinary impact on the planet, producing about half of all the oxygen in the atmosphere.
  
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• Burnham urges early EU referendum

  16-05-2015 23:45
  
  Labour leadership front-runner Andy Burnham has ramped up pressure on David Cameron by demanding he bring forward the in-out EU referendum to next year.
  
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• Harrowing stories emerge as Burma boat people are cast adrift off Asia’s shores

  16-05-2015 23:40
  
  Manu Abdul Salam, a young Rohingya woman and one of 800 boat people to reach the Indonesian village of Langsa, said, "If
 I had known that the boat journey would be so horrendous, I
 would rather have just died in Mynanmar [Burma]."

  
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• Rise In Number Of Abandoned Reptile Pets

  16-05-2015 23:39
  
  The number of unwanted reptiles being abandoned has risen by a third in three years, according to the RSPCA. Cases seen by the charity include a desert iguana left in a box at a charity shop and a pair of bearded dragons dumped in a concrete stairwell. Keith Simpson-Wells from the RSPCA Reptile Rehoming Centre in Brighton says people are not educated about what keeping one of the animals entails. In 2011 the RSPCA collected 1,390 reptiles.
  
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• Election results: Labour battle lines are drawn as members battle over party's ideology in leadership hustings

  16-05-2015 23:36
  Simmering resentment and recrimination over Labour’s worst election defeat in nearly 30 years burst into the open as the contenders vying to succeed Ed Miliband turned on each other at the first hustings of the contest.
  
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• Labour MP Jamie Reed: Party needs equivalent of 'Bruce Springsteen' to win back support

  16-05-2015 23:35
  
  A Labour MP considering standing as leader says the party needs the equivalent of “Bruce Springsteen or Bob Dylan” to win back support in the country.
  
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• Chuka Umunna was in third place in survey of defeated Labour parliamentary candidates, poll reveals

  16-05-2015 23:34
  
  Chuka Umunna was trailing in third place in a survey of defeated Labour parliamentary candidates when he quit from the leadership race, a poll for The Independent on Sunday reveals today.
  
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• EastEnders wins as Kirkbride hailed

  16-05-2015 23:30
  
  Coronation Street legend Anne Kirkbride was remembered tonight as rival soap EastEnders swept the board at a glitzy showbusiness bash.
  
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• Mohamed Morsi: Egypt's first democratically elected president sentenced to death along with over 100 defendants

  16-05-2015 23:30
  
  An Egyptian court sentenced ousted President Mohammed Morsi and more than 100 others to death over a mass prison break during the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak and later brought Morsi’s Islamist movement to power.
  
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• Fatboy Slim: The superstar DJ who bounced back from rehab reveals secret of the five Fs

  16-05-2015 23:27
  
  Inside the house that rave built, all is sunshine and calm: UV rays are flooding through the huge windows of Norman Cook's beachfront abode in the bit of Brighton known as Millionaire's Row.
  
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• 'Conflict minerals' bringing death to the Democratic Republic of Congo as EU plans laws to clean up trade

  16-05-2015 23:19
  
  Frederic Gautier has been thinking a lot about death recently. The miner, from South Kivu, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), thought about it as he cowered under his bed to escape a deadly ambush at his mine. The thought returned when he was subsequently captured by armed men and forced to carry stolen minerals on his back through the forest.
  
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• Gerrard 'emotional' after farewell

  16-05-2015 23:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard brings his 17-year career at Anfield to an "emotional" end in his final home match for the club.
  
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• Hugh Keays-Byrne interview: Toecutter is back - but as a different villain in Mad Max: Fury Road

  16-05-2015 23:11
  
  To some people, Hugh Keays-Byrne will always be Toecutter. It is 35 years since he tore up the back roads of Australia as the axe-wielding leader of a motorcycle gang in the first Mad Max movie. Pursued to his death by Mel Gibson’s leather-clad avenger, Toecutter met a suitably grisly end beneath the wheels of an oncoming truck.
  
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• Iraqi army rushes reinforcements into Ramadi to prevent massive Isis defeat

  16-05-2015 23:07
  
  Islamic State (Isis) is proclaiming victory in Ramadi over mosque loudspeakers after a day of heavy fighting as the government rushes reinforcements into the city to prevent its worst defeat this year.
  
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• Harry: Army kept me out of trouble

  16-05-2015 23:04
  
  Prince Harry has said he dreads to think where he would be now if he had not joined the Army, saying it definitely kept him out of trouble.
  
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• War with Isis: The grim reality of life under the Islamist group in Iraq

  16-05-2015 22:54
  
  On the day Ibrahim fled his home city of Fallujah, crowds were gathering to witness the execution of two women who had refused to marry Islamic State (Isis) militants. A 49-year-old Sunni Arab, he says he was shocked “because I knew that those women were Sunnis from the country neighbourhood of Fallujah”.
  
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• Amy Winehouse documentary: A film steeped in regret, but never losing a sense of awe over the singer's achievements

  16-05-2015 22:48
  There is an unutterable sadness at the heart of Asif Kapadia’s brilliant new film about Amy Winehouse, the singer who died from alcohol poisoning in 2011 aged only 27.
  
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• The key advice for the Northern Powerhouse is 'small is bountiful'

  16-05-2015 22:00
  
  It is a good slogan – Northern Powerhouse – but is it real? George Osborne has sought to give his vision for reviving the economy of northern England new legs by appointing a minister, James Wharton, MP for Stockton South, to take charge. He has also appointed Jim O’Neill, the former Goldman Sachs chief economist, to the post of commercial secretary in the Treasury with the task of driving power out to the regions.
  
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• Labour leadership race: The party's very survival is at stake

  16-05-2015 22:00
  
  If the shock of the crushing defeat is beginning to fade, the scale of the challenge facing the Labour Party is only just beginning to dawn. We now face a fight for the very survival of the Labour Party. I wish to play a part, so I am standing to be Labour’s next deputy leader.
  
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• Home is where the aspiration is: Labour's tax on people's dreams

  16-05-2015 22:00
  
  During the election campaign, I asked every senior Labour figure I came across – from Ed Miliband through Chuka Umunna and Tristram Hunt to candidates in marginal seats – how Labour could be the party of aspiration if its flagship policy was a mansion tax. The answer was always roughly the same, which is that hardly anyone owns a £2m house, so it was only the mega-rich in central London who would be taxed.
  
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• David Letterman becomes the latest big name to walk away from a US institution - and late-night TV here just won't be the same

  16-05-2015 22:00
  For those of us who believe that life, politics and celebrity should be presented as comedy with a dash of hot pepper, these are sad times. A few weeks ago, Jon Stewart announced that he was stepping down as host of The Daily Show, a satirical take on US news, especially politics, which is often more accurate than the real thing.
  
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• Are the ECB nuts to reject KP? Such is a maverick's fate

  16-05-2015 22:00
  
  Like many another sports fan, I suspect, I stopped watching Test cricket from the moment the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided to take the Murdoch shilling and sell the broadcasting rights to Sky. But there was a glorious swansong, on holiday in France in 2005, when I discovered that the TV in our rented cottage was able to pick up terrestrial UK channels. It was the summer of Kevin Pietersen’s momentous England debut (473 runs in five matches at an average of 52.5) and, for a sof
  
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• Spectator Critical After Road Race Collision

  16-05-2015 21:38
  
  A female spectator at a motorcycling road race in Northern Ireland is in a critical condition after being hit during a crash. The woman was involved in a collision involving three riders in the opening minutes of the North West 200 race at Portstewart, County Antrim. She was airlifted to Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital. Two of the riders were also taken to hospital as the annual event near the Giant’s Causeway got under way, according to the Belfast Telegraph.
  
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• MoD accused of hiding behind 'cloak of secrecy' after Libyan cadets are jailed for rape in Cambridge

  16-05-2015 21:21
  
  The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been accused of dragging its feet over the implementation of a report into the training of hundreds of Libyan soldiers, two of whom went on to carry out a horrific sex attack in the centre of Cambridge.
  
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• Friends hug strangers for Stephen

  16-05-2015 21:19
  
  Proud friends of inspirational teenage cancer hero Stephen Sutton have taken to the streets to offer strangers a hug in his memory.
  
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• Soap stars pay tribute to Kirkbride

  16-05-2015 20:52
  
  Tributes were paid to Coronation Street legend Anne Kirkbride as the famous faces of the soap world gathered for a glitzy awards ceremony.
  
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• Liverpool vs Crystal Palace match report: Steven Gerrard's Anfield send-off spoiled by Palace sucker punch

  16-05-2015 20:38
  It was three o'clock on a Saturday afternoon, which when the young Steven Gerrard was growing up was football’s moment of truth. A decent pass from where he lived on Ironside Road in Huyton is an open patch of grass covered with dandelions and buttercups. Nobody was even on it, let alone attempting to kick a football. Down the way, just beyond the hairdressers' amid roads named after battles or generals from the last war – Arnhem, Ardennes, Wavell, Montgomery – was a sign that declared: "
  
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• Scots Labour leader Murphy to resign

  16-05-2015 19:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy announces he is to resign next month despite narrowly surviving a vote of no confidence.
  
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• Co-op Group to keep political funding

  16-05-2015 19:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Co-operative Group decides to continue financially supporting the Co-operative Party, which has strong ties to Labour.
  
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• Stars in a lather for Soap Awards

  16-05-2015 19:43
  
  The biggest stars of soap are out in force for a glitzy industry bash.
  
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• Little Ships mark Dunkirk rescue

  16-05-2015 19:43
  
  Some of the wooden boats which helped rescue more than 338,000 British soldiers trapped on the beaches in northern France have arrived in London to help mark the historic episode in the Second World War.
  
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