General news

• New York police told to stop pursuing suspects older than 40, report says

  20-05-2015 23:38
  
  New York City narcotics officers have been told to stop pursuing suspects who are older than 40, as younger suspects are more likely to carry and use firearms, according to a report from the New York Post.
  
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• The London borough that has turned homeless people into 'criminals'

  20-05-2015 23:32
  
  Homeless people face being criminalised in a north London borough due to a ban on anti-social behaviour, a charity has warned.
  
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• Is it time to stop tinkering with school structures and invest in teachers instead?

  20-05-2015 23:30
  
  Stephen Byers was quite clear about what should be the main focus of the Blair government if it wanted to improve the education system. "It's standards, not structures," he said, emphatically. He even changed his title so that he became known as the School Standards Minister.
  
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• Airbus warns about UK exit from EU

  20-05-2015 23:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  One of the UK's big manufacturers, Airbus, warns that the UK should remain inside the EU to guarantee future investment.
  
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• Pritzker Architecture Prize: Winner of 'Nobel Prize' of architecture feared society is ignoring ecological crisis, says daughter

  20-05-2015 23:26
  The daughter of the man who was awarded what is considered the most prestigious prize in architecture said her late father was increasingly concerned society was not adequately confronting the looming ecological challenges.
  
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• Pritzker Architecture Prize: Daughter of 2015 winner Frei Otto says father was worried society is ignoring ecological crisis

  20-05-2015 23:26
  The daughter of the man who was awarded what is considered the most prestigious prize in architecture said her late father was increasingly concerned society was not adequately confronting the looming ecological challenges.
  
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• Arsenal vs Sunderland match report: Dick Advocaat makes his point as Black Cats guarantee safety

  20-05-2015 23:24
  
  One point was what Sunderland needed, what they came for and what they got. Dick Advocaat’s miracle mission was completed here as he masterminded the sweetest of dour 0-0s against Arsenal. That single point is enough to propel Sunderland four clear of Hull City with one game remaining, therefore ensuring their survival and participation in next season’s Premier League.
  
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• EU referendum: Pro-Europe campaign unites to fight ‘No’ camp

  20-05-2015 23:02
  
  Supporters of Britain staying in the European Union will steal a march on the rival “out” camp next month by starting their campaign for the in/out referendum promised by David Cameron by 2017.
  
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• 50,000 Brits watched US music student Azeem Ward live-stream his private flute recital

  20-05-2015 23:00
  
  It was meant to be for family and a few friends. So when Azeem Ward, a student at the University of California, created a Facebook event to promote his small flute concert, he had no idea he was about to send social media into a frenzy – on the other side of the Atlantic.
  
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• Festival survival guides: Three books released this month include handy tips (take wellies!) or wacky craft ideas (make a 'shower dress'!)

  20-05-2015 22:30
  Anyone old enough to remember jumping the fence at Glastonbury will tell you that all you used to need to attend a music festival was a couple of mates and £20 to bribe the security guard. Oh, and some loo roll.
  
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• Bin Laden documents released: Papers reveal his obsession with attacking the US and how his failure to keep up with modern jihad led to Isis

  20-05-2015 22:12
  Plans for the future of worldwide jihad; constant calls to attack the US; warnings about the perfidy of Iran; concern about climate change; family matters – grooming a son for succession and love letters to one of his wives. These were the varied subjects of discourse of Osama bin Laden in the time leading up to his killing by US forces.
  
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• Osborne demands more spending cuts

  20-05-2015 22:11
  
  Whitehall departments have been asked to make further cuts this year and plans for the largest sell-off of public assets are being drawn up to help restore Britain's economic fortunes, George Osborne has told business leaders.
  
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• Charles Visit Is 'New High' In Peacemaking

  20-05-2015 21:57
  
  It is aptly named Mullaghmore. Prince Charles' visit to the scene of his great-uncle's murder scaled new heights in terms of peacemaking. His Royal Highness' speech in nearby Sligo was paving the way to his family's poignant return.
  
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• Thomas Cook boss to meet parents

  20-05-2015 21:56
  
  A meeting between the boss of Thomas Cook and the family of two young children killed by carbon monoxide poisoning in Corfu will take place tomorrow.
  
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• Cuba and the US establish banking ties ahead of diplomatic talks

  20-05-2015 21:54
  
  A small Florida bank has become the first in the US to open a bank account for the Cuban government, effectively establishing banking ties between the two countries, an important step in improving relations.
  
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• Vince Cable: Nationalist 'fear' stoked up during election could threaten future of union

  20-05-2015 21:51
  
  Britain could be torn apart by nationalistic “fear and resentment” stoked up during the general election campaign which now threatens the future of the union, Vince Cable has warned. 
  
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• The underworld is going freelance: Why The Godfather's Mafia model is no longer viable

  20-05-2015 21:50
  
  The term "organised crime" instantly conjures up brutal imagery of a crime family going about its day-to-day business to the tune of Coppola's The Godfather. Life began to imitate art, as US and Italian Mafia families (reportedly) copied the mannerisms of the over-stylised characters in the movies.
  
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• Spotify video: Streaming music app to offer videos and news clips from BBC amid major expansion into podcasts

  20-05-2015 21:47
  Spotify will offer users comedy videos and news clips from the BBC as the music‑streaming platform launches a range of new entertainment content in a bid to fend off rival ventures from Apple and YouTube.
  
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• Osborne warns that EU is sleepwalking out of global economy

  20-05-2015 21:37
  The European Union risks pricing itself out of the global economy by excessive regulation, Chancellor George Osborne said on Wednesday, making the case for reforms in the bloc ahead of a referendum on whether Britain remains a member. "The continent is sleepwalking towards a future where it has priced itself out of the global economy, with its rules and regulations, financial services legislation and red tape," Osborne said. Osborne was addressing business leaders in London in one of h
  
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• Ireland's same-sex marriage vote: Irish living in UK flock back to make referendum

  20-05-2015 21:30
  
  Wherever green is worn, the same-sex marriage referendum has dominated conversation for months. Thousands of twentysomething Irish people have made Britain their home in the wake of the recession, and in London flatshares, one question has become ubiquitous: “Are you going home to vote?”
  
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• Life hacks: The innovations of volunteers and medical workers are helping Medécins Sans Frontières save people around the world

  20-05-2015 21:30
  Four people wearing surgical gloves, goggles and face masks marched into a branch of PC World in London last autumn.
  
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• Osborne To Boost Britain's Productivity

  20-05-2015 21:29
  
  George Osborne has told business leaders he will demand further spending cuts and unveil plans for the biggest ever sell-off of public assets as he bids to boost Britain's productivity.
  
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• Ireland's same-sex marriage vote: As date looms, the Irish ask - how would God vote?

  20-05-2015 21:24
  
  Father Peter McVerry is a Dublin priest whose charity work has earned him a Pride of Ireland Lifetime Achievement award. A respected pillar of Irish society, he is also one of several high-profile Catholics backing a Yes vote in the referendum on same-sex marriage.
  
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• Osborne: Spending Cuts To Boost UK Productivity

  20-05-2015 21:17
  
  George Osborne has told business leaders he will demand further spending cuts and unveil plans for the biggest ever sell-off of public assets as he bids to boost Britain's productivity. Mr Osborne is creating a new Government-owned company to sell off publicly-owned corporate and financial assets this year. The company will be responsible for the sale of shares in Lloyds Banking Group, UK Asset Resolution assets, Eurostar and the pre-2012 income contingent repayment student loan book.
  
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• Virgin Axes West Coast Trains Ahead Of Strike

  20-05-2015 21:12
  
  Virgin Trains has scrapped all West Coast main line services next Monday and Tuesday ahead of a strike by Network Rail workers. Train passengers can expect major travel disruption over the Bank Holiday period as thousands of rail workers prepare for a walkout over pay. Passengers have been warned not to travel unless "absolutely necessary" by various train companies who have started cancelling and restricting services.
  
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• 'Immigrants' hid in Maserati boots

  20-05-2015 21:11
  
  Ten suspected illegal immigrants were detained after being found hiding in the boots of brand-new imported Maseratis. Nine stowaways, plus one juvenile, all believed to be from Vietnam, were held in the high-powered luxury sports cars which were being carried on the back of a car transporter in Egham, Surrey. Surrey Roads Police department said nine of those detained were transported back to Dover, Kent.
  
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• Climate-change sceptic Viscount Monckton of Brenchley claims tombstone artwork critical of his position is a ‘death threat’

  20-05-2015 21:06
  The prominent climate change sceptic Viscount Monckton of Brenchley has complained to police after a tombstone engraved with his name was exhibited at Anglia Ruskin University.
  
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• Osborne Vows To Boost Britain's Productivity

  20-05-2015 21:04
  
  George Osborne has told business leaders he will demand further spending cuts and unveil plans for the biggest ever sell-off of public assets as he bids to boost Britain's productivity. The Chancellor told business leaders in London that he wants a second round of Government savings to be made in the coming months as part of his planned spending reduction of £13bn by 2017/18. Mr Osborne is creating a new Government-owned company to sell off publicly-owned corporate and financial assets thi
  
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• Labour leadership race: Senior figures want to oust Ed Miliband's successor before next election

  20-05-2015 21:03
  
  Senior Labour figures want the party to be given the chance to oust the leader chosen as Ed Miliband’s successor before the next general election.
  
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• Fraudster 'Lord' Eddie Davenport sells sex-party mansion to avoid further 10-year jail sentence

  20-05-2015 20:52
  
  It has starred in an Oscar-winning film and hosted a hatful of celebrities, not to mention “porn-disco” sex parties. Now the central London mansion of convicted fraudster “Lord” Edward Davenport is in the spotlight again – to demonstrate that fraud does not pay.
  
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• Rainsbrook G4S youth prison: The history of a 'ghetto' institution

  20-05-2015 20:51
  
  In 2004, 15-year-old Gareth Myatt’s refusal to clean a toasted sandwich maker resulted in his death inside Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre. The teenager, who was only 4ft 10in tall and weighted six and a half stone, was forcibly restrained by three adult guards after protesting about being locked in his room as punishment.
  
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• Youth, Cannes film review: Michael Caine stakes his claim to an Oscar with the best film so far at the festival

  20-05-2015 20:46
  Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel star in this beautiful ode to music and cinema. They play friends of 60 years standing, who are enjoying a stay at a hotel in the foothills of the Alps. Retired composer Fred Ballinger (Caine) and film director Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel) discuss old flames, their children, and the activities of the assortment of guests holidaying in Switzerland.
  
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• Ireland's same-sex marriage vote: Writer Colm Toibin reviews historic attitudes to gay culture

  20-05-2015 20:45
  
  In 1996, when I had published my novel The Story of the Night – which is in part an account of the love between two men – I received a private letter from one of the most powerful men in Ireland, someone who was then and later a figure of immense influence in our public life. I had never met this man, and I was surprised by the tone of the letter, which was personal but also engaged, almost urgent. He said that it had never occurred to him, until he had read the book, that two men could fal
  
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• Nebraska lawmakers vote to abolish the death penalty

  20-05-2015 20:43
  
  Nebraska lawmakers have voted to abolish the state’s death penalty, with enough support to override the near-certain veto to come from Governor Pete Ricketts.
  
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• Deutsche Bank faces stormy annual meeting as investors attack board

  20-05-2015 20:39
  
  Deutsche Bank’s management team is facing an investor backlash at the company’s annual meeting in Frankfurt on Thursday over its handling of issues including the Libor rigging scandal.
  
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• Bin Laden documents released: Family letters talk of meeting wife in paradise and not trusting Iranians

  20-05-2015 20:37
  
  Among the documents retrieved from the Osama bin Laden raid and released by the US were many letters sent between the al-Qaeda leader and various members of his family, revealing intimacies of his relationship with his sons and wives.
  
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• Government to streamline sale of banking assets, address low productivity

  20-05-2015 20:34
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor George Osborne will set out plans on Wednesday to streamline the sale of 23 billion pounds of bank shares and other publicly owned assets by creating a new government-run company.
  
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• Britain to streamline sale of banking assets, address low productivity

  20-05-2015 20:32
  By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor George Osborne will set out plans on Wednesday to streamline the sale of 23 billion pounds of bank shares and other publicly owned assets by creating a new government-run company. In a speech to business leaders in London, Osborne will highlight the plan as part of a drive to improve Britain's low productivity - which he refers to as the "long-standing weakness in the British economy". "If we want a more productive economy, let&#
  
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• Donald Macintyre's Sketch: Theresa May's Alien-like struggle with the Police Federation

  20-05-2015 20:31
  
  Theresa May’s five-year struggle with the Police Federation increasingly resembles the later sequences of the sci-fi horror classic Alien – in which anything could still happen, but you begin to think the flamethrower-brandishing Sigourney Weaver may yet finally triumph over the creature from deep space.
  
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• British police say 261 people of 'prominence' suspected of child sex abuse

  20-05-2015 20:21
  LONDON (Reuters) - British police investigating allegations of historical child sex abuse said more than 1,400 people had been named as suspects including 261 described as "people of public prominence" including dozens of politicians and TV stars.
  
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• James Hickey: BASE jumper who perished after jumping from Idaho bridge intentionally set fire to parachute

  20-05-2015 20:19
  
  Authorities have revealed that a 73-year-old base jumper who died after leaping from an Idaho bridge had set his parachute on fire as part of a stunt.
  
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• Andy McSmith's Diary: 'Flashy' new Culture Secretary John Whittingdale breaks his radio silence

  20-05-2015 20:10
  
  John Whittingdale has ventured out of the office in his new guise as Culture Secretary for the first time, showing up at the British Library, which has just received £9.5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund to preserve the nation’s sounds. There he listened to a fragile lacquer disc recording of a speech Noel Coward gave in 1947 on the first night of his play Peace in Our Time.
  
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• Shed of the Year 2015: The pubs, summer houses and eco retreats which have made the final 12

  20-05-2015 20:09
  
  An elaborate tree house and a cabin on wheels are among the weird and wonderful structures to be named finalists of Shed of the Year 2015.
  
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• Dolphins 'died due to oil spill'

  20-05-2015 20:00
  
  Large numbers of dolphins have died as a direct result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, new evidence suggests.
  
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• Emotional visit to boat bomb site

  20-05-2015 19:55
  
  The Prince of Wales has paid an emotional visit to the picturesque Irish harbour village where the IRA murdered Lord Mountbatten, his beloved great uncle.
  
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• Ukraine crisis: Petro Poroshekno warns Russia will invade in the summer

  20-05-2015 19:34
  
  The Ukrainian president has warned that Russia could soon attempt to stage an invasion, as the two nations are in the midst of a “real war”.
  
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• Suspected Illegal Immigrants Hide In Maseratis

  20-05-2015 19:31
  
  Police have detained eight suspected illegal immigrants after they were found hiding inside the boots of several imported Maseratis.
  
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• David Letterman's final show - live: Foo Fighters booked as final musical guest

  20-05-2015 19:30
  
  After 33 years and over 6,028 programmes, David Letterman is presenting his final episode of the Late Show tonight. Here is what has been said in the build up to his last show:The Foo Fighters, Letterman's favourite band, are booked as his final musical guestWatch Letterman's risque interview with Madonna that became the most censored in US talk show historyFrom Arcade Fire to James Brown - the best Late Show musical performancesLetterman couldn't beat Jay Leno, or sometimes Jimmy Fallon
  
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• Fraudulent cancer charities accused of using £122m donations for Victoria's Secret spending sprees, dating-website subscriptions and Caribbean cruises

  20-05-2015 19:29
  The founders of four connected cancer charities that raised $190m (£122m) from the public have been accused of spending almost all of it on treats such as Victoria’s Secret spending sprees, dating-website subscriptions and cruises to the Caribbean for themselves and their friends.
  
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• Fraudulent cancer charities accused of using £122m donations for Victoria's Secret spending sprees and Caribbean cruises

  20-05-2015 19:29
  The founders of four connected cancer charities that raised $190m (£122m) from the public have been accused of spending almost all of it on treats such as Victoria’s Secret spending sprees, dating-website subscriptions and cruises to the Caribbean for themselves and their friends.
  
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