General news

• Uber tells Government that limiting firm's cars will increase congestion and pollution

  23-05-2015 23:59
  
  Any moves by the Government to use this week’s Queen’s Speech to limit the number of cars operated in London by Uber will cause more congestion and pollution, according to the firm’s UK chief.
  
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• French police to probe death of Russian tax fraud whisteblower 'assassinated' during Paris trip

  23-05-2015 23:59
  
  French police have begun an investigation into the three or four days a Russian businessman spent in Paris, only hours before he collapsed and died outside his Surrey home in a suspected assassination by poisoning, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.
  
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• Beautification of Oscar Romero paves way for martyred Archbishop to become saint

  23-05-2015 23:56
  
  Huge crowds filled a square in the Salvadoran capital today for a ceremony to beatify Roman Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was cut down by an assassin's bullet 35 years ago and declared a martyr for his faith this year by Pope Francis.
  
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• Beatification of Oscar Romero paves way for martyred Archbishop to become saint

  23-05-2015 23:56
  
  Huge crowds filled a square in the Salvadoran capital today for a ceremony to beatify Roman Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was cut down by an assassin's bullet 35 years ago and declared a martyr for his faith this year by Pope Francis.
  
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• Zedi Feruzi killed: Leader of Burundi opposition party shot dead in Bujumbura

  23-05-2015 23:44
  
  The leader of a Burundi opposition party has been killed by unknown assailants in the nation's capital, Bujumbura, local media has reported.
  
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• Greenham Reach: The families trying to prove that compact, ecological farms can make a living

  23-05-2015 23:34
  
  Tucked away down a narrow lane in Devon, the 22 acres of Greenham Reach are an idyllic spot. Set among rolling fields, between the banks of the river Tone and the nearby Somerset border, the land is dotted with vegetable beds, wild flowers and herbs, fruit trees, a salad garden, chickens, goats and a beehive.
  
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• Netflix lines up Gerard Depardieu for the Kevin Spacey role in French 'House of Cards'

  23-05-2015 23:32
  
  Netflix is on the hunt for a Gallic Francis Underwood – and reportedly may have found him in the capacious form of Gérard Depardieu.
  
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• Prescott backs Burnham for leader

  23-05-2015 23:30
  
  Former deputy prime minister John Prescott has thrown his weight behind Andy Burnham in the race to replace Ed Miliband as Labour leader.
  
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• NSA surveillance: Senate wrangle may put an end to US bulk telephone data collection

  23-05-2015 23:23
  
  Efforts to rein in controversial powers that permit the National Security Agency (NSA) to scoop up data from phone calls made in the United States has collapsed in the US Senate. Without an agreement very soon the entire NSA programme could be forced to shut down.
  
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• People’s Party stalwart Esperanza Aguirre faces close fight in Madrid mayoral election

  23-05-2015 23:18
  
  For a brief moment last year, Esperanza Aguirre was a fugitive from justice. Today the right-wing stalwart of Spain’s governing People’s Party, who has been described as a cross between Margaret Thatcher and Boris Johnson, could well end up being elected as Madrid’s new mayor.
  
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• US-Cuba relations: What stronger ties between the two nations means for the rum industry

  23-05-2015 23:14
  
  Call it a liquor legend. As revolution engulfed Cuba at the end of the 1950s, the coconut tree that Facundo Bacardi had planted at his distillery in Santiago de Cuba in 1862, as a symbol of company prosperity, began to wither and die. Months later, Fidel Castro would seize the property and the Bacadi family would flee the island.
  
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• US-Cuba relations: What stronger ties between the two nations mean for the rum industry

  23-05-2015 23:14
  
  Call it a liquor legend. As revolution engulfed Cuba at the end of the 1950s, the coconut tree that Facundo Bacardi had planted at his distillery in Santiago de Cuba in 1862, as a symbol of company prosperity, began to wither and die. Months later, Fidel Castro would seize the property and the Bacadi family would flee the island.
  
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• Aussie star makes Eurovision debut

  23-05-2015 23:09
  
  Australia have given their first ever performance for the Eurovision Song Contest after being invited as this year's special guests.
  
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• Eurovision Song Contest 2015 – live blog

  23-05-2015 23:09
  
  Will UK entry Electro Velvet fare better than our last duo Jemini, who got nul points in 2003? How will special guest Australia get on? Follow all the action from Austria 10.09pm BST Remember, it’s not too late to get in touch with Nigella Lawson and convince her to read out the UK scores in a Conchita beard. If she doesn’t have a beard, she just needs to say. I’m pretty sure I can shave off the vast majority of my body hair, stuff it into a jiffy bag and get it couriered over to her if sh
  
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• James DeGale v Andre Dirrell: IBF super middleweight championship – live!

  23-05-2015 23:08
  
  Tweet Bryan at @BryanAGrahamOr email him at [email protected] looks to become first British gold medalist to win world title 5.08pm ET The cut by DeGale’s eye has stopped bleeding but the swelling looks bad. DeGale controlling the tempo and he’s first off, beating Dirrell to the punch. Dirrell trying to keep the fight in the center of the ring while DeGale would rather work along the ropes. Dirrell using the jab with so-so success, but DeGale very confident now and connectin
  
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• Denmark keeps Russia on its radar as Putin's aggression heightens tension between nations

  23-05-2015 23:03
  
  Gert Steen Ronne is perhaps the only person on the Danish island of Bornholm to have been shot at by a Russian soldier. He was six.
  
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• Denmark keeping Russia on its radar as Putin's aggression heightens tension between nations

  23-05-2015 23:03
  
  Gert Steen Ronne is perhaps the only person on the Danish island of Bornholm to have been shot at by a Russian soldier. He was six.
  
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• War with Isis: Wounded Kurdish forces count the cost of battling militants in Syria

  23-05-2015 22:53
  
  A squad of Syrian Kurdish fighters was ambushed as it advanced through a grove on the outskirts of a village held by Islamic State (IS) fighters near al-Hasakah in the Kurdish enclave in north-east Syria. Azad Judy, an 18-year-old Kurd, recalls: “We had divided into three groups that were trying to attack the village when we were hit by intense fire from behind and from the trees on each side of us.”
  
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• Bank of England under pressure to publish Brexit risks report

  23-05-2015 22:43
  
  Andrew Tyrie says MPs will demand to interview officials involved in Project Bookend, set up to investigate impact of EU referendum
  The head of an influential parliamentary committee has demanded the Bank of England publish its secret probe into the impact of an EU referendum, warning that it should expect a thorough examination of the report by MPs.Andrew Tyrie, who heads the Treasury select committee, said MPs would demand to interview Sir Jon Cunliffe and other officials involved in the proje
  
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• Cowell's kisses for cute Collie

  23-05-2015 22:34
  
  Simon Cowell went all soft for a cute dog in tonight's Britain's Got Talent.
  
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• Iain Duncan Smith in cabinet row over £12bn welfare cuts

  23-05-2015 22:31
  
  Work and pensions secretary fighting rearguard action against any changes that would involve slashing at key benefit schemesIain Duncan Smith is “pushing back” against attempts to “salami slice” through the welfare budget to deliver the prime minister’s pledge of £12bn in savings, allies of the work and pensions secretary have claimed.Duncan Smith was surprised when the sheer scale of the cuts was announced in January last year, and is now fighting a rearguard action against chan
  
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• Byelection fears grow for Lib Dems’ last MP in Scotland

  23-05-2015 22:31
  
  An inquiry into leak by Alistair Carmichael intended to damage SNP leader could lead to new poll in constituency he won only by 817 votes in general electionThe Liberal Democrats were thrown into fresh crisis on Saturday as their only MP in Scotland, Alistair Carmichael, faced the prospect of a full parliamentary inquiry and a byelection fight against the SNP over his role in a Whitehall leak intended to damage Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon.The future of Carmichael, who served as
  
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• Deaths bungalow to be demolished

  23-05-2015 22:29
  
  A hotel bungalow in Corfu where two British children died of carbon monoxide poisoning during a holiday in 2006 will be demolished later this year, according to reports.
  
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• Ireland becomes first country to legalise gay marriage by popular vote

  23-05-2015 22:29
  
  Referendum result gives yes vote 62% and no 38% as equality minister declares he is proud to be IrishIreland has voted by a huge majority to legalise same-sex marriage, becoming the first country in the world to do so by popular vote in a move hailed as a social revolution and welcomed around the world.Some 62% of the Irish Republic’s electorate voted in favour of gay marriage. The result means that a republic once dominated by the Catholic church ignored the instructions of its cardinals and
  
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• Fry's delight at gay marriage vote

  23-05-2015 22:28
  
  Stephen Fry said he is "dizzyingly" happy since marrying his boyfriend four months ago - and is delighted that same sex couples in Ireland now can tie the knot as well.
  
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• UK duo bid for Eurovision crown

  23-05-2015 22:23
  
  UK's Eurovision Song Contest hope Electro Velvet have put in their bid for the winning performance in tonight's competition in Vienna, Austria.
  
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• Eurovision 2015: Lithuania's gay kisses praised on Twitter - 'Double same sex kiss extravaganza, hell yeah'

  23-05-2015 22:13
  After Conchita Wurst flew the flag for gay and transgender rights across the globe at last year’s Eurovision song contest, Lithuania continued the theme this year with same-sex kisses from male and female dancers with its song “This Time”.
  
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• UK at Eurovision 2015: Could Electro Velvet actually win it? Twitter reacts to 'Still In Love With You' performance

  23-05-2015 22:08
  Electro Velvet have taken to the Eurovision grand final stage with their electro-swing number "Still In Love With You". And actually, it really wasn't all that bad!
  
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• Southend promoted after Dan Bentley’s shootout heroics against Wycombe

  23-05-2015 22:02
  
  After 46 league matches and 120 minutes of nerve-jangling tension at Wembley, these two teams still couldn’t be separated. But the nature of playoff season means that there always has to be a winner and on this occasion it was Southend who will take away fond memories of their trip to Wembley. For Wycombe, there was just despair. Having finished level on points during the regular season, it was fitting that they provided such a thrilling finale, with Sam Wood the unlucky fall guy as his penalt
  
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• Yvette Cooper: ‘The whole party is devastated. But we can’t afford to curl up in a corner’

  23-05-2015 22:00
  
  Labour leadership contender says that the party needs to have energy and direction, not agonise over defeatLife was never going to be easy for the Cooper-Balls household after the 2015 general election. Had Labour formed the government, they would have instantly become the most powerful married couple in Britain. Ed would have been chancellor of the exchequer and Yvette, in all likelihood, home secretary. That prospect, for the parents of three young children, was as daunting as it was exciting.
  
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• 'Sonic Seasoning': Bompas & Parr's audio-gustatory feast shows how we eat with our ears

  23-05-2015 22:00
  
  The right music can be an essential ingredient at a good dinner party, but the concept of “sonic seasoning” can extend far beyond the selection of the perfect album played at just the right volume.
  
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• Magic Dinner: Charity that stops schoolchildren going hungry to hold a fundraising feast

  23-05-2015 22:00
  
  We all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day – it sets you up with the fuel to work, study, and exercise. And no one knows this better than the charity Magic Breakfast, which helps schools to set up clubs for children who go to school hungry. It supplies free bagels, cereal and fruit to more than 17,500 children a day, calling it fuel for learning. So why is it cooking up a dinner?
  
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• Fear of missing out may be a latter-day anxiety, but we all need to embrace it

  23-05-2015 22:00
  
  The acronym Fomo (it stands for Fear of Missing Out, in case you have, um, missed out) entered the lexicon back in 2011 – and it's showing little sign of abating.
  
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• Bill Granger recipes: Our chef prepares finger food for a British Bank Holiday garden party

  23-05-2015 22:00
  
  I love a garden party. In Sydney we might be able to barbecue or enjoy a picnic most of the year, but our outdoor eating is mostly a casual, flip-flop affair. In my mind, the moment you call it a garden party, you add an air of sophistication. It conjures up immaculately kept lawns, bunting, linen jackets and Panama hats, a romantic blend of old empire and new England.
  
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• A drowned terrier and vigils for cows: What does Britain's fixation with animals say about us?

  23-05-2015 21:55
  
  Captain Stephen Woodhouse could not stand the way the dog next door kept yapping, so he drowned her in a bucket of water. “I reached my wits’ end,” the 52-year-old airline pilot told police. “All I could think of was that the noise had to stop. It was driving me bloody mad.”
  
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• Southend United v Wycombe Wanderers: League Two play-off final – as it happened

  23-05-2015 21:37
  
  Southend equalise in the final seconds of extra time to force penalties and win an equally dramatic shoot-out 7-6, winning promotion to League One 8.37pm BST Well, there we go. Southend climb up the steps to receive the trophy – which is lifted by captain John White. It was a match whose start was dramatic – Wycombe’s Sam Saunders being injured just two seconds in – and whose end was what the would kids call “peak play-offs”, Pigott’s fine equaliser coming in the second minute of a
  
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• Simona Halep emerges from shadows for the French Open and a grand slam

  23-05-2015 21:25
  
  The world No3 may not be well-known outside Romania but that suits her fine as she prepares to take on Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova at Roland Garros
  • Halep defeated by Sharapova in 2014 French Open final
  • Halep’s heroics prove she has strength in depth
  • French Open 2015: men and women’s drawsTo most people, if Simona Halep passes them in the streets here over the next fortnight she will probably be ignored, just another woman going about her business. To Serena Williams and M
  
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• Cook and Bell launch England fightback after New Zealand pile on the runs

  23-05-2015 21:00
  
  • England 389 and 74-2; New Zealand 523
  • Williamson century, then Boult and Southee strike
  • Brendon McCullum twists the knife against England
  • Yorkshire resigned to losing Jason Gillespie to EnglandOn the evidence so far sending players off to the IPL is a rather handy way to prepare for a Test series. Unfortunately England do not have that luxury. But New Zealand, who after three days hold most of the cards in this Test, do.The tourists are in the ascendancy mostly due to the experti
  
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• Clarkson, Hammond and May Live: Top Gear trio returns with a blend of fireworks, AC/DC and 'automotive pornography'

  23-05-2015 21:00
  Of all the noises reverberating around Belfast this weekend – the popping exhausts, the fireworks, the echoing sounds of AC/DC, the revving Ferraris and the wolf whistles they elicit from 5,500 fans – one rises  above the ca-cophony on Friday night: the voice of a man whose last words of note may have concerned a meat platter of questionable temperature, but who would not be silenced.
  
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• Bath’s Matt Banahan scores hat-trick as Leicester are crushed

  23-05-2015 20:48
  
  • Bath 47-10 Leicester
  • Home side run in seven tries to reach Premiership final
  • As it happened – how the action at The Rec unfoldedThe new England squad suggests Bath are the darlings of the English game and here was the confirmation. They cruised into the Premiership final – for only the second time – and every one of those England squad members played a blinder. Defensively, it was a relentless performance of graft but it was their deadly finishing that marked them out as a team
  
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• British jihadis heading to join Isis switch routes via Italy

  23-05-2015 20:43
  
  Isis recruits are taking Channel ferries to avoid detection at UK airports when en route to LibyaBritish jihadis heading to Syria are increasingly choosing to travel south through Italy and across the Mediterranean to north Africa in order to evade detection to reach the forces of Islamic State. The route is in the opposite direction of the main migration channel north for the tens of thousands of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean from Libya before moving up through Italy, often start
  
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• Ireland becomes first country to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote - live

  23-05-2015 20:32
  
  With all of the results in, Ireland has voted a historic yes in its gay marriage referendumIn pictures: Ireland says Yes to same-sex marriageSupporters take to Twitter to celebrate7.32pm BST Taoiseach says Ireland made history today ..the first country in the world to vote for gay marraige #rtenews pic.twitter.com/YwPtQZQsho 7.03pm BST All the results are in, and the returning officer, Ríona Ní Fhlanghaile, has declared that Ireland has passed the same-sex marriage referendum by 1,
  
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• David Cameron ‘warming’ to Gatwick expansion plan

  23-05-2015 20:23
  
  PM keen to boost green record as fears over Heathrow pollution grow, say sourcesDavid Cameron is warming to the idea of backing a second runway at Gatwick amid growing worries within government that expansion of Heathrow would cause excessive pollution and noise and would split the Tory party, according to informed sources.A final report on how best to increase airport capacity in the south-east will be published by Sir Howard Davies, chairman of the Airports Commission, next month or in July, a
  
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• FBI investigates as ‘phantom’ cab rides appear on hacked British Uber accounts

  23-05-2015 20:21
  
  Speculation that account credentials of of customers using the taxi app were sold on ‘dark web’The FBI in the US is looking into how British users of the taxi-booking app Uber have been charged for journeys they did not either book or make.The minicab service, which charges users a fare depending on demand and distance travelled, says it has found no evidence of a security breach, although a number of UK users say they have had money withdrawn from their accounts for phantom trips. Continue
  
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• Dunkirk veterans step back in time

  23-05-2015 20:16
  
  Hooting with laughter, Garth Wright revved the engine of the old Norton 16H motorbike, a grin beaming from his face, his old helmet and goggles slightly askew.
  
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• England v New Zealand: first Test, day three – live!

  23-05-2015 20:07
  
  Latest updates from the third day’s play at Lord’sJason Gillespie confirms talks with ECB over England jobMike Selvey’s day two match report from Lord’sEmail [email protected] or tweet @Simon_Burnton 7.07pm BST 20th over: England 61-2 (Cook 22, Bell 27)Boult goes round the wicket and, after Cook grabs a swift single, he sends the ball bouncing into what the Yiddish would call Bell’s kishkes. He spends a while on the ground, recuperating. He eventually gets to his feet, and
  
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• Bath 47-10 Leicester

  23-05-2015 20:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Bath reach their first Premiership final since 2004 with a comfortable play-off semi-final win over Leicester Tigers.
  
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• Lorna Byrne can't really see angels and talk to God... can she?

  23-05-2015 20:00
  
  Lorna Byrne is momentarily dazzled as she walks on stage at London's Olympia. At first, I think it must be by the sheer scale of this vast Victorian hall – even her smart black heels, the slightly built Byrne isn’t much over 5ft. Or perhaps it’s the sight of the adoring, standing room-only audience that has been packing in for half-an-hour, waiting for her to emerge.
  
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• How not to make the big time: Dom Joly shares 39 lessons from his showbiz career

  23-05-2015 20:00
  1. Never attend any awards ceremonies at which you are neither presenting nor accepting an award. You will become bored and restless, get drunk and start hurling abuse at Elton John and Jonny Wilkinson. You might find yourself banned for life from the GQ Men of the Year Awards (no great loss).
  
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• Bone marrow cocktail, anyone? Lab-grown meat restaurant Bistro in Vitro aims to redefine dining

  23-05-2015 20:00
  
  What would madam like to order? How about a throat tickler, a wriggling delicacy that occupies “the grey area between a sea anemone and a sex toy”? Too extreme? Why not try a test tube oyster washed down with a bone marrow cocktail? And don’t forget to sample our steak knitted into a shape of your choice.
  
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