General news

• Vatican provides homeless with showers under Pope's initiative: 'They treat you like a friend here'

  03-08-2015 23:58
  
  As thousands of summer tourists lined up in St Peter’s Square to catch a glimpse of its magnificent basilica, an Italian woman sat slumped under its Renaissance colonnade in a dramatically different queue.
  
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• Ashes 2015: Opener Adam Lyth backed by selectors while pitch shows signs of pace

  03-08-2015 23:55
  
  England selector Mick Newell has defended batsman Adam Lyth following the opener’s Ashes struggles.
  
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• Andy Burnham: Labour should offer more to help Britain's army of part-time workers

  03-08-2015 23:40
  
  Labour should offer more policies to help Britain’s army of part-time workers, the leadership candidate Andy Burnham will say on 4 August.
  
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• Rolls-Royce wins leading role in multi-billion-dollar nuclear decommissioning contract in Canada

  03-08-2015 23:39
  
  Rolls-Royce has won a leading role in a multi-billion-dollar nuclear decommissioning contract in Canada – prompting speculation the engineering giant will launch another assault on the lucrative  British market.
  
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• Migrant crisis: Filmmaker creates fake Instagram account of illegal immigrant to draw attention to 'frivolity' of social media

  03-08-2015 23:39
  A Spanish filmmaker who created a fake Instagram account which supposedly charted the journey of an illegal immigrant has said he wanted to highlight “western frivolity” which compels people to constantly take selfies.
  
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• Rolls Royce: Activist investor ValueAct to push for seat on board

  03-08-2015 23:36
  
  ValueAct, the US activist investor that has become the biggest single investor in the troubled FTSE100 stalwart Rolls-Royce, is expected to push for a seat on the board, according to reports.
  
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• Taliban video shows members pledging allegiance to new leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour

  03-08-2015 23:24
  
  Members of the Afghan Taliban have released a video showing the group pledging allegiance to their new leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour.
  
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• Greek companies worth 85 per cent less than they were in 2007 as country's stock exchange re-opens

  03-08-2015 23:07
  
  The re-opening of Greece’s stock exchange after five weeks sent the market into one of the biggest single-day nose dives in the history of stock market trading, leaving Greek companies worth 85 per cent less than they were in 2007.
  
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• RBS: George Osborne begins sale of taxpayer stake in bank

  03-08-2015 23:00
  
  Eight years after the dawn of the global financial crisis the sale of the British state’s 80 per cent stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland has begun, the Treasury have announced.
  
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• Libor scandal: Discovering what lay behind Tom Haye's decision to rig interest rates

  03-08-2015 22:47
  
  To his colleagues, Tom Hayes was Tommy Chocolate – so called because he preferred cocoa to alcohol when out drinking with City friends. In court, Hayes, 35, who has a wife and child, complained he was being portrayed as “the Jesse James of Libor, the Bobby Dazzler of Libor”. At the end of his trial, the former trader was confirmed not only to have been a “gambler” but the “ringmaster” of the “biggest banking crime in history”.
  
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• Libor scandal: Banks and regulators still blocking reform as first person is convicted of rigging benchmark interest rates

  03-08-2015 22:41
  The first person to be convicted by a jury of fixing Libor, the rate that sets the price of trillions of pounds in global loans, was beginning a 14-year prison sentence last night – with banks and regulators still blocking reforms of the system he rigged.
  
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• Hammond: We've 'Got A Grip' On Calais Crisis

  03-08-2015 22:32
  
  Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has insisted the Government has a grip on the migrant crisis at Calais, as he promised 100 security guards will be sent to the trouble spot.
  
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• China's famous Shaolin kung fu temple rocked by sex and embezzlement scandal

  03-08-2015 22:21
  
  The kung fu temple at Shaolin has become one of the most recognisable symbols of Chinese culture in the English-speaking world.
  
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• Cilla Black: Spanish police investigating whether entertainer may have died from a fall after suffering dizzy spell

  03-08-2015 22:13
  
  Police in Spain are investigating the theory that Cilla Black may have died from a fall  after suffering a dizzy spell caused by a sudden change in temperature.
  
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• Colorado jury moves closer to death penalty for James Holmes

  03-08-2015 22:12
  
  Jurors in the case of James Holmes, convicted last month in the 2012 cinema shooting in Colorado, agreed by unanimous vote on Monday to retain the death penalty as an option for his punishment.
  
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• EY: Firm says it will not longer consider degrees or A-level results when assessing employees

  03-08-2015 22:08
  
  One of Britain’s biggest graduate recruiters will no longer consider degree or A-level results when assessing potential employees.
  
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• Turkish border crisis: President Erdogan vows to confront Kurdish militants

  03-08-2015 22:05
  
  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday vowed to do “whatever necessary” to confront Kurdish militants but he was accused by the main opposition leader of “blood politics” for reopening conflict with the separatists.
  
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• Labour leadership contest: Hard-left caricatures of Jeremy Corbyn are not fair or right

  03-08-2015 22:01
  
  There’s been a lot of scaremongering from the Westminster establishment about Jeremy Corbyn proposing to move away from the neoliberal economic consensus that has ruled the roost in British politics since 1979 – a consensus which has failed ordinary people in relation to housing, education, jobs, wages and the gap between the super-rich and the rest of us.
  
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• VIDEO: Wing-walk fundraiser for 90-year-old

  03-08-2015 21:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A Leicestershire man celebrates his 90th birthday by raising money for charity with a wing walk.
  
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• UK ranks 14th out of 28 EU countries in accepting asylum seekers

  03-08-2015 21:52
  
  Britain accepts fewer asylum seekers than many other European countries, figures reveal, amid growing pressure on the Government to resolve the Calais migrant crisis.
  
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• Edinburgh Fringe 2015: 'Dumbest' show review to receive £200 Ham Fist prize

  03-08-2015 21:42
  
  A critic at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe once dismissed Steven Berkoff’s one-man performance of Edgar Allan Poe’s gothic horror story The Tell-Tale Heart as not funny enough, while another’s one-star review of a misogynistic French stand-up failed to grasp that the comedian was in character. 
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn turns up the heat on Labour rivals with speech from fire engine

  03-08-2015 21:41
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has addressed supporters from the top of a fire engine after a planned rally spilled out into the street because so many people turned up.
  
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• Emmerdale on-screen helicopter crash angers Clutha Vault disaster victims' families

  03-08-2015 21:34
  
  Families of those killed in the Glasgow Clutha Vaults pub helicopter crash have criticised the producers of Emmerdale for running a storyline they say bares too many similarities to the disaster.
  
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• Edward Heath 'child sex abuse' allegation: Rumours always swirled about his sexuality - I’m sure that’s all they were

  03-08-2015 21:30
  
  In the current climate of suspicion about the sexual activities of all sorts of public figures of the past 30 years, and particularly politicians, it was practically inevitable that Ted Heath’s name would come up sooner or later.
  
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• Sale of RBS stake marks start of the UK's biggest privatisation - Financial Times

  03-08-2015 21:17 via ft.com
  Financial Times
  Sale of RBS stake marks start of the UK's biggest privatisation
  Financial Times
  Chancellor George Osborne has kicked off Britain's biggest ever privatisation by selling £2bn of shares in Royal Bank of Scotland at a loss to the taxpayer seven years after the bank was rescued with a record £45bn state bailout. The sale marks a ...
  George Osborne starts selling shares in RBS, 7 years after state bailed out bankDaily Mail
  Seven years after bailout, Britain starts RBS sell-
  
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• Bobbi Kristina Brown laid to rest next to mother Whitney Houston

  03-08-2015 21:16
  
  Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only daughter of the late Whitney Houston and the singer Bobbie Brown, has been laid to rest in New Jersey – days after a memorial service erupted in controversy.
  
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• Police sniffer dogs: New recruits and handlers needed for Calais crisis

  03-08-2015 21:12
  
  With tensions mounting in Calais, David Cameron was forced to issue a statement about just how he plans to tackle the illegal migrant crisis. His solution? More fencing, more resources and extra sniffer dog teams.
  
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• Plans to toughen penalties for renting to illegal immigrants could see tenants with 'funny-sounding' foreign names being turned away

  03-08-2015 21:10
  The Government’s plans to toughen the penalties for landlords who rent accommodation to illegal immigrants have been condemned as discriminatory as they could result in tenants with “a funny-sounding foreign name” being turned away.
  
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• Gene which helps people cope with low oxygen levels at high altitudes could become target for new drugs to treat heart disease

  03-08-2015 21:09
  A gene thought to be involved in helping people to cope with low levels of oxygen when they live at high altitudes could become a target for new drugs to treat heart disease at low altitude, scientists have found.
  
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• Plans to modernise four London Underground lines 'double' in cost - BBC News

  03-08-2015 21:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News
  Plans to modernise four London Underground lines 'double' in cost
  BBC News
  The cost of modernising signalling on four Tube lines has more than doubled. Transport for London (TfL) has awarded a £760 million contract to upgrade the District, Circle, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City lines to global transportation systems ...
  Tube strike: How do I get around London?Telegraph.co.uk
  Tube strike: unions confirm new 24-hour walkoutChannel 4 News
  London Tube Staff to Hold Second
  
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• Labour leadership race: Jeremy Corbyn could be the next Prime Minister, says ... - The Independent

  03-08-2015 21:01 via independent.co.uk
  
  The Independent
  Labour leadership race: Jeremy Corbyn could be the next Prime Minister, says ...
  The Independent
  Jeremy Corbyn could be the next Prime Minister if he wins the Labour leadership race, senior Conservative Ken Clarke has said in a warning to fellow Tories. The minister without portfolio said that Mr Corbyn's populist left-wing policies could prove ...
  The only way to stop the Corbyn juggernaut is for Liz Kendall to pull outTelegraph.co.uk
  Scottish Labour won't be a branch o
  
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• Labour leadership race: Jeremy Corbyn could be the next Prime Minister, says Ken Clarke

  03-08-2015 21:00
  
  Jeremy Corbyn could be the next Prime Minister if he wins the Labour leadership race, senior Conservative Ken Clarke has said in a warning to fellow Tories.
  
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• City trader Tom Jayes jailed for 14 years for fixing Libor rate - Daily Mail

  03-08-2015 20:58 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Daily Mail
  City trader Tom Jayes jailed for 14 years for fixing Libor rate
  Daily Mail
  Tom Hayes, a 35-year-old dubbed 'Rainman' after making £200million for UBS over four years, was sentenced to 14 years behind bars after being found guilty of conspiring to fix rates for profit. He was described as the 'ringmaster' of a larger group who ...
  Don't make Tom Hayes a scapegoat for the Libor scandalTelegraph.co.uk
  Tom Hayes: City trader becomes first to be jailed for fixing
  
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• Barack Obama unveils plan to tackle greenhouse gases and climate change - Telegraph.co.uk

  03-08-2015 20:57 via telegraph.co.uk
  
  Telegraph.co.uk
  Barack Obama unveils plan to tackle greenhouse gases and climate change
  Telegraph.co.uk
  President Barack Obama launched America's most ambitious-ever attempt to tackle greenhouse gas emissions last night, pushing ahead with tough new curbs on coal-fired power stations in the teeth of fierce opposition from industry and Republicans.
  Obama's clean power plan hailed as US's strongest ever climate actionThe Guardian
  President delivers impassioned plug for his Clean Power
  
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• Britain to Investigate Police Handling of Abuse Claim Against Ex-Premier ... - New York Times

  03-08-2015 20:56 via nytimes.com
  BBC News
  Britain to Investigate Police Handling of Abuse Claim Against Ex-Premier ...
  New York Times
  LONDON — Britain's independent police watchdog agency said on Monday that it would investigate an allegation that the police in Wiltshire had dropped a criminal investigation in the 1990s when the subject threatened to go public with accusations that ...
  Former British PM Sir Edward Heath named in child sex abuse investigationIrish Independent
  Heath abuse claims: Police appeal for any vict
  
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• Obama reveals new climate change initiative: 'We only get one planet. There is no Plan B'

  03-08-2015 20:54
  
  Hoping to position the United States to take the lead in global negotiations later this year to combat climate change, President Barack Obama yesterday unveiled a bold plan to slash emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide from power stations at home by almost a third within fifteen years. 
  
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• Did Cilla Black die from heatstroke as Marbella faced hottest weather in 40 years? - Mirror.co.uk

  03-08-2015 20:50 via mirror.co.uk
  
  Mirror.co.uk
  Did Cilla Black die from heatstroke as Marbella faced hottest weather in 40 years?
  Mirror.co.uk
  Cilla Black's devastated family fear she may have succumbed to the worst heatwave on the Costa Del Sol since 1975. Her sons are believed to have informed tearful staff at her luxury villa in Marbella, Spain, how the singer-turned TV presenter collapsed ...
  'Sexless, authoritative, no-nonsense: Cilla was the showbiz Margaret Thatcher'The Guardian
  Cilla Black autopsy fails to d
  
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• Calais crisis: Up to 100 extra security guards to be sent to patrol Channel Tunnel terminal

  03-08-2015 20:47
  
  Up to 100 extra security guards are to be sent to patrol the Channel Tunnel terminal in the latest move to get the migrant crisis at Calais under control.
  
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• NHS hospitals told not to fill vacancies as cash crisis bites

  03-08-2015 20:42
  
  Hospitals have been told to only fill vacancies “where essential” to save money, and been reassured they should not be fined if they miss waiting times targets, in a dramatic escalation of the NHS financial crisis.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn allies accuse Chris Leslie of deliberately misrepresenting Labour leader contender's economic policies

  03-08-2015 20:34
  
  Allies of Jeremy Corbyn accused the shadow Chancellor Chris Leslie of deliberately misrepresenting his economic policies as they moved to the heart of the debate in the Labour leadership contest.
  
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• Art project turns Mexican barrio into a giant mural

  03-08-2015 20:19
  
  A community project in central Mexico is bringing art to people's homes. Literally.
  
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• George Osborne to begin sell-off of Government stake in RBS

  03-08-2015 20:08
  
  Chancellor George Osborne has received the green light to begin selling £600 million of shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland, representing just under 5.2% of its overall stake in the bank.
  
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• Seven years after bailout, Britain starts RBS sell-off with 2 billion pounds stake sale

  03-08-2015 20:04
  
  By Steve Slater LONDON (Reuters) - Britain started the sale of a 2 billion pounds stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) on Monday, beginning the disposal of its holding in the bank seven years after a multi-billion pound bailout at the height of the financial crisis. UK Financial Investments, the body that holds the government's RBS stake, said it would sell about 600 million shares, representing 5.2 percent of the bank, in a quick-fire sale to institutional investors after the market close
  
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• Spanish bullfighting could be forced out of major cities as left-wing mayors campaign for a ban

  03-08-2015 20:03
  
  Ernest Hemingway thought it had mystical qualities, but if a series of new left-wing governments in a number of Spanish cities have their way, bullfighting in the country could soon become a thing of the past.
  
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• Government has a grip on Calais migrant crisis, says Philip Hammond

  03-08-2015 19:59
  
  The Government has a grip on the migrant crisis at Calais, Philip Hammond has insisted as David Cameron faces calls to break his holiday and witness its impact "first hand".
  
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• Giants Club: President lights the fire that puts Kenya at forefront of Africa’s battle against ivory poachers

  03-08-2015 19:54
  No visitor to Nairobi’s State House, a sprawling Palladian mansion designed by the Kent-born architect Herbert Baker more than a century ago, could be in any doubt about the symbolic power of ivory in this, the powerhouse of East Africa.
  
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• Giants Club: A bloody war is being waged over the future of Africa’s elephants

  03-08-2015 19:53
  
  There is a war going on in Africa. It is not a war that always reaches the headlines, but it is a brutal and bloody one nevertheless. It is a struggle that is being fought across numerous African countries, from Gabon to Kenya, Tanzania to Botswana. The battle is on to save the continent’s rapidly diminishing elephant population from extinction in the wild.
  
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• Giant Minion terrorises drivers in Ireland as 40ft inflatable blocks busy Dublin road

  03-08-2015 19:48
  
  Mischievous Minions are loved the world over for their antics in Despicable Me – but drivers in Dublin were less than pleased when a giant inflatable version of Kevin fell over in the middle of a road and blocked off traffic.
  
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• Queen to mark record reign with nod to Victorian era - Telegraph.co.uk

  03-08-2015 19:48 via telegraph.co.uk
  
  Telegraph.co.uk
  Queen to mark record reign with nod to Victorian era
  Telegraph.co.uk
  The Queen is to mark the day she becomes Britain's longest reigning monarch by opening the UK's biggest new domestic railway line for more than a century. In a choice of engagement bound to invoke parallels with the reign of Queen Victoria, she will ...
  Queen to open Scottish Borders Railway on day she beats Victoria's record reignBelfast Telegraph
  Queen to open Borders Railway in SeptemberScotsman
  
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• Two men jailed for life after shooting woman in attack aimed at her partner - The Guardian

  03-08-2015 19:46 via theguardian.com
  
  The Guardian
  Two men jailed for life after shooting woman in attack aimed at her partner
  The Guardian
  Aaron Newman, left, and Aaron Power have been jailed for life for shooting Hayley Pointon dead in an attack meant to kill her boyfriend. Photograph: Leicestershire Police/PA. Press Association. Monday 3 August 2015 13.45 EDT Last modified on Monday 3 ...
  Hitmen get life for shooting dead woman by mistakeHillingdon Times
  Hayley Pointon: Two hired hitmen who shot mum dead in bungled assassin
  
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