General news

• Magistrates Courts 'In Crisis' Over Govt Costs

  15-08-2015 23:32
  
  The magistrates court system in England and Wales has been gripped by a growing crisis, with dozens of experienced magistrates resigning in a row over government imposed court costs. The Criminal Court Charge was introduced by the Ministry of Justice in April as a means of ensuring that convicted adult offenders pay towards the cost of running the criminal justice system. Bob Hutchinson, a magistrate in Blackpool for the past 11 years, is one of those who has stepped down.
  
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• England vs France match report: Anthony Watson leads the charge as dazzling wingers secure victory

  15-08-2015 23:11
  
  England’s World Cup build-up started with long-awaited match action after a summer of training, three tries shared between the irrepressible wings Anthony Watson and Jonny May and victory by a small margin in the first of three warm-up games.
  
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• Broadmoor attacks fuel fears that cuts to mental health staff are putting employees and the public at risk

  15-08-2015 23:07
  The biggest mental health trust in the UK has denied suggestions that reduced staffing levels are putting the safety of employees and the public at risk, as two police forces investigate separate attacks on staff which left a hostel worker dead and two nurses injured.
  
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• Ex-Police Inspector Cleared Over Savile Call

  15-08-2015 22:59
  
  A former West Yorkshire Police inspector who was alleged to have intervened on behalf of his friend Jimmy Savile in an inquiry into child sexual abuse has been cleared after a two-year investigation. Mick Starkey, who had acted as Savile's unofficial chauffeur and drove his gold Rolls Royce, has been told by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) that he has no case to answer over a phone call he made to Surrey Police in 2009 after detectives wrote to Savile requesting an interview
  
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• Oliver Letwin denies pledging £20m to Kids Company

  15-08-2015 22:58
  
  The Government considered giving £20m a year to Kids Company as recently as March this year as the now defunct charity was struggling to survive. But the Cabinet Office minister, Oliver Letwin, has denied Camila Batmanghelidjh’s claim that he verbally promised to find her the money, saying there had been some kind of “misunderstanding on her part”.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn would reduce Labour's chances of winning the next election, poll reveals

  15-08-2015 22:45
  
  A victory for Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour leadership race will reduce the party's chances of winning the next election, a poll for The Independent on Sunday reveals.
  
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• Edward Heath 'was not a sexual being', says closest female friend

  15-08-2015 22:40
  
  One of former Prime Minister Sir TedEdward Heath's closest friends has come to his defence following the news that at least seven police forces are looking into claims that he was a paedophile. Sara Morrison, often described as his closest female friend, has endorsed the view of another friend, former Cabinet Secretary Lord Armstrong, and of Heath’s biographer Philip Ziegler, that Heath, who died in 2005, had no interest in sex.
  
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• Ex-inspector cleared by watchdog over Savile interview claims

  15-08-2015 22:23
  
  A former inspector has been cleared by the police watchdog over claims he "acted on behalf" of Jimmy Savile by contacting officers before an interview.
  
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• One in four claiming disability benefits faces serious difficulties including delays, unfair dismissals and confusion over eligibility

  15-08-2015 22:16
  Almost a quarter of all people applying for disability benefits to help them live independently are encountering serious difficulties, including delays, unfair dismissal of claims and confusion over eligibility, The Independent on Sunday has learnt. The scale of the problem with personal independence payments (PIP) means that needing help with the benefit is now the most common reason for approaching the national charity Citizens Advice charity, new figures show.
  
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• Is Jeremy Corbyn, in the words of his favourite philosopher Karl Marx, a grotesque mediocrity?

  15-08-2015 22:00
  
  Nothing to lose but your fears
  
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• From the general election to the rise of Jeremy Corbyn – it’s been a bad year for political predictions

  15-08-2015 22:00
  
  He’ll come fourth. That’s what I said when Jeremy Corbyn scraped on to the ballot paper with one nomination and a minute or two to spare. He may yet, but I’m not quite as confident now as I was then. What is the point of political predictions, then? Especially mine. But the polls also got the general election wrong and no one saw the Scottish nationalist surge coming.
  
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• From the general election to the rise of Jeremy Corbyn - 2015 has not been a great year for political pundits

  15-08-2015 22:00
  
  He’ll come fourth. That’s what I said when Jeremy Corbyn scraped on to the ballot paper with one nomination and a minute or two to spare. He may yet, but I’m not quite as confident now as I was then. What is the point of political predictions, then? Especially mine. But the polls also got the general election wrong and no one saw the Scottish nationalist surge coming.
  
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• Forget the Arts Council - bring back the patron

  15-08-2015 22:00
  
  Simon Raven’s novel The Rich Pay Late (1964), in which the depravity of the Eden-era establishment is laid bare as with a scalpel, contains a memorable scene in which a crooked adman named Jude Holbrook attempts to buy the proprietorship of an influential weekly magazine called Strix. His conduit is the eminently corruptible editor, Somerset Lloyd-James, allegedly based on Raven’s much more saintly school contemporary William Rees-Mogg, later custodian of The Times. But Holbrook&rsqu
  
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• Carolina's Lost Colony: The fate of the first British settlers in America was a mystery... until now

  15-08-2015 22:00
  
  There are places, on America’s mid-Atlantic seaboard, where you can still imagine the coastline as the first English settlers must have seen it, more than 400 years ago. No boat marinas, no highways, no beachfront houses for rent: just reeds, marshes and shimmering expanses of water where the sea meets the sky, and the hazy outline of pristine forests.
  
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• A-level results: Students now pass exams like they are going out of fashion...

  15-08-2015 22:00
  
  First of all, congratulations to the successful A-level candidates in what in most countries would be the equivalent of a first-year university test. There are many criticisms of our exam system – should it be broader, should it not force students to specialise so early, and so on – but nothing should diminish the achievement. However, it is also worth observing that in the world of work, as opposed to that of education, the emphasis is beginning to shift away from testing and measur
  
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• Chris Langham working on orphanage film eight years after child sex abuse images conviction

  15-08-2015 21:30
  
  The disgraced actor and writer Chris Langham, who was jailed in 2007 for downloading child sex abuse images, has revealed he is now filming a documentary about an orphanage. The writer details his new venture in an extraordinarily candid interview with The Independent on Sunday, in which he describes his life as a social pariah.
  
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• Andy Burnham: I'm the only person who can beat Jeremy Corbyn

  15-08-2015 21:03
  
  Andy Burnham has declared that he is the only Labour leadership candidate capable of blocking frontrunner Jeremy Corbyn and preventing a damaging split within the party.
  
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• VJ Day anniversary: Veterans parade through central London in memory of those who fell in the war against Japan

  15-08-2015 20:51
  They came in their thousands to line the parade route from Horse Guards Parade to Westminster Abbey. Fewer perhaps, than the anniversaries of the past but, bolstered by droves of curious tourists, their commitment to honour those who fell in the war against Japan was undiminished.
  
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• David Beckham is on course to overtake Michael Jordan's $100m a year

  15-08-2015 20:16
  
  Two years after quitting football, David Beckham is challenging Michael Jordan's position as the world's highest-earning retired sports star.
  
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• Search For Overboard Queen Mary 2 Crew Member

  15-08-2015 19:58
  
  A search is under way after a crew member went overboard from the Queen Mary 2 ocean liner. The Southampton-based cruise ship left Britain on Tuesday and is currently off the coast of the Canadian island Newfoundland. A spokeswoman for the cruise line Cunard said: "We have clearly established that the crew member went overboard earlier this morning.
  
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• Queen joins veterans to mark 70th anniversary of VJ Day

  15-08-2015 19:34
  
  The Queen has joined Second World War veterans to mark the 70th anniversary of VJ Day, when Japan surrendered and brought an end to the conflict.
  
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• Queen Mary 2 in search operation for overboard crew member

  15-08-2015 18:49
  
  A search operation is under way after a crew member went overboard from the Queen Mary 2.
  
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• Mohammed Morsi's lawyer launch appeal against ex-Egyptian president's death sentence

  15-08-2015 18:34
  
  Ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi’s legal team have launched an appeal against his prison term and death sentence.
  
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• Ferguson police officer to be investigated by department after boasting of spending his 'Michael Brown bonus'

  15-08-2015 18:33
  
  US police are investigating after a Ferguson officer reportedly bragged about spending his "Michael Brown bonus".
  
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• Murder Arrests After Body Found In Car Boot

  15-08-2015 18:21
  
  A car matching the description was seen on Claybank Street at around 3.50pm on Friday. Claybank Street and other adjoining roads have been cordoned off. Tree surgeon Ryan Slack, 20, who lives in the area, told Sky News he witnessed the arrests.
  
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• Syrian refugee tells harrowing story of journey to Europe: 'I fell in the sea...I thought I would die'

  15-08-2015 18:03
  
  A Syrian asylum seeker has told how he thought he would die as he struggled to stay afloat for 45 minutes when the dinghy he was packed on with dozens of other migrants started to sink.
  
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• Syrian refugee tells harrowing story of journey to Europe: 'I fell in the sea... I thought I would die'

  15-08-2015 18:03
  
  A Syrian asylum seeker has told how he thought he would die as he struggled to stay afloat for 45 minutes when the dinghy he was packed on with dozens of other migrants started to sink.
  
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• Greek crisis: IMF urges Europe to provide 'significant' debt relief following new bailout agreement

  15-08-2015 18:03
  Greece's "European partners" still need to provide the country with significant debt relief following its approval of a new bailout deal, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.
  
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• Anti-Nazi couple's home burnt down in Germany in suspected retaliatory attack

  15-08-2015 18:00
  
  A German couple who have taken a stand against local neo-Nazis have had their home gutted in a suspected retaliatory arson attack.
  
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• Tottenham vs Stoke match report: Marko Arnautovic and Mame Biram Diouf on target as Spurs blow two-goal lead to drop two points

  15-08-2015 17:58
  Mame Biram Diouf headed home a late equaliser as Tottenham threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at home to Stoke.
  
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• Michael Sam: NFL's first openly gay American footballer is giving up the sport

  15-08-2015 17:45
  
  Michael Sam, the first openly gay American footballer to be picked by an NFL side, has announced he is giving up the sport because he is “concerned” for his mental health.
  
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• VJ Day: London's black cab drivers ferry veterans for free on anniversary of victory

  15-08-2015 17:44
  
  London’s black cab drivers have offered veterans free taxi services on the anniversary of VJ Day.
  
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• Times Square kiss: Couples recreate iconic kiss on VJ Day anniversary

  15-08-2015 17:14
  
  Dozens of couples have re-enacted the famous kiss between a sailor and nurse in New York City’s Times Square on VJ Day in 1945.
  
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• Times Square kiss: Couples recreate iconic scene on VJ Day anniversary

  15-08-2015 17:14
  
  Dozens of couples have re-enacted the famous kiss between a sailor and nurse in New York City’s Times Square on VJ Day in 1945.
  
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• ‘Defeat Into Victory’: Veterans Mark VJ Day

  15-08-2015 17:05
  
  War veterans have gathered on Horse Guards Parade in central London for a Drumhead commemoration to mark the 70th anniversary of VJ Day. Crowds applauded as a Dakota, Hurricane and a current RAF Typhoon fighter jet flew past in tribute to the sacrifice made by thousands of Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen in the fight against Japan during World War Two. The Right Reverend Nigel Stock, bishop to HM Armed Forces, led the service and paid particular tribute to those who served in the Far East an
  
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• ‘Defeat Into Victory’: Veterans Mark VJ Day 70

  15-08-2015 16:42
  
  War veterans have gathered on Horse Guards Parade in central London for a Drumhead commemoration to mark the 70th anniversary of VJ Day. Crowds applauded as a Dakota, Hurricane and a current RAF Typhoon fighter jet flew past in tribute to the sacrifice made by thousands of Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen in the fight against Japan during World War Two. The Right Reverend Nigel Stock, bishop to HM Armed Forces, led the service and paid particular tribute to those who served in the Far East an
  
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• Jazz Summers, manager of top British bands, dies at 71

  15-08-2015 16:40
  
  Jazz Summers, who managed some of Britain's most successful bands including Wham!, Snow Patrol and The Verve, has died, his spokesman has confirmed.
  
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• Watch: Sea turtle winces in pain as a straw is removed from its nose

  15-08-2015 16:31
  
  A video showing the long, painful removal of a straw from the bleeding nostril of a sea turtle has been posted online to highlight the environmental danger posed by plastic litter.
  
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• Sea turtle winces in pain as a straw is removed from its nose in video

  15-08-2015 16:31
  
  A video showing the long, painful removal of a straw from the bleeding nostril of a sea turtle has been posted online to highlight the environmental danger posed by plastic litter.
  
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• Bear Grylls hits back at critics after leaving son on rocks for rescue

  15-08-2015 16:28
  
  TV action man Bear Grylls has hit back at critics who slammed him for leaving his son alone on rocks in the sea.
  
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• Migrants being raped, shot and tortured on desperate journeys to Europe, doctor reveals

  15-08-2015 16:21
  
  Migrants are being raped, shot and tortured during their desperate journeys to Europe even before they risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean, a doctor has revealed.
  
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• James Corden 'offered £3 million to host The Late Late Show for two more years'

  15-08-2015 15:50
  
  James Corden has reportedly been paid £3 million to extend his contract fronting The Late Late Show for a further two years.
  
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• James Corden 'offered £3 million to host The Late Late Show for two more years'

  15-08-2015 15:50
  
  James Corden has reportedly been paid £3 million to extend his contract fronting The Late Late Show for a further two years.
  
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• Dutch newspaper uses n-word in book review headline but says it's 'stupid' to think it would offend people

  15-08-2015 15:42
  
  On July 31, the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad published a review of several books on race and racism in the United States. The series, written by the paper’s Washington correspondent Guus Valk, leads with a review of Atlantic writer Ta-Nehisi Coates’s latest book, Between the World And Me. Somewhere along the editorial process, the editors thought it would be a good idea to headline the article, "N****r, Are You Crazy?"
  
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• Katie Derham joins Strictly Come Dancing line-up

  15-08-2015 15:08
  
  BBC Proms presenter Katie Derham is the fifth celebrity to waltz on to the new series of Strictly Come Dancing.
  
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• Broadcaster Andrew Neil ties the knot in south of France

  15-08-2015 15:08
  
  Broadcaster Andrew Neil has revealed he has secretly married in the south of France.
  
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• New Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale asks voters to take fresh look at party

  15-08-2015 14:42
  
  Kezia Dugdale has been elected as the new leader of Scottish Labour, asking voters across the country to "take a fresh look" at the party.
  
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• VJ Day anniversary: Queen leads memorials in London despite alleged terror threat

  15-08-2015 14:37
  
  The Queen has led ceremonies in Britain commemorating the 70 anniversary of the end of World War Two.
  
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• French rail worker 'paid £3,550 a month to stay at home and do nothing for 12 years'

  15-08-2015 14:03
  
  A man employed by France’s national rail operator SNCF has revealed he is suing the company after being paid to stay at home and do nothing for the last 12 years.
  
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• French rail worker 'paid £3,550 a month to stay at home and do nothing for 12 years'

  15-08-2015 14:03
  
  A man employed by France’s national rail operator SNCF has revealed he is suing the company after being paid to stay at home and do nothing for the last 12 years.
  
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