General news

• Man shot by police after seven-hour London siege

  21-08-2015 23:43
  
  A man has been shot and seriously injured by police after a seven-hour siege.
  
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• Workmen find a human skull at the side of the M54

  21-08-2015 23:38
  
  Workmen have discovered a human skull while working on a slip road off the M54 motorway.
  
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• The triumph of the state sector has been exaggerated

  21-08-2015 23:00
  
  At first sight, the story was sensational enough to send shock waves throughout the world of education.
  
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• Unionists To Meet Police On IRA Murder Claims

  21-08-2015 22:50
  
  Democratic Unionists will meet Northern Ireland's Chief Constable on Saturday after police claimed IRA members murdered a man in Belfast. Their party leader, First Minister Peter Robinson, says Sinn Fein cannot remain in government if the evidence points to IRA involvement. Kevin McGuigan, 53 was shot dead last week in apparent retaliation for the murder of Jock Davison, 47, in May.
  
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• Motorists entitled to refunds over wrongly issued PCSO parking tickets

  21-08-2015 22:35
  
  Motorists may be entitled to refunds amounting to nearly £500,000 after Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) issued parking tickets without proper authority.
  
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• Bookmakers' measures are failing to protect gambling addicts, report says

  21-08-2015 22:28
  
  Measures rolled out by bookmakers to help protect vulnerable players of addictive roulette-style machines have failed to have any impact, a new report has revealed.
  
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• Gunman wounds three passengers on Amsterdam-Paris train

  21-08-2015 22:26
  
  A gunman has opened fire on passengers on board a train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris, injuring three people.
  
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• Last orders: Campaign launched to protect Britain's endangered post-war pubs

  21-08-2015 22:21
  
  The pocket of London around The Shakespeare offers a richer survey of architectural history than most. Built in 1964, the pub lies on the western edge of the Barbican estate – widely considered a Brutalist masterpiece. Facing it, Georgian houses stand side by side with Victorian warehouses and 1980s office blocks.
  
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• Dow Jones sinks more than 500 points on China growth fears

  21-08-2015 22:17
  
  Anxiety about slowing growth in China gripped investors around the globe, clobbering stock and commodity markets. While in London the FTSE 100 index suffered its worst decline in eight months yesterday, it was a near blood bath in New York where the Dow Jones index lost a full 531 points, or 3.13 per cent, its biggest single-day decline since 2011. 
  
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• Road signs: Why Britain's designs rule

  21-08-2015 22:15
  
  The typeface
  
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• Criminal court charge: This is a step along the road to America's iniquitous system

  21-08-2015 22:07
  
  It’s the dirty secret of the American criminal justice system: while it is the right of every citizen to be tried by a jury of their peers, that is rarely what actually happens.
  
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• Legal aid cuts: Lawyers' boycott called off amid signs of agreement with Michael Gove

  21-08-2015 22:02
  
  The unofficial strike by thousands of criminal solicitors and barristers in protest over cuts to legal aid has been suspended amid signs they could be edging towards agreement with the Justice Secretary, Michael Gove.
  
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• Kinneir and Calvert: Graphic designers behind Britain's road signs to be celebrated 50 years after revolutionising our highways

  21-08-2015 21:57
  Britain was going places 50 years ago – just not necessarily in the right direction or towards the right places.
  
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• Crippling court costs force poverty-stricken people to 'plead guilty to crimes they didn't commit'

  21-08-2015 21:55
  
  Poverty-stricken people are being encouraged to plead guilty to crimes they did not commit out of fear they will face crippling costs imposed by new financial penalties, leading lawyers, magistrates and campaigners have warned.
  
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• Jimmy Carter profile: In 35 years since leaving the White House, the ailing Nobel laureate has achieved remarkable things

  21-08-2015 21:50
  For Jimmy Carter, some things are immutable. Almost 35 years after he left the White House, and three days after informing the world he was about to start radiation treatment for brain cancer, he’ll be teaching Bible class tomorrow at the Maranatha Baptist Church in the tiny Georgia town of Plains, population 600. He was born there 90 years ago, and it’s been home ever since. One way and another, the 39th President of the United States has been involved with Sunday school for the bes
  
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• Dr Dre apologises for his past violence against women

  21-08-2015 21:39
  
  Rapper, producer and billionaire entrepreneur Dr Dre has apologised publicly for his past physical abuse of women.
  
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• Biggie Smalls murder detective Russell Poole dies from heart attack while still probing unsolved case

  21-08-2015 21:37
  
  Has the murky just murkier?
  
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• Isis second-in-command killed in US strike in Iraq, White House confirms

  21-08-2015 21:30
  
  In a significant boost to the efforts of the United States and its allies to destabilise and weaken the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, the White House confirmed tonight that its second-in-command was killed on Tuesday in a US military air strike.
  
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• Isis No 2 killed in US strike in Iraq, White House confirms

  21-08-2015 21:30
  
  In a significant boost to the efforts of the United States and its allies to destabilise and weaken the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, the White House confirmed tonight that its second-in-command was killed on Tuesday in a US military air strike.
  
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• Ashley Madison hack: Website founder Noel Biderman is married father of two who says he has never cheated on his wife

  21-08-2015 21:30
  The man who styles himself “The King of Infidelity” is in fact a married father of two who says he has never cheated on his wife. That’s just one of several contradictions surrounding the life and work of Ashley Madison founder Noel Biderman, the controversial Canadian entrepreneur who now finds himself in the eye of a hacking storm.
  
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• Channel tunnel train grinds to a halt after migrant spotted on board

  21-08-2015 21:23
  
  A freight train passing through the channel tunnel was forced to stop after a person trying to reach the UK was spotted on one of the wagons.
  
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• Shark attacks: Great whites have been killing and injuring surfers in New South Wales – but calls for a cull divide opinion

  21-08-2015 21:17
  Chris Brock lives and breathes surfing. His beachfront flat overlooks one of Australia’s most iconic breaks, and at 66 he still plunges into the ocean most days. “But right at the moment I’m a little bit spooked,” he says. “Everyone I know is a bit spooked.”
  
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• Iraq war: The week the spectre of the conflict returned to the front line of British politics

  21-08-2015 21:16
  
  Twelve years after British forces marched into Basra and six years after the vast majority of them left, the spectre of the Iraq war still looms large over the Westminster body politic. Those who were instrumental in taking the decision to invade – Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Jack Straw – have all shuffled off the stage. Those who drew up the botched invasion plans and advised ministers have almost all retired, while the most contentious aspect of the decision to go to war has already
  
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• North Korea steps up tensions with South Korea as it declares 'semi-state of war'

  21-08-2015 21:09
  
  The US and South Korea last night put their annual joint military exercise on temporary hold as tensions rose between the two Koreas and residents of the South showed signs of unusual jitters.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn victory in Labour leadership contest could face 'legal challenge'

  21-08-2015 21:09
  
  A victory for Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour leadership contest could be challenged in the courts, the team behind the left-winger’s rival contender, Andy Burnham, has warned as the party’s divisions deepen.
  
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• Labour leadership contest: How the wealth gap in Jeremy Corbyn's Islington constituency shows the basis of the left-winger's appeal

  21-08-2015 20:32
  In these summer months, the view from the back window of Caxton House, on the western side of Jeremy Corbyn’s parliamentary constituency, is of plush greenery. If it were now winter, and the trees were bare, you might see the very desirable homes that are only yards away, each house worth than £1m, on quiet streets where the notices warn you that if you leave your car parked without a resident’s permit on display, it will be clamped.
  
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• How a Hamas deal with Israel could reinforce the Palestinain militant group's bitter rivalry with Fatah

  21-08-2015 20:21
  
  A Hamas-Israel deal might bring Gazans relief from the cycle of conflict that has killed thousands of people and devastated their territory. But it would also reinforce bitter rivalry and division between the Islamist Hamas and Fatah, President Mahmoud Abbas’s largely secular movement that still holds sway over Palestinian self-rule areas in the West Bank.
  
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• Tony Blair and Hamas: Militant Palestinian group confirms meetings with former PM – and says ceasefire deal with Israel is possible

  21-08-2015 20:13
  Hamas, the militant Palestinian group in control of Gaza, believes there is a chance to reach a long-term ceasefire deal with Israel if the Jewish state takes steps to improve the lives of Gazans, a senior figure within the organisation has told The Independent.
  
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• French train shooting: Three injured after gunman opens fire on Amsterdam to Paris train

  21-08-2015 20:07
  
  A gunman has opened fire on a high-speed French train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris, wounding three people - two of them critically.
  
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• French train shooting: Three injured after 'gunman fires Kalashnikov' on Amsterdam to Paris train

  21-08-2015 20:07
  
  A man has reportedly been arrested after opening fire onboard a train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris.
  
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• Sweet chestnut tree chemicals 'disarm' MRSA superbug

  21-08-2015 20:02
  
  Sweet chestnut tree leaves contain chemicals that can tame the MRSA superbug, research has shown.
  
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• Emmanuel Opoku: Straight-A student thanks readers for their generosity after university fees crowdfunding campaign takes off

  21-08-2015 19:59
  A straight-A student who was told he was not eligible to apply for a student loan has thanked readers of The Independent for their generosity after seeing donations pour in to his crowdfunding campaign.
  
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• Emmanuel Opoku: Straight-A student thanks readers for their generosity after student fees crowdfunding campaign takes off

  21-08-2015 19:59
  A straight-A student who was told he was not eligible to apply for a student loan has thanked readers of The Independent for their generosity after seeing donations pour in to his crowdfunding campaign.
  
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• England vs Australia report: Australia close in on Fifth Test victory after reaching 481 before dismantling woeful England

  21-08-2015 19:52
  England are the winners of the Ashes. Nothing can change that or the fact that at key moments in this series they have had Australia on toast.
  
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• Decision due next week on further Tube strikes

  21-08-2015 19:50
  
  Millions of commuters will have to wait until next week to find out if a strike by Tube workers is going ahead.
  
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• Lariam: Select committee to consider inquiry over MoD's use of anti-malarial drug

  21-08-2015 19:46
  
  Growing fears over the mental health of soldiers taking Lariam have prompted the commons defence select committee to consider an inquiry into the Ministry of Defence’s continued use of the anti-malarial drug.
  
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• Corruption in China: The Tianjin explosion offers a glimpse of how the country really works

  21-08-2015 19:45
  
  Balzac suggested that behind every great fortune lies a great crime. In China today it seems that behind every industrial accident lies a reeking morass of corruption.
  
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• Corruption in China: How the Tianjin explosion offers a glimpse of how the country really works

  21-08-2015 19:45
  
  Balzac suggested that behind every great fortune lies a great crime. In China today it seems that behind every industrial accident lies a reeking morass of corruption.
  
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• 16-year-old gang raped and her eyes gouged out by her sister on the orders of a local pastor

  21-08-2015 19:44
  
  A teenage girl thought to be possessed by the devil has reportedly been raped by a group of men before having her eyes gouged out by her sister
  
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• FTSE Records Biggest Weekly Loss Of 2015

  21-08-2015 19:43
  
  The FTSE 100 has recorded its biggest weekly loss of the year amid concerns over the failing Chinese financial market. It is the index's worst performance since December , and comes after survey results showed that manufacturing in China had fallen by an unexpectedly large amount in August. China's main index in Shanghai was also 4.2% down on Friday, falling below the 200-day moving average for the first time since July 2014.
  
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• Anti-abortion group wins free speech ruling over secretly-recorded tape

  21-08-2015 19:36
  
  Free speech rights should allow an anti-abortion group to release secretly recorded videos of discussions with a California company that provides foetal tissue for research, a US judge said.
  
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• FTSE drops 180 points as China woes cause biggest one-day fall in 10 months

  21-08-2015 19:27
  
  The FTSE 100 Index suffered its sharpest one-day fall in 10 months today as it plunged 180 points to its lowest level this year amid deepening fears over the Chinese economy.
  
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• 'Absolutely perfect' for family as Cilla Black tops album charts for first time

  21-08-2015 19:23
  
  Cilla Black's family has said her album topping the UK charts is "absolutely perfect".
  
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• The Princes in the Tower: Will the ultimate cold case finally be solved after more than 500 years?

  21-08-2015 19:20
  
  It is perhaps the greatest of all cold cases: who was responsible for the death of the two Princes in the Tower. But historians who believe their disappearance will forever remain a mystery should think again.
  
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• Labour leadership result will stand - Harriet Harman

  21-08-2015 19:20
  
  Labour's leadership contest is being run rigorously and the result "will stand", acting leader Harriet Harman has insisted amid claims too little is being done by the party to root out infiltrators.
  
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• The Sumatran rhino is now extinct in Malaysia, scientists say

  21-08-2015 19:06
  
  The Sumatran rhinoceros is now extinct in the wild of Malaysia.
  
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• Man goes blind in one eye after sleeping while wearing contact lenses

  21-08-2015 19:04
  
  A man who has gone blind after sleeping with his contact lenses in has spoken of his ordeal in the hope that it will prevent new cases.
  
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• Couple jailed for blackmailing married man who used gay dating website

  21-08-2015 18:59
  
  A couple who threatened to expose a married man they met on a gay dating website have been jailed for blackmail.
  
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• Company boss parked fake plate cars on double yellow lines

  21-08-2015 18:59
  
  A company director parked high value vehicles on double yellow lines having put fake plates on them so they could not be traced back to him, police said.
  
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• The world's best and worst places to live: Melbourne named globe's most 'liveable' city

  21-08-2015 18:56
  
  The globe's best and worst cities have been named – with Canada and Australia again proving the most desirable countries to live in. 
  
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