General news

• N Ireland welfare reform: British Government will act if parties can't agree

  05-09-2015 23:54
  
  The British Government has decided to legislate on welfare reform in Northern Ireland if the Stormont parties cannot reach agreement.
  
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• Kim Davis: Hundreds of Christian protesters turn out to support court clerk who refused to issue same-sex marriage permits

  05-09-2015 23:52
  Hundreds of people bearing banners and chanting gathered outside the jailhouse where the court clerk who refused to issue same-sex marriage licences is being held.
  
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• Majority of UK voters favour leaving EU, migration fears weigh - poll

  05-09-2015 23:48
  
  The survey, by polling firm Survation for the Mail on Sunday newspaper, found 51 percent of respondents wanted to leave the EU and 49 percent wanted to remain, excluding undecided voters. Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to renegotiate Britain's EU ties ahead of the referendum which is due to take place before 2017. Survation said the Mail on Sunday poll was the first time it had found a lead for the "out" campaign since November 2014.
  
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• Neil Oliver interview: The historian and Coast presenter reveals why he can't stand nationalists, short hair and Edinburgh Castle

  05-09-2015 23:37
  I don't regret shredding my first novel Most first novels tend to be too self-indulgent, particularly the unpublished ones. Mine, which I wrote many years ago, was your basic post-adolescent attempt to write a semi-autobiographical story, and it was full of existential angst. Mercifully I never published it, and about 10 years ago I thought, I'm not dragging this around on a chain like Jacob Marley: it must never surface. So I took the decision to wipe it from the face of the Earth and shredded
  
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• Majority of voters back British exit from EU - poll

  05-09-2015 23:29
  
  A majority of voters are ready to vote for Britain to leave the European Union, according to a shock opinion poll.
  
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• Fukushima: Japan allows residents of Naraha to return four years after disaster

  05-09-2015 23:12
  
  Japan is allowing residents of the town of Naraha to return after being evacuated more than  four years ago, following the 2011 disaster at the nearby Fukushima nuclear plant. 
  
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• Queen Elizabeth II to become Britain's longest reigning monarch: In keeping the show going for a record 63 years, she has given great service

  05-09-2015 23:05
  She’s tiny. That’s the first thing to say about Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, or to quote her title in full: “Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith”.
  
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• Bill Granger recipes: As autumn draws near, our chef prepares his last light dinners of the year

  05-09-2015 23:00
  We're in our last run of light dinners before we start slow-cooking everything through autumn and winter. What to have for dinner is a question I constantly grapple with, having to feed a busy family quickly. Now my girls are older, they're more wide-ranging and adventurous in their tastes.
  
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• Curiosity Saves: Brazilian viral campaign aims to take secrecy out of domestic violence

  05-09-2015 22:57
  
  When Preta Gil, the singer/actress daughter of Brazilian musical star Gilberto Gil, told her four million Facebook fans “it was the shower tap”, some asked if she was crazy.
  
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• Welcome to Tonypandy in Wales - where you can buy a house for just £5,000

  05-09-2015 22:50
  
  The views from Clydach Vale on the outskirts of the Rhondda Valley town of Tonypandy are spectacular. They could easily entice someone looking to snap up a home in this part of South Wales – yet few people are buying.
  
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• Republican presidential candidate contest: Jeb Bush set to get a roasting on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

  05-09-2015 22:48
  It was perhaps the crowning moment of Stephen Colbert’s career so far. In 2006, at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, he delivered a merciless comedic roasting of George W Bush, while the then-President sat powerless and unamused just two chairs to his right.
  
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• The Conflict Café: The London diner breaking bread and bringing people together

  05-09-2015 22:41
  
  Everyone understands the power of a feast to banish bad feelings and bring people together, but how far can the uniting power of shared meal go? A pop-up café created last year is returning, to show that good food can help to resolve international conflicts.
  
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• Tom Watson: Labour's election marathon is just a gift for the Tories

  05-09-2015 22:37
  
  Tom Watson, the favourite to be named Labour’s deputy leader next weekend, has condemned the politically “debilitating” length of the contests for the party’s two top jobs.
  
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• Labour leadership race: Yvette Cooper gets backing from Mary Creagh as signs emerge that she is gaining ground on Jeremy Corbyn

  05-09-2015 22:37
  Yvette Cooper’s campaign to lead Labour has received the backing of her former contest rival Mary Creagh, as signs emerge that the shadow Home Secretary could be gaining ground on Jeremy Corbyn.
  
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• Refugee crisis: Overwhelmed UN agency to seek extra funding from oil states

  05-09-2015 22:35
  
  The United Nations refugee agency is struggling to fund its operations in the scores of camps that border Syria, and may turn to Middle East oil states to do more.
  
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• Labour leadership race: Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, Jeremy Corbyn and Liz Kendall make their final pitches

  05-09-2015 22:35
  
  Why should you be Labour leader?
  
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• Refugee crisis: Italians throw open their doors to men, women and children plucked from the sea

  05-09-2015 22:31
  
  As their country’s coastguards continue to pluck hundreds of men, women and children from the sea, Italians are looking for new ways to handle the latest influx of refugees.
  
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• George Osborne hints at military strikes in Syria to stem exodus of refugees

  05-09-2015 22:30
  
  George Osborne has given a strong signal that Britain will take part in military action in Syria as he warned that dealing with the escalating refugee crisis meant tackling President Bashar al-Assad’s “evil” regime.
  
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• Syria crisis: Anti-government violence erupts after killing of prominent Druze cleric

  05-09-2015 22:25
  
  Anti-government violence has erupted in a southern Syrian province, a day after explosions killed at least 25 people, including a prominent cleric, activists and pro-government media said.
  
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• Refugees recount their joy as they reach Austria and Germany

  05-09-2015 22:20
  
  It was the day they had been waiting for. Some had travelled thousands of miles – via myriad modes of transport: boat, train, bus and even walking. The sense of relief was palpable, with many of the thousands of refugees and migrants streaming across the Austrian border, and then beyond into Germany, all too aware that others had paid the ultimate price trying to get where they were.
  
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• The US has a new anti-gay marriage martyr - a four-times wed county clerk

  05-09-2015 22:00
  
  At the end of June, as the Supreme Court struck down gay marriage bans across the United States, opponents promised a national backlash and widespread resistance to the ruling. Two months later, it is surely some measure of the national mood that, of all the clerks of all the counties of all 50 US states – the men and women responsible for issuing marriage licences – just one remains in the headlines for her  refusal to heed the court’s decision.
  
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• Refugee crisis: Suddenly everyone agrees 'something must be done.' But what?

  05-09-2015 22:00
  
  We lack moral imagination. It took a photograph of a dead child – in his smart red top, bright blue shorts and new lace-up shoes – to open our eyes to the reality of the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War. The statistics had not done it. Nor had the news that 700 boat people had died in a single accident in the Mediterranean. Nor, even, had the reports that 71 migrants had suffocated in the back of a refrigerated lorry. But the image of one three-year-old lying lifeles
  
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• Labour leadership race: Senior MPs must show some emotional intelligence and offer to help Jeremy Corbyn make the party electable if he wins

  05-09-2015 22:00
  Jeremy Corbyn is likely to become Labour leader at the end of this week. After which, Labour politics will become properly weird. For a while, he will enjoy a novelty honeymoon with the general public, I think. I have heard of women pensioners, some of them members of their local Conservative associations, who want him to win and say they would vote Labour if he did. They like him, they say, because he is sincere and not one of those plastic politicians. He is also of retirement age, they don&rs
  
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• Isis are threatening to capture a vital highway in Syria - the loss of which could push millions of refugees out of government-held areas

  05-09-2015 22:00
  Islamic State (Isis) forces in Syria are threatening to capture a crucial road, the loss of which could touch off a panic and the exodus of several million refugees from government areas, in addition to the four million who have already fled. Isis fighters have advanced recently to within 22 miles of the M5 highway, the only major route connecting government-held territory in Damascus to the north and west of the country. 
  
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• Hold on to your mobile phones, Rebekah Brooks is back

  05-09-2015 22:00
  
  The novelist Francis King once wrote a rather pointed short story entitled “Hard Feelings”. Set in the 1970s, when such relationships were more conspicuous than they are now, its cast consists of Adrian, a middle-aged antiques dealer, and Mike, his somewhat younger working-class boyfriend.
  
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• Does this chill autumn blast signal an end to the growth cycle?

  05-09-2015 22:00
  
  It is the weekend of a Group of 20 meeting – the finance ministers and central bank governors of what are, more or less, the 20 largest economies in the world gathering in Ankara, Turkey, to debate what they might do about the world economy. Had they been meeting a few weeks ago they might be preening themselves over how well they were doing: decent growth in the United States and UK, signs of a recovery in most of Europe, and solid growth in the two largest Bric (Brazil, Russia, India and
  
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• Andy Burnham 'has best chance of stopping Jeremy Corbyn victory'

  05-09-2015 21:46
  
  The head of Liz Kendall's campaign has said Andy Burnham now represents the best chance of stopping Jeremy Corbyn triumphing in the Labour leadership election.
  
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• Teenager arrested over fatal stabbing in Newcastle

  05-09-2015 20:29
  
  A 17-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 42-year-old man suffered fatal stab wounds.
  
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• San Marino vs England match report: Wayne Rooney can't break goal record but Three Lions cruise to Euro 2016 with comfortable win

  05-09-2015 20:04
  Everyone was here to see the magical goal No 50 of Wayne Rooney’s England career: Kai Rooney, Colleen Rooney, a veritable who’s who of San Marino society, some people from the Football Association. That they all had to go home still awaiting this moment of history was, truth be told, a bit of an anti-climax.
  
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• Wayne Rooney Equals England Scoring Record

  05-09-2015 19:56
  
  Wayne Rooney became his country's joint top scorer of all-time as England qualified for the Euro 2016 finals with a 6-0 win over San Marino. The 29-year-old now has 49 goals in 106 games for the Three Lions - the exact same record as World Cup winner Sir Bobby Charlton. Rooney was withdrawn on 59 minutes in Serravalle but will have an opportunity to claim the outright record when England face Switzerland on Tuesday.
  
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• 'Golden ticket' winners enjoy new Borders rail line trip

  05-09-2015 18:56
  
  Hundreds of local residents have been treated to a ride on the new Borders Railway ahead of its public opening.
  
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• U2 call for 'humanitarian leadership' over refugee crisis

  05-09-2015 18:33
  
  Rock giants U2 have drawn attention to the plight of refugees and called for "humanitarian leadership" as they kicked off the European leg of their world tour.
  
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• Andy Burnham and Jeremy Corbyn say they would take Syrian refugees into their homes

  05-09-2015 18:30
  
  Labour leadership candidates Andy Burnham and Jeremy Corbyn have said they would invite Syrian refugees to stay in their homes.
  
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• Train station toilets making up to £2.3 million by charging desperate travellers to spend a penny

  05-09-2015 18:28
  
  Toilets charging a desperate public to relieve themselves have brought train stations millions of pounds in extra income, it has been revealed.
  
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• Body of 64-year-old hiker found in Snowdonia

  05-09-2015 18:25
  
  The body of a 64-year-old hiker has been found in Snowdonia.
  
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• The Danish Girl review: Eddie Redmayne in a sensitive transgender story that lacks the expected emotional kick

  05-09-2015 18:23
  
  In British films, when men dress as women it’s invariably a source of pantomime-style mirth, but there is very little Widow Twankey-slapstick about Tom Hooper’s new feature. The Danish Girl (which just premiered in Venice) is a delicately crafted, sad and strangely muted story. Its main character is Danish artist Einar Wegener, who feels that he is a woman trapped in a man’s body.
  
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• Vladmir Putin admits supporting President Assad in Syrian civil war

  05-09-2015 18:18
  
  The Russian President Vladimir Putin has given his biggest admission yet on the extent of Moscow's involvement in the Syrian civil war – saying "serious" training and equipment are being provided to the Syrian army by Russia.
  
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• Osborne: migrant crisis must be tackled at source in Syria

  05-09-2015 18:18
  
  By Nick Tattersall ANKARA (Reuters) - Britain and Europe must find a way to tackle the conflict in Syria to stem a migrant crisis as well as provide asylum to those genuinely fleeing persecution, Britain's finance minister said on Saturday. "You've got to deal with the problem at source, which is this evil Assad regime and the ISIL (Islamic State) terrorists, and you need a comprehensive plan for a more stable, peaceful Syria," George Osborne told Reuters in an interview. "A huge challenge of co
  
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• Dozens Of Brits Injured In Swiss Bus Crash

  05-09-2015 18:16
  
  Dozens of British holidaymakers have been treated in hospital after their coach was involved in a crash in Switzerland. A spokesman for the coach's operator - Welsh firm, Edwards - said the majority of its 39 passengers were discharged through the night and have been staying at a five-star hotel. A Foreign Office spokesman said: "There has been a multiple vehicle accident in Switzerland.
  
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• Damon Wayans calls Bill Cosby's accusers 'unrapeable b***hes' on radio show

  05-09-2015 18:13
  
  Comedian Damon Wayans has defended Bill Cosby saying that the women who accused him of sexual assault are "unrapeable b***hes".
  
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• Rugby-England beat Ireland 21-13 in final warm up

  05-09-2015 18:07
  
  By Mitch Phillips LONDON (Reuters) - England completed their preparations with a 21-13 victory over Ireland on Saturday, putting them in great heart for their World Cup opener against Fiji back at Twickenham in 13 days but leaving the Irish to deal with a second successive defeat. England scored two early tries through wingers Jonny May and Anthony Watson to lead 12-3 at the break and though Ireland briefly got close with a Paul O'Connell try early in the second half, the hosts deservedly closed
  
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• Why does an iPhone ringtone make ants run in a circle?

  05-09-2015 18:04
  
  A curious video showing a group of ants racing in circles around an iPhone as it rings has gone viral this week, sparking a host of theories as to what could have caused the bizarre phenomenon.
  
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• 'Syria-bound' woman charged with child abduction refuses to stand before judge

  05-09-2015 18:00
  
  A woman who allegedly planned to travel to Syria with her four children has refused to stand before a judge as she appeared in court charged with child abduction.
  
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• Refugee crisis must be dealt with at source with 'evil' Assad regime and Isis, George Osborne says

  05-09-2015 17:59
  
  George Osborne has said that the refugee crisis must be dealt with “at source” by targeting both the “evil” Assad regime and Isis.
  
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• Revellers flock to end-of-season End of the Road festival

  05-09-2015 17:48
  
  Thousands of end-of-season festival-goers were rewarded with glimpses of warm summer sunshine for the 10th anniversary End of the Road Festival this weekend.
  
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• Your cats don't care about you as much as you'd like to think

  05-09-2015 17:47
  
  Cats, you know 'em. They roam around your home aloof and determined to live how they please. The giving and receiving of affection takes place on their terms. Their rejection can make a pet owner, otherwise accustomed to the unconditional allegiance of a dog, feel like an emotionally needy human crying out, "Why won't you just love me?!"
  
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• England vs Ireland match report: Jonny May and Anthony Watson score as Red Rose win hard-fought clash in final World Cup warm-up

  05-09-2015 17:45
  Speedsters Jonny May and Anthony Watson revved England closer to World Cup gear with first-half tries that proved enough to overwhelm Ireland 21-13 at Twickenham.
  
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• Queen attends Highland Games in Braemar as longest-reign milestone approaches

  05-09-2015 17:36
  
  The Queen has made her annual appearance at a famous Highland Games today as she prepares to become Britain's longest-reigning monarch.
  
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• British sailor killed in round-the-world yacht race 'died doing what he loved'

  05-09-2015 17:32
  
  A British sailor killed adjusting a sail as he competed in a round-the-world yacht trip would have died with a "grin on his face because he was doing exactly what he loved", his friend said today.
  
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• Hayao Miyazaki is opening a nature sanctuary for children on a remote Japanese island

  05-09-2015 17:31
  
  Legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki has revealed his plans to build a nature sanctuary for children on a remote Japanese island.
  
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