General news

• Scottish nationalists set out 'triggers' for new independence vote - Sunday Herald

  12-09-2015 23:39
  
  Scottish nationalist leader Nicola Sturgeon will include triggers for a second independence referendum in the party's manifesto for the 2016 Scottish election, the Sunday Herald reported. The Sunday Herald said that Sturgeon had told the newspaper in an interview that the 2016 manifesto would set out triggers for a second independence referendum, though it did not immediately supply a direct quote from Sturgeon. British Prime Minister David Cameron ruled out another independence referendum despi
  
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• General Theory of Relativity explained: The beautiful simplicity (and weird time sags) of Einstein's 100-year-old masterpiece

  12-09-2015 23:20
  In his youth, Albert Einstein spent a year loafing aimlessly. You don't get anywhere by not "wasting" time – something, unfortunately, which the parents of teenagers tend frequently to forget. He was in Pavia. He had joined his family having abandoned his studies in Germany, unable to endure the rigours of his high school there. It was the beginning of the 20th century, and in Italy the beginning of its industrial revolution. His father, an engineer, was installing the first electrical pow
  
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• Protesters gather as Spanish town of Tordesillas prepares for bull-spearing event

  12-09-2015 23:06
  The posters for this week’s carnival are up. A large travelling funfair has erected long lines of go-karts and bouncy castles. But, given the controversy around one of the highlights of the festival, how much conviviality will there be in the town of Tordesillas, Spain?
  
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• Refugee crisis: Plans to agree quotas to relocate 160,000 asylum-seekers draws rage from Eastern European countries

  12-09-2015 22:58
  Eastern European countries are expected to vent their rage at a meeting of EU home affairs ministers in Brussels aimed at agreeing quotas to relocate 160,000 asylum-seekers across Europe.
  
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• Corbyn Seeks Unity Amid Frontbench Exodus

  12-09-2015 22:53
  
  Jeremy Corbyn is beginning the task of forming his shadow cabinet as he called for "unity" and said he aimed to lead a Labour "fightback". The veteran left-wing MP won a landslide victory in the party's leadership race with almost 60% of the vote - trouncing mainstream rivals Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall. But the new leader suffered a setback soon after his win as several senior Labour figures, including Ms Cooper and Ms Kendall, said they will not serve on Labour's frontbench.
  
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• Refugee crisis: Desperate Iraqi Yazidis join exodus to Europe

  12-09-2015 22:50
  
  Khatab’s eyes darted around the torch-lit room as he speaks. His family, part of Iraq’s Yazidi minority, sits around him inside the shell of a half-built home as darkness falls.
  
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• UK exporting drone components worth hundreds of millions in bid to regain ground in global arms race

  12-09-2015 22:45
  
  Britain is exporting drone components worth hundreds of millions pounds to countries that include Saudi Arabia and South Korea, as it tries to regain lost ground in a global arms race to meet burgeoning demand for lethal remote-controlled military aircraft, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.
  
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• Call centres are the nation's biggest gripe, according to new research

  12-09-2015 22:42
  
  It is in danger of replacing “the cheque is in the post” as one of the great lies of our time. “Your call is important to us. All of our operators are busy, please stay on the line. We will answer you shortly.”
  
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• Britain's drone strike in Syria: These executions are a mark of tyranny

  12-09-2015 22:41
  
  The lack of public response to the British government ordering the assassination by pilotless drones of two British citizens, Reyaad Khan and Rahul Amin, is alarming but scarcely surprising. The two Isis members were killed outside Raqqa in Syria because they were allegedly planning attacks in Britain, though the nature of the threat they posed remains a secret. Their deaths were never going to shock many people in Britain, given IS’s ghastly record for carrying out ritual murders, rapes a
  
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• Children should not be allowed smartphones until they are 16, says school behaviour expert

  12-09-2015 22:38
  Fears over the disruption to classrooms from pupils using smartphones have prompted the Government to commission a review into the way technology affects behaviour in schools.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn: Tough days ahead for Labour leader amid resignations, PMQs and resistance within the party

  12-09-2015 22:32
  It is 128 days since Ed Miliband announced his resignation as Labour leader, but in case, after four months of gruelling campaigning, his successor Jeremy Corbyn feels he has earned a break, he is to be disappointed. True, he has pulled out of The Andrew Marr Show today, in what should have been one of his first major interviews as leader. But there are other events over the next few weeks that Mr Corbyn simply cannot avoid – as well as more politically dangerous elections and referendums
  
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• Elderly being robbed of millions each year by their own families, says new research

  12-09-2015 22:30
  
  Elderly people are robbed of cash and assets worth more than £78m each year, and in most cases the culprits are members of their own family, according to new research by Action on Elder Abuse (AEA).
  
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• Daniel Kawczynski: Tory MP considers legal action after 'patronising' BBC Newsnight interview

  12-09-2015 22:24
  
  A Conservative MP is considering legal action and is to make a formal complaint following what he calls a “rude, aggressive and patronising” interview on BBC2’s Newsnight.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn's Cabinet: Labour leader picks new team

  12-09-2015 22:16
  
  Jeremy Corbyn is understood to want Caroline Flint, the Blairite shadow environment secretary, as part of his Shadow Cabinet in an effort to unite a factionalised Labour Party.
  
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• Planned rail bridge connecting Manchester's Victoria and Piccadilly stations will cause 'catastrophic damage' to heritage site, say critics

  12-09-2015 22:14
  When the world’s first passenger railway line opened between Liverpool and Manchester on 15 September 1830, it sparked an explosion in inter-city train travel and helped northern England to become the engine room of the Industrial Revolution. Now, 185 years later, the station at the end of that line has become the focus of a legal dispute that threatens to derail plans by Chancellor George Osborne to build a 21st-century Northern Powerhouse.
  
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• MoJ spends £14m on delayed privatisation of court fine collection before appointed firm has managed to chase a single debtor

  12-09-2015 22:10
  The Ministry of Justice will have spent nearly £14m on the heavily delayed privatisation of court fine collection, before the US firm it has asked to become its in-house bailiff has chased a single debtor.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn pleas for unity fails as Labour frontbenchers sign off

  12-09-2015 22:01
  
  Jeremy Corbyn will spend his first full day as Labour leader trying to hold together a fracturing parliamentary party after his stunning victory in which he won nearly 60 per cent of the vote in the first round. The result, just before midday, triggered a string of Shadow Cabinet and frontbench resignations, despite Mr Corbyn’s appeal for unity and his pledge to field a top team from all quarters of the party.
  
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• Refugee crisis: Canada's chance to rediscover its generosity

  12-09-2015 22:00
  
  Whatever happened to Canada, the land of compassion, the land so decent it verged on plain boring, the land that selflessly led the world, providing troops for peacekeeping missions abroad and repeatedly flinging open its doors to desperate refugees fleeing less fortunate nations?
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn's win shows there is an appetite for change in British politics

  12-09-2015 22:00
  
  The election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader is the most extraordinary event in British politics since the universal franchise. Whatever else it does, it sends a powerful message to the establishment that there is an appetite for doing politics differently. An uninspiring field of conventional candidates has been swept aside by an insurgent who breaks all the rules.
  
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• Interest rates must go up some time - and it could be very soon

  12-09-2015 22:00
  
  There is one economic issue this week and one only. It is whether the Federal Reserve will increase US interest rates on Thursday. If it does, that would be the first upward move since June 2006, and a giant step along the path to normal interest rates, not just in the United States but elsewhere. It would signify the beginning of the end of ultra-cheap money.
  
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• From football to the monarchy to the armed forces: Why do us Brits always think we're best?

  12-09-2015 22:00
  
  From whichever angle you inspected the proceedings, it was a very good week for the English men’s football team. Not only did our heroes – to borrow the vocabulary of the tabloids – qualify for next year’s European tournament with an effortlessness not seen in decades, but Wayne Rooney’s 50th international goal saw off a record held by Sir Bobby Charlton for more than 40 years. Doubtless all manner of alarm bells will be sounded between now and next summer – t
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn victory speech: What he said - and what he meant

  12-09-2015 21:42
  
  What he said: “Can I start by thanking everyone who took part in this election, this huge democratic exercise of more than half a million people all across this country. It showed our party and our movement, passionate, democratic, diverse, united and absolutely determined in our quest for a decent and better society that is possible for all.”
  
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• Elton John urges Ukraine to 'wake up' over gay rights

  12-09-2015 21:05
  
  Ukraine’s revolution kindled hopes of a brave and free society. But some old hatreds die hard, gay pride marches came under attack this Summer and sexual minorities continue to live under the shadow of prejudice and discrimination.
  
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• Manchester United vs Liverpool match report: Anthony Martial's brilliant goal caps off dominant display by Louis van Gaal's side

  12-09-2015 21:01
  Anthony Martial wasted no time writing himself into Manchester United folklore as he stepped off the bench to score a stunning winner on debut against Liverpool.
  
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• India blast: At least 89 killed after gas explosion in packed restaurant ignites illegal store of mining detonators

  12-09-2015 20:57
  Scores of people died when a gas cylinder exploded at a packed restaurant in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, setting off an illegal store of mining detonators nearby, police said.
  
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• Thousands join Scottish vigils in support of refugees

  12-09-2015 19:57
  
  Thousands of people have taken part in vigils across Scotland to show solidarity with refugees fleeing persecution and conflict.
  
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• RWC 2015: The key to All Black success? A belief in faith, duty and love - Michael Calvin

  12-09-2015 19:31
  
  When Richie McCaw was formally presented with his first All Blacks jersey he buried his face in it for a full minute, as if savouring its scent and texture. He resembled a cross between a child finding solace in a comfort blanket, and an awestruck pilgrim receiving a sacrament.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn begins appointing unifying shadow cabinet

  12-09-2015 19:31
  
  Newly-elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has begun the task of putting together a unifying shadow cabinet by announcing that Rosie Winterton will keep the crucial chief whip role.
  
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• Refugees are welcome: Watch the moment thousands of demonstrators arrive at Downing Street

  12-09-2015 19:27
  
  Refugees are welcome, thousands of people have emphatically said at London's migrant solidarity march. The demonstration, organised by Stop the War Coalition, was one of many planned across Europe.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn acknowledges 'enormous amount' of work ahead for Labour party

  12-09-2015 19:24
  
  Jeremy Corbyn acknowledged the “enormous amount” of work Labour has in the years ahead at a victory party for his team of volunteers.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn's campaign agent John McDonnell tells volunteers: 'You've changed the world'

  12-09-2015 19:19
  
  Jeremy Corbyn’s 16,000 volunteers have been told they have “changed the world” at an after-party following the Labour leadership result.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn won a landslide with full Labour party members, not just £3 supporters

  12-09-2015 19:08
  
  Jeremy Corbyn overwhelmingly won the Labour leadership election not only amongst party supporters but also full members and affiliate trade unionists, a breakdown of his party’s leadership results show.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn: New Labour leader aiming to appoint cabinet as early as 14 September

  12-09-2015 19:04
  
  Jeremy Corbyn is aiming to appoint his shadow cabinet as early as 14 September, his team have said.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn: Visiting the Labour leader's favourite restaurant - Gaby's Deli

  12-09-2015 18:55
  
  Jeremy Corbyn’s favourite restaurateur has a message for him: “Look after the small businesses and you’ll be okay.” The advice, which The Independent on Sunday is happy to pass on, comes from Gaby Elyahou, the owner of Gaby’s Deli on the thronging Charing Cross Road, in the heart of the capital’s theatreland.
  
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• Watching porn does not cause negative attitudes to women, study finds

  12-09-2015 18:54
  
  The average porn user may have more egalitarian views towards women than non-users, a contentious new study has suggested.
  
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• London solidarity with refugees march: People from all backgrounds join tens of thousands in show of support

  12-09-2015 18:37
  
  They came in their tens of thousands. Ordinary Londoners, families with face-painted children, young couples, pensioners and students with homemade placards.
  
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• Refugee crisis: Germany prepares for the arrival of another 40,000 new refugees

  12-09-2015 18:29
  
  Around 40,000 refugees are expected to arrive in Germany in the next few days, doubling the number who entered the country last weekend.
  
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• Refugee crisis: Germany preapres for the arrival of another 40,000 new refugees

  12-09-2015 18:29
  
  Around 40,000 refugees are expected to arrive in Germany in the next few days, doubling the number who entered the country last weekend.
  
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• Tom Watson: In the pub with Labour's new Deputy Leader

  12-09-2015 18:18
  
  Of the friends, family and supporters who greeted Tom Watson when he entered the Old Star pub in central London an hour or so after being  elected Labour’s new Deputy Leader, the thumbs-up he received from one man standing at the bar was particularly significant.
  
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• Indian photo series highlights plight of gay people

  12-09-2015 18:17
  
  A photographer has shared a series of photos illustrating the persecution many same-sex couples still face in the world.
  
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• Aldi’s response to viral complaint really takes the biscuit

  12-09-2015 17:57
  
  Responding to customer complaints is a delicate matter for any business.
  
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• Two Britons killed in India train derailment

  12-09-2015 17:43
  
  Two Britons have died after a train derailment in India, the Foreign Office has confirmed.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party is a 'national security risk', Defence Secretary claims

  12-09-2015 17:41
  
  The Defence Secretary has claimed that the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn is a risk to national security that will “hurt working people”.
  
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• The smallest flat in Britain costs £46.5K per year

  12-09-2015 17:35
  
  A 72 sq/ft one bedroom flat is being advertised as a "smartly arranged studio apartment" and rented for over £46,000 per year.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn is going to completely change the way PMQs works

  12-09-2015 17:33
  
  The new Labour leader hinted he would reshape how the weekly sessions work to "share out" questions with fellow MPs in his first interview after victory.
  
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• New Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn considers frontbench options

  12-09-2015 17:25
  
  Jeremy Corbyn is drawing up a new-look Labour frontbench team after his seismic victory in the party's leadership race sparked a flurry of senior resignations.
  
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• Navy 'will not publish Afghan murder inquiry report'

  12-09-2015 17:07
  
  The Navy is not planning to publish the findings of an internal inquiry into the killing of an Afghan fighter by a Royal Marine, according to reports.
  
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• People review the iPhone 6s without realising they are holding an original iPhone

  12-09-2015 17:06
  
  With the announcement of the iPhone 6s, Jimmy Kimmel wanted to see what people would think if they were given the original iPhone, released in 2007, and told it was Apple's latest phone.
  
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• EU finmins agree 'principles' of future relations with Britain

  12-09-2015 16:59
  
  Further integration among euro zone countries should not restrict trade in the European Union's single market, the bloc's finance ministers agreed on Saturday, an important pledge for Britain as it prepares to vote on whether to remain in the EU. As the euro zone plans tighter links for its economies and financial services, Britain wants to make sure that it is not left out of future discussions, especially on decisions that may affect the City's financial industry and British interests. British
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn urges Government to aid 'desperate' refugees

  12-09-2015 16:49
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has addressed tens of thousands of people at a rally supporting the rights of refugees in his first act as Labour leader.
  
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