General news

• Ben Cauley: Trumpeter who played with Stax band the Bar-Kays and survived the plane crash that killed Otis Redding

  24-09-2015 23:41
  
  The trumpeter Ben Cauley was a member of the Stax group the Bar-Kays and the only survivor of the 1967 plane crash that killed most of his bandmates along with Otis Redding. And while he has long been known as the sole survivor of the crash, he was also a survivor in many other ways. He had struggled with health issues for years, including a stroke he suffered in 1989, but he persevered through it all and continued to play his trumpet.
  
  Read more

• Bees in the Rocky Mountains are evolving shorter tongues to adapt to warmer summers

  24-09-2015 23:30
  
  Warmer summers are causing bees in the Rocky Mountains of the US to have shorter tongues, scientists have discovered.
  
  Read more

• Sir Kenneth Stowe: Assistant to three prime ministers noted for his work on the Lib-Lab pact and the Ulster peace process

  24-09-2015 23:19
  Kenneth Stowe was the dedicated and diligent civil servant who orchestrated Harold Wilson's resignation as Prime Minister in 1976, negotiated the Lib-Lab Pact for his successor James Callaghan, put out the feelers that began the Northern Ireland peace process under Margaret Thatcher, and, with Lord (Norman) Fowler at the Department of Health, got the “Don't Die of Ignorance” campaign on HIV/Aids off the ground.
  
  Read more

• Prisoner admits slashing serial rapist and murderer Peter Tobin in the throat and face

  24-09-2015 23:14
  
  A prisoner has admitted slashing serial killer Peter Tobin with a razor blade in prison, saying that Tobin had been getting on his nerves for months "with his attitude towards his offences."
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Acid Attack Victim: It's Changed My Life

  24-09-2015 23:05
  
  Carla Whitlock fears she may never see through her right eye again after she was attacked outside the Turtle Bay restaurant in Guildhall Square, Southampton, on Friday. Ms Whitlock added: "I'm okay considering what has happened.
  
  Read more

• Redcar steelworks 'stands on the brink' with vital supplies left marooned on the North Sea

  24-09-2015 22:54
  
  The Redcar steelworks stands on the brink of disaster today while three foreign ships laden with thousands of tons of vital supplies lie anchored just a few miles away in the North Sea.
  
  Read more

• Will Andy Burnham be given free rein by Jeremy Corbyn as Labour's shadow Home Secretary?

  24-09-2015 22:31
  
  If things had gone to plan, Andy Burnham would have been basking in plaudits next Tuesday for an inspirational call to arms in his first speech as leader to the Labour Party’s conference.
  
  Read more

• Syria civil war: Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama will meet to discuss conflict

  24-09-2015 22:27
  
  Amid suspicions in some Western nations that Vladimir Putin is using the Syrian conflict to flex Moscow’s military might as he builds up the Russian presence in the country, Barack Obama and Mr Putin will meet in New York on Monday to discuss the crisis.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Obama, Cameron spoke about refugees, Syria - White House

  24-09-2015 22:15
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron spoke by telephone on Thursday about the global refugee crisis and the situation in Syria, the White House said in a statement. Obama and Cameron reaffirmed their commitment to defeat Islamic State, reach a political transition to end the conflict in Syria and the need to focus on climate change ahead of the upcoming international conference in Paris. (Reporting by Julia Edwards; Editing by Sandra Maler)
  
  Read more

• Volkswagen emissions scandal: Beleaguered carmaker begins executive clear-out in bid to make 'fresh start'

  24-09-2015 22:14
  
  Volkswagen, the beleaguered German car maker, will tomorrow start firing people it holds responsible for the emissions scandal which has engulfed the company.
  
  Read more

• David Beckham urges world leaders to transform children's lives

  24-09-2015 22:12
  
  Former England footballer David Beckham has urged world leaders to transform the lives of millions of children by putting them at the centre of their development agenda.
  
  Read more

• Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain attend The Martian premiere

  24-09-2015 22:02
  
  Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain and Kate Mara were among the star-studded cast who dazzled on the red carpet at The Martian's European premiere in Leicester Square.
  
  Read more

• Volkswagen scandal: Angela Merkel's government accused of being 'in bed' with the German car industry

  24-09-2015 22:00
  
  Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has faced charges of being “in bed” with the German car industry and of deliberately ignoring European Union demands to outlaw the kind of car computer software which manipulated the levels of Volkswagen diesel exhaust emissions.
  
  Read more

• Scotland's decision to ban GM crops could create impression country is 'anti-science', experts warn

  24-09-2015 21:59
  Scotland’s decision to ban genetically modified crops could damage its ability to attract the best scientists, stunt the growth of businesses and lead to the country being perceived as “anti-science”, according to one of the country’s most respected academic institutions.
  
  Read more

• Volkswagen emissions scandal: UK to conduct its own inquiry into vehicle testing as BMW hit by fallout

  24-09-2015 21:57
  
  The UK is to launch its own investigation into vehicle emissions testing, following the Volkswagen scandal. The UK regulator, the Vehicle Certification Agency, will work with car makers to re-run lab tests where necessary and compare them with “real-world” road tests.
  
  Read more

• Government 'Looking At' Privatising Channel 4

  24-09-2015 21:57
  
  The Government is looking at privatising broadcaster Channel 4, documents accidentally made public suggest.
  
  Read more

• Magistrates let guilty petty criminals off without punishment to protect them from 'tax on justice'

  24-09-2015 21:56
  
  Magistrates across Britain are letting guilty petty criminals off with no punishment in order to protect them from controversial new court fees, The Independent has learnt. 
  
  Read more

• Comic writer Dave Hill: 'Creating a ringtone for Donald Trump was the assignment of a lifetime'

  24-09-2015 21:47
  
  The year was 2004. Both NBC's The Apprentice and really fun mobile-phone ringtones had taken an unsuspecting public by storm. I had managed to elude both: I kept my phone on vibrate and I was ready to stare in bemusement at anyone even thinking of telling me I had been “fired”.
  
  Read more

• Eviction of disabled man to make way for new homes was 'social cleansing', say protesters

  24-09-2015 21:42
  
  A disabled father was woken by the sound of shattering glass as bailiffs broke in to evict him to make way for a new housing development in what protesters have branded an example of “social cleansing”.
  
  Read more

• Flagship right-to-buy plan 'could be implemented voluntarily'

  24-09-2015 21:41
  
  David Cameron's flagship plan to extend the right to buy to 1.3 million housing association tenants could be implemented voluntarily under plans to be considered by ministers.
  
  Read more

• 9,000-year-old head one of earliest known discoveries of human decapitation

  24-09-2015 21:38
  
  Scientists have shed light on one of the earliest known discoveries of human decapitation.
  
  Read more

• Ben Carson receives spike in donations after anti-Muslim comments

  24-09-2015 21:32
  
  Consider it the Donald Trump affect: Shout incendiary comments to the press, defend them, receive backlash, say you were taken out of context, then watch your support skyrocket.
  
  Read more

• At least two dead as 'Ride the Ducks’ vehicle involved on Seattle's Aurora Bridge

  24-09-2015 21:24
  
  At least two people were killed and nine other seriously injured in a collision between a bus and a ‘Ride the Ducks’ vehicle on the Aurora Bridge in Seattle.
  
  Read more

• Lack of affordable housing blamed for 50% drop in young homeowners

  24-09-2015 21:16
  
  The number of homeowners in England and Wales has dropped by nearly a quarter of a million over the last five years, latest Government figures reveal.
  
  Read more

• Could making the Tube go slower actually make it more efficient?

  24-09-2015 21:09
  
  An academic study of public transport in London has suggested that Tube bosses should be wary of their trains travelling too quickly.
  
  Read more

• Strictly fans get chance to score dances with paddle emojis

  24-09-2015 21:08
  
  Twitter is giving Strictly Come Dancing fans the chance to embrace their inner judge even more, by launching a range of Strictly emojis.
  
  Read more

• Ukraine crisis: Former separatist leader who fell foul of the Kremlin maybe be sidelined - but he will not be silenced

  24-09-2015 20:53
  After his enforced stay, along with his family, in one of the intimate underground cells of the State Security Ministry of the Donetsk Peoples’ Republic, Andrei Purgin was enjoying the sunshine as he sat in a café describing what has gone wrong with the Ukrainian revolution and the “ruinous policies” being pursued by those who overthrew him.
  
  Read more

• Refugee crisis: Tough decisions needed to avoid a 'surge of the extreme right' across Europe, warn EU leaders

  24-09-2015 20:37
  
  Europe’s refugee crisis is still far from settled, and tough decisions need to be made to ensure there is not a “surge of the extreme right” across the continent, EU leaders have warned.
  
  Read more

• Court overturns ban on student loans for resident migrants

  24-09-2015 20:31
  
  A lifeline has been offered to migrants who have been living legally in the UK for years but refused permission for a student loan to take up a university place.
  
  Read more

• Science book prize won by lone female author for the first time in its 27-year history

  24-09-2015 20:30
  
  One woman’s global journey documenting the environmental changes caused by humans has won this year’s science book prize – the first time in its 27-year history it has been won by a lone female author.
  
  Read more

• The UK's happiest places have been revealed

  24-09-2015 20:17
  
  People who live in Northern Ireland have labelled themselves the happiest in the UK.
  
  Read more

• Government document considers Channel 4 'privatisation options'

  24-09-2015 19:56
  
  Proposals to privatise broadcaster Channel 4 are to be considered, a sensitive Government document suggests.
  
  Read more

• David Cameron is right to miss the annual windbaggery of a UN gathering

  24-09-2015 19:54
  
  How dare he? The United Nations is turning 70 and just about any national leader you can name will be taking his or her turn at the lectern in the general debate next week at the start of this year’s General Assembly to extol world peace and prosperity.  David Cameron will not  be among them.
  
  Read more

• VW Emissions Scandal: UK Begins Investigation

  24-09-2015 19:52
  
  The Government is to re-test cars to compare their lab results with real-world driving emissions following the Volkswagen scandal. Patrick McLoughlin's announcement comes hours after Germany claimed that VW had manipulated emissions tests in Europe as well as the US. The Transport Secretary confirmed the Vehicle Certification Agency is working with manufacturers "to ensure this issue is not industry wide".
  
  Read more

• Department for Transport to re-test UK cars amid Volkswagen scandal

  24-09-2015 19:40
  
  The Department for Transport is to re-test cars in the UK to compare their laboratory results with real-world driving emissions following the Volkswagen scandal.
  
  Read more

• Sir Elton John receives phone call from the real President Putin

  24-09-2015 19:37
  
  Sir Elton John may have actually received a phone call from Vladimir Putin weeks after he was contacted by a Russian duo and fooled into believing he was speaking with the Russian President.
  
  Read more

• Syria civil war: Kurdish leader says collapse of Assad regime 'would be a disaster' despite its treatment of his people

  24-09-2015 19:32
  The overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad by Isis and rebel groups that are affiliated to al-Qaeda would be a calamity for the world, says the Syrian Kurdish leader Saleh Muslim.
  
  Read more

• 717 dead in horrifying crush at hajj pilgrimage in Mecca

  24-09-2015 19:28
  
  A horrifying crush at the annual hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca has killed more than 700 people.
  
  Read more

• Trams, maps and Bargain Buys: £12.49m of MSPs' expenses published

  24-09-2015 19:25
  
  Only the former transport minister who signed off the billion-pound Edinburgh tram scheme uses it regularly, the latest MSPs expenses show.
  
  Read more

• Hajj stampede: Saudi officials suggest worshippers are to blame for crush that killed 717 pilgrims

  24-09-2015 19:12
  
  Saudi authorities have sought to exempt themselves from criticism following the deaths of 717 pilgrims in a stampede during the annual Hajj pilgrimage, with officials suggesting worshippers themselves were to blame for the crush.
  
  Read more

• The Government is looking at privatising Channel 4, leaked documents show

  24-09-2015 19:03
  
  The Government is looking at privatising public broadcaster Channel 4, leaked official documents appear to show.
  
  Read more

• Police inquiry starts after man shot near primary school

  24-09-2015 19:03
  
  A major police investigation has been launched into the shooting of a man near a primary school.
  
  Read more

• Photographs from John Lennon's final interview are going on sale

  24-09-2015 19:02
  
  John Lennon did not know it, of course, but it would be the last interview he ever gave.
  
  Read more

• Jeremy Corbyn dismisses Kerry McCarthy's call for meat eaters to be treated like smokers with public ad campaigns

  24-09-2015 18:47
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has reassured meat eaters by saying he will not be supporting an idea by his shadow environment secretary to introduce public ad campaigns to encourage people to go vegetarian.
  
  Read more

• Pope Francis in the US: pontiff spotted seemingly asleep during first mass

  24-09-2015 18:43
  
  Spare a thought for Pope Francis, who seemed to be struggling to keep his eyes open during his first official visit to the US.
  
  Read more

• Hajj stampede: Fears grow for British pilgrims in Mecca as Foreign Office 'urgently seeks information' about their locations

  24-09-2015 18:41
  Fears are mounting for the lives of British Muslims on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, as the death toll of the stampede that has killed at least 717 continues to rise.
  
  Read more

• Professor Dame Sally Davies admits central role in Alzheimergate

  24-09-2015 18:27
  
  Professor Dame Sally Davies, the Department of Health's chief medical officer, has admitted to being at the centre of "Alzheimergate" claims of government interference in the communication of important research.
  
  Read more

• Rebekah Brooks was on list of journalists who worked with convicted private investigator

  24-09-2015 18:26
  
  Rebekah Brooks was on a list of journalists believed to have requested information from a private detective who was later convicted of illegally “blagging” private information, it has emerged.
  
  Read more

• Call for payday loans overhaul after teenager killed himself on the day Wonga emptied his bank account

  24-09-2015 18:23
  
  A coroner has called for an overhaul of the rules on payday loans after a mentally ill teenager killed himself on the same day that lender Wonga emptied his bank account, leaving him destitute.
  
  Read more

• Shaun Ryder: I'm enjoying life more than ever

  24-09-2015 18:13
  
  Happy Mondays star Shaun Ryder says there is no chance of him slowing down as he prepares to take to the stage again saying he is enjoying life more than ever.
  
  Read more

Follow @GeneralnewsUK on Twitter!