General news

• Labour shadow cabinet warned not to oppose Jeremy Corbyn over Syria

  26-11-2015 21:36
  
  Labour's top team has been warned not to oppose Jeremy Corbyn over military action in Syria after the party leader said he could not support RAF air strikes against Islamic State (IS) extremists.
  
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• Bargain hunters braced for action with '£1bn' Black Friday battle set to begin

  26-11-2015 21:00
  
  Consumers could be about to spend their way to the UK's first £1 billion online shopping day as retailers brace themselves for Black Friday.
  
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• Corbyn: I Can't Back PM's Syria Airstrikes

  26-11-2015 20:47
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has written to Labour MPs to say that he cannot back David Cameron's proposals for airstrikes in Syria. The Labour leader said while he is "determined to see the defeat" of Islamic State, "the issue now is whether what the Prime Minister is proposing strengthens, or undermines, our national security". In his letter to MPs, he added: "I do not believe that the Prime Minister today made a convincing case that extending UK bombing to Syria would meet that crucial test.
  
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• Man Gets Life For Drowning Grandson In Bath

  26-11-2015 20:37
  
  Stewart Greene, 65, killed Alex Robinson at his Lincoln home while Alex's mother went to buy a turkey. He then rolled a cigarette and waited for the family to come home, Lincoln Crown Court heard. Alex's mother Joanne Greene returned to find her father sitting calmly on the settee.
  
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• Network Rail 'not meeting 90% punctuality target'

  26-11-2015 20:32
  
  Network Rail (NR) has admitted it is failing its own punctuality target.
  
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• 13-month-old Poppi Worthington's death 'presents worrying picture'

  26-11-2015 19:03
  
  The sudden, unexplained death of a 13-month-old girl who may have suffered a sexual assault presented a "very, very worrying picture," a court heard today.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn tells Labour MPs he cannot back Syria air strikes on IS

  26-11-2015 18:50
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has told Labour MPs that he cannot support RAF air strikes against Islamic State in Syria.
  
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• British judge delays trial of RBS shareholder lawsuit to 2017

  26-11-2015 18:20
  
  By Kirstin Ridley LONDON (Reuters) - A High Court judge on Thursday delayed the trial in a drawn-out battle between Royal Bank of Scotland and shareholders, criticising the lender and its legal advisers for being "unfocused" and swamped by 25 million documents. Thousands of shareholders are claiming around 4 billion pounds in compensation and alleging that RBS's 12 billion pound ($18 bln) investor cash call in 2008 - launched just before the bank's near collapse - contained misstatements and omi
  
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• UK Set For Snow And Storms This Weekend

  26-11-2015 18:13
  
  Some parts of the UK are set to see snow and strong winds this weekend. Friday night may also see snow settling in low levels of northern Scotland for a time. On Sunday night, a nasty storm may pass to the north of the UK, bringing the risk of very strong winds to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
  
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• Britain building consensus for military action in Syria - Hammond

  26-11-2015 18:08
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - British foreign minister Philip Hammond said on Thursday he felt the government was building a consensus among lawmakers for military action in Syria after Prime Minister David Cameron made the case for extending air strikes there. In an interview with BBC television, Hammond said: "From what I've seen of the response to the prime minister's statement today it feels to me as though we are building a consensus now for military action in Syria." (Reporting by William James, edit
  
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• UK public-spending plan has 50-50 chance of success -think tank

  26-11-2015 18:07
  
  By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister George Osborne's latest spending plans have a roughly 50 percent chance of success, the head of the country's non-partisan Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank said on Thursday. Osborne stuck to his commitment of turning a budget deficit into a surplus by 2020 in a mid-year budget update on Wednesday, confounding predictions that he might have to rein in his ambitions for putting public finances in the black. This is not like
  
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• Bargain hunters tipped to break £1bn barrier in Black Friday bonanza

  26-11-2015 18:06
  
  Consumers could be about to spend their way to the UK's first £1 billion online shopping day as retailers brace themselves for Black Friday.
  
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• North signs new Northampton deal

  26-11-2015 17:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Wales wing George North signs a new contract with Premiership club Northampton Saints.
  
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• Duffy's former London house collapses

  26-11-2015 17:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A Georgian house once owned by the singer Duffy collapses into a pile of rubble in south-west London.
  
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• Cult leader tells of 'satellite warfare machine'

  26-11-2015 17:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A communist accused of presiding over a cult in London tells a court he can 'initiate' an "electronic satellite warfare machine" called Jackie.
  
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• 'Callous' man who drowned grandson, 9, in bath gets life sentence

  26-11-2015 17:45
  
  A "callous" and "selfish" man has been jailed for life after drowning his nine-year-old grandson in the bath.
  
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• 'Man Utd too rigid under Van Gaal'

  26-11-2015 17:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Manchester United are suffering from a "lack of freedom" under Louis van Gaal, says former club coach Rene Meulensteen.
  
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• Lesotho children's centre launch hears Prince Harry speak about losing mother

  26-11-2015 17:43
  
  Prince Harry has spoken of the "gaping hole" in his life following the death of his mother as his charity launched a landmark centre helping African orphans and other vulnerable youngsters.
  
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• Salmond's portrait unveiling criticised

  26-11-2015 17:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Former first minister Alex Salmond is criticised for unveiling a new portrait in Edinburgh on the day MPs discussed possible military action in Syria.
  
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• PM's Plan To Fight IS: Fantasy, Not Strategy

  26-11-2015 17:11
  
  David Cameron was laying out a much needed strategy for how so called Islamic State might be defeated. The carpet that vanished from beneath David Cameron's feet was embroidered with the colours of the Free Syrian Army and its "moderate allies". He is trusting the Joint Intelligence Committee which has told him that there are indeed 70,000 rebel fighters who could, in a wide sense, be described as "moderate".
  
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• Grandson killer jailed for drowning

  26-11-2015 17:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A man who drowned his nine-year-old grandson in the bath is jailed for life for the boy's murder.
  
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• Danish Firm Wins Prize To Build London Bridge

  26-11-2015 16:58
  
  A competition to design and construct London's first pedestrian and cyclists' bridge has been won by Danish firm Bystrup. The competition was organised by Wandsworth Council who were looking for a bridge to link Nine Elms, south of the river with Pimlico, to its north. Architect Graham Stirk, who headed the competition jury panel decided that Bystrup's design was the best of the 74 entries.
  
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• Queen and duke arrive for tour of Malta

  26-11-2015 16:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh arrive in Malta on Thursday for a three-day tour of the island they once lived on.
  
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• What is the UK doing about Syria?

  26-11-2015 16:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  What is the UK doing about Syria?
  
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• Benefit changes 'will leave 2.6 million families £1,600 a year worse off'

  26-11-2015 16:51
  
  The new Universal Credit system will mean a less generous benefit entitlement for working families, a respected economic think tank has said.
  
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• London Black Cabs Set To Take Contactless Payments From 2016

  26-11-2015 16:44
  
  'This is a very positive change for taxi drivers and for our customers. London is increasingly a cashless city'
  
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• BBC Three's 2016 online move 'could lose half a million viewers'

  26-11-2015 16:25
  
  BBC Three will be moved online next year - a change that could potentially lead to the loss of more than half a million viewers.
  
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• Nurseries warn over 30-hours pledge

  26-11-2015 16:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Nurseries say they will struggle to meet the 30-hour free childcare pledge for pre-school children.
  
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• Plans to regulate madrassas published

  26-11-2015 15:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The government has set out draft plans to regulate madrassas.
  
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• 10 Questions Answered On Syria Airstrikes

  26-11-2015 15:39
  
  Now that David Cameron has publicly laid out his case for launching air strikes in Syria, will the strategy actually help?
  
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• Victory for families in carers' benefit cap challenge

  26-11-2015 15:31
  
  A Government failure to exempt individual family carers in receipt of carer's allowance from the benefit cap amounts to "objectively unjustifiable indirect discrimination" and is not lawful, a High Court judge has ruled.
  
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• Regional differences in childhood obesity rates - report

  26-11-2015 15:31
  
  A third of 10 and 11-year-olds in England are overweight or obese, rising to more than 40% in some regions, figures show.
  
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• Man admits drowning nine-year-old grandson in bath

  26-11-2015 15:31
  
  A man has admitted murdering his nine-year-old grandson by drowning him in the bath.
  
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• Harry hails 'milestone' opening of Mamohato Children's Centre in Lesotho

  26-11-2015 15:31
  
  Prince Harry has hailed the opening of his charity's landmark centre for vulnerable children in Lesotho as a "milestone".
  
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• Adele smashes Oasis's sales record as 25 proves a winner

  26-11-2015 15:31
  
  Adele has overtaken Oasis's 18-year sales record with her latest album 25, as she claimed a new chart victory.
  
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• 10 Questions About UK Airstrikes In Syria

  26-11-2015 15:29
  
  Now that David Cameron has publicly laid out his case for launching air strikes in Syria, will the strategy actually help?
  
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• New Car Tax Rules See Surge In Evasion Rate

  26-11-2015 15:17
  
  Figures from the Department for Transport show that the rate of unlicensed vehicles in traffic increased to 1.4% in 2015 from 0.6% in 2013, the last time it carried out a survey. It estimates 560,000 unlicensed vehicles are in use, meaning about £80m a year in vehicle excise duty revenue is lost - higher than in any year since at least 2007 - though some will have been recovered through enforcement action or owners paying arrears later. But they also meant that any existing vehicle tax now
  
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• Grave robbery probe: Police find sub-machine guns in raids

  26-11-2015 15:14
  
  Police involved in a major operation to tackle an ongoing feud which saw two teenagers' skulls being stolen from a grave have found two sub-machine guns and ammunition.
  
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• Osborne Cuts 'To Make 2.6m Families Worse Off'

  26-11-2015 15:08
  
  Around 2.6 million working families will be an average of £1,600 a year worse off because of Spending Review cuts, the IFS says. Despite George Osborne's big announcement that he has scrapped the tax credit cuts, working age benefit payments will be reduced to their lowest level as a share of national income for 30 years, the respected economic organisation has said. The Chancellor's spending review was widely welcomed as an "end to austerity" and a u-turn on the tax credit cuts that would
  
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• Masked Gang Beat Man And Bundle Him In Car Boot

  26-11-2015 15:07
  
  Police are searching for four masked men after a 34-year-old man was beaten and bundled into the boot of a BMW in Scotland. The victim was assaulted in Stewartfield Grove and then chased into nearby MacLean Crescent. The four men, wearing dark clothes, then threw him into a black BMW and drove off at high speed.
  
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• What is the Little Red Book?

  26-11-2015 14:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  What exactly is the Little Red Book?
  
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• Stranded Seal Pups: RSPCA Appeals To Public

  26-11-2015 14:34
  
  More than a dozen seal pups have been rescued from beaches in south Wales after becoming stranded during stormy weather. The animals are currently being cared for by the RSPCA. Ms West said the beaches where seal pups had been rescued from included Llangennith in Gower and Pembrey in Carmarthenshire.
  
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• Osborne's spending plans have 50-50 chance of success - IFS

  26-11-2015 14:34
  
  British finance minister George Osborne's latest spending plans have a roughly 50-50 chance of being successful, the head of Britain's non-partisan Institute for Fiscal Studies said on Thursday. Osborne stuck to his commitment of turning a budget deficit into a surplus in 2020 in a budget speech on Wednesday, confounding predictions that he would have to rein in his ambitions for putting the public finances back in the black. "(Osborne) is going to need his luck to hold out.
  
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• Edmund in GB team for Davis Cup final

  26-11-2015 14:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Kyle Edmund joins Andy Murray, Jamie Murray and James Ward in Great Britain's team for the Davis Cup final against Belgium.
  
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• 'Very significant' cuts still to come

  26-11-2015 14:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  "Very significant" government spending cuts will be imposed before the next general election, the think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies warns.
  
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• Syria air strikes 'will make us safer'

  26-11-2015 14:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  David Cameron sets out his case for air strikes against IS in Syria, telling MPs it will reduce the risk of a terror attack in the UK.
  
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• Cult leader accuses 'fascist state'

  26-11-2015 14:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A communist accused of presiding over a cult in London tells a court his movement tried to "raise awareness" of what he called the "British fascist state".
  
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• Adele announces first tour since 2011

  26-11-2015 14:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Adele is to embark on a UK and European arena tour next year - her first tour four five years.
  
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• Key measure of immigration to the UK reaches record high

  26-11-2015 14:15
  
  The key measure of immigration to the UK has reached a new record high as soaring numbers of people flock to the country for work.
  
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• Around 2.6 million families '£1,600 a year worse off' after benefit changes

  26-11-2015 14:03
  
  Around 2.6 million working families will be an average £1,600 a year worse off as a result of benefit changes confirmed in Chancellor George Osborne's Spending Review, a respected economic thinktank has found.
  
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