General news

• Saddest Sight Amid Cumbria Floods Clean-Up

  08-12-2015 23:43
  
  The Environment Agency is urging communities in northern England to remain vigilant. There is still a severe flood warning in place - for St Michael's in Lancashire - as well as dozens of flood warnings and alerts. Chris Wilding, Environment Agency flood risk manager, said: "Our thoughts are with everyone that has been flooded.
  
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• Top of the pots: art teacher is no mug after wowing judges with feat of clay

  08-12-2015 23:36
  
  An art teacher from North Yorkshire, Matthew Wilcock, has been crowned the winner of BBC Two's The Great Pottery Throw Down.
  
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• Labour 'wants Shrewsbury 24 papers published in return for spy powers support'

  08-12-2015 23:36
  
  Labour could oppose new spying powers unless ministers agree to publish documents relating to the "political motivated show-trial" of the so-called Shrewsbury 24 and other past injustices, shadow home secretary Andy Burnham will suggest.
  
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• Morgan Stanley says former British MP Darling to join board

  08-12-2015 23:19
  
  (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley said on Tuesday Alistair Darling, a former member of the British Parliament, would join the company's board, effective Jan. 1. Darling, 62, served in the United Kingdom government from 1997 to 2010 and was chancellor of the exchequer from 2007 to 2010. (Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
  
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• Teen Girls 'More Likely Than Boys To Be Bullied'

  08-12-2015 23:03
  
  Teenage girls in England are more likely than teenage boys to think they're fat, more likely to smoke and more likely to be bullied. An unprecedented survey of 15-year-olds in England has found young girls generally have a lower sense of health and wellbeing than boys.
  
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• 3D video games hailed as potentially helpful for dementia-affected people

  08-12-2015 23:00
  
  Playing three dimensional video games may protect against the dulling of memory that comes with age, a study has found.
  
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• Stirling Council rejects purpose-built tennis centre proposal

  08-12-2015 22:45
  
  Plans for Scotland's first purpose-built tennis centre, promoted by Judy Murray, have been rejected by councillors.
  
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• Family pays tribute to jogger who died after falling into path of lorry

  08-12-2015 22:44
  
  The family of a jogger killed after falling into the path of an oncoming lorry have paid tribute to the "loving and caring father of two".
  
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• Eddie Redmayne's role as transgender woman 'one of the great love stories'

  08-12-2015 22:44
  
  Eddie Redmayne shrugged off growing excitement he is in line for a second Oscar for his role as one of the first transgender women.
  
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• Redmayne Hits Out At Violence Against Trans People

  08-12-2015 22:37
  
  Eddie Redmayne has told Sky News there is still a "huge amount of discrimination and violence against trans people" - despite the progress of recent years. He plays Lili Elbe, who was born Einar Wegener and underwent a series of operations in the early 1930s to become a woman. Speaking to Sky News at the UK premiere, he said: "There's been a tipping point in the last year or two - trans issues have gone into the mainstream culture and mainstream discussion.
  
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• Shortlisted for BBC award, Tyson provokes fury with comments on women, gays

  08-12-2015 22:27
  
  By Ian Chadband LONDON (Reuters) - With a name like his, Tyson Fury was not destined to be a shy and retiring wallflower. Since becoming world heavyweight champion, the 27-year-old British boxer has been living up to his name, provoking fury well beyond the ring with his pronouncements on homosexuality, women, fellow athletes and a range of other topics. One of sport's biggest upsets, Fury's victory last month over long-standing world champion Wladimir Klitschko has earned him a spot on the shor
  
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• Four Men Charged After Luton Terrorism Raids

  08-12-2015 21:38
  
  Four men have been charged with terrorism offences after they allegedly encouraged support for Islamic State, Metropolitan Police said. Mohammed Istiak Alamgir, 36, is charged with four counts of addressing meetings to encourage support for a proscribed organisation, or to further its activities. Ziaur Rahman, 38, is charged with three counts of managing or assisting in arranging a meeting, which he knew was to support a proscribed organisation, or to further its activities.
  
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• Politicians unite to condemn Donald Trump's remarks about Muslims

  08-12-2015 21:37
  
  US presidential hopeful Donald Trump has attracted widespread derision after claiming that parts of London were "so radicalised" that police were "afraid for their own lives".
  
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• 'Hate Crime' Probe Over Tyson Fury's Comments

  08-12-2015 21:36
  
  Police are investigating a hate crime allegation after world heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury's outspoken remarks about homosexuality. A member of the public made a complaint after watching a daytime TV programme in which Fury's comments were discussed. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed they were investigating an allegation of a hate crime and will be visiting the complainant to take a statement.
  
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• Thousands of Storm Desmond victims to get council tax and business rates waiver

  08-12-2015 21:33
  
  An estimated 5,000 households and companies forced from their properties by flooding in Cumbria and Lancashire are to be given temporary relief from their council tax and business rates.
  
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• Police weigh in with 'hate crime' probe over Tyson Fury's comments

  08-12-2015 21:19
  
  Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury's outspoken comments about homosexuality are being looked at by police following a complaint by a member of the public.
  
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• Four men charged with terror offences after 'encouraging support for IS'

  08-12-2015 21:19
  
  Four men have been charged with terrorism offences after they allegedly encouraged support for Islamic State, Scotland Yard said.
  
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• Danish Girl Oscar Buzz Grows Louder For Redmayne

  08-12-2015 21:04
  
  Eddie Redmayne is preparing to be surrounded by an Oscar buzz once again as his latest film has its premiere in London. The British star won the best actor Oscar earlier this year for playing Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything. Redmayne's latest role is as transgender artist Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl and many critics are already suggesting he could collect his second Oscar in February.
  
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• Goldsmith Needs More Than Charm For Safe Landing

  08-12-2015 20:47
  
  When I told a female colleague I was going to hear Zac Goldsmith speak at a Westminster lunch, she said: "Enjoy lunch. So the MP for Richmond Park and Conservative candidate for London Mayor clearly has a certain appeal!
  
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• Aston Martin deciding between UK, U.S., Middle East for new plant - source

  08-12-2015 20:07
  
  By Costas Pitas LONDON (Reuters) - Luxury British carmaker Aston Martin, due to decide in the next few weeks where it will build a new plant, is choosing from four sites in Britain, the United States and the Middle East, a source familiar with the firm's thinking told Reuters. The loss-making company is planning a major expansion programme in a bid to return to profitability which will see volumes of its existing product lineup of sports cars boosted as well as a new crossover utility vehicle kn
  
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• Woman to give birth early so she can undergo cancer treatment

  08-12-2015 20:02
  
  A pregnant woman will give birth prematurely this week so she can undertake life-saving treatment for cancer.
  
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• £2m fine for National Grid over canal death of Robbie, 11

  08-12-2015 20:02
  
  National Grid has been fined £2 million after a schoolboy died after he was able to clamber across an exposed gas pipe.
  
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• BBC's Clive Myrie in 'dickhead' jab at boxer Tyson Fury over views on gays

  08-12-2015 20:00
  
  Tyson Fury has been branded a "dickhead" by a BBC presenter live on air as more than 100,000 people signed a petition calling for the boxer's removal from the Sports Personality Of The Year shortlist.
  
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• Flood-Hit Residents To Get Council Tax Relief

  08-12-2015 19:53
  
  Around 5,000 flood-hit businesses and households in Cumbria and Lancashire are to get relief from council tax and business rates. The Met Office has put out a weather warning for Wednesday and says rain will be "persistent and heavy at times". The Cobra meeting, chaired by Communities Secretary Greg Clark, heard power had been restored to all properties in Lancashire.
  
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• Cyberattack Is 'Main Threat' To UK Banks

  08-12-2015 18:45
  
  Cyberattacks have overtaken economic weaknesses as the main cause of concern for UK banks, according to a survey of industry figures. The study of senior bankers, risk regulators and market analysts was published in the wake of a series of high profile attacks on UK businesses that have come to light in recent weeks, with victims including TalkTalk and the pub chain JD Wetherspoon . Simon Hunt, UK head of banking and capital markets at PwC, said: "Although much work has been done by banks and th
  
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• National Crime Agency 'more Keystone cops than FBI'

  08-12-2015 18:24
  
  Britain's equivalent of the FBI has been branded more like the "Keystone cops" after the collapse of major trials and struggles to cope with its huge caseload.
  
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• May Warns Police They Are 'Not Off The Hook'

  08-12-2015 18:24
  
  The Home Secretary has again put herself at odds with police as she warned forces they will not be "let off the hook" over cuts. Theresa May told top officers if they thought the Chancellor's unexpected move to protect police from cuts meant they could continue wasteful spending they "couldn't be more wrong". In a speech to chief constables and police crime commissioners, she also hit out at those who have continued to complain about budgets despite George Osborne's favourable Spending Review tw
  
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• Hunt announces 'Ofsted-style' ratings system in bid to improve cancer care

  08-12-2015 18:23
  
  The Health Secretary has announced an "Ofsted-style" evaluation system for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to improve cancer care in the UK.
  
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• Storm Desmond: Thousands of households and businesses to get tax relief – live updates

  08-12-2015 18:21
  
  Affected households and businesses to get tax reliefCumbria police warn homeowners to be vigilantWest coast mainline to reopen with speed restrictions
  Thousands of homes still without power16 severe flood warnings in place for north-west EnglandRead the latest summary5.21pm GMTThe job of working out who will qualify for council tax and business rate relief and how long the waiver will last will be the responsibility of the Department for Communities and Local Government, run by Greg Clark. No es
  
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• Florida burglary suspect eaten by alligator after fleeing police

  08-12-2015 18:15
  
  Autopsy finds Matthew Riggins drowned last month after alligator attack
  Suspect apparently entered lake to hide from police chasing himA 22-year-old man suspected of burglarizing homes in Florida was killed and partially eaten by an 11ft (3.4-meter) alligator after he waded into a lake, apparently to avoid detection by law enforcement officers pursuing him, police said on Tuesday.An autopsy on the man, Matthew Riggins of Palm Bay, determined that he drowned in November after an apparent alligato
  
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• Donald Trump's Muslim hatred doesn't deserve a counter-argument | Jeb Lund

  08-12-2015 18:15
  
  We don’t need to give a reason as to why we’re against his proposed ban on Muslims entering America. Sometimes awful doesn’t need parsingAddressing a crowd aboard the USS Yorktown on Monday, Trump repeated statements he’d made earlier in the day, calling for a ban on admitting any Muslims to the United States: Muslims wanting to vacation, Muslim Americans coming home from abroad, refugees, anyone. His call was either brilliant or awful, tactically speaking – which i
  
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• Snapchat photo messaging service down

  08-12-2015 18:14
  
  Photo messaging service Snapchat is down for many users in the UK and around the world, with the company confirming it is working to fix the problem.
  
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• Killer Hunted As Man Shot In Hotel Car Park

  08-12-2015 18:13
  
  Following the attack at the Marriott Hotel in Waltham Abbey, Essex, the victim was reported to have got into a passing couple's car before he was shot again. Armed officers have "secured" the hotel site and detectives were speaking to witnesses, said Essex Police. Chief Superintendent Luke Collison said: "Essex Police has mobilised a number of officers including armed units in response to this incident.
  
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• Rape is not a punchline – or a way to sell Christmas presents

  08-12-2015 18:12
  
  Banning jokes and adverts is not the feminist endgame, but why is there a seasonal spike in tasteless advertising?Thirty-eight per cent of adults in the UK hear jokes about sexual assault or sex offenders regularly, according to a new survey by OnePoll. The nationally representative study of 1,000 British adults found that a quarter of men and 11% of women said they had made this type of joke themselves. The poll disproves the notion that these attitudes towards sexual violence are dying away. I
  
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• Corbyn’s ‘new politics’ is neither hateful nor pure: it’s complicated | John Harris

  08-12-2015 18:12
  
  While some in Labour fear entryism and the spectre of Militant, within Momentum itself there are tensions and contradictions that may yet explodeDepending on who you listen to, Momentum is either the cutting edge of 21st century progressive activism, or a Corbynite conspiracy to take over the Labour party, eject any errant MPs, and commence the age of copper-bottomed British socialism, following the new leader’s example.According to its online blurb, the group is intended to be &ldquo
  
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• 10 classics from Greg Wilson's 40 years behind the decks

  08-12-2015 18:10
  
  This month, Greg Wilson is celebrating 40 years as a DJ – and to mark the milestone he’s selected 10 of his favourite dancefloor fillersThis, for me, is the record that set the standard for dance music. Funk isn’t so much about beat but groove, and this is groove perfection, all instruments augmenting, not least a teenage Bootsy Collins on bass, the idea of joining Parliament/Funkadelic still but a twinkle in his eye. Released in 1970, over five years before I became a DJ, Sex
  
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• Croydon Councillors Caught Watching Crystal Palace Match During Cuts Debate

  08-12-2015 18:07
  
  'Watching football in a packed council meeting where people are losing their jobs is a bit disrespectful.'
  
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• Ork records: the hidden side of New York punk

  08-12-2015 18:05
  
  Everyone knows the Ramones and Talking Heads, but a host of obscure bands were integral to the CBGBs scene – and now their records have been rediscoveredIn the beginning there were three record labels putting out music from America’s burgeoning punk scenes. There was Bomp! In Los Angeles, Titan in the midwest, and, in New York City, Ork records. Ork was founded by Terry Ork (born William Terry Collins) in 1975. Described by Patti Smith Band member Lenny Kaye as a “cherubic indi
  
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• Donald Trump mocked by Boris Johnson over 'radicalised' London claims

  08-12-2015 17:54
  
  US presidential hopeful Donald Trump has been mocked by Boris Johnson and criticised by Downing Street after claiming that parts of London were "so radicalised" that police were "afraid for their own lives".
  
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• There's only one Mona Lisa! Why a 10-year study got it all wrong

  08-12-2015 17:48
  
  After a decade of research, a scientist claims to have found the portrait of another woman under Leonardo’s greatest work. Here’s why he’s so mistakenWho is the Mona Lisa, really? There are two answers – and French scientist Pascal Cotte has got both of them wrong.Cotte has told a BBC documentary about his 10-year study of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous painting using the Layer Amplification Method (LAM). When you look down through the layers of Leonardo’s pa
  
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• Rio Olympics linked to widespread human rights violations, report reveals

  08-12-2015 17:43
  
  Residents, including thousands of children, are victims of violence and evictions stemming from building projects for 2016 Games, Exclusion Games report saysThe 2016 Olympics have prompted widespread violations of children’s rights and other civil liberties, according to a new dossier of alleged abuses compiled by academics and nongovernmental organisations.
  Evictions, police violence and poor labour conditions top a long list of problems linked to next year’s Games in Rio de Janeiro
  
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• Volkswagen scandal could delay UK airport decision - London mayor

  08-12-2015 17:41
  
  A decision over British airport expansion has taken too long but could legitimately be delayed further due to the impact of the Volkswagen emissions scandal on air quality data, a leading candidate for London Mayor said on Tuesday. Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to say by the end of the year whether the government will back the expansion of Heathrow but is now expected to delay the politically charged decision, already 25 years in the making, possibly until after London's Mayoral elec
  
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• Trojan horse primary barred Muslims from Easter classes, tribunal hears

  08-12-2015 17:41
  
  Birmingham city council withdrew legal backing for Adderley school over claims teaching assistants’ resignation letters were forged, tribunal toldA school at the centre of the “Trojan horse” allegations had its legal support withdrawn by Birmingham city council after an investigation suggested a series of resignation letters were forged, an employment tribunal has heard.The tribunal, involving four staff at Adderley primary school in east Birmingham, also heard that the school
  
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• Ricky Gervais to return to the office in Life on the Road

  08-12-2015 17:36
  
  New photograph ahead of the release of comic’s new mockumentary film shows David Brent back in his trademark suit and tieHe may have swapped a life in middle-management at the Wernham Hogg Paper Company in Slough to tour the country in his own musical ensemble, but Ricky Gervais has revealed that David Brent will return to the jaded corporate interiors for which he’s best known in upcoming movie Life on the Road.Gervais posted a photograph on Twitter of Brent in a grey suit and tie,
  
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• Faith in British schools: share your experiences with us

  08-12-2015 17:36
  
  From religious education to faith schools and acts of collective worship in state schools, we’d like to hear your stories
  Whether among politicians or parents faith schools are often a topic of heated debate. With Britain growing more secular many have been questioning their place in society. Related: The Observer view on the role of faith in Britain’s schools | Observer editorialContinue reading...
  
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• Green MP Caroline Lucas steps down from Stop the War Coalition role

  08-12-2015 17:35
  
  Statement says decision is due to MP’s busy schedule and ‘in light of some recent StWC positions that she didn’t support’The Green party’s only MP, Caroline Lucas, has announced that she has stepped down from the committee of patrons of the Stop the War Coalition “in light of some of [the group’s] recent positions”.Lucas, who was formerly a vice-president of the organisation, released a statement on Tuesday saying she had stepped back from the orga
  
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• Storm Desmond victims to get council tax and business rates waiver

  08-12-2015 17:34
  
  An estimated 5,000 households and companies forced from their properties by flooding in Cumbria and Lancashire are to be given temporary relief from their council tax and business rates.
  
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• Irish councillor resigns from opposition party after corruption sting

  08-12-2015 17:27
  
  Sligo councillor Joe Queenan leaves Fianna Fáil after being recorded offering help with planning permission in RTÉ investigationAn Irish councillor who welcomed Prince Charles during his historic visit to County Sligo in May has resigned from Ireland’s largest opposition party, Fianna Fáil, after he was caught on film offering to help with planning issues.Joe Queenan left the party on Tuesday, hours after an undercover RTÉ investigation into standards in Irish p
  
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• Ex-soldiers discard medals in Downing Street protest against Syria airstrikes – video

  08-12-2015 17:25
  
  Former British soldiers throw their medals on the ground outside 10 Downing Street on Tuesday in protest at the government’s decision to extend airstrikes against Islamic State (Isis) to Syria. Daniel Denham, who served in the RAF, is joined by fellow Veterans for Peace representatives Continue reading...
  
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• COP21 is too male dominated and has male priorities, says UN special envoy

  08-12-2015 17:25
  
  Paris climate summit’s gender imbalance is detrimental to taking action on saving people from global warming, says Mary Robinson The climate change talks going on in Paris are too dominated by men, to the detriment of effective action on saving people from the ravages of global warming, the UN’s special envoy on climate change has said.Mary Robinson, the former UN human rights chief and Ireland’s first female president, told the Guardian in an interview: “This is a very m
  
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