General news

• Some police still dismissive of online abuse, says watchdog

  22-12-2015 22:04
  
  HMIC says attitude is indefensible, with some comments from officers showing a ‘worrying lack of understanding both of the threat and the risk to the victim’Some police are dismissive of harassment on social media, with one officer even dismissing it as “just kids on Facebook”, according to the police watchdog.HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), which released a wide-ranging report on digital crime on Tuesday, said the attitude was indefensible. Nevertheless, it said
  
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• Woman, 70, rescued by firefighters as floods hit Cumbria again

  22-12-2015 21:44
  
  A 70-year-old woman was among a handful of residents rescued by firefighters as localised flooding caused another difficult day for locals in parts of rain lashed of Cumbria.
  
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• Weight Loss Surgery Could Save NHS Money

  22-12-2015 21:24
  
  Weight loss surgery could prevent thousands of people in the UK suffering serious health conditions and save the NHS money in the long run, a study suggests. Researchers led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine carried out the most comprehensive study of the long-term benefits of bariatric surgery in the UK so far. They found the procedures improved existing Type 2 diabetes and lowered abnormally high blood pressure.
  
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• US imposes financial restrictions to reinforce Ukraine sanctions

  22-12-2015 21:24
  
  US targets 34 more people and entities for helping evade sanctionsRussia threatens retaliation for move ‘that runs counter to logic’The Obama administration has imposed financial restrictions on 34 additional people and entities for helping Russian and Ukrainian companies evade US penalties and other infractions, prompting threats of retaliation from the Kremlin.The action helps “maintain the efficacy of existing sanctions” established after Russia’s annexation of t
  
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• Gay Briton wins court fight to avoid extradition to Dubai on theft charge

  22-12-2015 21:16
  
  A gay Briton has won his battle to avoid being extradited to the United Arab Emirates, where homosexuality is illegal.
  
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• Bookies slash odds on warmest Christmas Day but Storm Eva is sweeping in

  22-12-2015 21:16
  
  Gales of up to 70mph and rain squalls will batter Britain in the run up to December 25 as Storm Eva sweeps in to lash western reaches tomorrow night and into Christmas Eve.
  
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• Ben Jennings on Britain sending troops to Afghanistan – cartoon

  22-12-2015 21:06
  
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• Warning: your festive meal could be more damaging than a long-haul flight | George Monbiot

  22-12-2015 21:04
  
  We miscalculate environmental risk: eating certain meats is about the worst thing you can do to the planetThe figures were so astounding that I refused to believe them. I found them buried in a footnote, and assumed at first that they must have been a misprint. So I checked the source, wrote to the person who first published them, and followed the citations. To my amazement, they appear to stand up.A kilogramme of beef protein reared on a British hill farm can generate the equivalent of 643kg of
  
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• Soldier's Mum Fears Brits Will 'Pay The Price'

  22-12-2015 20:54
  
  The mother of a British soldier seriously injured in Afghanistan says she is "not surprised" some UK troops were being deployed to help local forces fight the Taliban. A team of around 10 has been sent to Helmand province after militants took control of key strategic sites in the town of Sangin. Most of the UK force left the country in October last year but a small number stayed behind to help train Afghan forces.
  
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• Oxford students step up campaign to remove Cecil Rhodes statue

  22-12-2015 20:49
  
  Campaigners say removing statue of British colonialist is small part of tackling racism at Oxford and would help address UK’s ‘imperial blind spot’Oxford students fighting to have a statue of Cecil Rhodes removed from Oriel College have said the row over his legacy demonstrates Britain’s “imperial blind spot” and criticised the university’s record on black and ethnic minorities.The Rhodes Must Fall group last week succeeded in persuading the college to m
  
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• UN support of Libyan government set to open door for potential UK airstrikes

  22-12-2015 20:44
  
  UK-sponsored resolution, expected to be approved on Wednesday, will allow Libya to invite foreign countries in to fight IsisThe prospect of UK planes attacking Islamic State positions in Libya as part of an international coalition force will draw closer when the U N security council is expected to approve a resolution supporting the new Libyan government.The UK-sponsored resolution is primarily intended to endorse the new regime, but it is also a first step towards potential military action, ope
  
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• Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel out for six weeks with hamstring injury

  22-12-2015 20:39
  
  • Slovakian to miss six Premier League matches and three cup games
  • Liverpool have only two senior central defenders fit for game against LeicesterJürgen Klopp has suffered another serious defensive setback at Liverpool after Martin Skrtel confirmed he will be sidelined for six weeks with a hamstring injury.The Slovakia international limped off in the first half of Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at Watford and had a scan on the injury on Tuesday. He later took to Instagram to deny rum
  
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• NHS leaders set out plans for seven-day access to services in 15 months

  22-12-2015 20:30
  
  Guidance includes aim for quarter of patients in England to have week-round access to acute care and a fifth to GPs by March 2017 A quarter of England’s population should have access to some seven-day services in acute hospitals in only 15 months, NHS leaders have said.They also laid out their ambition for a fifth of people to have better week-round access to GPs and other primary care by March 2017. Continue reading...
  
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• Amazon and eBay face crackdown over VAT fraud by overseas sellers

  22-12-2015 20:15
  
  UK Treasury looking at ‘all possible options’ after claim that big online marketplaces collaborate with vendors over tax evasion on popular goodsTop tax officials are exploring whether Amazon and eBay can be forced to foot the bill for ballooning VAT fraud associated with an army of small overseas sellers who are rapidly coming to dominate sales of many popular items on Britain’s leading shopping websites.A Guardian investigation has found that hundreds of high-value gifts incl
  
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• Doctor who ordered unnecessary heart surgery and risky tests jailed for 20 years

  22-12-2015 20:10
  
  Dr Harry Persaud of Ohio made more than $7m from health insurance fraud while abusing patients’ ‘sacred trust’, says FBIA cardiologist who ordered patients to undergo unnecessary open heart surgery and performed risky tests and procedures in order to reap fraudulent payments from Medicare and private insurers has been sentenced to 20 years in a US federal prison.
  Dr Harry Persaud, 56, was practicing in Westlake, Ohio, at the time of the fraud but went to school and trained to b
  
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• Village bells sound again after ringers went on strike for two and a half years

  22-12-2015 20:03
  Bell ringers at a village church have ended a two-and-a-half year strike after a compromise has been agreed over service times.
  
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• Weight-loss surgery 'produces unrivalled health benefits' for patients and NHS

  22-12-2015 20:01
  Weight-loss surgery could prevent thousands of people in the UK suffering serious health conditions such as heart attacks and Type 2 diabetes, a study has shown.
  
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• Pitch 'n strut: Barack Obama sinks 40ft chip shot during Hawaii golf game

  22-12-2015 20:01
  
  The president showed off his skills for reporters, celebrating a chip shot from the edge of the 18th green during the first of many rounds during his vacationNo one could ever accuse him of not getting in enough practice – but all of that time spent on the golf course finally paid off for President Obama. Pool reporters following the Obamas on their vacation in Hawaii were permitted their first glimpse of the president as he completed a round of golf at the Mid Pacific Country Club. Contin
  
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• Stolen wheelchair recovered after thieves target home of Lydia, 4

  22-12-2015 19:54
  A stolen wheelchair belonging to a four-year-old girl has been recovered after a tip-off from a member of the public.
  
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• Ex-Celtic star Darren Jackson vows to rebuild career after bankruptcy

  22-12-2015 19:54
  Former Celtic striker Darren Jackson said he is determined to rebuild his coaching career after going bankrupt in a film investment scheme.
  
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• Calls for David Cameron to step in after US bars British Muslim family from trip

  22-12-2015 19:53
  
  Labour’s Stella Creasy writes to PM after party of 11 heading to Disneyland were told by American officials at Gatwick they could not goThe prime minister is facing calls to challenge the US over its refusal to allow a British Muslim family to board a flight from Gatwick to Los Angeles, to visit Disneyland.Stella Creasy, the Labour MP for Walthamstow, has written to the prime minister after a family party of 11, about to embark on a dream holiday for which they had saved for months, were a
  
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• Zayn Malik: his year in photographs

  22-12-2015 19:52
  
  People campaigning for Britain to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond to India should take comfort in the fact that at least one looted jewel was returned this year: Zayn Malik. Yep, 2015 was the year Zayn learned his self-worth and freed himself from One Direction. Being in a boyband usually involves a lot of self-censorship, followed by going all-out rebel once you leave. Has it gone that way for Zayn? We break down his post-1D year in pictures Continue reading...
  
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• IAAF deputy general secretary Nick Davies steps down over leaked email

  22-12-2015 19:48
  
  • Davies discussed plan to delay naming of Russians who failed doping tests
  • Sebastian Coe’s closest aide facing investigation by IAAF ethics commissionSebastian Coe’s closest aide, Nick Davies, has dramatically stood down from his role as deputy general secretary of the IAAF pending a review into his behaviour after he was accused of covering up Russian doping allegations.Davies, who ran Coe’s office in Monaco, has also referred himself to scrutiny from the Internat
  
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• Latest borrowing figures threaten Osborne's deficit target

  22-12-2015 19:44
  
  Budget deficit 10% higher last month than in November 2014 – although one-off factors such as £1.1bn in bank fines played a partFears were heightened on Tuesday that George Osborne will miss his deficit reduction targets after the latest official figures showed that the government’s budget deficit was 10% higher last month than in November 2014.The City said the chancellor now faced an uphill struggle to cut the deficit to £68.9bn in the 2015-16 financial year after figur
  
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• Guus Hiddink assembles his staff and spells out Chelsea’s targets for the season

  22-12-2015 19:40
  
  • Chelsea’s interim highlights the pluses
  • Eddie Newton to spend more time with academy graduatesGuus Hiddink has addressed the full Chelsea squad for the first time and stressed that opportunities to win a competition this season and even climb into the upper reaches of the Premier League remain, despite their traumatic title defence. Related: Pat Nevin apologises to Chelsea’s Cesc Fàbregas for targeting midfielderContinue reading...
  
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• Love after the 36-question experiment: ‘It was a date we’ll never forget’

  22-12-2015 19:39
  
  In January, a survey that claimed to make people fall in love swept the internet. Two Guardian writers went on a date to put it to the test. Did they live happily ever after?About six weeks after I took part in the 36 Questions That Make You Fall In Love experiment, a woman approached me as I browsed magazines in a bookshop in Lagos, Nigeria. “Excuse me,” she asked. “Are you Bim Adewunmi from the Guardian?” I confirmed her suspicion. Encouraged, she put her hand on my arm
  
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• Jihadi attack plot foiled in Orléans, says French interior minister

  22-12-2015 19:34
  
  Two French citizens arrested over plans to attack soldiers, police and state representatives after work by intelligence services, says Bernard Cazeneuve
  A jihadi attack plot was foiled and two men arrested last week in the French region of Orléans, south-west of Paris, the interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, said on Tuesday. “A planned attack targeting representatives of state forces in the Orléans region was foiled last week by the DGSI [France’s internal intelligenc
  
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• Everybody Wants Some trailer – Linklater goes back to college for Dazed & Confused 'sequel'

  22-12-2015 19:34
  
  The ‘spiritual sequel’ to coming-of-age classic Dazed & Confused sees the Boyhood director fix his gaze on an 80s college and finds ritual initiations, dick jokes and raging hormones in abundance Related: Dazed and Confused: No 19 best comedy film of all timeContinue reading...
  
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• Further flooding worsens troubles for Cumbrian towns hit by Storm Desmond

  22-12-2015 19:33
  
  Environment Agency issues dozens of flood warnings across country and warns of continued rain for region where thousands have already been made homelessHouseholders and businesses in Cumbria have once again been hit by flooding, just days after having finished cleaning up after Storm Desmond.Thousands of peoples’ Christmas celebrations face disruption as the Environment Agency warned that the rain will continue to fall over the coming days. Continue reading...
  
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• Teen Arrested Over Attack On Two Schoolboys

  22-12-2015 19:31
  
  A 17-year-old youth has been arrested in connection with an assault on two schoolboys in Derby.
  
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• Cumbria Towns 'Hammered' By Floods Again

  22-12-2015 19:07
  
  Homes and businesses in at least two Cumbria villages have been "hammered" by flooding for the second time this month. Appleby, where Prince Charles met victims of the previous floods yesterday , has been deluged by three to four feet of water days before Christmas. Local journalist Ellis Butcher said: "Appleby and Glenridding have been hammered again.
  
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• Youth arrested over assault on two boys caught on CCTV

  22-12-2015 18:53
  A 17-year-old youth has been arrested in connection with an assault on two teenagers in Derby.
  
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• Thousands flock to Stonehenge for 'mildest' winter solstice

  22-12-2015 17:55
  
  Thousands of people gathered at Stonehenge for a winter solstice which took place on the equal mildest December 22 since records began.
  
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• Executive producer Lisa Clark leaves Top Gear after five months

  22-12-2015 17:55
  
  Top Gear's executive producer Lisa Clark is leaving the show after five months.
  
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• Complaint against Jeremy Vine over 'man flu' comments dismissed

  22-12-2015 17:54
  A complaint against Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine over comments about "man flu" has been dismissed, the BBC said.
  
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• Nasa axes next mission to Mars

  22-12-2015 17:46
  Nasa has called off its next Mars mission because of a leak in a science instrument.
  
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• Energy Bills Fall As More Customers Switch

  22-12-2015 17:44
  The average electricity and gas bill has fallen by about £45 in the past year as more customers switch companies for better deals. Figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change show that electricity bills have fallen by £8 and gas bills by £37 on average. The DECC says the difference in prices between regions is due to the costs of distributing power between them.
  
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• Exclusive - Seven big investment banks in UK paid just $30 million tax in 2014

  22-12-2015 17:36
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Seven of the biggest investment banks operating in London paid little or no tax in Britain last year, despite reporting billions of dollars in profits, a Reuters analysis of corporate filings shows.
  
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• 'Ginger Extremist' Held Under Mental Health Act

  22-12-2015 17:16
  
  A "ginger extremist" who wanted to shoot Prince Charles so Prince Harry could be king has been detained under the mental health act. The Old Bailey heard Mark Colborne felt discriminated against because of his ginger hair and fantasised about putting the red-headed Harry on the throne. The 37-year-old compared himself to the Norwegian far-right mass murderer Anders Breivik and made notes in his diary of his plan to assassinate Charles with a high-powered sniper rifle.
  
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• Christmas traffic blocked for up to six hours as shoppers stuck at Bluewater

  22-12-2015 17:16
  
  Last-minute Christmas shoppers were left stranded for hours after heavy traffic blocked car park exits at Bluewater Shopping Centre.
  
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• Malala calls for end to Syrian war, welcomes Syrian campaigner to Britain

  22-12-2015 17:15
  By Andy Bruce NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, England (Reuters) - Nearly two years after they met in a refugee camp in Jordan, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday welcomed the Syrian schoolgirl activist Muzoon Almellehan to her new home in northern England. Malala, who moved to Britain in 2012 after being shot in the head in Pakistan by the Taliban for refusing to quit school, won acclaim for her advocacy of women's right to education. Meeting with families in tow at a gleaming public library in the
  
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• Couples should be given 'multiple IVF treatment cycles', study claims

  22-12-2015 17:00
  Couples seeking fertility treatment should view IVF as a multiple cycle process instead of a "single shot" at having a family, according to research.
  
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• 'Ginger extremist' detained under Mental Health Act for 'Aryan' terror plot

  22-12-2015 16:45
  A "ginger extremist" who fantasised about shooting the Prince of Wales so Harry could be king has been detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act for plotting a terror attack "for the Aryan people".
  
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• Call for retailers to follow suit as businessman cuts diesel to under £1 a litre

  22-12-2015 16:11
  
  Christmas has come early for thousands of drivers, with diesel falling to under £1 a litre for the first time since the economic crash.
  
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• Glasgow Remembers Bin Lorry Crash Victims

  22-12-2015 16:06
  
  Glasgow's Christmas attractions have fallen silent to mark the anniversary of the bin lorry tragedy that killed six people. This afternoon, Glasgow City Council kept large refuse trucks away from the city centre. Hundreds of members of the public attended the service, called "Glasgow Remembers.
  
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• Police dismiss social media abuse complaints as 'kids on Facebook', study finds

  22-12-2015 16:02
  Police dismissed abuse on social media as "just kids on Facebook" and asked what victims " expect us to do about it", a new report has revealed.
  
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• Total Fined £1.1m Over North Sea Blow-Out

  22-12-2015 15:55
  
  The incident in March 2012 saw 238 workers evacuated when the gas was released from the Elgin platform 150 miles off the coast of Aberdeen. Total was fined at the Aberdeen Sheriff Court after admitting health and safety breaches in relation to the incident. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) operations manager Russell Breen said: "This incident was foreseeable and entirely preventable.
  
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• British troops sent to help Afghan forces tackle Taliban advance

  22-12-2015 15:45
  
  A team of around 10 British troops has been deployed to Afghanistan to help local forces after the Taliban took control of key strategic sites in Sangin.
  
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• Lords Speaker's £230 Car Bill For One-Mile Trip

  22-12-2015 15:41
  
  Baroness D'Souza spent four hours watching Benjamin Britten’s Gloriana with the chairman of the Federation Council (Russia), at the Royal Opera House and was then driven back to the House of Lords. It has also emerged she racked up a £270 bill keeping another car waiting four and a half hours for lunch with the Japanese ambassador in Kensington, central London. And she ran up £738 keeping a car parked for 10 hours during a Windsor Castle event.
  
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• Malala meets up again with Syrian schoolgirl campaigner in Britain

  22-12-2015 15:36
  By Andy Bruce NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, England (Reuters) - Nearly two years after they met in a dust-blown refugee camp in Jordan, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai welcomed Syrian fellow schoolgirl activist Muzoon Almellehan to her friend's new home in rainy northern England on Tuesday. Malala, who moved to Britain in 2012 after being shot in the head in Pakistan by the Taliban for refusing to quit school, won acclaim for her advocacy of women's right to education and becoming the youngest winner of
  
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