General news

• Spain’s King Felipe calls for country to unite after election uncertainty

  24-12-2015 23:06
  
  Monarch makes appeal in Christmas Eve message as party leaders seek to build coalition in fragmented parliament
  Spain’s King Felipe VI appealed for dialogue and unity in his Christmas Eve message after an inconclusive weekend general election.In his televised holiday message on Thursday night, the king said he hoped “the desire for understanding and a fraternal spirit, which are typical of this season, always be present among us”. Continue reading...
  
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• Syrian government ready to enter new peace talks

  24-12-2015 22:32
  
  Minister hints involvement may depend on which rebel groups take part, as regime airstrikes kill 20 in Damascus
  Syria’s regime said it was ready to take part in new talks in Geneva aimed at ending the war but appeared to make its participation conditional on which opposition groups attend.The foreign minister, Walid Muallem, said Damascus “is ready to participate in the Syrian-Syrian dialogue in Geneva without any foreign interference”. Continue reading...
  
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• Central African Republic election delayed over logistical concerns

  24-12-2015 22:11
  
  Officials say they were not sure voting materials would make it in time for original date and reschedule for 30 December but court must ratify new dateA national election in Central African Republic, designed to replace its transitional government and bring stability to a nation wracked by years of sectarian violence has been postponed to 30 December.The election, delayed several times before, was originally scheduled for 27 December. The National Election Authority proposed a short delay to dea
  
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• Thailand tourist murders: Amnesty seeks torture claims probe after two convicted

  24-12-2015 20:36
  
  Amnesty International has called for a full investigation into claims that two Burmese migrants convicted of murdering two British backpackers in Thailand were tortured.
  
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• Car Hits Costa Coffee: One Dead, Five Injured

  24-12-2015 19:46
  
  An elderly woman has died and five people were injured after a car ploughed into a Costa Coffee shop. A South East Coast Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: "Our clinicians have treated six patients at the incident at Costa coffee in Westerham today. Witness Elle Akerman told Sky News: "I just saw an old man that was pressed against the car and an old woman outside who was crying and she had blood on her.
  
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• Thousands Lose Power As Storm Reaches UK

  24-12-2015 19:43
  
  Armed Forces are on standby for a Christmas flooding crisis as the North braces for more severe weather. Seven hundred Environment Agency staff and military personnel are being deployed as flood warnings have been issued in the North and Scotland for late Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Some 2,000 customers lost power in Ireland as Storm Eva crossed the country, with the worst affected areas including County Cork and County Wicklow.
  
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• Man In Balaclava Tried To Grab Boy, 10

  24-12-2015 19:25
  
  Detective Sergeant Jamie Pearson said: "Clearly this was very upsetting for the boy and the community will be understandably concerned. "We have searched the area and will continue to patrol the area but would ask people in the area to remain vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour to the police so we can respond appropriately.
  
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• Storm poses Christmas Day flooding threat for thousands of homes

  24-12-2015 18:47
  
  Thousands of homeowners are on alert tonight and praying for a dry Christmas Day as they await the latest winter storm amid flood warnings.
  
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• Human Remains Belong To 'Most Wanted' Man

  24-12-2015 18:34
  
  Human remains discovered by a dog walker in woods belong to one of Scotland's most wanted men. Martin Hamilton - nicknamed the Blackhill Butcher after the Glasgow estate where he operated - had been hunted by police since September 2014 after breaching the terms of his prison release licence.
  
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• Thousands of Christmas travellers delayed by rail chaos

  24-12-2015 18:31
  Thousands of Christmas journeys have been hit after a day of chaos on the rail network, with more than one in ten journeys delayed across England and Scotland.
  
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• Princes Team Up For Christmas Eve Football Match

  24-12-2015 18:14
  Prince William and Prince Harry have teamed up for their now-traditional Christmas Eve football match.
  
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• Hormone that switches off craving for sugar identified by scientists

  24-12-2015 18:00
  A way to block a "sweet tooth" may be in prospect after scientists identified a liver hormone that suppresses the desire for sugar.
  
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• High street retailers seek Christmas Eve boost with unprecedented discounting

  24-12-2015 17:17
  
  Struggling high street retailers lured millions of shoppers back for a last day of festive spending today with unprecedented discounting ahead of the traditional post-Christmas sales.
  
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• UK sees fastest growth in consumer lending since 2007

  24-12-2015 17:13
  Lending by British banks to consumers grew last month at its fastest rate in more than eight years, the British Bankers' Association said on Thursday, figures which are likely to catch the attention of the Bank of England. Overall consumer credit lending rose by 5.7 percent in the 12 months to November, the fastest rise since March 2007. The BoE has said it is watching credit growth as Britain's economic recovery goes into its third year.
  
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• Car Hits Costa Coffee: One Dead, Several Hurt

  24-12-2015 16:47
  
  An elderly woman has died and four people have been seriously injured after a car ploughed into a Costa Coffee shop. A South East Coast Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: "Our clinicians have treated six patients at the incident at Costa coffee in Westerham today. Witness Elle Akerman told Sky News: "I just saw an old man that was pressed against the car and an old woman outside who was crying and she had blood on her.
  
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• Christmas rail getaway hit by signal problems and flooding

  24-12-2015 16:41
  Hundreds of journeys home for Christmas have been hit by signalling problems and flooding on tracks in the south east of England.
  
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• Lord Woolf calls for an end to mandatory life sentences for murder

  24-12-2015 16:34
  A former lord chief justice has called for an end to mandatory life sentences for murder.
  
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• Human remains confirmed as 'dangerous' wanted man

  24-12-2015 16:34
  Human remains discovered by a dog walker in woods have been identified as one of Scotland's most wanted men.
  
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• HSBC Turns To Kissinger For Advice On HQ Move

  24-12-2015 16:34
  
  Europe's biggest bank has turned to one of the world's leading statesmen for advice as it closes in on a decision about whether to move its headquarters from the UK. Sky News has learnt that board members of HSBC have met Henry Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State, to discuss the geopolitical implications of the ongoing review of the bank's domicile. Sources said that Mr Kissinger, who has a role with JP Morgan, the Wall Street giant, as well as his own consulting firm, had been asked to
  
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• Woman dead and five injured after car hits Costa coffee shop

  24-12-2015 15:57
  
  A woman in her 70s has died and five other people are injured, four seriously, after a car ploughed into a Costa coffee shop.
  
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• Seven taken to hospital after bus smashes into car and city building

  24-12-2015 15:57
  
  An eyewitness has described the moment a bus crashed into a city centre building.
  
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• International Space Station to make low pass over Christmas rooftops

  24-12-2015 15:02
  Flying low over the rooftops, it could easily be mistaken for Santa's sleigh.
  
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• Thousands of UK troops overseas send festive messages home

  24-12-2015 14:50
  Servicemen and women who have been deployed abroad and are unable to spend Christmas with their families have sent their love home with a series of festive photos and messages.
  
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• Basil should have gone to Specsavers as John Cleese thrashes the wrong car

  24-12-2015 14:50
  John Cleese has returned to the role of misanthropic hotelier Basil Fawlty for the first time on TV in 36 years.
  
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• Woman dies as car ploughs into coffee shop in Kent

  24-12-2015 14:37
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - A woman died and five people were injured when a car left the road and ploughed into a coffee shop in Kent, southeast of London, on Thursday morning, rescue services said.
  
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• Internet safety call for 'most connected Christmas ever'

  24-12-2015 14:31
  Parents should take the time to talk to their children about internet safety ahead of the "most connected Christmas ever", research suggests.
  
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• Car Crashes Through Front Of Costa Coffee

  24-12-2015 13:45
  
  A car has crashed through the front of a Costa Coffee shop in Westerham, Kent, with several injuries reported. Pictures show an Audi car embedded into the front of the coffee shop. Elle Akerman told Sky News: “I just saw an old man that was pressed against the car and an old woman outside who was crying and she had blood on her.
  
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• Injuries After Bus Crashes Into Building

  24-12-2015 13:44
  
  A bus has crashed into a building in Peterborough and there are reports of injuries, police have confirmed.
  
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• Thousands Without Power As Storm Reaches UK

  24-12-2015 13:26
  
  Armed Forces are on standby for a Christmas flooding crisis as the North braces for more severe weather. Seven hundred Environment Agency staff and military personnel are being deployed as flood warnings have been issued in the North and Scotland for late Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Some 2,000 customers were left without power in Ireland as Storm Eva crossed the country, with the worst affected areas including County Cork and County Wicklow.
  
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• Cumbria braced for more flooding as Storm Eva blows in for Christmas

  24-12-2015 13:13
  
  Britain is braced for more flooding misery with no Christmas let-up from the deluge of winter storms.
  
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• Mourners raise a glass as crematorium secures alcohol licence

  24-12-2015 12:15
  A crematorium is believed to be the first in the UK to secure an alcohol licence.
  
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• Mortgage lending remains at seven-year high

  24-12-2015 12:15
  Mortgage lending continued to run at a seven-year high in November in a further sign of the strength of the market, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) has reported.
  
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• Missing Madeleine: 'We have not lost hope,' say McCanns

  24-12-2015 12:15
  Kate and Gerry McCann "have not lost hope" of finding their daughter, the couple said in a heartfelt Christmas message to supporters.
  
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• Christmas Getaway: Plan For 'Busiest Day'

  24-12-2015 11:46
  
  Millions of Britons have been making the annual festive getaway to be with friends and family over Christmas - and today marks the final push. The RAC said last-minute dashes were expected to make today the busiest day of Christmas on the roads. Airports are also expected to be packed, with an estimated four million people travelling abroad during Christmas and New Year.
  
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• Christian refugees being bypassed in resettlement programme - Cardinal Nichols

  24-12-2015 11:44
  Christian refugees fleeing Syria are being bypassed in Britain's resettlement programme, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has warned.
  
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• Charity warns over 'profound impact' of domestic violence on children

  24-12-2015 11:44
  Children are at the centre of a campaign to raise awareness of what a charity says are the forgotten victims of domestic violence.
  
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• Capita loses performance payments for missing Army recruitment targets

  24-12-2015 11:44
  Private contractor Capita has lost hundreds of thousands of pounds in performance payments after failing to meet Army recruitment targets.
  
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• Columba Declaration agrees closer ties for churches of England and Scotland

  24-12-2015 10:31
  An historic agreement has been reached between the Church of England and the Church of Scotland, committing them to working closely together.
  
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• Birth of twin lambs 'a Christmas miracle' for farm

  24-12-2015 10:31
  Farmers have hailed a "Christmas miracle" after a "virgin" ewe gave birth to twin lambs.
  
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• Youth, 17, charged with assaulting two schoolboys

  24-12-2015 09:11
  A 17-year-old youth has been charged with assaulting two schoolboys.
  
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• Foreign Office warns of Christmas Day threats against westerners in Beijing

  24-12-2015 09:11
  The Foreign Office has warned of "possible threats" against westerners in Beijing around Christmas Day.
  
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• Myanmar men sentenced to death for murder of British tourists in Thailand

  24-12-2015 08:41
  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre KOH SAMUI, Thailand (Reuters) - - A Thai court sentenced two Myanmar migrant workers to death on Thursday after convicting them of the 2014 murders of two young British tourists on a holiday island in a case mired in controversy and a dispute over DNA testing. The battered bodies of backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found on a beach on the island of Koh Tao in September 2014. Police said Witheridge, 23, had been raped and bludgeoned to death.
  
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• Family hails 'justice' as Britons' murderers sentenced to death in Thailand

  24-12-2015 08:33
  
  The family of one of the British backpackers brutally murdered on a beach in Thailand has said "justice" has been delivered after two Burmese migrants were sentenced to death for the killings.
  
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• Death Sentence For Killers Of UK Backpackers

  24-12-2015 07:49
  
  Two men have been found guilty and sentenced to death for the murders of a pair of British tourists in Thailand last year. The bodies of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were discovered on a beach on the holiday island of Koh Tao on 15 September 2014. Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, also known as Win Zaw Htun, initially confessed to the killings but later retracted their statements - claiming they had been tortured by police.
  
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• Thousands Lose Power As Storm Heads For UK

  24-12-2015 07:41
  
  Armed Forces are on standby for a Christmas flooding crisis as the North braces for more severe weather. Seven hundred Environment Agency staff and military personnel are being deployed as flood warnings have been issued in the North and Scotland for late Christmas Day and Boxing Day. It comes as the Army prepares to bolster flood defences in Cumbria and will be out putting sandbags in place in preparation for Storm Eva.
  
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• 'Justice' for murdered British backpackers as two Burmese men sentenced to death

  24-12-2015 07:41
  
  The family of one of the British backpackers brutally murdered on a beach in Thailand said "justice" has been delivered after two Burmese migrants were sentenced to death for the killings.
  
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• Volunteer tells of desperate and 'chaotic' conditions for refugees

  24-12-2015 06:33
  
  A volunteer who helped refugees on two self-organised trips has described the desperate plight of hundreds of men, women and children as they sat cold and hungry in open fields on a torrid trek across Europe.
  
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• Myanmar men sentenced to death for murder of British backpackers in Thailand

  24-12-2015 06:15
  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre KOH SAMUI, Thailand (Reuters) - A Thai court sentenced two Myanmar migrant workers to death on Thursday after convicting them of the 2014 murders of two British tourists on a holiday island in a case mired in controversy and a dispute over DNA samples. The battered bodies of backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found on a beach on the island of Koh Tao in September 2014. Police said Witheridge had been raped and bludgeoned to death.
  
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• Mixed fortunes for UK economy during 2015

  24-12-2015 05:31
  
  Britain's economy saw mixed fortunes in 2015 as growth stuttered amid warnings the UK is too reliant on consumer spending fuelled by ultra low inflation and rock-bottom borrowing costs.
  
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• Cumbria Flood Victims Rally For Christmas

  24-12-2015 04:56
  Dozens of families have been forced out of their houses into either temporary accommodation, or into the homes of friends and family. Others, like Sue Armstrong in Carlisle, have chosen to stay in their own water damaged properties on Christmas Day. Ms Armstrong lives on Warwick Street in Carlisle, one of the worst affected areas.
  
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